Christmas 2009

We traveled to visit my family this year in MD and VA. We decided to make the drive to save money.....and bring gifts back....and overall the drive went pretty well. We left Montgomery on Wednesday, December 16th in the evening hoping Hayden would sleep in the car for the first leg of the trip which didn't go so well. He was not a fan of sleeping at the hotel so on the way home we just decided to do it all in one day which actually went much better. We got a car DVD player for the trip and that seemed to really help. He loves to watch Baby Einstein DVD's....they are the only thing that will hold his attention.

We arrived at my sister's house in Fredericksburg, VA on Thursday afternoon. We stayed one night there and then headed to my parents house in Southern, MD on Friday just before the big snowstorm hit. From Friday to Sunday we got about a foot of snow. We missed out on our big family get together that Sunday afternoon but it was fun to be snowed in together. Luckily we brought a hand me down snow suit for Hayden just in case. We took him out for about 5 minutes just to get some photos.

Most of the trip was spent just hanging out with my family. Hayden had lots of time to play with his cousins Ryan and Sarah. We also took Georgia with us which made my 5 year old nephew very happy. He really wore her out chasing her around the house and hugging on her. My parents also kept Hayden for a couple hours so Eric and I could have a nice dinner out together.

We traveled back to Fredericksburg for Christmas Eve and Day. The kids were so cute together opening their gifts. We then drove back to MD so we could visit some friends and then back to VA the night before we left to cut some time off our trip home. It was a great Christmas and Hayden was totally spoiled by everyone. Here are some photos from our big trip......and a video of Hayden in the car on our way home playing a game with Daddy.

My first Christmas present!

We went to Eric's sister and brother in law's house for an early Christmas get together with the family. We will all be going different ways this year so we wanted to get together for dinner and to exchange gifts for the kids. We had a great time! Thanks Tammy and Wayne for hosting! We were also able to talk to Nana and Papu on the webcam from Germany. Here is a video of Hayden opening his first gift and some other pics from the day.



















Hayden & Aaden hanging out
















Emma & Alyse opening gifts




















Hayden and daddy playing

My first trip to the Gym!

We recently took Hayden to the local Gymboree for a class. I've been wanting to get him in some sort of play group for a while so we thought we would give it a try. Eric had off work so he was able to come along and take pictures. Hayden had lots of fun and was definitely tired out after 45 minutes of play. His favorite things were the slide, bubbles, and the parachute. We signed up for weekly classes starting in January so I am looking forward to having a new activity to do with Hayden. Here are some photos....

8 months

Hayden recently turned 8 months old and he's quite a big man (we think he is close to 25lbs now). He definitely gives me a workout! He pretty much will eat anything but green beans now and has started eating baby cookies and rice rusks. He now has two little teeth that he loves to show off. In the last two months he has mastered sitting for long periods and is very close to crawling. He is content rolling around to get to things and loves to just stand. He would stand all day if he could. Hayden loves to watch and play with Georgia. He has made it into the big tub and loves to play in the water. Hayden's hair continues to get thicker, longer, and curlier and I'm never sure exactly what hairdo he will wake up with. He just started saying DaDa and Mama and every now and then we hear a baba or gaga. He loves to jump in his exersaucer and his favorite thing to play with are books. So that is the update on Hayden! Here are some new photos....

Goodbye Nana and Papu

Eric's parents are leaving for Germany this Sunday and we had our last dinner before they leave Monday night at our apartment. It was a tough goodbye but we are very excited for them and know we will still get to see them a couple times a year. They left us with quite a nice goodbye gift as well.....they gave us their Toyota 4Runner which is a huge blessing and we are so grateful. We really needed a new larger car with Hayden and knew it would be a while before we would be able to get one so we are very thankful. I know Hayden will also miss his Nana and Papu but we hope to take a family trip to Germany soon.
Goodbye Nana


















Goodbye Papu

Virginia Weekend

Eric, Hayden and I traveled to Virginia this past weekend. We flew out of Atlanta on Thursday morning and flew into Richmond where my sister picked us up. Eric and I drove to Charlottesville on Friday for my friend Micah's wedding and Hayden stayed with my mom and sister for the weekend. This was our first weekend where we were both away from Hayden. Even though it was hard to leave we really enjoyed the time together. We did some wine tastings on Friday before the rehearsal dinner and relaxed on Saturday before the wedding. The wedding was held at a winery and everything was so beautiful. We had lots of fun catching up with friends. Congrats Micah and Anna! On Sunday morning we drove back to Fredericksburg to spend the day with the family before we left on Monday. We went to a local pumpkin farm with the kids for a beautiful fall day. Here are photos from the weekend.....

Pumpkin Patch

Eric's entire family came to visit us in Montgomery this past Saturday. Eric and the guys went golfing in the morning and we all met for lunch afterwards. Eric's parents announced that they will be moving to Germany for a great job opportunity for his dad. They are leaving sometime in mid November so it was great to get to spend time with them. We are excited for them and can't wait to plan a trip to Europe to visit. We are sad we won't get to see them as much but very happy for them at the same time. After lunch we headed to a pumpkin patch about 30 minutes from us. It was the first cool day in Montgomery which was a nice change....although it started to rain while we were on the hayride. We still had a great time despite the weather. Here are a some photos....

On the Move

Hayden is really getting around these days. Here is a video of him rolling around the apartment....he started on the blanket before I got the video camera. Watch out for the surprise ending. :)

Hayden's Trip to Raleigh

Hayden and I traveled to Raleigh last weekend for a visit with the girls. My best friends Meredith and Jessi both live there and decided to fly us out so they could spend some time with Hayden....and me too. My mom decided to drive down to help with Hayden so he was surrounded by women. She was happy to spend some time with him as it had been 4 months since she had last seen him. To make travel easier Jessi asked some of her mom friends for some baby gear. All I had to bring were the basics for Hayden and they had taken care of the rest. The only problem was everything turned out to be pink so Hayden was surrounded by girls and pink all weekend. We hope he can recover. :) Here are a couple photos.....

6 months!

Hayden is 6 months old today and had his well baby visit this morning. He weighed 19lbs 3oz (77%) and was 27 inches (69%). His head continues to expand and has reached the 92nd percentile. He has pretty much grown out of all his 6 month clothing already. We are still trying new foods.....as of right now carrots and bananas are the most popular with green beans and pears causing a major gag reflex. He continues to make us laugh daily and we are enjoying seeing him grow and learn new things. Here are a couple new recent pics.....

Hayden's Ready for Some Football!

My first cereal!

We tried feeding Hayden rice cereal for the first time a couple weeks ago.....he had just turned 5 months and we thought he was ready. Since we don't have the high chair put together yet I used the bumbo to sit him in. Now every time I put him in it he opens his mouth wide even if we are not eating. Here are a couple pics from his first two eating experiences. He did pretty well.....probably got about half of it down and the other half on his mouth and bib.

I'm ready mommy!

Another great wedding!!!

Eric's little brother Sean got married over the weekend in Columbus, GA. Andrea was a beautiful bride and the ceremony was a tear jerker. Eric and I were both in the wedding so we had family helping out with Hayden. He was a popular little guy and was well loved all weekend. The reception was lots of fun and we continued the party at his parents cigar bar afterwards. Here are some pics from the weekend......