All About Hayden

Hayden is now about 14 months old. He has really begun showing his own little personality since his first birthday. As a baby he seemed to us like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in recent months we have seen less Dr. Jekyll and more Mr. Hyde. Hayden has been reaching for Dan or I to pick him up and now likes to snuggle and hug and even gives kisses!

We were used to the crying, screaming and flailing of body parts before, but now he has been learning other ways to tell us what he wants. His vocabulary is really developing which makes it easier for us to know what he is saying. Here are the words he uses regularly: mama, dada, buh-buh (bubble, his first word besides mama/dada), nana (banana or food in general), ma (meow, when he sees our cat), ti-tu (thank you), no no, moe (more food/drink), nye-nye (good night), ba-ba (bye-bye).

Physically he still doesn't have much hair yet, but I have noticed that he has a bit more than he used to. He also has the cutest gap between his top front teeth. Hayden has been walking since just before his first birthday. Another milestone for Hayden is drinking from a cup. As long as we are right there, he can drink from a regular cup without help.

Hayden has a healthy appetite. You can always tell when he is eating because he is very vocal about his food. "Mmmmmm...Mmmmmm...Mmmmmm." Some of his favorite things to eat are: bananas, cold cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, waffles, pancakes (he can eat his own body weight in pancakes), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, homemade mac and cheese, applesauce, string cheese, dried fruit, banana cookies, cottage cheese, yogurt and he is known to carry an apple around and take bites as he goes about his day. His favorite thing to drink is the green juice you can find in the smoothie section of the produce isle.

Hayden has fun with his brother and sister and I know they will continue to play well together as they all get older. Until then, he does fine playing by himself most of the time. Hadyen likes to swing, play with the phone, push around toy cars and also enjoys passing time in the play kitchen. When he is not "playing" he enjoys getting into mommy's crafts, splashing his hands in the toilet (which makes Zander laugh hysterically), and eating the cat and fish food (which also make Zander laugh hysterically). He has the most fun when I am chasing him or when daddy is wrestling with him. He also likes to be bounced on my knee, and has fun with Peek-a-boo, Pat-a-cake, Row, row, row your boat, and This little piggy. Oh yea and he is really good at giving a high-5 and making funny sounds with his tongue.

As for his dislikes, he doesn't like to be in his carseat too long and he really doesn't like going to bed. He usually cries for 5-10 minutes and then settles right in. He has always prefered to sleep on his tummy, even when he was a tiny baby. Due to the SIDS risks I put him to bed on his back, but as soon as he learned to roll over, it was tummy time all the way.

I'm sure I could write a book, but this is my Hayden in a nutshell.