What?!

These are my famous last words;
"I walked out of the room for 2 minutes and....."

Hayden poured himself a tall glass of apple juice
without spilling a single drop!!

Hayden was changing the music selection
in the CD player..... one more rendition
of itsy-bitsy spider please?!

Hayden was washing his toys in
Mommy's bathtub.

Hayden was reading Green Eggs & Ham
aloud to himself.
(Dr. Seuss himself would be proud!)


Saying that I need to have eyes in the back
of my head is an understatement!!

Don't let him fool you....

May 17, 2008

He may look like an angel, but I
can tell you that this stereotypical
2 year old is alive and well
and running through my house!

A few things I have learned recently:

"thanks mommy" makes me tear up everytime it
comes out of his mouth, and it's not prompted.
He actually uses his manners.
And plays me like a fiddle.

Walk-thru pantry's are a blessing and a curse.
It's an awfully fun place to hide.
And get into trouble.
(Up to your elbows in peanut butter kind of trouble.)

Hayden is an angel for Oma and Opa.
He's on his best behavior.
Are everyone's kids like this?
Why can't he be the best for his mommy??

Please be patient with me!

Okay, I know it has been forever since I have posted
but I have good reasons.....

We have finally moved into our beautiful new house,
and we are still getting settled in.
I have been working 20 hours a week (I'm actually
adapting to the midnight shifts!)
We had 4 friends visiting from Holland from Saturday to Tuesday.
(They'll be back for a few more days in June as they
finish up their Canadian/US camping trip.)

We did manage a night out, just the 6 of us,
and we were out until 2 in the AM.
Lots of fun....lots of drinks!!

Hayden had a sleepover at Oma and Opa's house.
He loved running around the yard.....
especially since we are missing ours!
He even "helped" Oma plant her flowers.

I will start rapidly firing out posts again.

Soon.
I promise.

Look who came to visit!!

May 12, 2008

We are still unpacking,
and things are a bit messy,
but we love to have visitors!!

The Blakeneys came over with dinner
'cause our fridge is not working.
(yes, I know that it is brand new but, they obviously
don't make things like they used to.....)
We had a nice little visit.

Hayden is totally thrilled with this
little cutie-pie!
Who wouldn't be?! He's adorable!

Hayden asked Jakzen for "knuckles,"
and they shared a macho little boy moment
and knocked their fists together.
Gently.

Brothers (from other mothers)
for life little buddy.

Safety first!

May 7, 2008

Mere days before our move, (you may have noticed the
million boxes in the background)
I took Hayden out to get a little prezzie.

We came home with a few cars, some books
and an adorable hard hat with a light on it.

At least he was safe in our somewhat

'hazardous' house!

P.S. The move went smoothly.....stay tuned for photos
once all of our belongings find a place!!

Happy Hour!

April 28, 2oo8

What's happening? Spring?! Sunshine?!
FINALLY!!
Hayden and I enjoyed "cocktails"
and a snack on the deck this afternoon
and it was awesome!

Hayden is loving his new picnic table
from Grandma & Grandpa!

This is Hayden's new expression
for "cold....."
I'm so grateful he was able to refer to
his juice and NOT the weather!

We spent the day in shorts, t-shirts and
"cool flip-flops."

We played in the dirt and enjoyed the sun.
We had lawn-mower races.
This is my life with an active little boy.
I love it.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!

April 20, 2008

Hayden ran around all morning talking
about his "1-2-3-4 balloons" and
his "birthday cake!"

I can't believe my little boy is TWO!!

I love that Hayden stopped to enjoy
his new book in the middle of his
gift opening frenzy!

How many men does it take
to assemble a
Kawasaki Ninja toddler bike??

So far, so good....it's staying
in one piece!!

Look at the concentration!

Mommy's attempt at a tractor cake......
a side note: red icing and black icing are NOT FUN
to make from scratch.
In future, I will totally be buying the tubes
of pre-made/mixed icing!

Yummy!!

It must have tasted pretty good,
'cause I got a little
kiss from my birthday boy.

Red icing always looks a wee bit carnivorous,
don't you think?!

Who needs a fork?
Just shovel it in with your hands!!

Mommy & Daddy got Hayden his first
Radio-Flyer tricycle!

Vvrrooooommmm!!

Whew!

April 8, 2008

Brody joined in our play-date today,
so we had lots of fun.....
but Mommy was VERY busy!
It's fun making sure that none of the 3
are getting into trouble at any given time!!

The Cheerio Trio!

How could these sweet faces
possibly get into trouble?!

Brody (Uncle Scott & Auntie Tessa too!)
stayed for dinner so that
the boys could play a while longer.

"Goggle Boy" and "Bucket Head" were
having such fun being silly.

What "super hero" wants to stop to have a bath??
Nuh-uh. Not me.
I don't think Batman ever
had to bath, did he?

Yip-pee!

Tonight was night number four.

Hayden has gone pee on the potty,
each of the last four nights,
right before his bath!!
We celebrate like crazy together in the bathroom.
"Yay Hayden! What a big boy!!"

He claps for himself, and then gets in the tub
like it's really not that big of a deal.
It TOTALLY is!!
This is progress.
And the best part is, we just asked him
if he wanted to go.
What a concept.
I can only HOPE the rest of potty training
goes this smoothly?!

Cross your fingers.....

Cup o' Joe

Doesn't every urban toddler start their
day with a cup of coffee??

.....don't worry, it's just

hot chocolate!
(In mommy's childhood Humpty Dumpty mug!)

Just another morning

Mommy made pancakes for breakfast today.
They had chocolate chips in them.
They were a BIG hit!

How can you help but smile when you
have been pumped full of
chocolate chips and syrup
first thing in the morning?!

To be a kid again....

March 24, 2008

Hayden and I had the GREATEST day today!
We had no where to be so we had
a fabulous play day that
was totally "melt down" free!

It made me think that we should be a bit

more like kids some days.
Go with the flow.
Take things as they come.
Stay in our PJ's all day.
Giggle.
Laugh.
Snuggle.

Our first order of business was to
"grow" the capsule animals
that the Easter Bunny brought Hayden.

The anticipation was almost
too much....

He gave each little animal a
hug and a kiss as they
were born.

What is this one?!

Our next order of business was to
sort the laundry.
So much for a day void of ALL chores!
Folding laundry (boo!) turned
into Mommy building a cool fort (yay!)

A hilarious game of peek-a-boo
was next on the list.
We both laughed 'til our sides were sore.

Next, another snuggle.

Happy Easter!

March 21, 2008
Happy Easter!
Oma and Opa spent the day
at our house and we had lots of fun!

"Okay little bunny, this is only
going to hurt for a moment......
I'll start with your ears!"

This is the result of our son diving
into his candy, not realizing
that chocolatey treats are often disguised
in pretty, but yucky, foil!

Mmmmmm....chocolate!

Now, because Mommy posted this
"bass-ackwards,"
here is the footage of the big hunt!



Mommy had to hide the Easter basket so that
she can control the daily sugar rush!
But when that sweet little face asks me for
a daily treat from his basket,
my response is always the same;
"okay, just one, as long as you share
with Mommy!"

I'm 23 months old!!

March 20, 2008

What a little man Mr. Hayden is turning out to be.
(Please excuse the bed-head.)
We have our challenges some days,
but most days are pretty amazing
with this little guy.

I'm amazed that I can now have a
conversation with my son.
I can ask him a question and he'll either
respond with "sounds good" or "no."

He listens.....sometimes.
We say one book or one Dora episode,
and he always negotiates for two.

He likes to "pick."
Juice or milk, Goldfish or raisins,
brown shoes or black.....
....doesn't much matter as long as he
calls the shots.
At least he says "peas" and "sank-you!"

He can tell us what he wants....sometimes.
With all of the words he is learning,
sometimes we just don't know
what he is asking for!

He is going to be tri-lingual.
He was counting in Spanish the other day.
Uno, dos, quatro, cinco, ses....ocho, nueve....
No big deal.
Just counting my cheerios.
And the Dutch words keep coming too.
It's crazy!!

He is stubborn as an ox....ALL THE TIME!
His way, or no way.
I hope it won't always be as hard
to get him to do what we want or need him to.

Who am I kidding?
What about when he's a teenager?
Good grief.
Thank goodness he's small
for a few more years!

Hayden recycles!

To the naked eye, this may look like some
kind of abstract art.
Not quite.

After finishing his "zinzins" (raisins,)

Hayden walked over and placed the empty
box on the kitchen stool.
I just watched in amazement.
This is where Mommy and Daddy put
all of the recyclables that
are on their way to the garage bins.

This is a true testament to the fact that
kids watch everything we do.
I guess it's a good thing he caught us
doing something good!