We're still here!

You'll have to excuse my two-week hiatus from blogging. When Jay got back from his field training exercise, we started to realize how quickly our time together is running short. Jay will be deploying late this fall, so we've been spending as much time as possible with our little family. Jay has been very busy at work and getting home later than usual, so Hayden and I try to make the most of our time with him. When Jay first got home from the field Hayden was still in mommy-mode and didn't want to spend much time with dad alone. But two weeks later, we feel like he has a baby-sixth-sense that dad is leaving soon for a long time, because he's grown increasingly attached to him.

We are constantly surprised at how bright our son is, and how many of our traits he has acquired already. He is stubborn like his mom, sneaky like his dad and very intelligent. He's a climber and is fearless. Lately he's gotten very good at waving and mimicking the sounds we make. He is into absolutely everything, and already tries to evade us with his sweet smiles and big blue eyes while doing something he isn't supposed to. He is also enjoying more people food, including a giant piece of chicken he gnawed on at a BBQ last weekend. He's standing for just a few seconds on his own, and is showing definite signs of wanting to walk. Our little boy is growing up!

This past weekend Hayden and I hung out at home on Sunday while Jay went to Oktoberfest in Munich. We decided to give him a little boys time while we relaxed at home with Oscar. Hayden is also growing more and more interested and what we're eating and drinking, particularly the cups out of which we drink. So we end up having to down our water pretty quickly and give him the sip that's left in our cup. He loves it! He also enjoys cold bites of our freezer pops even though he makes the funniest face when the frozen treat hits his mouth. It probably feels pretty good on his teeth that are pushing their way through.

Now that Jay is back, flag football is back in business! Hayden and Oscar love to be out at the field for the games. Oscar gets to run around a bit and play with the kids, and Hayden enjoys crawling all over the ground and off of his sheet. Hayden gets very excited when everyone gets loud and claps and cheers, and he joins right in with the clapping.

We have a lot of fun stuff coming up so we're taking every opportunity to relax and do a lot of nothing! October is going to be a busy month with birthdays, long weekends and Hayden's first Halloween. Soon our little boy will be turning one, and we just don't know where the time has gone! It's amazing what a unique little person he's turning into.

Hayden and Oscar

Hayden clapping

Well we made it to the BBQ with our deviled eggs and macaroni, and Hayden had a blast playing on his neat sheet. He and Carson played with the toys and barked at the dogs and even ate a little BBQ food. After the BBQ we came back for yet another nap, and then headed to Megan's house for dinner. We ate and Hayden explored all the things he isn't supposed to touch, but Megan loves him too much to mind.

We had a busy week of meetings and mommy-stuff, being out and about and hanging out with our friends. Hayden enjoyed a little time at daycare on Friday while I went to a baby shower for our friend Adrianne. She's due with her second girl in October, so we had fun celebrating her yet-t0-be-named baby girl's arrival. Friday afternoon we headed to post to make a banner for Jay. Which means of course, Hayden got to hang out with Leigh and I got glitter everywhere.

Saturday morning we made a spur of the moment trip to Kreuzberg after Jay requested some of the beer made by the monks. It was a quick trip up there, and a beautiful cool day for a stroll. Hayden loves to be out and about and didn't even mind having socks on or his hood up. What a compliant little guy! That night we had a mexican food night planned with the girls, and Hayden enjoyed terrorizing Heather's bulldog, Cali. He tried to "bark" back at her, but it comes out more like a yell. He and Carson played a little in the playpen together but mainly wanted to go up the stairs, push furniture around and try to eat dog food. Luckily we're a little faster than the babies!

Sunday morning we were up and out bright and early to go see Jay! The 173d brigade was in the same place for the first time (we have units in two cities in Germany and one in Italy) so they invited the families down for a little food and fun. We hadn't seen Jay in three weeks, so it was great to see his face! We spent most of the day enjoying the weather and hanging out, watching sports and letting Hayden have some daddy time. Hayden cut a top tooth yesterday, and he also clapped for the first time! It was exciting especially since Jay didn't miss any of it. He loves to clap now, especially in the car because he can see himself in the mirror. He's working on the waving as well but still prefers to do that only in the mirror.

We're both excited for Jay to come home tomorrow and just hang out and be lazy for awhile! We have tons planned in October and November so I'm looking forward to some down time with my boys.

Weekend travelers

Once Hayden was better we were definitely stir crazy and ready to get out of the house. We started Friday night with a little fun on post. We have a "Rising Star" competition that is the Army's American Idol, and the finals were on Friday night. One of the ladies from our unit was a finalist so we went to cheer her on. Luckily we got there early because it was packed! It was noisy and crazy and busy and Hayden loved it! He moved along to the music and danced with mommy and saw all of his friends. We were looking forward to sharing some jagerschnitzel (breaded fried pork covered in mushroom sauce); unfortunately after an hour wait our waitress informed us that the kitchen "lost our order". After waiting tables for a decade, I know that means she didn't turn it in. Bummer! But we still had a good time.

Saturday morning we were up early for an adventure with our friends. We have been wanting to do the Rhine River cruise for a long time and finally got our chance. We headed out with six adults, five babies and three cars for the two and a half hour ride. We weren't 100% sure of where we were going so it was definitely an adventure! But we found it pretty easily and even had a few surprises, like Hayden's first ferry ride! We boarded a boat around 11:15am and began our cruise down the historic river Rhine.

What an amazing trip! We saw at least a dozen castles and castle ruins; churces and towns; monuments and memorials. We saw the famous Lorelei cliffs and enjoyed the beautful weather. It was a good day, a little cool and windy on the water but we all seemed to have a good time. After the boat ride, Hayden also enjoyed his first train ride! We took a 30-minute train back instead of the round trip boat ride (which would add another two hours) and had a relaxing ride once we finally figured out how to buy tickets from the machine. Unfortunately, in my anxiety to get his stroller down the steep steps to the platform, I left one of my favorite of his baby blankets on the train. I was very disappointed, but we always have more!

After the river cruise we headed to Ramstein Air Force Base for a little shopping (they have a brand new, American-style mall) and dinner at Chili's. The ride back was quick and Hayden slept nearly the whole way. It was a long day for him! But definitely worth all the traveling. Yesterday we bummed around a bit and had dinner at a friend's house. Hayden's nap schedule was nearly nonexistent yesterday, so today we're trying to get back on track. He's already down for his morning nap which gives me just enough time to make side dishes for the Labor Day BBQ we're going to in 2 hours. Then we should have just enough time to hang out, eat some burgers, socialize and head back home for a nap before another dinner with friends. We have lots on our plate this week, but hopefully I can plan it so that he doesn't miss any more naps. And Sunday we get to see Jay! We've had a long two weeks without him and this one is sure to fly by.

Down for the count

After our busy weekend, Hayden and I were definitely looking forward to some down time and our normal schedule. I was NOT looking forward to three days of diarrhea and diaper rash (obviously for Hayden). We've made it almost ten months without either one, so it was definitely challenging and I felt like a new mom all over again. Hayden tends to happily sleep through his bowel movements, which is always a nice surprise for mommy when I wake him up in the mornings. But I didn't want his rash to get too bad, so I would put him down at 7 for his regular bedtime and then wake him up when I went to bed around 11 just to give him a fresh diaper. That definitely messed up his sleep schedule, and I'm still paying for it this week. We spent most of Tuesday and ALL of Wednesday in the house. It was a little better by Thursday, thanks to yogurt, oatmeal and Bordreaux's Butt Paste.

We did have a little cloth diaper experience, which was interesting for both of us. I have a few cloth diapers that a friend made into burp cloths for me. I thought they would be a little better to air out his diaper rash, so I loosely pinned one on him. And how cute was he! Unfortunately it only lasted about five minutes, because that's when his actual diarrhea started. What a mess! I salute you cloth-diapering moms, because that thing went right into the trash. Luckily, Hayden was a champ through the whole thing and was his usual cheerful self, so that made it easier. And boy did he enjoy the spray-offs in the shower instead of the wipes. That kid loves the bath, so it was a treat for him!

We're back to normal foods and his rash is almost cleared up. Now, just to get him back on his sleep schedule!

Another fun-filled weekend

Hayden is getting pretty good at his busy social life, and loves being around people. So our crazy busy days and weeks end up being tons of fun!

On Saturday afternoon we headed to post to celebrate Nathanael's first birthday. It was a nice get together and there were four babies (including Hayden)...Hayden was the youngest and the oldest was 14 months so it was a nice mix of developmental skills and personalities! We ate pizza (crunchies for Hayden!) and watched the babies play for a bit. When it was time for cake, both Hayden and Nathanael had a pretty good idea of what to do! Nathanael dug right into his blue cake, and I couldn't share mine with Hayden fast enough. We watched Marrissa open most of Nathanael's presents because he was too excited about all his friends being at his house! The babies played and did their best to share. It's hard to believe we're a little over two months away from celebrating a birthday for Hayden!

Afterwards we headed to Amber's house to continue our game night from Friday. We didn't even get to the snacks and cake on Friday, so we decided to take advantage of our no-plans and just bring the party to Amber's. Hayden was pretty worn out and took a few cat naps here and there, but perked right up for his SECOND piece of cake for the day. He's one lucky baby! We stayed way past Hayden's bed time, so he went right to sleep when we got home. He also decided to sleep in on Sunday morning...until 10 am! Unbelievable.

Sunday evening we had a few friends over for dinner. Sam and Carson were in need of some good home cooking after their brief stay at the hospital, and Kelly, Cadence and Gavin are always up for a play date! The big kids played in the sandbox while Hayden napped and after dinner we went to the playground down the street from our house. It's a huge playground, and has stuff for the babies and the big kids so it was definitely a hit! Oscar enjoyed a little freedom while Hayden spent most of his time in the swing. He loves it! He does not love his socks, as you can see!

We had such a busy first week of Jay being gone that we've decided to take it a little easy for a few days. Hayden has had some tummy and diaper issues so I'm trying to keep him to his regular schedule as much as possible to help him feel better. We ran tons of errands yesterday and ended up having to skip our FRG meeting, but he seems to be on the mend. We ran to the commissary today with good timing...I got the last of his baby yogurt! Sorry for the people that come after me, but that boy loves his yogurt! It's also really good for his belly issues so I snatched it up. We picked up some more fun baby finger foods, some stuff to try new recipes for mom and were back in time for a nap. We have no plans today, and my house could definitely use a little TLC. Hopefully we'll be able to have a little Oscar-time in the sunshine later in the day.

Our most exciting news is that yesterday Jay was promoted to Staff Sergeant! He went to the promotion board back in June so it was definitely exciting for us. Jay is in the field on communication black out, so we couldn't celebrate with him but we were very proud of him here at home! Now we just need a picture of him in his uniform so we can get working on Hayden's daddy doll for the deployment!