Hayden is Loving... (Part 2)

At the 6 month mark...here is what Hayden is Loving:

As evidenced by videos in previous posts, he loves to bounce in his activity jumper. Now that his feet actually touch the floor on the lowest setting...he is a bouncing fool! He is happy and content to stay in there all the time. He finds new things to play with every day and his favorite direction to play is constantly changing. So far it is the best Mom Helper we have had. As long as Tess is in his sights, I can put him in there and get so much done around the house while he plays. Combine this great gadget with the sleep that I'm starting to get and I have become a whole new woman!!

He is loving his pacifier ribbon. There are specific clips with ribbons that connect to our MAM pacifiers. We started with just one, but he was constantly chewing on it so I picked up another one so I could keep them clean. He is generally perfectly content to have the ribbon in his mouth with the clip hanging on one side and the paci on the other. Other times he chews on the clip and almost always he ends up with the paci in his mouth by the end. It has actually become a toy that can keep him happily satisfied on it's own.

Continuing from the first 3 months, Hayden is STILL loving Sophie the Giraffe and his favorite blanket. Sophie is his go to toy, without a doubt. She always gets thrown in the bag when we are going out and he has yet to grow tired of chewing on her legs. And in the past few months our favorite blanket collection has grown to 4...plus one that stays at GiGi and Pop's house. When he goes down for a nap or to sleep, his little face still lights up as you lay his blanket over him. He pulls it right up, rolls over, and goes to bed. If we are out and about, he is perfectly happy to take a nap in his stroller in a restaurant...IF he has his favorite blanket. At first I thought having 4 was a bit over the top, but I LOVE that we never have to search for it. One stays downstairs, two upstairs, and one can be grabbed on the go.

He is loving Tess. Maybe not her kisses so much...but he could watch her all day. And when we all go to visit Sophie, he is in heaven! He tracks Tess as she moves through the room and gets giddy and giggly whenever she comes over to him. He is constantly reaching for her and when he gets a hold of an ear or that furry skin, he just can't get enough. While Tess is definitely missing some of her attention, she is very protective over Hayden and always wonders where he is when we walk through the door. She also comes upstairs every day when he wakes up in the morning and when we tuck him in at night. I think he's growing on her. :)

As we are introducing solid foods, it seems the little guy already has a favorite. He is loving Tyler Florence's Apple Mango Carrot recipe. I had no intentions of making my own baby food, but the Williams Sonoma Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker makes it SO easy. All I have to do is chop the fruits and veggies and this thing steams them and purees them. I downloaded a baby and child cookbook by Tyler Florence and have been using all of his recipes. H is doing pretty well with everything we have tried, but he definitely has a very clear favorite.

He is absolutely in love with Angel Dear animals...in all shapes and sizes! His personalized elephant pillow has been great. Before he was sitting up, he spent so much time laying on it.

And then there is his partner in crime...Moo. Moo goes on all of our adventures with us and has made it into close to 50% of any picture I grab on my phone while we are out and about. Hayden and Moo like to chat, snuggle and nap together. I can PROMISE you this, Hayden will be getting some back up Moos for the holidays this year. :)

Twenty Seven Weeks Old

We spent the week at home before heading to Florida for the weekend. H is getting so big and is really close to sitting up but not quite there yet.

I did put him in the front of the cart for the first time just to see if he was big enough. I was probably 1 week too early...he was very wobbly, but we made it!

Through my entire pregnancy all I watched were cooking shows. For those 10 months it never really made me want to get up and cook :), but all of a sudden this week I want to try a million new recipes...and we're even getting a little fancy! Nothing like a little Pinterest inspiration to spice up a Thursday.

And the day before we left for Florida...THIS happened! One minute I'm looking down and snapping pictures of Hayden and Tess chewing on their respective toys. Then I take my eyes away for 2 minutes to watch how they are making tomato soup on the television...

...and suddenly THIS is what I look down at! Tess is long gone and not only has Hayden left his boppy behind, but he is giving Tess' bone a taste test....perfect. My first reaction was EWWWWW...which I'm embarrassed to say was immediately replaced by I HAVE TO GET MY CAMERA!

We woke up early Friday morning and headed to the doctor for little guy's 6 month appointment. He was  a champ again for this visit. He is following along the 50th percentile curve for weight almost exactly coming in at just over 17 pounds this visit. And he has jumped to the 75th percentile for length which excites me! Maybe he will have a little height to him. :) Everything checked out perfectly and then we were all set to go on our road trip.

We had dinner in when we got to Florida on Friday night after only two stops during our trip. Considering we had Hayden, Tess and all of Hayden's things smushed into our car...I was very thrilled with our easy trip. On Saturday we enjoyed watching the Noles with Drew and Lindsey and looked forward to finding out on Sunday morning that they would be having a little GIRL! We can't wait to meet her in January. :)

We drove home on Sunday afternoon and got back to the grind the next day. Early the next week I grabbed a few pictures of Hayden to celebrate his 6 month birthday.

These days he can ALWAYS be found with his bottom lip tucked in like this.

I absolutely LOVE this because it is so true to his personality right now. Literally everything goes STRAIGHT INTO HIS MOUTH!

This is what happened when Tess came and laid herself down where we were playing. I tried to get some sweet shots of my girl, but H was determined to get in there himself so he could check out what she keeps in those ears.

Luckily our very tolerant girl didn't seem to mind...kisses warm my heart!!

Twenty Six Weeks Old

Hayden and I spent a few days back home with Tyler before we were all out the door again for a long weekend away. Tyler was heading to Chicago for work and then to Tallahassee for the FSU v. Oklahoma game. Hayden and I were on our way to Philadelphia to see his Great Great Grandma!

We left for the airport on Thursday around lunchtime. We checked our bags and happily went through the security line designated for families. 

With two adults, it wasn't too tough to fold and unfold the stroller and get all of our things, mostly Hayden's things, onto the belt. The little guy was happy to be along for the ride...he was taking it all in. We boarded early and the little guy slept through all of boarding and taxiing, but was wide awake for the entire flight.

We had fun on the plane ride! H loved looking out the window, bouncing on our legs and making friends with anyone around us who would look at him. :)

By the time we got our luggage and got picked up, Hayden was very ready for a nap. He was sitting in a big kid car seat for the first time, so it was hard to find a spot for his head while he slept.

Sweetest sleepy eyes. :)

And he finally gave in with a little help from Mom to hold that head.

We spent a wonderful weekend catching up with family, but the trip was made so Hayden could meet his Great Great Grandma. That's 5 generations....it was VERY cool and VERY special! There was a little challenge getting a 99 year old woman and a 6 month old baby to look at the camera...at the same time...but I'm so in love with the pictures that we got because they show the moments perfectly.

GiGi and Aunt Tracy were there too...

...AND we got to meet Stacy for dinner!!

It was a wonderful weekend overall. Hayden and I loved spending time with our favorite ladies and catching up with family and friends. The little guy rocked his first plane rides and was a gem all weekend. Tyler and I are loving every minute of this adventure!!

Twenty Five Weeks Old

Tyler was working in Richmond over the weekend, so we headed to Greensboro for a few days. The little guy had lots of people to visit with but overall it was a really nice relaxing weekend. 

There was some shopping on Friday for 6 month pictures. And of course we couldn't resist seeing his sweet cheeks in this winter hat. :)

Hayden rocked his Noles gear on gameday...

...and watched football with his Pop. :)

All in all, it was an incredible week for us! H is rolling over like a big guy and absolutely loving his activity center. He bounces away ALL DAY LONG!

He has also started to be interested in FOOD! Do you see that spoon reach....it makes this momma so happy. :)

And as if that wasn't enough, this week everything started clicking with going down for naps and sleeping through the night. (Talk about a happy momma!) Little man is taking 3 solid naps a day. I usually get AT LEAST one that is 2 hours or longer. He is going down for them like a champ...falls asleep all on his own! And with these naps has finally come some long stretches of sleep at night. WHAT A BLESSING! I feel like a whole new person already. :) Thank you sweet boy...I'm so proud of you for figuring it out!

Twenty Four Weeks Old

We started this week with a playdate! I'm not sure who is enjoying these more. :) We found two great moms with sweet little girls and it has been a great fit for both of us.

Aunt Tracy watched Hayden one night so Tyler and I could go out to dinner...what a treat! Then on Friday night we put him to bed in his Seminole pajamas to celebrate the night before the first game of the season. A true fan from the very beginning! :)

Tyler left for Atlanta on Saturday...and I worked on finishing the project in our foyer that I started 2 weeks ago. My goal was to have it finished by the end of Labor Day weekend. But mostly I had to at least cover the black wall! It took me a couple of days into the week, but finally it was back to being presentable!

It is a magnetic chalkboard wall. :) The magnetic paint is underneath chalkboard paint that is the color of all of our other walls. (Thank you Martha!) I am BEYOND pleased with how it turned out!! Now we can change out pictures as the little guy grows. The frames are nailed to the walls...but the pictures are just being held on by magnets. It's great for notes and quotes and I'm excited to keep adding to it!!

Aunt Sandra and cousin Haley came to visit over the weekend...it was a bonus getting to see Hayden AND Tracy! Then Tracy left and Tyler came home to spend Monday with us.

I snapped a couple shots of Hayden with the mirror from his nursery...that still needs to be hung!

Twenty Three Weeks Old

Tyler drove back and forth to Bristol for an event on Friday...then on Saturday morning we started our first weekend in 12 WEEKS that we were spending with just our sweet family of 4. It was WONDERFUL!

Hayden took a little cat nap while he was playing....

...and then we went to pick up lunch and spend the afternoon outside at the park. Little guy is really reaching for his bottle these days. And after he drinks some of the formula, he can just now hold it up by himself.

Gazing at his Daddy...this melts my heart. :)

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend together...I loved every bit of it!

On Monday morning my sister came into town. She got lots of good loving from Hayden while she worked from our house for the week. She was there for Hayden's first roll from his back to his tummy! She couldn't believe it when she looked down at him and there he was....rolled over. :) She LOVES to make him laugh, and these days he is a very willing participant. I finally snagged a video of the thing that cracks him up most right now...being startled. I love how he jumps and then cracks up!!

We finished the week with a trip down into the city for the Charlotte Seminole Club's Season Kickoff Party. There was a great showing of Noles and Hayden proudly rocked his garnet polo onesie to show his spirt. :)