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)

 

 

 

 

Daddy's Day!

Hayden experienced his first Father's Day with daddy. It was filled with a long morning walk and a barbeque dinner at Nani and Nana's house. Funny that he said "Maamaa" all day -- it's probably payback for saying "Daaadaaa" on Mother's day.

Hayden is also a little over 8 months old now. He's been clapping his hands a lot; especially when the little ham knows that he's getting attention. He also LOVES balancing himself on the couch and walking around (with a little help from mom and dad).  

 

Laughing Out Loud!

Hayden's fun and innocent personality is developing so much these days! Below is a video of him laughing hysterically. I brought him home from school and started opening up his progress report to see how he did - as I shook the paper, the silly monkey started belly laughing so hard. It was too darn cute not to capture on video!

Lions, Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

Well....we didn't quite make it to see that many animals, but Hayden was able to see the Gorillas and Monkeys during his first zoo visit over the Memorial Day weekend. The most exciting thing to Hayden was Mommy's earrings! That's right, he wasn't interested at all in the animals:(

  

We plan on taking him a few more times, but visiting a different section of the zoo each time. Hopefully the giraffes and elephants catch his eye!

 

Entering the zoo....

 

Nani and Nana



Nana talking about the Flamingos

7 Months Old!

Well, it's official - the little man is really starting to transition out of being a little baby.

New things he's done over the past few weeks include:

• Eating his mum mum snacks - Hayden loves munching on his crispy wafer snacks
• Loving himself some papaya and mangos
• Babbling "Dada" all the time now
• Hand gestures - The kid is going to do the jazz hands some day. He's so fascinated with moving his hands around in slow motions:)
• Clapping
• Understanding bed time rituals - reading is book and brushing his teeth. Hayden gets so excited when the toothbrush and toothpaste come out. Hopefully this is a sign of good dental hygiene in the future!

Talking to my my Nana

Yummy Yummy Mum Mum!

Being Silly!



Post-Bath Time Fun!

After getting a nice lotion massage, and putting on jammies, Hayden gets some fun playtime in his room while mommy and daddy clean up the bathroom after his bath.

Today, Hayden was introduced to some new blocks that we bought. Just like a true boy, he enjoyed banging them against each other instead of stacking them. Hmmmm...wonder who he gets that from! After a few minutes of banging, he made a decision to insert his plushy block into his mouth. Must have been yummy!

  Today is also daddy's 40th birthday!

Daddy, I love you

For all that you do.
I'll kiss you and hug you.
Because you love me, too.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy birthday to the my husband - Happiness is being married to my best friend!