18 Months

I have noticed something- Err or more like someone has been missing from Hayden's blog lately...











Hayden!



He turned the big 1.8. Months on the 22nd of this month, and I am over the moon with emotion. He is so much closer to two now, and has changed so much!

We got some new stats on the little guy too!

He is 26lbs now and 33 3/4 inches long. His weight always suprises me because Hayden looks so much like a toothpick. He sadly never even had those cute fat rolls most babies have. But I have given up on trying to fatten him up, he's a skinny kid people deal!

At his last doctors appointment we went through some milestones to see if Hayden was on track, and here is the recap thus far:


He is an awesome climber, way too awesome, especially for Mommy's heart. He loves, loves, LOVES to climb! Nothing now is out of his reach, there is no place too high for my little dare devil. If he wants he's climbing to get it!

He has started not only jumping in place now, but it has evolved into jumping off my bed, Daddy's recliner in the living room, the couch and the coffee table...and he does this not into my arms, no that would be too safe, too sane, and wouldn't scare me enough, instead he wants to see if he can land on his feet. And does he, not even, which scares me even more because Hayden will do it again and again trying to perfect it and get it right. But the time he is 2 I will have so much grey hair.

He now also had figured out that the light switch controls the lights in the house and now has made that into his toy. He frequently gets upon his stool or any other object that will boost his height (lots of the time its a toy, yikes!) and "FLICK" the light is off. "Hayden, turn the light on." Giggles delightfully, "FLICK." He turns it on, "Thank you." "FLICK." *SIGH*

In the language area, Hayden is doing real good. He is starting to string the little words he knows into sentences. And is becoming real good at mimicing. I stopped teaching him sign language because he was catching onto saying words so fast.

And Hayden likes to laugh and joke! He thinks everything is funny! He wakes up playing with me, trying to get me to laugh and smile. He has always been so happy.

Hayden is...

17 Months!
And Mia is late, I know, I know but things were very hectic with Halloween. But better late than never.

Hayden at 17 months more of a pleasure than I could have ever imagined. He definitely is independent, funny, he loves "telling jokes", starting up games with me, and he loves me! One of my favorite things about him being older is he shows me affection: he asks for kisses and hugs; put his arms around my neck; rub my cheek; he even will put his head against mine!



Milestones


Growth
Hayden has grown so much! He is 26lbs and 34 inches. He wears a size 18-24 months in clothing. Hayden's weight and height puts him just above 75% in weight and height for his age, but the charts for his weight for his height he is only 5 %

Gross Motor Skills
Hayden has good balance and is quite the quick and nimble fellow. Oh, boy, does this kid like to climb! He loves to find new and unexplored things to climb upon. His climbing abilities then allow him to climb in and out of my car and his high chair.

Fine Motor Skills
In the fine motor skill department, Hayden has done leaps and bounds. He can scribble instead of eating the crayons, eat well with a fork and spoon, and he knows how to use his thumb for certain things,such as turning on the vacuum and flipping the latch on the hubby's toolbox.
Something also new, Hayden seems to be a south paw. He throws, plays, eats, and scribbles with his left hand. I am kind of glad because I have heard lefties are smart, but kind of worried too as it's a right handed world.

Social and Language
Toddlers of 1yr aren't supposed to "play" with other children, they simply don't know how. Yup, When I read that that surprised me. Instead toddlers do something that is called "parallel play," which is playing along side another toddler or child. Of course, as with all things Hayden, Hayden wasn't told this tidbit of information as a tot because he LOVES playing with my best friend's daughter, Autumn. He knows her house, recognizes her name, and instantly becomes energetic and excited to see her. She is definitely his best friend.
Hayden has been on a roll with "words" he enjoys copying whatever is said, but he has been absorbing words like a mile a minute. My husband was in the bathroom about to put on his socks when my toddler strolls in and says "toes" plain as day, pointing to them. I was shocked: I never taught him what toes were nor had I said it recently. I last remember telling him toes about 1 month ago when he became obsessed with this Fisher Price learning Puppy that sang "head, shoulders, knees and toes."
Lately I have been lagging in teaching him to sign and he knows the sign for "baby." But overall has been sucking up words when I teach him the sign for it like "eat" he can say now because I tried teaching him the sign for it.

Here's a list of Hayden's fabulous Vocab

Eat
Tree
shoes
puppy
socks
Hi
toes
Kitty
feet
I
please
Mama
thanks
Dada
stop it
wow
no
whoa
this
what
that
it
me

And those are just the one's I can think of, he says a few more. Also, what I think is pretty nifty is he can say phases and string a few words together like "Oh my gosh" "I see Puppy" or "kitty" (the other day it was "I see tree, whoa! I see tree, oh my gosh!") "What's that" or "What's this"
Hayden can understand what is being said and follow directions (and can even put on an evil smirk and defy directions). If showed to do something he'll not only do it but remember it and do it again and again, if not save it for later and do it. This extends to things he knows he isn't supposed to touch, he will wait until I'm gone and do it.
As you can see, Hayden is growing up and up and up! (Sometimes I wish I could freeze time.) Everyday I look at him and he is doing something that makes me think "Wow, are you really my son?" and I have say I had him and remember every bit of it. And I have to shake my head because wow do I love him so much!
I can't believe that in two weeks he'll be a 1 yr and a half! Where, oh, where has my time gone?

The Last...

Today is the last day of September and I can't help but feel a little sad...Another month gone in this year- In fact there are only two months left in 2010 once October hits and I am feeling out of sorts that with the end of 2010 I am saying bye bye to the majority of Hayden's second year. Sure, I am blessed to have five more months of my little boy being 1, and I'm looking very forward to it. But I can't help but by this time next year I will have a 2 year old, and how much I am anxious and itching for the holidays to celebrate with my independent little man. I can't wait to see how he interacts with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and seeing 100% how much he has evolved from just last year and wondering how much he will evolve in the year to come.
I can honestly say that this coming Halloween will be his first "real" Halloween. Last Halloween he was only 4 Months old and slept through most of the action. He did have a costume but all his candy was eaten by either David or me. We didn't even go trick or treating we received candy from the family that we visited that night who wanted to see him in his costume.
Thanksgiving was simply emotional for us as we were thank for our baby boy and his health, especially with that first few shaky months (Hayden spent his first Month in the hospital.) And for that I always support Children's Hospital, they saved my little guy's life. At this age, Hayden was not eating solids, (heck, even at Christmas he was not even entirely on solids) thus he was simply there taking in all the ravenous people.
Another thing that hit home with September is that two years ago I found out I was pregnant with Hayden. Yes, it doesn't seem like two years since the beginning of my journey into Motherhood, but alas it definitely has been.
And even with Hayden growing like a weed (I have only 1 year and 8 months until he goes to Preschool.), I love, love, LOVE being a Mom. Even when I have to fix Hayden a 15-30 Minute meal in the name of healthy nutrition, even when he is screaming his head off all day for some unknown reason, even when he follows me around all over the house just to be with me, or not liking grocery carts and forcing me to hold him the entire trip to the store- HE'S MINE! And I'm his, I love my little man.



p.s. I hate pictures of me but this one is too nice not to share...

16 Months!

Hayden turned 16 months yesterday!




One year ago he was 4 months old, I remember that time vividly because it is what I often call "The time Hayden came alive." By that time he could roll front and back (though he was never much for rolling); he would try to bat at toys; while on his stomach he could airplane; and he even started cruising on his belly to get to toys out of his reach!



Hayden at 4 Months


This is Hayden now...



Milestones

Growth
Hayden as far as I know is 24lbs and 34 inches. He wears a size 12 months in clothing but I do buy a size up as cloth diapers are a bit bulker than disposable, which puts him at above 95 percentile for height but the 25-30 percentile for his weight.

Gross Motor Skills
Hayden is super fast! Man, does this boy have super leg muscles. Hayden can run at the speed of lightening. And besides spinning in circles, he enjoys trying to jump. Yes, my 16 month old is trying to jump up and down, even though he does not have the muscles for it yet. But he does have hulk like strength when it comes to pulling up onto my counter tops to grab at whatever is up there.


Fine Motor Skills
Hayden's fine motor skills are developing slowly but surely. He is pretty good with a pencil or crayon when it comes to scribbling, same with picking up tiny things on the floor because he does have a pincer grasp. But he seems to be having a hard time conquering the spoon and fork. Tonight at dinner, he did feed himself with a spoon and got much of it into his mouth. He can turn book pages great, so I'm not worried, I am sure he will get it down in his own time.

Social and Language
Hayden loves for children to come visit. He will copy them and play with them for hours. He gets sooooo hyper though when guests are over or when he meets a new friend (which he often does wherever we go) Hayden has always surprised me with his language development: I am beyond well aware that girls typically best boys in the language area of development, Hayden has held his own: he knew more than 16 words by 15 months. And while I know he has regressed a little bit, he has added 3 new words to his vocabulary this week. He can say "sit" or "seat" (he prounces it like a very naughty word though), "out" and "get"

Personality!
My little guy has lots of personality. I grade him with a A- in personality area, only reason he gets an A- is because sometimes he is quite the little stinker doodle and I couldn't be more proud! Hayden is a very happy, curious fellow, who loves cars, books, and jumping off my coffee table onto my couch. He is also quite a daredevil. If its climbable he's climbing it; if its high, he's jumping off of it; if it goes fast, he has to get on it.

Above all he is tot that is in love with his Mommy and one of his top things to do is play some kind of game with me even if there are no rules. As long as he has Mommy's attention, nothing else matters!

No End In Sight

"He's one already?" "Wow, he got one fast!" "Didn't that first year just fly by?" These are the statements I got the most from family, friends, and even strangers, my usually answer is a tight lipped "hmm" and a slight nod, to which they of course take as "those were tough times I don't want to remember." Truth be told: Hayden's first year was the longest year of my life! Maybe its because that first year is so connected to pregnancy, I have unconsciously lumped in pregnancy's ten months with the first year of motherhood. I am not sure. But I know that my first year of motherhood was a little bit more weird than most.
I remember some milestones of Pregnancy. I always go back and laugh at how I took my pregnancy test to quiet my Grandmother, who wouldn't stop chirping that I was pregnant after I had told her that I was a bit nauseated but could still help move my cousin. I took it and two lines showed up. After 8 months of baby lust, I was pregnant and so excited that I ran out the door screaming "I'm pregnant" bypassing my husband and went straight to my Grandma's house.
The first trimester was the longest for me: constantly waiting and going to the bathroom to check to see if I was bleeding. And I had longer to wait in that trimester than most women, I found out I was pregnant at only 3 weeks along. The second trimester and the first two months and 3 weeks of the third were my most favorite time. I wasn't impatient to get the pregnancy over with or uncomfortable until the last week. I loved, loved, LOVED pregnancy and was in no rush to have it ended.
My birth was not gruesome or filled with screaming and horror. Instead I was calm, laughing, and intent on having a remembered birth experience and I could not wait to push thinking that it would be fun. I labored six hours, I was induced upon requesting it, my contractions were not unbearable- In fact the morning I went to be induced, they checked my cervix and I was already in labor at 3 centimeters dilated. I felt nothing. At 5 centimeters, I got an epidural that didn't work and instead made me violently itchy, that took two doses of benedryl and something else to stop. I felt everything but it wasn't painful. I went from seven to ten in an hour and it took me only thirty minutes to birth Hayden into this world.
I was not overwhelmed or nervous as a parent but confident and anxious to breastfeed and know what it felt like. I loved snuggling with Hayden, breastfeeding him, and even reading to him.
Hayden was a dream as an infant. He never cried, slept long hours, when awoke he was totally alert- So alert that when I took him to the emergency after seeing a spot of blood in his diaper, no one believed that he was sick. It took a week to have him hospitalized for a UTI. That was very hard and the most stressful time for me as a parent, when they put the IV in his arm I left. I felt horrible for leaving, crestfallen for hearing him cry as they poked him, but I didn't want him to see me cry and I bawled.
That didn't even get him down the nurses at Children's Hospital were amazed at how quiet and alert he was, and that he slept through the night so young. After 3 days in the hospital, Hayden took off.
He completed all his milestones early, amazing everyone, and he still amazes me. I was hesitant about him turning one and I love it. It is as if he has come alive. I could see him changing a little at eleven months: saying new sounds, playing games, copying Mommy and Daddy, as well as taking out clothes from the hamper or dishes from the washer "helping" us. But now he is climbing things he never tried to climb: the toilet, the entertainment center, even his small toy shelf. He can say a few words: "stop it" is his favorite, "i did it," "this," "that" "nan" meaning no, "down." Today I heard a few new ones "done" and "dog" and "tree." he even waves bye-bye without being told!
His personality is merging like wild fire. He loves me reading to him, he loves anything with animals in it, he loves outside and nature: anytime the door is open he skyrockets to the door with his goofy run. Another thing that has shocked me is his memory to people. He knows Grandma now on both sides and anytime one of them stops by or he sees their houses he instantly lights up. He is starting to realize that Daddy comes and goes on weekdays and is not always here. He cries when he sees David, his Dad, leave for work or Grandma leaving. And while he learned to point at 9 months, now it has turned into the name game.
Hayden is developing so fast and thankfully there is no end in sight. I love to see him learn and grow (try to type on my computer.)It is what parenting is all about. Now he has run off somewhere with my nail clipper.


Always,
H and M B