9 Months Old!

Hayden recently hit the 9 month milestone (July 16, 2011). His ornery personality is starting to come through.....he gets it from his daddy! During his 9 month check-up, he weighed 18 pounds 11 ounces. He may be a little on the small side, but he makes up for that with his giant personality. Hayden has learned that by screaming really loud, he can get everyone's attention. Not to worry, the doc says this is normal at this age, so break out the ear plugs for a little while.

Hayden's also starting to have really bad separation anxiety from mom and dad. When we leave the room, he begins crying and typically doesn't stop until we come back. We've started the Ferber method by letting him get through it for 10 minutes.....and mommy usually gives in a little earlier. We're hoping that this phase doesn't last long.

Some new things that Hayden has learned include: 

• Pulling himself up using mommy and daddy's fingers
• Cruising around in circles (the kid STILL has no desire to crawl)
• Copying others - waving, clearing his throat, grunting, etc.
• Maneuvering around the couch while holding onto the cushions
• Eating small pieces of banana, plums, green beans, and other soft foods

Only 3 more months until this little monster is 1 year old!

Vacation 2011 - Myrtle Beach, SC

It's official.....Hayden went on his first family vacation in July! The ten hour road trip down to Myrtle Beach, SC was pretty easy. The little man slept the whole way through, and only woke up once around 5 am to nurse. While in Myrtle Beach, he experienced his first steps on the beach. He wasn't a huge fan of the sand between his feet or hands, but he handled it as long as daddy was by his side. He also got a taste of the salt water in the ocean...again, not a big fan. After his first few hours on the beach, Hayden experienced the water at the hotel pool. This prompted a different reaction -- he LOVED it! Daddy dunked him under the water a few times and Hayden appeared to be completely fine with it. Additionally, he loved splashing the water with his hands.

In addition to some water activities, Hayden got a taste of being lathered up in sunscreen every morning by mommy. After a few minutes of kicking and screaming, he realized that the sunscreen wasn't going to make him melt - although, he seemed to forget that everytime! Some other new activities that Hayden experienced on vacation included: 

• Swimmer diapers
• Sand in his pants
• Staying up WAY past his bedtime
• Sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed every night - PARTY!
• Passing out on the beach
• Watching his sister and her friend dance like fools to keep him from crying
• Sleeping through one of the loudest dinner theater shows ever (Pirates Voyage) - we still don't understand how this kid can sleep through cannons, but wakes up at home as soon as someone turns on the shower!
• Walking on the beach
• Getting a lizard tattoo - it rubbed off the next day, but while it was still there, he looked like a tough guy not to be messed with!
• Tasting grits - daddy gave him a tiny spoonful during breakfast one day!
• Getting his TAN on! The kid looks so handsome -- even more Indian than he did before:)

Hayden has a pretty jam packed summer. Off to Indianapolis next weekend to meet his little cousins, and then to Rochester to see his Mama/Mami ji's in August - maybe we'll sneak in a trip to Niagara Falls as well.  (Click the pictures to open in a new window)