Hayden

It's been a long time since I posted anything about Hayden.  She has changed so much lately.  She is losing all her baby fat and everyone keeps telling me how lean she is getting.  She has such a long and lean torso!  She is talking so much more now and rarely does her "gdagdagda" before saying a real word.  Although she still resorts to baby talk and laughs hysterically around other people because they think it's funny and she gets rewarded for it.

Some of our favorite expressions are the following:

Whenever she doesn't want something she'll either say, "no thanks" or our favorite, "no banana tonight!!!"  Whatever it is she doesn't want to do she'll say, "no_________tonight."

She was dancing around to her favorite songs with Daddy and she said, "daddy, take a break, your sweaty."

We got a book case for her room finally and put all her books in it and she has LOVED it.  I was a little worried about her being destructive with the paper pages, but she has done great.  Every morning I can hear her wake up and pull out books.  She then reads them to herself until I go in and get her.  Some of her favorites right now are, "The Spooky Old Tree," "The Tickle Monster Book," "The Interrupting Chicken," and any of her counting books.  She just started to really enjoy counting things.  She also discovered two of those Eye Spy books and she loves to look at all the little details on each page.

She is totally obsessed with princesses right now and always comments on the color of their dresses and how pretty they are when she sees their movies, or pictures of them in stores.  Her favorites right now are Rapunzel, Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty.  She is hilarious to watch Sleeping Beauty with.  She is so worried about her when she is about to touch the spinning wheel.  she runs around the living room yelling, "don't touch it Sleeping Beauty, don't touch it!!!" Over and over again.  If she is in another room playing and she hears the music come on indicating that she is about to touch the spinning wheel, she abandons whatever it is she is doing to go support Sleeping Beauty.

She also loves to reenact a scene from Beauty and The Beast where the Beasts arm is hurt and Belle is nursing him back to health.  She gets some kind of cloth and will say, "Now hold still, this is going to hurt" and she proceeds to nurse us back to health.

Hayden also loves to serve tea and loves to ask how many "sugars" we would like.  If we don't respond she'll say, "ok, 2, 2 sugars."  Sometimes I'm not very careful with my tea and if I tip the glass at all she take it away from me and say, "hey, don't spill it."

Hayden is really good at remembering the names of everyone we meet and become friends with.  We went to a play group at the park last week and all the moms were impressed that she would say, "hi" to everyone who came and call them and their mother by name.

I love to watch her play with her toys and her imagination.  This is the scene I walked upon today:

Every time I called her name she'd say, "mom, we're eating!"  I even put everything away and when she woke up placed her dogs and food in the exact same spot.

She also loves to wrap up her baby dolls and put them down for naps.  She has come up with a lot of creative beds for them recently.


Terrible Twos:

So while there is a whole lot of fun about Hayden right now, there is a whole lot of drama too!  She is such a stubborn little girl and once she has something made up in her mind she does not let it go.  When we go to the store she will see some toy she wants and say over and over "it's mine, buy it, buy it" until she totally melts down and we have to leave the store.  I have tried telling her what I expect of her before entering the store, I have tried showing her a potential award that she can have if she asks like a big girl, I leave the store when she starts screaming and yelling.  Seriously, nothing seems to be getting through to her, all she knows is that's a cool toy and I want it and I am going to let you know I want it.  It is getting really old and I am hoping this phase becomes more controllable soon.

She went to the potty all day one day and was doing great, I started rewarding her each time and even printed up a sticker chart which she thought was great.  I thought, "this is awesome, she's potty trained" and the next day she flat out refused to put on underwear and begged for a diaper.  I didn't give her one and so she peed her underwear all morning until I caved.  She obviously isn't ready to give up her diapers!  All summer she has refused to go down the water slide at the pool and this week she said, "mom, go down the slide?"  so I took her up and we went down and she loved it.  We went over and over again, but she refused to do it until it was her idea and she was ready for it.  I think that's how potty training is going to have to be.

It's crazy how you can love your child so much and be so completely frustrated with them at the same time.  I hear 3 is worse and I am just hoping I have the patience to make it through!

Reasons Why the West Is The Best!

Sometime last week I hoped in the shower and looked down and saw this:

Upon first glance I thought it was just a huge piece of lint (I thought, why did Paul drop a huge piece of lint in the shower!), so I bent down for further investigation and saw a set of eyes blinking at me!!!  Paul was of course out of town so I couldn't leave the "creature" unattended for 2 days.  I went into panic mode for a bit as I started imagining what I was dealing with.  In Cheyenne we had bats and when a bat is all curled up it looks a lot like this, so that was my first thought, 2nd I thought, hopefully it's a frog, and my 3rd guess was a tarantula.

My heart was pounding as I formulated my plan.  I decided to get my trusty Dyson vacuum cleaner and I pulled out the extension for the hose and I sucked, "it" up, I was screaming and I could feel the clanking of it's body against my hands holding the hose.

In hindsight I should have emptied the vacuum so I could clearly see what I was dealing with, but that's why hindsight is 20/20.  So my vacuum is completely full and I am looking until I see the blinking eyes once again...

If you look very closely, you can see the little guys to the left.  And to my relief, I discovered I had a frog.  But seriously, how did a frog get in my house, climb up my stairs, and get through a shower door?  It really grosses me out.  That's the south for you though, at night there are tons of frogs jumping everywhere.

It was a bit of an arduous task to get him out of the vacuum and not make a huge mess and I debated just dumping him straight in the garbage, but my conscience got to me.  I'd already vacuumed the poor little guy up, the least I could do was set him free.

After he jumped back into our garage several times as I tried to close the door, I finally got him out!

Look how little and innocent he looks here...I am telling you he didn't look this way in the shower!

4th of July

After all the fun we had in Utah, I was feeling a little lonely and sad the week we returned home.  So thank goodness for the 4th of July, it really brightened my week up.  We are so lucky to have good friends in Georgia to celebrate the holidays with.  We started the day off by going to the Marietta parade.  Hayden has not been to a parade since she was about 10 months old, so she was pretty excited to watch this one. She really enjoyed telling us the colors of all the cars and saying, "Wow, look at that one!" to about everything that passed by.  We had the most perfect spot in the shade, we will definitely have to grab this spot next year, it didn't even feel hot.  After the parade ended we walked around the arts festival in Marietta Square and got some lunch at Fire House Subs and went home and took a nap.

 Hayden made a new friend at the parade (lady in red pants who we found out grew up in Tooele and was teased by Paul's older brother Trent) and wanted to sit right next to her!  I kept trying to get her to come sit with me, but she wanted nothing to do with me.  It made the woman feel really special she told me :)

That night we went over the the Mendenhalls and joined the McLeods and the Cannons for a barbecue and fireworks.  This was Hayden's first time throwing the poppers and holding sparklers.  The Cannons had some pretty sweet illegal fire crackers and put on a great show for us.  It was a wonderful day!  

An Entire Month of Fun!

This summer, Hayden and I decided to spend an entire month with family in Utah.  We had a great time.  A big reason we stayed for so long was because my twin brothers Ian and Sean graduated from high school June 1st and then Paul's brother Mark got married on June 23rd.  I was not going to go for their graduation because we weren't even sure they wanted to walk, but then one day my mom called me and said that all they wanted for graduation was to have all their sisters present.  Sean even said he wanted a picture of all the siblings oldest to youngest.  Sean and Ian don't ask for very much in life and I was honored that they wanted us to be there.  Also it's a pretty huge accomplishment for them to graduate with a normal diploma, just like everyone else except that they did it with autism.  They are pretty amazing guys!  You'd think with almost a whole month, I would have seen EVERYONE that I wanted to.  But I still didn't manage to see everyone that is important to me.  Now that we live so far from family, they have to come first, but I was able to squeeze in a few visits with friends.

I took Hayden swimming the morning of our flight because we didn't fly out until about 7pm.  I thought for sure that would wear her out to take a good nap.  Well, she didn't, she just played in her bed and then played on the plane and finally fell asleep around 1 am our time.  She was great, but she did not want to sleep!  As you can see, she definitely new the safety information the aircraft provided!

Graduation was the first big event.  I was worried about taking Hayden and had almost decided to leave her at home to take a nap, but decided to bring her and she did fabulous.  She was a little obsessed with Aunt Shannon and sat with her for most of the ceremony.  

Michelle, Jared & Owen got to stay for about 5 days, so we made the most of it by going swimming, celebrating an early 1st birthday for Owen, going to Wheeler Farm, and The Children's Museum!  

 Owen had fun playing with all his new toys!

 Sunday afternoon at Wheeler Farm, it was super hot!

 Hayden's favorite person: Shannon!  

 This picture accurately shows how obsessed she was at protecting our belongings.  My sister was taking a picture with my phone for us and she was losing it!  

 Children's Museum

 Hayden loved the helicopter on the roof, I bet we spent an hour inside of it!

 Hayden could have played here all day...

After the Oldham's left and Shannon's husband had to go back to work, Shannon was kind enough to stay for another week!  It was so nice having her help me entertain Hayden and so nice to spend quality time with her.  We made fancy rings and headbands (a way fun craft my mom had planned for Hayden), went to the zoo, and made a trip to Logan to see Shannon's apartment and have lunch with Michelle before they headed back to Colorado.  

Hayden always loves a good day at the zoo.  Hogle Zoo was so much fun.  Sean was in a bad mood because he had a headache and Hayden was so worried that he wasn't having fun.  She even offered him a drink of her milk she was so worried about him!

 This has been at the zoo since I was a kid, so I had to take Hayden to get a drink, she thought it was pretty exciting to drink out of a Lion's head.

 Hayden sure loved her Uncle Ian.  She would say he name all day long and come looking for him whenever he tried to hide from her :)  He spent hours with her outside on the trampoline and playing with her in the yard.  

 We went swimming with my friend Kim Smith and then had McDonald's afterwards.  This picture is included because it is the first Happy Meal she has ever had.  I know, I know, I am a lame mom, how has she never had McDonald's?  I guess because I never want to eat there!

 After Shannon left, my mom and I took a quick trip to Cedar City.  I got to see a good chunk of my extended family which is always fun, but my most important visit was with my 94 year old Grandpa Cowan.  He is now living with my aunt and uncle and I'm so grateful he is in such good hands. It was pretty hard to see how he has aged.  He has always seemed so young to me.  We took him to Applebee's for father's day and just spent time talking and watching all the birds out his window.  Hayden was so good around him, it's almost like kids just know he is someone to be respected!

Shortly after returning from Cedar City Hayden and I went out to Tooele.  Hayden got to spend lots of time with her cousins and she had so much fun.  Here she is with Maizey and Maren playing with bunnies.  Hayden isn't afraid of any animals or bugs, she loves them all!

We finally got to pick up Paul on June 17th and we were so excited to see him after 3 long weeks.  Because neither Anne or I had anything to wear to the wedding, we decided we better go shopping and we went to the new City Creek shopping area.  It was beautiful!

 Our time in Tooele was so fun, Hayden literally played with cousins all day long and just loves her Grandma Anne and Papa Steve so much.  We went swimming, shopping, and did lots of fun wedding stuff.  

Here is my new sister-in-law Kelsey with all her pretty flower girls.  Grandma Anne sewed all of these skirts and they turned out so cute, everyone loved them.  Kelsey and Mark's wedding was the most fun wedding I have ever been too.  The decorations, food, everything was so cute.  She had dancing and even without alcohol, everyone had a great time.  Hayden had 9 of her cousins there and the big girls even let her have a sleep over with them after the wedding.  She was on cloud 9 talking about how she was going to have a sleep over.  

They also had a photo booth at the wedding, which was one of the highlights for everyone (especially Trent).  We had so much fun.  I was lame and didn't even get a family picture of us on the wedding, so these will have to do.

 It's not everyday that 5 out of the 6 brothers are together, I'm so glad Anne thought to take this picture.  From left to right:  Kyle, Paul, Scott, Trent and Mark.  We missed Russ and his family so much and wish they could have been here for all the fun.  

The day before we left, we went back to Salt Lake, so my family could see Paul for a day.  We went to the Aquarium and Hayden loved it of course.   Our favorite part was the Otters.  

Hayden also finally warmed up to my mom and was very intrigued by her cello.  I tried to hold her on my lap and play, but she wouldn't have it, only grandma could hold her.  

My Georgia friends kept telling me how quick the time would go and I honestly did not believe them!  We had some rough days with Hayden being possessive of everything and throwing some awesome tantrums, but we have far more good memories that outweigh the bad ones!  Can't wait to do it again!  (Although Paul can, he was pretty lonely while we were gone and was so ready to be with his family again.)

6 Years, 6 States and Still Best Friends

Six years ago, Kristine and I were sealed for time and all eternity.  And while I know that we have eternity to be together, she has been in Salt Lake for three days and I feel like forever has come and gone!  That's what it feels like when you are apart from the person that makes you who you are and who you want to be.  I have always known that my Heavenly Father loved me, despite the grief I sometimes give Him.  What became evident when Kristine became my wife, and I her husband, is that He loved me enough to know exactly what I needed to become the person that He needs me to be.  Is it possible to express gratitude for something so superlative?

"We were supposed to be done saying goodbye."

That's what Kristine told me the night before she returned home for her brothers' graduation and my brother's wedding.  The first summer that we "dated," we had been writing and talking on the phone for nearly 7 months, discovering what can only be described as a bridge from something unknown to something so familiar.  As I remember that first summer, and particularly that first, most difficult goodbye, my mind is forced to settle on how neatly she fit into my arms.  She seemed to draw the loose ends and insecurities that had characterized my life and consume them.  They were swallowed up in the promise that I could do anything with her by my side.  Kristine lifted me, and continues to do so, when so many others either knowingly or unknowingly cut me down.

I am proud to be your husband.  I am proud to call you my wife.  I am proud to have you as the mother of our daughter.  The scriptures say that God will show Himself to us in His own way and in His own time.  I see Him, and feel His love every time I see you smile.  I feel His support every time I take your hand.  I know He is there every time I come home to my girls.  You, Kristine, are everything that I hope for, everything that I live for and the one person I love more than any other.

Happy Anniversary!

Baseball

Hayden had so much fun in March watching her cousins play baseball and so when we found out they were playing in Auburn, AL (about 2 hours from us) we jumped at the chance to watch them play again.  Of course both Ozzie and Cooper's teams won the whole tournament.  They are amazing little athletes already.  Hayden was so excited to see them and the entire drive there she sang there names, "Ozzie, Cooper, Quincy, Jett" over and over again.

Hayden and Quincy have such a special little bond.  He is rough and tough with his brothers, but with Hayden he is gentle, kind, and so much fun!

Hayden was absolutely devastated when we left that night and kept crying for Quincy.  She prays for all her cousins each night and we are reminded how lucky we are to at least have these cousins 6 hours away!

What Hayden's Been Up To!

For the first month after Hayden transitioned to her big girl bed, she stayed in her bed after she woke up.  Each morning she would wait in bed for me to come get her, it was great.  Then she finally realized she could get out of bed and even upon up her door, our door, and come in our bed at 6:30 am.  I wasn't too excited about this as she has always slept until about 8 am, so I got a child proof lock and put it on her door knob.  I was worried she would be so upset, but she just said, "look Mom, so pretty, don't open it!"  So now when she wakes she plays for a bit before I get her.  This is how I found her after a nap the other day:  babylegs on her arms and legs, socks on her hands and feet and slippers!  She went through all of her drawers and closets to find all of those goodies!

Hayden has always played so well with markers too.  I can usually leave her for a bit and I know she won't draw on anything, well this is how I found her today.  She had drawn all over her arms, legs, feet,  face, and oddly enough her arm pits!