Hayden Iowa Trip - May 2010

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Five Months In...

Why yes, I am THIS loved and this cute!

Grandma Judy is holding me at the Ames Farmer's Market.

Dear Hayden,
How has it been five months already? Where has the time gone? I treasure every precious moment with you. You are our amazing little man!

• We started you on food and, after a little bit of WHAT IS THIS?, you now LOVE it! You are a HUGE fan of fruits and sweet veggies (sweet potatoes and butternut squash). You will tolerate the other vegetables and I think you will grow to like them more. You DO NOT enjoy plain rice cereal – who could blame you – it tastes like wet cardboard! You love to play with this little carousel thing that sticks to your highchair and you like to play with your food and spoon. You cause quite a mess and I just sit back, laugh and take pictures.
• You came down with ANOTHER ear infection. This time it was in both ears. We had to take you to the urgent care place on a Saturday night. Mom’s intuition (with a healthy dose of non-stop fussing for 20 minutes from you while you Daddy was walking the girls) – I just knew you had one when we laid you on the play mat and your little face scrunched up. The people at urgent care gave me a paper talking about “fussy babies” – this made me laugh since that is so NOT you! I made an appointment with a pediatric ENT to discuss our next steps. The antibiotics gave you and me both thrush this time. So, you are now on Nystatin (you just finished your amoxicillin). I hate that you are on medicine, but, luckily, you are still healthy and happy.
• You are still not completely sleeping through the night, but I think once we get these ear infections to go away, you will be.
• While at urgent care, they weighed you and...17 lbs. 5 oz. of perfect baby! You are a healthy little man who loves to nurse.
• You are now solidly in size three diapers.
• You are in between 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes. It depends on the brand...
• You are still in size 2 shoes (or 0-6 month Robeez since we normally put you in those for the sole purpose of keeping your socks on since you like to kick those off now - ha!).
• You love to laugh! It gets me every time.
• You love art! You are really good at holding the crayons and markers. Your little grip is so strong!
• You now recognize me when I pick you up from school – you give me a huge grin and start fussing if I don’t immediately come over and play with you.
• You still love to put EVERYTHING into your mouth. On Mother’s Day weekend, we had you in your Bumbo in the flower bed while we were planting flowers. You grabbed a HUGE glob of soil and stuffed it in your mouth. The look on your face was priceless! We also put your little feet in the dirt and you really liked that! For the first time, you needed a bath because you were dirty.
• For the first time last night, you cried because I took away a toy from you. You were playing with a Wendy’s spoon in your Bumbo and I took it out of your hand so I could pick you up. You looked up at me and gave a little cry that totally sounded like, “Hey, Momma! I was playing with that!”
• OH BOY! We went to Iowa this weekend and you are one loved little boy!! Both sets of your grandparents (and your great-grandparents) are over the moon about you. Seeing your Grandpa Skip get on the floor to “exercise” with you and the look of love that you could literally feel from Grandma Judy just made my heart so happy. All of our Iowa friends, cousins, aunts, uncles...they all just love you! You were SO great on the airplane and were awesome about letting anyone hold you. Thank you for being so amazing!!
• You went to Tony & Michelle’s wedding (on your five month birthday) and did awesome! I did have to leave the church during the ceremony, as it was your dinner time and the church was built in the 1800’s so it had no a/c. Nursing you under a blanket with 250 strangers with no A/C would have been a disaster, so we went to the car, cranked up the A/C while you ate. Herky, the Hawkeye mascot, was at the reception and you had your picture taken with him. Of course, I changed you into an Iowa outfit as soon as I saw him so you would be in the appropriate gear for the photo op! Grandma Judy, Aunt Kristi and Megan came to get you at 7:30 from the reception so Daddy & I could enjoy adult time while you were loved on. We got home about 11. Aunt Kristi is a very good driver and made sure you got home safely. This was the first time you were in a car without your Daddy or me.
• On Sunday, you got baptized at the same church your Daddy and Uncle Jake grew up in. Our Iowa family and friends were there and Mommy teared up. Uncle Jake and Aunt Kristi are your godparents. This means they will make sure we raise you to be a man who loves Jesus and will take care of you should anything ever happen to us. Pastor Heidi said you did awesome – not one single tear – even with having water poured over your head, oil rubbed on your forehead, salt put on your lips and being walked around the church by Pastor. YEA!
• After your baptism, Grandma and Grandpa Frohling had a HUGE catered lunch by Hickory Park (Daddy’s favorite) for us at their house. Over 60 people came to see you and love on you – you ate it all up!
• Now, when I give you a bath, you like to sit up and face plant into the water as you try to eat your rubber ducky. It’s pretty funny, but we have to keep a super duper close eye on you!
• We signed you up for “swim” lessons at the local Y starting in July. I can’t wait – we ordered you little sun hats to protect your noggin. I vote for Daddy to get in the water with you while Mommy video tapes.
• Speaking of video tapes, I accidentally washed ours with a load of your clothes. It was in the bag with your laundry from our trip and I just dumped it in the wash without going through it. OOPS!! I pray that our accidental damage warranty covers it. Most of all, I hope we can get the Electronic Big Box Store to help us get your baptism video off of it...
• You love to watch and laugh at the dogs! It’s pretty cute.
• You are about to be out of your infant carrier, I think. We’ll ask the doc at your six month appointment about it.
• You are this close to sitting up unsupported. You also can scoot yourself across a blanket like a little inchworm. Someone’s about to be mobile, I think! UH OH!
• Your Daddy and I love you! I waited so long to be a Mommy and to celebrate Mother’s Day this year – well, let’s just say it was perfect! Daddy and you are the best gifts I could ever ask for and I love you both with all my heart!

Love,
Momma

May 2010

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Not So Secretly...

I walk into Hayden's classroom and hear the normal sounds of babies laughing and one or two crying. I go into the kitchen area and gather the car seat and extra bottle from the fridge. I walk back in and one of Hayden's teachers gives me a look of "help." I know that look. The look that says, "This child is fussy and I don't know what to do to help him - nothing is working." She tells me as I am walking towards my baby that he wouldn't take his last bottle and has been very un-Hayden-like for the last half hour. So much so that they took his temperature (he didn't have one).

I walk over to the swing where my sweet boy is fussing. His face is like mine when I cry - splotchy and red. Big crocodile tears slide down his cheeks. As I lift him out of the swing, I speak soft words of comfort. The crying stops. He looks up at me with those big, blue eyes and then...that special just-for-momma grin appears. He laughs as I snuggle and blow raspberries on his neck. We walk to the crib area and sit in the rocking chair. He nurses and, as he eats, he occasionally pulls away to look up at me - milk running out of the side of his mouth because he is smiling.

Hayden just needed and wanted his momma. And this. It makes me really happy. He loves his momma and wants me to comfort him - that is part of what makes being a momma so great.