A Visit to the Farm

So Hayden and I decided to visit the farm at Thanksgiving Point yesterday since the weather was nice (although that clearly didn't last). I wanted to get a duo membership anyway, but by the time we had to take a picture for our membership card, Hayden had already moved on to something else. I had to tear him away from the animal figurines near the register (kicking and screaming of course) so that we could get our picture taken. It's definitely a very fitting picture of that particular moment...I wish that I could post it on here for all to see. However, things got better after that and we had a good time.

I didn't get a picture of it, but Hayden did feed the horse (I'm not sure if he'll do it again anytime soon, though).

He loved feeding the chickens. Actually, it was more like feeding "the chicken" because he kept feeding the same one.

Newsflash: "Hayden is touching the cow." This is a big step from where he was last year.

We enjoyed feeding the goats. This goat was lucky enough to get the last of the food we had (well, honestly, I really just wanted to get rid of it).

Hangin' At Carl's Jr.

So on Wednesday afternoon we finally got a few of us girls together with our kids (me, Rachel, Cami and Geri). We all went to Jr. High and High School together, and I love that we are still friends! We met at Carl's Jr. because the kids could just enjoy the playland while we chatted and got caught up on what's going on with everyone. Thanks you guys, it was tons of fun seeing you!

Here is a picture of Hayden (the kid can't seem to make a normal face sometimes...I wonder who his mom is), Bella (Rachel's daughter), Briana (Geri's daughter--sorry if I spelled her name wrong), and Parker (Rachel's son).

What cuties!

In the foreground with his back turned is Jake (Cami's son), then Hayden, and way in the background is Brandon (Cami's son).

Leprechauns and Cookies

We had little visitors on St. Patrick's Day who left footprints and chocolate gold coins all over our floor (luckily they didn't mess anything up because I already have a little one who does enough of that). Hayden was pretty excited about the leprechauns--he even got to continue his leprechaun hunt at school that afternoon. Apparently, the leprechauns messed up his classroom and left more gold coins and shamrocks, too (again, I am so glad that the nice leprechauns came to our house and didn't make a big mess).

After school, we went to the Blackburns' to frost and decorate cookies...yummy! There's Hayden licking the frosting off the knife (plastic, of course). He is soooo my kid!

Here's one with Hayden and me, and Kristen and Paige.

Say cheese! This is such a cute pic of Hayden, Aubrey and Paige.

Happy B-Day Grandpa Wally

On Saturday we met a bunch of our family (from my mom's side) for lunch to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. Hayden actually took the picture above of Grandpa Wally.

Grandpa Wally is my mom's dad. Here is a pic of three different generations.

Here is a picture of Hayden sitting down...something that he didn't do very much of at the restaurant (yes, I had one of those crazy, wild kids that ran around everyone while they were trying to eat).

A Sunny Saturday

Since we finally had some nice weather on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of it and head to the zoo (right after Hayden got a new haircut...what a cutie).

Hayden just loves giraffes! I love it when they are inside because you can see them so much better.

My little spiderman! Hayden thought that he would try climbing the web, but this was as far as he got. That's ok because maybe next time he can try to get to the middle.

Fridays

So Friday afternoons at school are a bit more fun and laid back. Most of my class leaves at the early-out time, so I only have a handful of students until 3:30. This means we can do more hands-on activites like cooking and making more intricate crafts (things that require a little more teacher assistance). Here are some pics of the kids making their oreo cookie butterflys, and dancing on Hayden's piano (we learned about musical families this past week). Again, Hayden can't seem to smile or make a "normal" face for the camera, but I guess his personality shows through a little more with his funny faces (not to say that his expressions aren't normal because these kinds of faces are becoming the norm nowadays).

Valentine's

One of the things Hayden got to do at school for Valentine's was frost heart shaped cookies with pink frosting (He loves frosting, but so do I so I guess he comes by it honestly).

He actually ate the cookie and didn't just lick off all of the frosting.

On Valentine's morning Hayden got to open a little present from cupid (or mommy).

He loves his little farm set! Then we had a yummy breakfast of waffles, strawberries, and chocolate milk. Later that day we went to the aquarium for our fun Valentine activity. I thought that would be one of the least busy places to visit on Valentine's, but I was wrong. The place was packed! There were families and couples there (who new that viewing fish was a romantic thing). Hayden was so good and he said, "It's okay mommy. We'll just wait for our turn." I was so impressed at his patience, and I was also wondering where he learned it (I would love to take credit, but I'm not so sure that it came from me). Later that day/evening Hayden got to spend a little time with Grandma B. and Grandpa B. while mommy went to dinner with a friend.

Puzzles and Games

On Saturday Hayden and I decided to play at home instead of go somewhere. Sometimes I think he prefers that because the weekdays tend to be so busy. So we played games, like Candyland, and did puzzles. Hayden loves puzzles! We put together this 100 piece 4 foot long Safari puzzle, and Hayden was very proud of it. After we finished he said, "It's beautiful! It's for boys." Lately he's been into distinguishing things that he thinks are for boys versus things that are too girly. He still likes pink and purple though, and yesterday he was wearing a heart ring on his finger for part of the day. I just figure that if he's happy with something then it doesn't matter if it's girly or boyish.

The Train Show

On Saturday we went to the Train Show at Thanksgiving Point. It was fun, but there were more vendors there than moving train exhibits. We still had a good time and Hayden enjoyed watching the trains. He kept trying to touch them, he's three afterall, so I kept reminding him to look with his eyes. It was pretty crowded because the space was small, so we didn't stay too long.

The Long Weekend

I promise that Hayden is a happy kid, but he doesn't always smile for the camera. I have noticed that when we are in public places, he seems to focus on the other people and he gets easily distracted. I guess he doesn't feel comfortable smiling in front of the camera when strangers are watching.

Over the weekend we decided to go to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. Hayden loves going there to see the dinosaurs, and of course, play in the mudroom (what 3-year-old boy wouldn't).

We also decided to go to the zoo as well. We got a membership for Christmas (thank you Mom and Bob), so even if we didn't stay too long the trip would still be worth it. As you may have guessed, it wasn't very busy at all, but we were still able to see most of the animals. Hayden had fun...until it was time to go. Oh well, I guess we'll be back to visit soon.