"Naptime"

Some days I have difficulty getting my 2 year old to take a nap...

Some days he wants to play instead...

Today was one of those days...

"I want Jessie to take a picture."

And even though he is rotten as can be...

He still melts my heart!

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

"Wow-was"

That's what Hayden calls letters.  He has had a recent fascination with the letters of the alphabet lately and has learned all of them.  (He doesn't sing the ABC's, but he can recognize and say them all by sight.)  It's adorable. 

This is his favorite book...

He then went into some sort of silly frenzy and attacked the book ;)

He keeps me entertained all day long.  I don't need t.v. I have an adorable, silly toddler :p

I have a video of him doing some alphabet flashcards on my Facebook page and I wanted to upload it here as well but the video is HD and a huge file so it would have taken an eternity to upload on here (as it did on FB.) 

I've missed my little blog lately, I have been busy with some other things one of which is the 365 Project.  I am having a blast with this new little project.  It's so fun and inspiring and I don't feel like I am competing with anyone, it's just a friendly community of people who love photography.  Have a looksy if you like, I have only been on the project for 6 days, but I'm moving along towards my goal :)  I am still trying to figure out how to link it up to my blog home page but you can click the link above for now ;)

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Sharing with "Monkey"

Hayden has oatmeal almost every morning.  I put him in his highchair and let him feed himself, then I come back and get him down when he says "all done," "out" or "down" (he makes sure to let me know when he is done, and just keeps saying it over and over :)  Anyway, today was no different except that he wanted to bring his monkey with him.  I didn't think much of it and left him to eat his oatmeal.  When he started hollering at me, I came over to get him out and noticed he had shared his oatmeal with monkey...

 For some reason, I just thought it was the cutest thing ever and of course ran to get my camera :)
Monkey also joined Hayden to watch his favorite show, "Caillou."

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

"Mr. Grumpy"

My little man is wearing his "mr. grumpy" shirt today because he is just that, grumpy.  And with good reason...poor little guy isn't feeling well. 
Or maybe he is grumpy because mommy won't keep the camera out of his face! :p  Of course, in these images he doesn't look very 'grumpy' but don't be fooled.  He has been going into crying fits where nothing makes him happy.  Last night when he was screaming non-stop, I finally pulled up "Elmo's Song" on Jeff's phone and it got him to stop.  Whew.  Thank goodness for Elmo ;)

Poor baby has dry lips...

There are those feeties I love so much...

What a sweet boy...

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

The 'sick house.'

Even though he woke up this morning with a fever, runny nose and cough, Hayden is in good spirits and has been eating and playing normally (and talking up a storm.) 

He has been playing with his Valentine's present.

I got him a book that has magnetic alphabet letters since he is showing an obsession interest in letters (wow-was.)  I never thought that I would be teaching my son letters at 20/21 months, but he started showing so much interest in them.  He knows and can recognize about half the letters in the alphabet so far.  Everywhere we go, he looks for letters that he recognizes and starts saying them (over and over.) 
I acutally am hoping to get him some alphabet flash cards but they didn't have them at the bookstore I was at, so I got the book instead.  I know this is the proud mama in me, but I just love that Hayden loves learning, it makes me so happy :) 

Well, me and Jeff are on Tamiflu (me as more of a preventative since I am the caretaker!)  So, hopefully our little family is on the mend.  This little guy seems to be dealing with his symptoms pretty well (so far...)  I hate to see my little guy sick :(

He always has to have "moke"

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Happy Valentines Day!

My little heartbreaker wants to wish all of you a Happy Valentines Day! 

And what is Valentines Day without sweets? ;)

I made some raspberry filled chocolate cupcakes, yum!

As I write this, my sweet hubby is very sick with what may be the flu (they aren't really sure.)  He is now on meds so hopefully he is on the mend but pray that he gets well soon and that Hayden and I don't get it! 

Even though we are not having the most romantic Valentines Day ever, I am still so thankful for the wonderful life that God has blessed us with!  I am married to a wonderful man who has been my best friend almost from the moment we met and we have a beautiful, healthy little boy who is the joy of our lives!   Thank you Lord for blessing me with so much more than I deserve! 

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Barber Shop

I took Hayden to get his 2nd haircut the other day.  Lucky for him, his uncle Jerry is the best barber in town :)

Oh, and I can't forget to mention that Hayden was absolutely perfect the whole time!!!  (Of course that may have had something to do with me poppin' an organic sucker in his mouth when he got in the chair ;)

He just sat there & let Jerry do his job.  What a good little boy I have!

Notice the drool dripping off little man's chin ;)

What a face...I love that kid! 



All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Ten Tiny Toes...

Oh how I love these little feeties! 

I love that his toenails look exactly like his daddy's  :) 

Happy little toes ;)


All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

My little 'angel.'

Why do children seem so angelic when they are sleeping?  Oh...it's because they are sleeping!  ;)

On a different note...As precious as Hayden looks in these images, he has been testing my patience lately.  He is in that independent toddler stage and is also getting a bit rebelious.  I'm planning to bury myself in this book until I finish it.

My parents read this book when my brother and I were kids.  They gave this copy to me when I was still pregnant if I am not mistaken!  I am hoping that it helps me become a better parent.  And I hope it gives me techniques that will help in properly disciplining Hayden.  I refuse to raise a brat and want to teach him as early as possible to behave properly so that it's easier on all of us! 

I tend to lose my patience and react to Haydens behavior instead of staying calm.  I definitely need to work on that.  I have been praying for patience for as long as I can remember because it's not something that comes naturally for me.  I hope that, in time, I can learn patience because it is definitely something you need as a parent! 

In spite of the 'bad' days or tense moments, being Hayden's mom brings me more joy than I ever thought possible.  Being a parent is a wonderful gift and I can't imagine my life without our little boy. Thank you Lord for choosing us to be Hayden's parents!

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!