Cuddles With Nanna

On our way back from Nan & George's, mum and dad dropped us off at Adam and Carly's for the evening. We sat and cuddled with Maddie while mum and dad took Hayden home to have some alone time with him. They bathed him, fed him and put him to bed. It was great for them to have that time with Hayden while I had some time without him....sounds bad, doesn't it? It was very nice to visit and catch up with Adam and Carly without having to chase Hayden around - oh yes, I have forgotten to mention this very large fact - Hayden crawls now. Real proper crawling. It is the cutest thing!! Oh, he also says A-Nan-Nan and A-Dad-Dad. I am not sure if he is knowingly saying them, and knowing to whom they apply; but, it is so cute to hear his voice. He is finding freedom in his voice and his movement.

Shane, we need to baby proof the house...pronto!!!

Dinner With Nan & George

Yesterday, we went down to Hastings to visit with Nan and George. Nan cooked us a fantastic roast lamb with all the trimmings (hmm-mmm) and George took care of every drink request we had! It was a nice day and I think Nan & George enjoyed visiting with Hayden.

After dinner, Dad, Jamie and I took Hayden to the park across the road from Nan & George. We used to go to this park a lot when we were kids. We would always feed the ducks with loaves and loaves of bread...they were well taken care of. I really wanted to take Hayden to do this...as it was such a big part of my childhood. He seemed to enjoy watching, and hearing, the ducks and gulls as they fought each other over the bread! It will be better next time when we come home as he will be old enough to stand at the fence and throw the bread in himself...he will really get the whole experience then!

Swimming In Eastbourne

Hayden LOVES the swimming pool. He splashed, kicked, bounced in and loved the water. He thought his grandad was hilarious when he went under the water to make him jump with a big "Boo" as he resurfaced.

Hayden was amazing...laughed, giggled and loved to watch the other kids playing in the pool; however, he was not such a big fan of the wave machine - even though we were in the shallowest part. I think this was the best day we have had by far...we both had such a great time in the water. When we get back to Burney, I think I will look to see if there are any 'Mummy & Me' groups in Redding that meet at the pool...Hayden would love that.

Needless to say, after 2.5 hours in the water, Hayden was asleep in his car seat before we even left the swimming pool car park!!

A Trip To Dickens World

We ended up not going to the swimming pool today as the slide is closed on Tuesday and Thursdays...and, as we are all adrenaline junkies (except mum, of course) when it comes to water slides - there was just no way we could possibly go today. Instead we went to Dickens World in Chatham. It was an inside full-size exhibit with people dressed in character providing information and insight in to Charles Dickens world. For example, did you know that after fathering his 10th child with his wife, he left her and lived the rest of his life with his mistress?

Anyhoo, we learned about the inspiration for his characters and more about his personal life. An interesting and informative day.

Tomorrow is the swimming!

The Sights Of Brighton

After visiting the aquarium, we had a nice walk around the seafront of Brighton. We had lunch in a very nice pub and Hayden was waited on hand and foot by the staff...he put his flirting skills to good use! We then went for a walk around 'The Lanes' which are a series of very small, thin lanes that have multiple little shops in. We ended up on the pier and walked to the end and back. It was a lovely day and the weather co-operated...actually, I have been very lucky with the weather since I arrived - no major rain and definitely no more snow!!

Tomorrow we are going swimming...watch this space!

Brighton Aquarium

Today, Dad had the great idea to go to the aquarium in Brighton. It took Hayden a while to warm up to the fishes in the tanks; however, he loved the sting-rays as he got to look down at them rather than through the thick glass. There were some amazing fish there (see Shane...catfish do exist!!) and the aqaurium building itself was quite a sight. It was built in the mid 1830s and was built underneath the main street in Brighton. Most of the original arcitecture is still present today...quite the sight to see.

Visiting With Good Friends

Yesterday (Sunday) was spent catching up with good, good friends. I had sent out an invite to many friends, and I am amazed at how many drove to see me...some from a good distance away. I am blessed to have such great friends, many from junior and secondary school. I got to visit with ML (not pictured), Claire P (not pictured), Katie (not pictured), Maria, Jen, Freddie, Sam, Laura, Cara, Des and Sarah. Thanks for coming - it was a great afternoon...I love you all!!

Cute Hayden Pictures

Hayden has given away my secret...up until now, people have thought that I am a good photographer - nope. Hayden seriously hams it up every time he hears a digital camera opening. He finds where the sound is coming from and smiles. I am disappointed that my reputation for photography has gone by the way side!!

I have friends coming over tomorrow afternoon to visit and then next week we have a few things tentatively planned: a trip to the swimming pool, a trip to an aquarium, a trip to see Nan and George, a trip to feed the ducks at the park, celebrating Dad's birthday and more!! All should foster some great pictures!!

Seeing Len and Julie

My uncle Len came and visited today with his fiance Julie. Although Len and Julie have been together for over 3 years, I have never met her before...and she is lovely!! It was such a nice day and Hayden was a show-off all day long. He even crawled more than 5 steps...he is getting there.

Catching Up With Family

Yesterday, we had the whole family up for a day of overwhelment! We were visited by: Nan, George, Ronnie, Aunty Sue, Aunty Jane, Claire, Oliver, Lilly, Emma, Christopher, Milly, Martin, Kim, Ben, Maddie, Riley, Carly, Baby Maddie. It was all a bit much for Hayden. He did really well when there were a few people...and he played really well with Martin's two youngest children; however, when the remainder of the riff-raff (said with affection!) arrived, Hayden found it a bit too much. He continued to be very well behaved, but prefered to stay in my arms and was easily upset with the loudness of the laughter...which there is a lot of when we all get together!!! It was a great day though and I was so happy to see my family all together.

Thanks Mum for putting on such a great spread of food and being the hostess with the most-ess!

Meeting Maddie

Maddie is just as beautiful as I thought she would be...it is so amazing to have all of us together, especially as Jamie even joined us yesterday.

Pictures From The Plane

These pictures are from our delayed stay in the Redding airport and then on our flight over to England. As I have said before, he was such a good boy on the way over and I am just so proud of him.

He has begun to settle in with the time change and today has been his best day although a couple of nights ago was his best night. I am hoping that as he had a more normal day (in terms of his eating times and such) that tonight will be a more normal night...here's hoping!!

Trip To England

I am sorry, there will not be any pictures with this post. I have not figured out how to get the pictures from my camera into my parents computer...I think I brought the wrong cable with me. Oops.
Well, it has been an interesting adventure so far. I got here 24 hours late and Hayden is struggling more with the time change than I had anticipated. Let me start from the beginning...
My flight out of Redding (to San Francisco) was 2 hours late taking off due to bad weather in San Francisco. In fact, we had driven through a snow storm to get to Redding. It was windy and just not nice. Hayden was perfect in the airport. There was another single mum travelling with a 6 month old baby boy called Billy. They boys "played" for a little while and Hayden did a little better sharing his toys... Hayden was wonderful on the flight down to San Francisco. Not a peep. He just played with the sick bag and chewed on the in-flight magazine. No problems with his ears on take off or landing. He was quite the little star.
Our connecting flight to London had been and gone by the time we arrived in San Francisco despite the woman in Redding promising me they would hold the flight for me as we would arrive "just in time." Yeah, right. The boarding gate was dead...no United officials, no passengers...no-one. I was tired by now and so was Hayden...even though he continued to be so, so good. I went to the United counter and had to book into the flight the next day! Hayden and I stayed in a hotel for the night. So we had to wait outside, in the cold, to wait for the shuttle bus to take us to the hotel. Thankfully, I was prepared and Hayden had plenty of warm clothes and, of course, his trusty blanket.
I met a really sweet older gentleman on the shuttle bus. He was returning from the Philippines where he had just won an award for starting a radio station in a rural area. It was cute listening to him tell his story...he was wonderfully helpful. Thank-you John, where-ever you may be now!!
Hayden slept really well in the pack'n'play provided by the hotel. Even though I did not have my suitcase, I did have clean clothes and PJs for Hayden and, thankfully, plenty of food and formula for him. Breakfast (a really, really nice breakfast) was included in the hotel price and we stocked up with more food for Hayden to get us through the plane ride.
The flight to London was 10.5 hours. Hayden slept for 2 of those. Not enough. However, he was the happiest, sweetest, cutest, most co-operative baby the whole trip. I was sitting behind the bulkhead with two empty seats next to me...Hayden got to play on the floor and on the seats. He ate well and there was not a tear. In fact, he was so good that a complete stranger came up to me at baggage claim and told me that he thought Hayden was the best baby he had ever seen on a plane. He told me that he thought he had got the short straw by having to sit behind me, but was so impressed with Hayden. Being proud of Hayden would be a complete under-statement. He flew as if he had been doing it all his life. He was charming and flirtatious with the stewardesses and a complete gentleman.
Mum and dad, of course, were over the moon to see us after we got through immigration and customs. We had a nice ride back home and Hayden took a good, long nap that afternoon and through the evening.
Yesterday, Hayden, mum and I took a 3.5-4 hour walk all around town. It was so nice to be able to get out and stretch our legs and breathe some fresh air. Hayden slept for a little while in his stroller, but he spent most of the time watching the world go by.
Last night was a rough night. Hayden slept from 5pm to 10pm and then was up to 5am this morning...which, of course, means I was up too. He fell asleep at 5am and slept until 2:30 this afternoon. He is now taking his 'morning' nap (as his body is telling him it is 8am when it is really 4pm). So I am expecting another rough night. I am not sure how to break this cycle. Any suggestions?
Hayden continues to amaze me in his versatility and adaptability. He has taken the travel and new location in his stride. He is sleeping (albeit at inconvenient times!!) well in a strange place and, as a mother, I could not be prouder.
I hope to figure out the pictures before long and get them posted on here. I love you all!!

Today's Accomplishment

Hayden ate a saltine cracker all by himself. He made a mess and 1/3 of the cracker did not make it down the hatch; but, it was a worthy and valiant effort. One that he, and we, are proud of. Way to go, Hayden!!

Naked Baby Jamboree Part 2

These are pictures from last night's naked baby jamboree time.

So, What Did We Learn This Week?

We learned that our eight month old son does not play well with others!! I took Hayden down to Red Bluff on Wednesday to meet with Andrew and Katie, and (most importantly), their six month old daughter, MacKenzie. We took some of Hayden's toys to share with MacKenzie; however, Hayden was not impressed when MacKenzie started playing with the keys that Nanna and Grandpa bought out from Colorado for him. Although he was a good few feet away from MacKenzie, he made sure he scooted forward very quickly by means of the efficient army crawl, reached out with his right hand, grabbed the keys and pulled them right out of her hands...and mouth. Thankfully MacKenzie took it in her stride and Hayden enjoyed his moment of victory...until mumma promptly took the keys out of Hayden's mouth (without use of the army crawl) and gave them back to MacKenzie...who appeared victorious. Hayden moved on to other toys and did not steal again.

We also learned that Hayden is an empathetic crier. Hayden accidentally caught MacKenzie's cheek when he was lifting one of the toys off the floor. MacKenzie started to cry and once she did...well, Hayden's bottom lip puckered, his eyes got red, he started to cry and the tears flowed. Once MacKenzie stopped crying, as a result of Hayden starting to cry, Hayden stopped too - and playtime resumed.

It was a fun day. It was nice for me to be able to spend time with other new parents and swap stories of glory as well as horror (such as the change in poop once the babies start eating solid food - urgh). Hayden actually was very well behaved and spent most of the time giggling and grizzling. Needless to say, he fell asleep in the car before we reached the end of their street and he slept the whole way home.

Today, the whole family went down to Mercy Hospital to visit our friends (Chantz and Rhonda) who just welcomed their second son, Christopher. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet Christopher as he is in the NICU for a couple of days as a result of being five weeks early. He is doing well and should be home soon. Congratulations Chantz and Rhonda!! Enjoy being a big brother, Nicholas!!

Having Fun In A Towel

Life is good when you are naked and in a towel. Just look at the smiles to prove it!!