Hayden Turns Two!

Hayden's Birthday was on February 5th and I am amazed at how fast two years can pass. Here are some interesting things about our two year old:

• Hayden is super sweet (when he doesn't feel a nap coming on) and always thoughtful. If he gets something good, he wants to make sure that everyone gets it and asks "do you wan won?" He has a great sense of humor, but can also be very serious and focused. He also gets what we call the "winkies" (a term I learned of thanks to Michelle Malie, one of my friends from SUU Acclamation days) where he thinks everything is funny and turns into the biggest goof. The "winkies" happen when you stay up a little past your bed-time and you get your second wind. I think we all get them sometimes! ;o)
• Hayden loves anything related to sports. He is a professional baseball player, a soccer all-star and a golf pro. When I pick him up from Eunice in the afternoons, he wants to go straight home to practice. He is all about business too, as soon as I turn the car off in the garage (if he is still awake from the drive) he'll hop out and run straight to his baseball gear and we will practice for hours. He tells me where to stand and corrects me if I'm not doing it right. " No mom, stand here!" "You're the pitcher, I'm the batter." He is serious about baseball. We have also taken him to the driving range a few times because we don't want him to break the windows at home. He really has a good swing and sends the ball soaring across our yard. He will hit a whole bucket of balls with out taking a break.
• Hayden talks A-LOT! He is very inquisitive and always likes to know what's going on, where we are going, and where everyone is. He likes to use new words all the time and is really good at remembering things. Kevin took Hayden on a Costco run and told him everything that he needed, just trying to remember. When they got into the store, Kevin jokingly said, "Hayden I forgot, what do we need to get?" Hayden listed everything! Kevin didn't even realize that he was paying attention. I guess we better watch what we say now that we know for sure that the little sponge is listening!

Sometimes things are tough with a two year-old but we love every minute and are so happy to have him around!

Playing Catch-up... Let's start with Christmas...

And... This is what happens when you let your kid take a picture of you at an amusement park.

Here's a fun picture of Hayden. A few weeks before Christmas, we went to Knott's Berry Farm. Kevin and I hadn't been there in years so we were excited when our friends, The Ruffner's invited us to go with them. It was extremely crowded that day, but we still managed to get the kids on a few rides and the grown-ups got to go on some big rides too. It was fun and we enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with the Ruffner's and Van Boerum's.

This is was our Christmas Card 2008 picture. My friend Shillawna took it and did a great job! She is very talented with the camera. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We are so lucky that we have both of our families close and that we were able to spend it with everyone. The only person missing was my brother Neil who is living in Ohio right now. Hopefully, we will get to see him sometime soon. Hayden had a great Christmas too! He actually understood what do do with the presents this year and was quite excited. I took him to see Santa at Plaza Bonita Mall, but that turned out to be a rather traumatic experience for him. Hayden was really excited and wanted to meet him until he got up close and personal. No amount of candy one could offer would have convinced Hayden to sit on his lap. It kind of reminded me of "The Christmas Story" where all the kids who sat on Santa's lap screamed in horror (all it was missing was the huge slide with fake snow at the bottom. ;o)) Anyway, we tried to help Hayden understand the spiritual meaning of Christmas too. He like helping me set-up our Nativity set and talked about Jesus, so I think that's a good start.

We're still Alive... more updates to come...