Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, as usual, was a day of food, family, and football. In the morning, Phil played football with some friends from church at the park near our house. Hayden and I braved the cold weather for a little bit to watch.




After football, we headed over to Phil's parent's house in Kirkland. On the way, we made a call to Grandma Judi & family in Michigan.


All 3 of Phil's brother's were at Phil's Parent's house, with the 3 nephews + one more baby on the way, along with his Aunt and Uncle. So it was a full house and we pretty much just ate and ate and watched the Seahawks play a horrible game and then ate some more. I made Chex Mix and a Pumpkin Dump cake for my contribution to the massive amount of food at their house. And Grandma Doris has a toy room full of fun things for all the grandkids to play with, so Hayden was loving it all.



I missed seeing my dad this year at Thanksgiving. He and his wife are in Thailand celebrating her birthday. And unfortunately, they could be stuck there longer than they had planned. There is a huge government protest at the Bankok Airport shutting down all flights and tourists are being diverted to naval bases and smaller airports. I sure hope they are able to return home soon and safely.

On "Black Friday" I had no interest in 5am shopping this year, so after Hayden and I got up and ready, we went to KidsQuest at Factoria Mall to play. He had a great time and as we were leaving, I heard live music down in the middle of the mall and a big crowd so we went over to check it out. I was shocked to see my Childhood Idol, "Tim Noah" in concert on the stage, doing all the hits I remembered as a kid and also some classic Christmas songs. Then Santa made his big appearance!




Hayden really enjoyed all the activity and even took a candy cane from Santa and wasn't scared of him at all! I think we'll go back sometime this week to get his Santa pictures done with this Santa. He looks great in his Red Suit with a real beard and the backdrop for the photos was great. There were penguins spinning from decorative parachutes up above the set, and Hayden loved them just like ceiling fans. He even was spinning around like them when he was dancing to the music! Such a fun, spontaneous moment!

Hayden is 18 Months Old

Hard to believe that it's already been a year and a half since Hayden entered our lives. Every day he continues to amaze me and make me thank God for him.

Here are his "official" 18-month stats. I say "official" because he was so upset at the doctor's office that I'm not sure if he was still long enough to get an accurate height and weight reading.

HEIGHT: 34 inches (90th percentile)
WEIGHT: 26 lbs, 1 oz. (55th percentile)
HEAD CIRC: 19.5 in (85th percentile)

HAIR COLOR: STILL UNKNOWN!

LOVES:
Trucks, Buses, Cars, and Trains
Gears, wheels and ceiling fans (things that spin)
Books (Favorites: Hop on Pop, Go Dog Go, My First Trucks, Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, Five Silly Monkeys, Thank You God, all the Sandra Boynton books, and a handful of others)
Food (Especially Broccoli, Black Beans, Veggie Booty, Edamame, Fish, Oatmeal, Blueberry Pancakes, almost all Fruits & Vegetables, Breads, Cookies/Animal Crackers, frozen bananas and grapes)
Milk
Straws
Forks
Microwaves
Baths
Brushing his teeth
Dogs - from a distance, in books, or stuffed
Bubbles
Grandma
Super Why
Elmo
Cookie Monster
Clocks
Shoes
Music
Being chased
Peek-A-Boo
Pattycake
Horsey Rides


DISLIKES:
Sharing
Getting his face washed after meals (getting better)
Real dogs barking
Loud noises (like the Power Drill or Vacuum)
Getting his diaper changed
Strangers holding him
Mashed potatoes
Cottage Cheese


LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS:
Climbing up and down stairs
Climbing on the coffee table and couch
Dancing
Spinning in circles
Somersaults (unassisted!)
Shape Sorters
Stacking descending-sized buckets into a tall dower
Eating with a spoon and fork
Drinking from a cup without assistance
Showing the number 1, 4 and 5 on his fingers
Blowing Kisses
Blowing air (like the wind)
Whistling (seriously!)
Fake Snoring sounds and laying his head on a pillow
Lots of different animal sounds: Meow, Horse's snort, Pig's snort, Moo, Baa, Naa, Lion's Roar, Cock-A-Doodle, Donkey's Hee-Haw, Monkey's OO-OO-Ah-Ah
Following simple directions (put things in garbage, bring me a book, sit down)
Using manners - Please and Thank You in sign language
Pointing to body parts when asked (nose, knee, toes, eyes, ears, hair)
Pointing to things in books when asked (like "Where's the cat?", "Where's the garbage can?", "Where's the moon?")
Sign Language: More, Please, Thank You, Milk, Bye Bye, Change (diaper), Cookie, All Done, Cold
Words: Mommy ("MumMum"), Daddy, Papa, Grandma ("Maa"), Mail Man, Hi, Bye Bye, Truck ("Tt"), Car ("dAR" - spoken like a Pirate!), Help ("Puh"), Dog ("dGO"), Boo-Boo, Ice, Brr, Juice, Ball, Uh-Oh, LaLaLa (sing!), door. Some words are a little less clear -- gears, shoes, garage, fan, table -- you would only know if you knew "his language" like Mommy and Daddy do.
Saying "Hhhh" when he sees the letter "H" or when asked, "What does the H say?"


SCHEDULE:
7:30am - Wake Up
8:00am - Breakfast
10:30am - Snack
12:15pm - Lunch
1:00pm - Nap
3:30pm - Wake Up from Nap, Snack
5:30pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Start Bedtime routine
7:30pm - Asleep for the night

He had a cold about 3 weeks ago, and the cough has been lingering. He wakes up a couple times at night and we'll give him some water and he'll go right back to sleep. We are so happy that he is a good sleeper and napper.

He's showing an interest in the toilet, and we have a Potty Seat his size, but he doesn't like to sit on it, yet. We have a couple books about going Potty and he likes those a lot, but isn't ready to sit on the potty. We are going to be patient and not push it.

I'm also happy to report that he has been doing great with all dairy products now, and drinks 6 oz of Whole Milk with each meal - 5 oz Cow's Milk, + 1 oz Goat's Milk. We have been transitioning off the Goat's Milk and he'll be 100% Cow's Milk as soon as the last of this carton of Goat's milk is gone. :) YAY!! He likes cheese, too!

Sick Day with Daddy:

All dressed up for dinner out to celebrate Auntie Nicki's 30th Birthday:

Maggiano's Dinner with Grandma Judi for Nicki's Birthday:

Daddy's hair is tickly and tastes funny:

"Hayden, let's get your shoes on!":

Aquarium Visit

This past Saturday, November 8th, was Phil's Dad's birthday (as well as my sister's 30th birthday) so all the Lott family celebrated by visiting the Seattle Aquarium. Hayden really enjoyed the Tide Pool area where you get to put your hands in the water, but threw a little tantrum when we wouldn't let him go IN the water. He seems to be having more of those lately. Phil and I have to work hard at not laughing because he's so dang cute sometimes when he throws a tantrum.



He also enjoyed the Jelly Fish. They circle around you in a glass tunnel.



We had to speed through the rest of the aquarium because he was hungry and cranky for a nap. It's hard to schedule big group outings because everyone has a different schedule. I had hoped Hayden would be more flexible. After we went home and had a good long nap, we returned to Phil's parent's house for a big Lott dinner with everyone once again. Hayden was in better spirits then, and loved playing with his older cousins, Jude and Ethan. I also gave him some of the lemon meringue birthday pie for dessert and he LOVED it! What a day!

Halloween 2008

I carved 2 pumpkins this year. An elmo with dracula fangs and the itsy bitsy spider. Hayden enjoyed taking the tops off the pumpkins and looking at the candle flickering inside. Phil roasted the pumpkin seeds for a delicious treat!


For our PEPS meeting we tried to get a group shot of all the babies in their costumes. It was meltdown city, and this is the best photo that was taken in the 10 second attempt that was filled with screaming and crying and moms trying to get a picture. Disaster.


It had been a soggy day earlier, but we lucked out and the rain held off in the evening for the trick-or-treaters. Grandma Doris and Grandpa Jim stopped by to bring Hayden a little candy bag (which Mommy and Daddy are happily eating for him) and also cousins Jude, Ethan and Greyson trick-or-treated our house.



At first, we thought we'd just stay home and pass out candy. But Hayden seemed very interested in going outside, so we threw on his costume and circled the block. He loved walking around in the dark and seeing all the other people outside at night. What a new experience! Hayden did a great job reaching into the bowls and picking up one piece of candy and even used sign language "thank you". I was surprised how much he liked it and seemed to understand what was going on. So cute.