Kiddie Park

We have been working on our summer bucket list and checking out the Kiddie Park was one of them!

I didn't know how this trip would turn out. Last summer we went to Silver Dollar City and encouraged him to try a ride. He was not going to have it.

So this time we talked about how we were going to a park that had trains, boats, cars and lots of fun things to ride. 

When we got there he chose to ride the boat first. I think that was a good choice, it was nice and mellow. Then he rode the tractor. Another good choice. 

He tried the airplane next, I really thought he would get upset about the flying in the air part. He just kep turning around watching everything going on. He really liked it! 

Valerie and her friend tagged along.

Hud and I decided to spin out of control! 

No actually we didn't do much spinning and that was good for both of us!

Sweet Hayden was so good just to hang out in the stroller and watch all that was going on!

Hud put Hayden hat on backwards. Cute cute boy if I do say so myself!

Then Hud got really brave and decided to try the roller coaster. 

He even put his hands up! 

Hands are still up! 

Still up! 

See that little hand peaking out?!

Ya, well that was the end of it. It was a really bad choice. Rough, rocky roller coaster. It's a no go for our 3 year old. 

We finished the night with his favorite-the train!

Isn't that the cutest little station?

We hope to go back soon! This was definitely a fun summer night!

Let Freedom Ring

We started celebrating Independence Day a day early with t-shirt painting!

and the town's firework show! Hud loved it! This is the first year he liked fireworks. Last year he sat inside and would peak his head out the door every once in a while to look. I'm glad we're over that.

 

I saw these cute treats on Pinterest and have been wanting to try them. What a better time to try them on the fourth of July?! I saw these cute star marshmallows in a sale ad and knew they'd be the perfect addition for Independence day! So while the boys were building, I was baking/assembling.

They worked so hard and it was so hot. But I'm so thankful for each of them.

I didn't want to put the boys in their cute shirts too early in the day because their messy and I knew we'd be changing clothes by lunch. 

So we wore some other festive clothes until celebration time!

This was another fun Pinterest find-flag shirts. Boys clothes are hard because they aren't as cute as girl clothes. You can add ribbons and bows and frill to make them festive so I'm always looking for good ideas. I loved this one! 

And they do look mighty cute if I do say so myself!

We headed to mom & dad's for a homemade fireworks show (thanks to Hudson the popper thrower and Trent & Ryan for the entertainment) and a cookout!

Then headed to Tulsa for the Freedom Fest show. 

We entertained ourselves while we waited for the fireworks. 

Hay loved the fireworks. He sat just like this the whole time and watched. I imagine next year he won't sit still because he'll be running around like a wild man :)

Happy Birthday America!

Hayden Greer {8 months}

Hayden, you are eight months old!

You weight about 18 lbs and I haven't measured your height lately!

You wear 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Everywhere we go (church, restaurants, stores) people are always commenting about how you are the happiest baby they've ever met. I love that about you. You really are so smiley and happy.

We are currently getting questions about if you are girl (when you're obviously wearing blue) because of all of that hair. We are NOT cutting it soon. I'm sorry that people ask that, but I love your hair and how it flips out on the ends and gets all wavy. It's stinkin adorable. Just like you! 

You LOVE to eat! You still pretty much want a bottle/nurse about every 2 hours. Even when we increase how much you eat at a time, you don't seem sustained for any longer. Oh well, what can I say? You're a boob man.

You love to eat food to. I think you're addicted to puffs. You eat all of your fruits and veggies really well except peas. You make awful faces when you eat them, but she usually swallow them down anyway. Thank you for that. It makes mommy feel better. You eat bananas, applesauce, avocado, green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, peaches, and I'm sure others I've forgotten. 

You chew on everything! We think you're going to get teeth soon, but who knows. We've thought that for a while now and still none yet!

We have been laying you down in bed at night awake (around 9-9:30) and letting you go to sleep on your own! That has been working really well! You are finally sleeping most of the night! Most of the time you will wake up between 5-6 and eat and go back to sleep until 7:30. Occasionally it doesn't go that way, but for the most part you are doing so much better! You always nap about 9:30 and 2. Depending on those naps you might have some other small ones.

You are crawling around like a crazy man. There is so scooting or army crawling around here. It's full blown crawling wherever you want to go! Your favorite places are the dog bowls in the kitchen and the bathroom and your brother's room. 

You also pull yourself up on everything! You are just starting to figure out how to get back down. 

You are still our cuddle baby, you love blankets and anything soft!

You are starting to talk more, oohs and ahhs and goo and gaa. You don't talk a ton, but you seem to talk more each day. You're too busy to stop & talk!

Your brother is SO protective over you. He'll cry when people say that they want to take him home or if he's not going somewhere with us. He loves you and I love that. But you are now getting into his room and wanting to play his toys so there are those "not sweet" times between you. He just isn't quite sure about this sharing gig. We have our good days and bad days but every day he still loves you.

Mommy and daddy love you too. You are so fun and loving and happy. I can't imagine life any different than with you and Hud. We love you both so very much! I can't wait to see what's in store for your next month! We love you Hay baby! Happy Birthday!

First Dentist Appointment {Hudson}

If you know Hudson then you know that he is very anxious about new situations. He needs time to observe and think about. He is very cautious and a worrier. {He gets most of these qualities from his mama and I'm not bragging} So I knew this experience could have the potential to be very difficult. We talked about it beforehand and talked about all the things they might do and we chose a stuffie to take with us so maybe Dr. Jeff could look at their teeth too. He chose Goofy because we can see his teeth.

When we got there I went to get Hud out of his car seat and he started with "I don't want to go to the dentist." So I asked him if we should pray that Jesus would help him to not feel scared. So we held hands and prayed. And those are the most precious moments. I could've cried because it was so sweet. When we got in we did some paperwork and then played in the toy room! They have iPads and that was a great distraction!

I know he was anxious about all of the new things but he did everything he was asked to do and didn't complain one bit. He just held onto Goofy and even talked to the hygienist a bit!

She brushed his teeth with his new Toy Story tooth brush and he had a hard time keeping his mouth open so wide! But he kept trying!

Then he got to meet Dr. Jeff and he examined his teeth. He found one brand new tiny cavity on his very last tooth that we will take care of.

Afterward we went to see the new Montser's University! I thought it was super adorable! There were a few parts that had Hud a little scared but I think he liked it overall.

At least this guy wanted a picture with me ;) I'm so thankful he went and we got some time alone with Hud. Even if it is a dentist appointment, it's so nice to have alone time with him where he gets the attention. I'm so proud of my little guy for being so brave! We made it through with no upsets or meltdowns. However, we will be praying that the cavity filling goes just as smooth.....

Hayden Greer {7 months}

Hayden Greer you're seven months old!

You weigh 17.5 lbs and are about 26 inches long.

You wear 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

You still want to nurse every two hours, I'm not sure we'll ever get away from that! You have started trying baby food and at first I thought I would NEVER get you to eat your vegetables. I would give you a bite and you would gag. It was entertaining to say the least, but mommy was determined to get you to like them! After a few times of mixing them with milk you have done much better with the taste. So far you have eaten green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, and peaches. You have done really well with each of them after we got through the initial trial stage. You love sweet potato puffs and it's hilarious to see you try to get them to your mouth.

You are pretty much crawling!! Sometimes you scoot and pull and sometimes you really crawl. But you are getting around! You don't sit still for more than one second at a time. I cannot leave you anywhere without coming back to find you somewhere else! You are so hard to hold because you just roll and wiggle all over whoever is holding you! 

You are sitting up!

You love blankets and cuddly with them and chewing on them and you pretty much always want one with you!

You have crazy long hair and it curls out on the ends. Everyone asks us when we will cut it and I might just start answering "never." I just can't cut those little curls, it's just a part of you.

I don't know what to say about your sleep. We've had two nights of a good schedule and I'm praying you'll keep it up! You go to bed at 9:30 and I hope you will keep sleeping until 4am. You are awake around 7:15-7:30. You always nap at 9:30 & 2:30 and usually have a short nap somewhere in the middle too.

You have chew on EVERYTHING! You are SO fast getting a hold of things and getting them to your mouth. We have to clear your path because you can get a hold of anything you want!

You had your first few swims in the pool this summer and so far you are really serious about the whole thing. You just let us hold you and you just watch. You don't smile or cry so I guess you are kind of indifferent to the whole experience. Hopefully as you get more comfortable with it you will start to really splash and have fun! You hated the splash pad and would just cry when I put you in the water. It was cold water so I don't really blame you!

You love to play with your big brother and he's learning what it looks like to share with a sibling. I know it's different than sharing with friends at school and church. He loves to play with you most of the time, but sometimes sharing is hard! You think it's so fun to get in his room and explore! He loves to take you for rides in his Cozy Coupe and play with you in the exersaucer.

He loves to play in your crib too!!

We think you are funny and adorable and you have the best smile we've ever seen. Thank you for being so easy going and cuddly. You are a sweet baby! We love you Hay baby! 

The Many Faces

Hayden has lots of facial expressions now and I think they're all adorable. So I thought I'd share. Because who doesn't love a cute baby?!

He loves to turn in that bottom lip. 

oh.that.smile.

Ha! 

Big eyes! 

I know it's blurry but that tongue. Oh my! 

This is his talking face. "Oh"

Hayden Greer {6 months}

Hayden Greer, is it really possible you've been in our life half a year now? I can't believe your 6 months old.

 Here are your stats:

Height: 26 in (30%)
Weight: 16.8 lbs (30%)
Head Circumference: 43cm (30%) 

You wear 3-6 month clothes, but we are working on changing out your dresser into a bigger size. You wear size 2 diapers. 

You LOVE to eat and you still eat every two hours (notice those nice rolls on your legs). You eat rice cereal every night and love that too. You are going to LOVE food I'm sure.

I call you "roll baby" because you roll yourself everywhere. You are also doing some kind of army crawl with your arms to get across the floor. You get up on all fours and rock back and forth but you haven't really figured out how to make those legs go yet.

You are doing really well at sitting up. You don't last very long because you are always busy and reaching for something!

You're sleep schedule is crazy and mommy prays we can figure it out over the summer. You just want to eat and cuddle all night. I love you, but momma needs to sleep! You go to bed at 9:30 and are usually up by 7:30. You wake up with the biggest smiles on your face like you are just so excited to see us each morning. It melts my heart.
Hopefully we can get a nap schedule down too. Sometimes you'll sleep an hour all day and sometimes you'll take a couple two hour naps. You're pretty good at fighting sleep, but the swing and car seat usually help you give in.

You still chew on EVERYTHING. And you have the strongest grip, once you get a hold of it you are NOT giving it up.

You love your feet-kicking in the water, in your mouth, at your face to make you laugh, pulling off your socks. It doesn't matter. You just love your feet.

You adore your big brother. You are watching his every move and always smiling at him. You love when he plays at your exersaucer with you or runs around in front of you and you follow him with your eyes.

Mommy, daddy and Hudson LOVE you very much. You make us smile and laugh and we couldn't be more thrilled to have you. Happy birthday Hay baby. You are loved.