Some things never get old

When it comes to your kids, any of the "firsts" never get dull. We have watched our older two children learn to walk and experienced all the excitement and elation watching them wobble and teeter and finally take those first steps, and now we are getting to go through the experience with Hayden and we are as giddy as when we first watched Abigail and Mitchell.

We have been anxiously awaiting Hayden's first steps, knowing that he was building up his confidence to step out and try it on his own. He has been cruising around furniture and walls for months now and lately has been a wild man with his walker, but had never ventured out without a safety net, until tonight.

Oh, those first steps are precious, whether it's your first or your last. The sweetness of seeing their faces light up, knowing they have done something new, is the best sight. Hayden was standing at the island in the kitchen and wanted to get to his walker that was a few steps away, instead of going into a crawl to get to it like he normally does, he reached out and 1...2...3 did it! He took his first independent steps! We all started clapping and praising him and he plopped down with a huge smile on his face and started clapping for himself. He had no idea what he had just done, but he sure was liking all the attention! And to make the moment even sweeter, was seeing his big sister and brother just as excited as we were, they love experiencing these firsts as much as we do!

And we partied!

Today was Hayden's 1st Birthday & his party day and we all had such a good time! We did the party different this time, having it at in our backyard and from 10a-12p, and it all worked out really well! The theme of his birthday party was 1st birthday baby dinosaurs and we had brunch foods for everyone. We set up a bounce house for the kids to play in and had all the fun balloons and cupcakes. Hayden did so good, considering he was woken up from his nap early and was surrounded by a bunch of people that he knows, but is not around all the time. He loved opening his presents and eating his pancakes and then digging into his very own cake. It was such a fun time visiting with family & friends and celebrating our baby boy's big day. So hard to believe that he is 1 already and it makes me sad to think that my baby is growing up so fast, but I am also looking forward to watching him develop and his personality coming out more. We are starting a new chapter in our life and there are many fun times ahead for our little family!

How quickly a year goes by...

Tonight is the eve of my last baby's 1st birthday and it is so hard to believe that a year ago today I was trying to make myself get a little sleep, but was too excited to know that I would be meeting my baby very soon. I was induced at 7am on the 25th, so the night before was impossible for me to get any sleep at all! I was much to anxious to get to the hospital and get the show on the road. After a long (or long to me) and hard labor, Hayden Thomas made his arrival at 4:40pm on Friday, September 25, 2009. It was so fun not finding out the gender and having that anticipation and surprise at the end of a long, hard day. It was so fun for Steve to look at me, with tears in his eyes, and proudly announce that it was a boy, much to our surprise because for whatever reason we both thought it was going to be a girl. It was so fun getting to pick out a name right then & there because we weren't sure about a boy's name until that very moment when we first saw him. It was so special to me to get to give my baby boy his middle name after his great-grandfather, my Pop, whom he hasn't met on this earth, but I know that he met in heaven before he was here. And to top it all off, was seeing the look of awe & amazement on Abigail & Mitchell's faces' when they walked into the hospital room to meet their new brother. They were the first ones we had back into the room and Abigail knew before we even told her that it was a brother, she just sensed it and knew she had another little brother. They loved him from the second they saw him, all wrapped up in his blankie and taking in his new world. What a beautiful and wonderful day that was!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Hayden's big first birthday with our friends and family at our house in the backyard. Finally, we have a child with a birthday in the warm weather months so that we can have an outdoor party! I know he won't understand what all the commotion and craziness is about, but we will and we will celebrate all day long. He is such a character and is really getting his own personality, which I hate to admit is actually a lot like mine, impatient and has a little temper! But I love watching him develop and finding his own way and place in our family. What a perfect and amazing blessing he has been in our life!