Yellowstone

Return from Yellowstone

Hey everyone! We are back from Yellowstone and thus ends our neverending month of travel. It feels so good to be home, but our vacation was just amazing - it beat even my high expectations. The weather made it feel like a winter vacation instead of a summer one, but despite the cold and snow, we were able to see all the sights of Yellowstone. Hayden got to experience Old Faithful, several different smaller geysers and hot springs, and the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. In addition to exploring the park, we got to spend some really great quality time with our family. There were several wild games of Catch Phrase and some really great home cooked meals, and the cabin we stayed at was beautiful, with a great view of the valley and surrounding mountains. One night the clouds cleared out and we were able to catch a colorful sunset.

While we were on vacation, all of Hayden's aunts and uncles were helping him learn how to walk, and guess what?!? Our little guy took about 8 steps today on his own! Nate and I were so excited. Here is a video below of him and his amazing feat :) Also, check out the slideshow above of Hayden's adventures in Yellowstone.

10 months old

Hi everyone. Well Hayden is celebrating turning 10 months old today :) Since our last update he has grown another tooth on the top, and he has learned to clap. He claps for everything! First thing in the morning when he sees us, when he eats something delicious, when an airplane goes overhead, when he meets someone new and exciting, you get the picture. It is his new trick and he is fond of practicing. Now we are moving on to things like waving and "so big" and high fives. So far he just claps whenever we try to get him to do any other hand gesture....but we'll get there.

Still no walking, but he continues to stand on his own (usually standing and clapping), and he will take up to 3 steps before falling to the floor to crawl. I suspect it will awhile before he walks simply because he has become so good and quick at crawling. He now does the triangle crawl - on his hands and feet (instead of knees) whenever he is on an unfamiliar surface like concrete or grass.

Lots of interesting things have happened since I last updated. First off, he visited with his good friend Henry from Wisconsin, who is the 16 month old son of my friend Nicole. They were good buddies and we went to the aquarium and swam often at our neighborhood pool. Henry introduced Hayden to many exciting foods like PB&J sandwiches, cheetos and apple juice :) Then after Henry left we got on a plane bound for Ohio so I could drop Hayden off at his grandparents while I traveled to London and Copenhagen for work. It was quite a traumatic parting (for me, not for him!), but he did great. I had partially transitioned him to formula, so that was an easy switch for him, and he could explore all of grammy's house and he became quite proficient at climbing the stairs and getting into the tupperware drawers in her kitchen :) They loved having him and it was hard to say goodbye when we came back to Dallas on Saturday. But his dad was VERY glad to see us after 10 days alone. It's good to be back together as a family.

We leave on Friday for a 5 day trip to Yellowstone with Nate's family and we can't wait to do some hiking with Hayden in his backpack, and to see Old Faithful and spend some time together as an extended family. I'll post some photos from our trip when we get home. Good bye for now and I'll leave you with photos of Hayden and his buddy Henry.