Hayden is 1!

This post is nearly a month overdue!  I just still can't hardly believe the day has come... and gone!  Our little Hayden Nicholas is one year old!  How did that happen? 

We had a really fun time on his birthday.  He loves Blue's Clues, and we had a lot of fun with that theme.  This is the invitation:

It's a little hard to read, but it says: Guess who's having a Birthday!  I'll give you three clues: - He's happy -He's handsome - He's Hayden  And he's turning 1!  I had a fun time making the invites and Bailey was a great little helper.  She colored Blue for me and she also helped me make Hayden's cake.  She was "reading" the recipe for me.  She told me we needed 3 cups of eggs (there was a picture of three eggs) ;).

Even though he had a lot of fun, Hayden wasn't feeling exactly 100%.  During the week of his birthday, he was teething, working on and ear infection, and when I took him in for his well check, the doctor was pretty sure he had RSV!  He was a champ and was very cheerful even though he was feeling kind of miserable!  When he got a hold of this balloon, that was the happiest and most excited I had seen him all day!  He came up with this funny little game where he would bite onto the tie and then pull the balloon away from his face.  Then he'd let go of the tie and let it snap; he just thought that was hilarious and he did it over and over!

There were a lot of blue decorations at his Blue party!

This was the cake that Bailey helped me with.  It's supposed to be a Blue's Clues paw print... didn't turn out quite exactly how I had hoped, but I think it got the idea across and it tasted really good!

We had a lot of family come to party, too; Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Lindsay and the Lindsay cousins, and Uncle Nick and Aunt Lindi!

You can't have a Blue's Clues party without playing a game of Blue's clues!  We dressed up Ken as close to looking like Steve as we could.  He was so great with the kids and made it a lot of fun!  They each even got their own "Handy-dandy Notebook." 

The first clue was a pair of hands...

The second clue was 3 balls; and the third clue was Ken!  They sat down in their "Thinking Chairs" and put it all together pretty quickly!

Ken put on a fun little juggling show for everyone!

Then it was present time!  Hayden got some really fun toys and clothes!  Thanks to our family for such fun gifts!

Next was cake!  He didn't make too big of a mess, but seemed to really enjoy it!

Hayden was really excited about his dinosaur push/ride-on toy from the Lindsays.

Grandpa brought some fun balloon and made some bunny ears for B

I guess my sister and I think alike, because we got Hayden a push/ride-on toy as well... a little fire truck.

Taysum and Bailey had picked out two balls to get for Hayden and they could not wait until they could give them to him!  Taysum chose a green ball for him and B chose a big orange one.  Hayden loves them both!

Hayden is such a sweet little boy!  He just loves to watch all our craziness.  He is usually pretty quiet and observant, but he is beginning to find his voice!  He doesn't really have any words yet, but he does say "Da" now and then and he has a cute little clicking sound (kind of a 'ta' sound) when ever we buckle him into his swing, car seat or booster chair.  Our favorite is a little sound he makes 'uh?' which he says like a question.  He also says 'hi' sometimes and we've coaxed a 'ba' out of him a couple times for bottle.  He also will hold things up to show you and makes a 'see' sound.  He's really close to walking; he can take a few steps on his own and he walks really well if he's pushing or holding on to something.  He likes to lean back on things when he's standing so he has his hands free to do things.  He HATES having anything on his hands or feet!  Socks and shoes... forget it!  He screams and pulls them off as quickly as he can!  He gives fives and kisses and likes to reach up for you to hold him.  I LOVE how cuddly he is!  He'll sit still and let you hold him and he'll snuggle into you or put his cheek to yours!  However, he can be quite the wiggle worm as well!  He's great at Peek-a-Boo and will pull the blanket on and off his face.  He's starting to point to things with one finger.  He loves taking baths and splashing in the water.  He loves being on the couch and can get off without help.  His swing broke a few months ago, but he still loves to be in it and will often swing himself.  He likes to watch "Blue's Clues" and "Sesame Street."  He has six teeth now and teething is kind of rough on him.  He got his two front bottom teeth first; then his top two canines, if you can believe it; and now he also has his two front teeth.  His crib is near the door and the light switch.  After his nap, he'll stand up and open the door and turn the light on and off until you come get him!  One of my favorite things about him is how much he loves the satin edges on blankets.  He loves to rub it in between his fingers, rub it on his face and on his toes as he hums himself to sleep.  He thinks he's big and loves to get the computer mouse and click, click, click.  He loves balls and cars; he makes the cutests little motor sounds as he pushes his cars around.  He's a really good eater and will try anything you give him!  He's such a wonderful part of our family and we feel so blessed to have him with us!  He's at such a fun and cute stage and we look forward to watching him continue to grow and develop!  We love you so much, baby boy!!