Temple play time May 2014

The other day Hayes and I were out and about running errands. We had a pretty good day, nothing too special or unique. It was obviously a good day because I was off and playing with Hayes, but nothing really stands out at fantastic. We went to the park and it was SO busy, so we decided to go to the temple. I realized I don't really take Hayes there to just be there. We either go there for a wedding of for a family something, but we don't really just go there to go there, you know what I mean? 

So, we got there and it was a seriously beautiful day. There were a few tourists there, but not too many. I set Hayes down and he LOVED it there. The grass was cool and the temple brought us a good amount of shade. We stayed and just crawled around for probably an hour. It was fun. I was glad to take him there and to just spend time. I am sure he didn't have any clue that this lawn was different from any other lawn, but I knew it was different and I felt like I was doing something good for him by having him there. It was a good day. 

His face is pure happiness by the way, it looks like he may be screaming, but I promise you those are screams of joy. 

          

Stroller climbing {May 2014}

We have been extra lucky to have such beautiful weather for so late in the season. I swear, it seems like most years the second school is getting out we are well over a hundred degrees. This year has seemed to stay a little cooler a little longer and we are LOVING IT! We have been taking full advantage of it and going on walks and to the park any chance we get. The other morning I told Hayes it was time to go for a walk- he crawled straight over to the stroller and climbed in! As you can see from picture number 4, he was pretty proud of himself! 

Swimming {May 26, 2014}

I have only taken Hayes swimming at a pool a handful of times. I think I feel a little nervous about him drowning, and I always think he won't have that much fun. Although I am still scared of him drowning, I was really wrong about him not having fun. Like most things, it took him a minute to decide how he felt about the situation, but all in all he had a great time. I need to get him some better swimming toys and floating things, but I think we are going to have a lot of fun swimming this year!

Crazy Hair Don't Care {May 25, 2014}

Sometimes after a nap or when he first wakes up in the morning, Hayes has the  best bed hair. It's amazing really for how little of hair he has had!

Face Timing

Sometimes, especially on Saturday I try to go do my errands and leave Hayes at home with Sam. It makes my errands so much faster, and I figure it is great bonding time for those two. Sometimes, if I take too long, Sam has to have Hayes FaceTime me and tell me to come home. His little face is the sweetest thing in the whole world!

What on earth did we do before Facetime? :)

Playing in Dad's truck {May 24, 2014}

Hayes loves to be outside. The only problem is that most times when he is outside he gets himself into trouble. He likes to eat rocks, bugs, grass, dirt, and pretty much anything gross he can get his hands on. It really doesn't matter how closely I watch him, he manages to get something awful in his mouth. So, needless to say, we have to be careful about how we play outside. When he just won't stay away from all the things we don't want him in, we let him play in the back of the truck (even in there that little crazy finds a way to eat something he's not suppose to) He LOVES to play in the back of the truck, almost as much as Gator does.

Sam was cleaning out his truck and of course Hayes was having a fit because he wanted to be out there too. Hahaha I had to get some pics of him back there. The only thing I didn't capture was Gator freaking out because he wanted to be back there and because Hayes was "in his spot"! hahahaha

Benjas {May 23, 2014}

While Kati and Justin were here over the weekend, we took Justin out to finally celebrate his birthday at Benja's. We LOVE to go to Benja's! It was really good food and the area around it is seriously the cutest atmosphere. After dinner, Hayes feeling a little crazy and was dying laughing at everything! Sam was really trying hard too! We all sat around and watch them play back and forth. It was really so fun. Hayes's little laugh is so contagious, everyone was loving it!

Blackberries {May 22, 2014}

It's been funny to see how Hayes's eating habits have evolved. I have to constantly remind myself not to worry so much. I have to tell myself that just like me and everyone else, Hayes will eat more some days, and less others. Today for instance, he ate a TON! For breakfast he ate a whole bowl of oatmeal (1/4 cup dry), A bean burrito, 10 blackberries, and part of my breakfast sandwich, plus we shared a naked juice. He must have done some good growing in the night. 

Lately he has been LOVING blackberries. I gave him a raspberry and he spit it out, but the blackberries he gobbles down by the dozen. What a funny boy! 

Park days {May 20, 2014}

Days at the park with these two combined with the most beautiful weather are just the best things in the whole world. We have decided to venture outstide of our little circle and find some new parks, today we went to Tonaquint Park and it was lovely. It was a little windy, but it mostly just kept things cool. We explored and played on the grass. Hayes LOVES to spend a lot of his time digging in the dirt and barking at Gator and anyone who walks by. 

I'm not really sure who loved the park the most out of us three.

13 Months {May 13, 2014}

Thirteen months already! Hayes is growing so much and learning new things everyday it seems like. He says a lot more words and is getting really good at walking along furniture. He lets go and stands for a minute, but has yet to take a step on his own. He just doesn't really seem interested in it. He is so dang fast a crawling, I don't think he sees a need for walking. I am torn on the subject. Part of me really wants him to start walking. We went to the splash pad and he would have way more fun if he could stand and walk around. I also worry that developmentally he needs to walk. On the other hand, I know that when he starts walking he will get into much more trouble and I am not looking forward to that. I guess this is one of those things I have to step back and realize that it's not up to me, and I need to let him do things his own way.

Hayes is pretty good eater. Some of his favorite foods are:

Hot dogs

Black berries

Avocados

Kix cereal

Nilla wafers

Chocolate (he LOVES chocolate!) 

Strawberries

Beans

Meatballs

Spaghetti

Macaroni and cheese

Bread sticks 

Olives

Those Gerber stick cookies

Some of the words her says are:

Don't 

No, No, No

Hello

Mama

Dada

Grandpa

Dog

Ya

Yes

Avacado (Cado)

Yum

Bath

Hi

Ash

Ball

Car

Story Bots (Bots) 

He can tell you what a dog says, what a cow says, and what a sheep says. He also makes car sounds. 

He stands up and walks along anything and everything.

He pinches and bites when he is tired or hungry or bored.

He is getting to be REALLY blonde.

 He still barks at pretty much everyone. 

When ever we go outside he can find the rocks and dirt. We were at a soccer field, with no dirt in sight and he crawled all around until he found the one spot that there was some dirt and started throwing it. 

He loves to throw the ball and to take his blocks in and out of the buckets. 

He loves to watch Letter Factory, but his most favorite thing is Story Bots. He could watch it for hours. He also still loves to watch X Factor auditions on Youtube. He is really drawn to music, and knows the difference between good and bad singers. 

He loves Gator

When he's in the mood, he gives some pretty dang good kisses. 

He sleeps pretty good but has recently started waking up one time in the night again. He comes and lays in our bed for about 10 minutes and by then is back to sleep enough and goes back into his crib. He wakes up between 7:30 and 8 every morning. 

He is still a terrible a napper for me, except in the car. My mom and Sydney say that he sleeps good for the, but I am convinced they still rock him :) 

He is quite the daddy's boy. Once Sam gets home he doesn't really want anything to do with me, except if I offer to give him a bath. 

He LOVES bath time. 

13 Months - May 13, 2014

Dear Hayes:

You are such a silly boy, my goodness. Sometimes you give me a run for my money. I wouldn't say that we have bad days, every day with you is a good day, but sometimes you like me more than others. You are so curious and adventurous. You love to explore and have a knack for finding all the things I don't want you to have. It's amazing really. You are so smart. You catch on to things more and more everyday. It's amazing to me all the things that you know and can respond to. I feel like you are the smartest boy. You have a fun personality and people are drawn to you. Some of my favorite times with you are when we are out walking, you sit right up, hang onto the tray and watch everything. You love to see all the places we go, and I love taking you to new places to explore. You make me see more around me, and I am thankful for that. Everything is exciting for you. 

I love to take you and Gator to the park and just let you both explore. I call you my little golden babies. You both literally have the same color of hair. Those times are fun and make me feel like my life is so full. Everything seems right in the world during that time, and for us, it is. I love you for bringing so much meaning into my life and for making me see things I missed before. You are teaching me all kinds of patients and I need it.

Some of my other favorite times with you are when you wake up in the night. It's one of the only times you will cuddle with me and let me hold you. You snuggle right in and it's like that's what you wanted all along. I love that.  I hold onto those moments with you. One day you will be too big for me to do that, and I am glad you let me now. It means the world to me and I won't ever forget how much I love to hold and rock you.

You have the sweetest eyes. I can't decide if they are gray or blue, either way that are so sweet and you look like an angel to me. Sometimes when you are sleepy and I am rocking you, you turn your head and look up at me with those big eyes and I swear my heart just melts on the spot. You are so innocent. Sometimes when I watch you play I feel like I could just cry. You are the epitome of everything good in the world. Thank you for being my baby and for making my world so bright. 

I love you forever!

Love, Mom 

Lunching {May 12, 2014}

Since I cut back to part time work I have enjoyed a few different things with my days off, the first and probably best thing I ever do is take Hayes and Gator walking. I feel like we have the best time and it just puts us all in a good mood. Today on our walk we saw: four dogs, girls playing soft ball, ducks, turtles, horses, humming birds, an eagle, a hawk, and lizards. It is SO nice to get out. We played a new park and Hayes found a drain pipe and sprinklers that he thought were the most fascinating things he had ever seen, and he slide down the slide about 20 times. We also passed a milestone, he played in the wood chips without eating any! It was a good day.

My second favorite thing is taking Hayes to lunch. Sometimes we go with Ash or Mom or DeAnn or Dad, but a lot of the time its just us two. I love taking him. I feel like its our thing. Its something we do together that makes us both really happy. Today, we went with my mom after Hayes got some shots. I think between a walk and a lunch day, we couldn't ask for much more.

Boys {May 8. 2014}

It's funny to me just how programmed kids come. Hayes is such a boy. I watch him play and the things he likes and the things that interest him are so funny to me, there are things that he does that there is just no way I could teach him. He just already likes what he likes. Anything with wheels he pushes around the house and says "Vroom Vroom" the whole time. He just does that. He loves to throw balls, he loves trucks and trains and cars, he LOVES anything that makes music. All of those things are just him, I don't know that we could teach him to love music or cars or balls. I am sure that those same types of things will drive me crazy when he is a teenager, but right now, I love that he just likes the things he likes. It really makes me feel like his qualities and traits are direct gifts from Heavenly Father, and that those gift and likes will take him the direction he is suppose to go. It also gives me a little hope that the things I like and I'm good at are also pre-determined and gifts meant to help me figure out what I am suppose to do with my life. I like that thought.

Disney Land and California Adventure April, 2014

This past week we went to Disneyland, California Adventure and the beach. We went with my entire family (crazy right) and then Sam's mom and sister Brooke came and brought their friend Cindy Trueblood. It was such a fun thing, and I am so glad we were able to go. I love when families get together and make memories and spend time together. Some of my favorite memories growing up are when we went to Disneyland with my mom's whole family after my Grandpa Mack died. I have been looking forward to this trip for quite a while now because of those fun memories I have.

This trip kind of started off rough. Stock had a problem on the neighbor's trampoline and hurt his arm pretty bad. Al and Jose had to take him to Insta Care. They x-rayed it and said they couldn't see a break, but we knew something wasn't right. He was so upset and kept crying and saying "I still get to go to Disneyland right?" He didn't really use his arm the whole time, so when we go back Al took him back to the doctor, and sure enough, his elbow is broken. He has a big cast that he has to keep on for 5 weeks and he absolutely hates it.

Hayes got sick and Sam did too the night before we left. Both of them had some pretty upset tummies. I was SUPER nervous to take Hayes out in the heat all day because of that. We took the drive down pretty slow and let him get out a lot, also we let him ride in just his diaper, and can I say he has never slept better in the car! Who would have thought to just let the kid be naked and he would sleep like a champion.

The night we got there, most everyone went to the Angel's game. Me and Hayes stayed back at the hotel and he went to sleep and I got everything laid out for the next day. The next day we went to Disneyland. That place really is magical. We had a great time and Hayes actually slept really well in stroller. He loved seeing all the people and even enjoyed a few rides. It went A LOT better than I expected.

The following day, we went to California Adventure. Hayes rode a lot more rides there and we really loved just walking around and seeing everything. The next day, we went to the beach. Hayes LOVED the beach until he got rocked by a wave that came up pretty high. We picked him up and he was fine, but he got wet and sandy. He absolutely HATED that. I took him back to the car and got him cleaned off, he enjoyed the rest of the time playing in the sand. Surprisingly he really didn't eat that much. I think the beach by far was his favorite day.

The next day we packed up and headed home. On the way home Jentrie had an allergic reaction to pistachios and it was pretty scary for a little while. We spent nearly two hours in Barstow making sure she was going to be ok. It was terrible seeing her that way, and I have now vowed to carry benedryl on me at all times. I'm happy to report she is ok, and now aware that all nuts are off limits. She also has like 6 epi pens now, so hopefully that never happens again.