Catching up...

Ok, so "catch up" blog posts are far too common for me. But its better than not blogging at all, right? *Busy* and *Scatterbrained* are 2 words that come to mind when trying to come up with an excuse. Anyways, here goes.

Back in July, we took a day trip up to Huntsville to visit the Space and Rocket Museum. Hayden is so into stuff like that, and we had a blast. We are already dreaming about the day that he is old enough to go to Space Camp!! Sue, the largest T-Rex ever discovered, was also on display there and it was really spectacular to see in real life.

Hayden's first day of School came and went without a hitch, and we couldn't be more thankful or satisfied with our decision to send him to the Wee Center again this year. His teacher is wonderful and he is learning so much scripture (and academics, of course!) He is having a little bit of trouble focusing and finishing his work, so we have decided to sign him up for Karate in hopes that martial arts will help him to learn to control that busy mind a little bit. He starts this week and we are very hopeful!

In August, we took a family trip down to the beach. I was a little skeptical about going down without any reinforcements to help with Garrett, but it went wonderfully! The weather was amazing and we had a really, REALLY great time swimming, hanging out and playing with each other.

Hayden obviously wanted to have nothing to do with taking pictures. Five is such an awkward age!

And for some general updates... Garrett is 10 months old now. He has been standing unassisted for a month now, and I'm sure he would be walking by now if it weren't for the fact that I am strongly discouraging it. What?! Yes, it's true. I am not ready for him to walk. I love his little crawling self scootching around the house. This is most likely the last time I will ever have a crawler in my house, so I am soaking up every minute of it, because I am all too familiar with the fact that these moments are fleeting! I am trying to enjoy every minute and steal as many cuddles as I can with these boys, because I know they are growing up so fast. He has found his voice and I love to hear his little babbles. I need to do a post with just videos... I have so many cute clips. He is small for his age, but very healthy and we are so thankful! Hayden is so grown up and sounds so sophisticated with some of the things he says. He is really into all things "Transformers" these days, and his favorite shows right now are Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb. I have been super busy with my latest (and greatest!) business venture, www.monogramfontstore.com .... Ok, that is all I can fit into this post! Whew!

So Bittersweet....

I have to go ahead and get this blog post out of the way. Even though it is 11 days away, I will be far too misty eyed and emotional to write this on August 15th. Hayden's first day of Kindergarten. It's sounds so cliche, but "I can't believe my baby is big enough for real school." I just can't. I sit here and shake my head in disbelief. I wish I could just freeze time... have him at home with me a little longer. But the time has come... And I can't help but think how InCrEdIbLy blessed I have been to have him home with me for 5 years! That is so much more than many moms get. Every single second I have had with that kid has been a blessing. I still remember when I discovered I was pregnant with him... we were terrified! We had only been married a little over a year, and both of us were nearing the end of our college careers. At the time, we couldn't help but question God's timing in giving us a child. But wow. Of course He knew what He was doing, and being Hayden's Mom has brought me more joy than I knew I could possess.

To Hayden - we are SO proud to be your parents. As you start this chapter in your life, we will be with you every step of the way and we can't wait to watch you grow and learn more and more every day. You never cease to amaze us with your quick wit and intellect. Your kind heart and loving nature will serve you well with your peers. We hope you can share the love of God with all you meet. We love you more than words can express and we know that you will conquer the world one day. Love, Mom and Dad

Here are just a few (ok - almost 100) of my favorite pictures of Hayden:

Last week, Curtis and Hayden decided to make a batch of brownie mix and eat the entire bowl. That was the plan... "Lets be men! Eat a whole bowl of brownie mix and get sick! Ye-uh!" They left out the raw eggs, got spoons and sat on the kitchen floor and started to go to town. Garrett found his way into the kitchen and well... the video and pictures can speak for themselves :)

Hayden Graduates from Pre-School

I can NOT believe that my little boy has graduated from pre-school. I honestly can't think about it too much or it makes me cry. I am not ready for him to start big school yet. Just not ready!!

As of now, we have him registered to attend 5 year old Kindergarten at the same school he attended pre-school. A small, private kindergarten we think is ideal, and I like the fact that it doesn't quite feel like big school :) We are still trying to sell our house, so on the seemingly off chance that occurs anytime soon, we will most likely have to pull him from private kindergarten and put him in public school where we move, which we have -officially- decided will be Trussville. Whenever the time is right. (Right, God?)

Here are just a few pictures from his graduation. Curtis likes to mess with the camera settings, and I completely forgot he had done that when it came time to snap him hugging his teacher. So the pics aren't great, but they will still help serve as a memory of this sweet event:

And it begins...

I captured this little sequence a couple of weeks ago on June 6th... it was pretty much at this very moment that I began to see that this boy is going to tRoUbLe! He is keeping me on my toes! He started scooting pretty fast on the same day (June 6th) and below is a video from that day. (He has since adopted a traditional "chest off floor" crawl):

Some of his new favorite activities include (but are not limited to!):

Opening cabinets:

Surfing the Web:

Getting into bags:

Chatting with himself:

Climbing onto the fireplace (and pulling off the bumpers):

Sticking out his tongue (Seriously, he does this all the time!)

Climbing Stairs: (Yes, these are now gated off)

Terrorizing animal life:

And just today, he started (and seemingly mastered!) ...

Pulling Up!!

6 Months

It has been 6 months since this guy joined our family! We suuuuuuure do love him!

He thinks Hayden hung the moon. He will inhale an entire jar of bananas even though they give him a stomach ache. He will have a 30 minute conversation with the guy in the mirror. If it is within reach, he will grab it. Everything is in reach.

6 month weight : 14 lbs 13 oz (10th percentile) -- we like our little guy!

A few more updates from the past couple of months (whoops)

April 8th - started rolling from back to front

May 1st - started scooting

May 12th - cut first tooth (on the bottom, and he cut the other bottom tooth the next day)

May 23rd - Sitting up

And just a little comparison of Hayden at 6 months and Garrett at 6 months...

Summer Kick-off!

We kicked the summer season off the best way possible - with a trip to the coast! It was Garrett's first trip down and we went with Crystal, John and Ella. We finally got to stay at the Splash Resort in Panama City, and it was a fantastic place! The weather was BEAUTIFUL, but it being early May, the water in the pool was still a bit too cold. Unfortunately it was also very windy that weekend, which put a little too much chill in the air! It didn't keep Hayden from swimming in the ocean all day, every day :) Aside from the wind, we still had a great time, and are thrilled that beach season is here!

Beach Baby

Boogie Boarding Boy!

Dinner at Sharky's

LOVE THEM