2nd Birthday and our 3rd Military Move

I'm ashamed that I haven't posted anything in nearly 8 months. After 18 months old, things change a little more slowly. I figured now was a good time to get to blogging again, since we just made another PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move and Hayden just turned 2 yrs old.

Mike learned we'd be moving to Maryland somewhere around October 15th, received the orders October 20th, and we were officially out of our Grovetown, GA home on November 3rd. We had hoped we'd be home for Christmas for once in Mike's military career. After learning where his next assignment would be, Mike discussed the timeline with the superior that would be filing the paper work. It was agreed upon that he would put off the filing for a bit so that we would be able to take leave around the first of December and then arrive in Maryland sometime after Christmas. Said superior's superior got ahold of his paperwork somehow and processed it through quickly (the way things are supposed to be done). Therefore, we were home for both Thanksgiving and Hayden's birthday (Nov. 28th) instead of Christmas.

Hayden was blessed with a classroom full of boys his age in his Sunday morning/Wednesday night bible class. Their mommies knew I had wanted to have a birthday party for him sometime in November before we left town. When we got the orders much earlier than expected, they threw us a surprise early birthday party at Odynn's house. The theme was puppies, one of Hayden's favorite things. Odynn's mommy made a puppy cake and she and Ian's mommy ordered pizza. His buddies Ian, Odynn, Aiden, and Miles were there, along with the older siblings of Ian, Odynn, and Aiden. They had a great time and we have some great memories. In leu of presents, they got Hayden a Target gift card for us to take with us and use later (since all of our household goods were already enroute to a storage facility in VA). Thanks again for blessing us!



We left for Texas on the evening of November 3rd, took turns driving overnight, and arrived in Mt. Vernon, TX early November 4th. We stayed the weekend with Aunt Sue. Mike's cousin, Amy, and her 3 yr old, Amanda, arrived Friday and were also there most of the weekend. Hayden had someone to play with, and Aunt Sue let me help her quilt the latest project on her quilting rack. I'm now inspired to start quilting again. I've had some unfinished projects in a box for a few years now. Sue taught me how to hand quilt about 10 years ago. I finished my first hand quilted quilt (king size) about a year and a half later. I put off hand quilting for several years and took up rag quilts. I made a few of those. I finished the last rag quilt in Hawai'i. It is cranberry/floral flannel with denim. An un-air-conditioned house in Hawai'i for 2 years wasn't really conducive to lap quilting. A baby who spits up for the first year of his life is not conducive to lap quilting, either. I think Hayden is old enough now to learn that needles hurt when they poke you, so it's best if you leave mommy's quilting alone. I doubt I'll be able to do any quilting while he's awake, anyway. Here's a link to the quilt Sue let me do some quilting on. She finished it a couple weeks after we left. She donated it to the Providence Cemetery to raffle for fundraising. Scroll down to the quilt with butterflies. http://providencecemetery.org/fundraiser

We spent the rest of the month of November in Leander and Burnet with our immediate families. I worked part of the time at David's office. Hayden got to play with his cousin Avery a few times and we took them to have pictures made. They turned out amazing. Here are a few. If you don't have facebook and you'd like to see the rest, let me know.

We got to meet Hayden's newest cousin, Huck, who was 1 month old. Cousin Josiah got to bring his parents for Thanksgiving at the Browns'. Hayden, Josiah, and Huck got one professional picture made together, too. I don't have a digital copy of that one yet, and I haven't had my scanner.

We got to spend a day shopping and playing in south Austin at Cabella's with Zeke and Ollie and Avery. Hayden and Avery got to see stuffed versions of all of Texas's wildlife and more, and I got me some great boots for the cold weather up north.

We had a family birthday party for Hayden. All of his cousins got to be there, Josiah, Huck, and Avery. Mary made a chocolate cake and with some help from Callie and a tiny bit of input from me (and I think my mom may have helped when I was gone?), it turned out to be a beautiful classic Ford truck. Hayden got lots of good presents.



The Brown extended family generally gets together every December for a big family dinner and "white elephant" gift exchange. We had it at the end of November this year instead since all of us were in Texas at the same time for once. Hayden got to open many presents in November, and it's been great having them all as we are now in Maryland waiting for our house to become available.

We left Texas November 30 and drove all the way back to Grovetown to pick up Mike's truck. Our friends from church (the Drake's) let us leave it on their property while we were on vacation. Every inch of our car was packed full. While in Texas, we found a great sale at Sam's Club on a portable DVD player that attaches to the seat for Hayden. I think it was our saving grace on that 18 hour drive. We drove overnight again and arrived in Grovetown just in time to retrieve our mail that was on hold before the post office closed. We went to church (it was a Wednesday evening) and stayed the night with a generous friend who opened her home to us. (Thank you Pace family!!) We got up early Thursday morning, had breakfast at Waffle House, weighed both our vehicles full, and hit the highway for Maryland.

Enroute to Maryland, we stopped in Fayetteville, NC to visit Charla, Thadd, Wren, and Emeline. These are army/church friends that became dear friends to us in Hawai'i. We had a very long lunch with them at Carolina Ale House and finally got back on the road around 4pm. We arrived in Frederick, MD around 11:30pm. We all slept very well. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn. Friday morning, we had an appointment to view on-post housing. We saw both the old townhomes and the newer (2005-2006) townhomes. We were offered the option to move into old housing that day or wait until January 12 for a newer unit to be available for us. We decided to wait on the newer one. Though it's not as wonderful as the single-story house we were spoiled with in Georgia, it's very nice for housing in our price range here in Maryland. There's a VAST difference between the newer housing and the older housing on post, especially when it comes to the much needed storage space. (Have you ever seen the amount of army gear these guys have to keep up with?)

After staying in the Fairfield Inn for 5 nights, we were able to find a fully-furnished 1 bedroom condo for rent until our house is ready. It has been a relief to be able to cook meals here instead of dining out for every meal. Hayden has his pack-n-play set up in the dining room, and he has done very well here.

Mike checked in to his command on Dec. 6th and spent that week in-processing, going to all of the offices he has to register with on post (medical, dental, his company, etc., etc.) He then was granted 10 days permissive TDY (Temporary Duty). This is given to soldiers for house-hunting time. Since we already know we're staying on post, it's just been more vacation time. It has been very cold and windy. We didn't get any snow until the day before yesterday and it snowed nearly all day. We've been busying ourselves mostly with shopping for propper winter attire (i.e. snow boots, hats, scarves, coats).

Hayden had his first doctor's appointment here the other day, his 2 yr. well-baby check-up. He is 35.25 inches tall and 27.6 lbs.

18 Months already

Hayden is 18 months old today! We just got back from visiting his pediatrician for his well-baby check up. He weighs 24.7 pounds and he's 32 inches tall. (34 percentile) At 15 months, he was 26.9 lbs, so he's come down a bit. He recently cut his top eye teeth and did not have much of an appetite for about a month. He has a bit of a chest cold (been coughing up stuff) and fluid in his ears, so she gave him some antibiotic and zyrtec. She also said I could give him some uncaffeinated herbal tea with dark honey as a natural decongestant.

If you come to my house and notice fewer decorations each time, it's because I have to keep removing them each time he gets taller. Today I had to move the Hawai'i license plate on a plate holder that I had on a night stand in the guest room. He has begun to carry it off. His height often surprises us when we know there was something he couldn't reach before and he walks into the room and hands it to us.

It is by the grace of God that we haven't had any emergency room visits yet. The other day I had a full cup of coffee. After mixing my cream in it, I set it on the kitchen table for a moment. I didn't think I put it in his reach. I left it to use the restroom. I heard Hayden crying from the restroom, but it didn't sound like a serious cry. It just sounded like when he is complaining about not getting his way. I proceeded to wash my hands casually and check on him when I was ready to. He had coffee all over him and the floor. I was so releived that it was not hot enough to burn. I must have put lots of cream in it! He was just complaining about being soaked and didn't know what to do next. The next day, I had unplugged my lap top at the computer plug-in but left the cord plugged into the wall. I took the computer to another room for a while. Later, I found Hayden in the media room dipping the computer end of the cord into Paco's water bowl.

Hayden's vocabulary hasn't developed much since the last post. He says mommy more often than anything, because he says it every time he's frustrated about anything. He also says ball "baw", ducky "duddy", birdy, go-go, car "caw". He does a lot of pointing and grunting to tell you what he wants.

This week and next we are doing "swimming lessons" at the Y. I get in the pool with him. I have a hard time getting him into the pool without much whining and clinging, but he seems to be getting better each day. He doesn't care for the splash pad outside either. I don't know what his deal is, because he LOVES taking baths and showers at home.

Hayden's current obsessions:
Paco's leash - I use one of our bottom cabinets for Paco's stuff (food, treats, leash, clippers, etc.). Hayden falls apart if I put the leash where it goes instead of letting him play with it. He also gets upset if I mention going for a walk with Paco and he can't get to the leash (because of the lock on the cabinet). He will stand and pull on the knob and holler "mommy, mommy, ahhh!"
Behind the couch - Hayden keeps trying to go play behind the couch. He's fascinated with the stereo wires back there. I have had to put up a fence link from his play yard to keep him out. That's where the attack dust bunnies live. The fence also is keeping him from my computer when I'm not using it(and the cord he tried to put in Paco's water.
Climbing everything - At church, Hayden heads toward the stairs to the balcony if we are in the foyer and not holding onto him. At a restaurant last night, we were at a first floor table near a stair case. Hayden pointed and whined half of the time we were there. He also climbs up on the edge of our bathtub and makes me nervous.
Playing in the garage - Daddy's motorcycle, Hayden's bike, and the lawn mower are all major points of interest in the garage. I have a hard time walking through it to go to the car. He has to stop and push the mower or point at Daddy's bike and whine or climb onto his bike like he's ready to go.

Hayden's latest developments

Hayden's most recent new words are Bubbles (bubba...bubba) and Cheese. Sometimes he just makes the "ch" sound, but we've heard him say the whole word a couple times. It is usually his favorite thing to eat right now. I buy the Baby Bell individually wrapped wheels, mozarella sticks, and cottage cheese. He also likes slices of mozarella rolled up with deli meat. I've been buying little individual size cottage cheese servings for him. They look like yogurt containers. He loves cottage cheese and it is the perfect consistency to stay on his spoon so he can practice feeding himself.

In church on Sunday, I had Hayden's (safe for under 3) cars for him to play with. The boys behind us were playing with "big boy cars." He was very covetous. One of the mothers made her older son share his "big boy car." Hayden was very happy. So this week I bought him a couple of "big boy cars." In church on Wednesday night, I gave him his cars and he played with them the whole devo time. I didn't even have to open his "church" bag. Hayden has some other big boy cars at home that my mom and his cousin Joe have given him. He is playing with them quite a lot. He likes to sneak up behind me and drive them on the back of my leg, while making vroom vroom noises.

Another one of Hayden's molars finished cutting this week. We had a good day today now that that one is through, but we have several more to go still. By the way, it's amazing how well they sleep when the monitor is set on the wrong channel. Hayden found the input end in his room yesterday and played with it. I didn't notice he switched the channels, so I got a little extra sleep. :) I have no idea what time he woke up this morning, but he was in a good mood when I did get up and go get him. Two molars in, no eye teeth yet.

It seems that Hayden has decided to drop his afternoon nap. This is fine with me, because it allows us to get out and do more during the day. Also, he goes to bed easier at night. Sunday and Wednesday nights are kind of hard on him since he has to stay up later.

I know later I'll think of more that I should have posted on here. I haven't been writing anything down in a real baby book, so this is my record of things.

Cars, Hugs, and melt downs

Hayden is cutting at least 4 teeth. He is wanting to take very long naps, eating less, and has been having unusually spastic melt downs when he doesn't get his way (i.e. not getting to go outside when Paco does, not getting to jump in the shower with Daddy, etc.) One of his molars is nearly completely through. I can feel the other one cutting through, and I can see the white through the gum on his upper canines and one of his bottom molars. Hayden had his first dental check-up this month. We found a good pediatric dentist with a fun office. She didn't torture him any more than just looking at his teeth. He did really well and charmed all of the girls that worked there.

This week, Hayden has really learned to give hugs. He has been doing the leaning-into-you type hugs for a long time, but his arms are finally getting involved. He likes to grab hold of our legs while we're standing now. He also likes to try to love on Paco by laying his head on him.

A couple days ago, Hayden started doing the sign for "car." He moves his hands like he's driving a car. We have a video we watch occasionally with signs, but I think he also does this in bible class. Yesterday he brought one of his blocks to me (in another room) and said "ca" while pointing at the car picture on the block. He also pointed to the cars on his easter basket and said "ca."

A Face Planting and Hayden's other latest tricks

Our friends from Hawai'i, the Trask family (minus 3 boys), stayed with us a couple nights this week while they came here to buy a house. They'll be joining us in Grovetown in May. We all enjoyed the company, although Mike didn't get much time to visit. Hayden enjoyed having a couple of kids to watch and play with. We went to Monkey Joe's and Hayden loved the blow-up slides.

Before Monkey Joe's, Hayden and I walked around out in the back yard for a little bit. It was the first nice day in quite a while. When it was time to come back in, he was unhappy. I carried him back into the house and he was in a hurry to get back outside before I could stop him (the door was still open while I was waiting on Paco to come inside). He tripped over the threshold getting out the back door and face-planted on the back patio.



After much crying on mommy's shoulder, he started laughing when I got ice out of the refrigerator door. He thought that was magical.

The other day, I spoke with the Speach Pathologist that Hayden was referred to for texture aversion testing. I talked to her about his eating habits and progress and she said it sounds like age appropriate eating behavior to her. I will see how he's doing in a couple of weeks and talk to her again. Since our visit with Hayden's pediatrician (when the referral was given), Hayden has started eating the ground beef mixed with pastas and stuff. I also have gotten him to eat chicken pieces a couple of times. He now loves steamed broccoli florets, too. I think a lot of his texture aversion behavior was due to teething. He will reject something one day and eat it the next. Re-offering things to him another time after he has rejected them at a previous meal has been successful.

Today is another nice day outside, but I'm spending the day re-establishing routine. The daylight savings along with me having him out too late a couple times has really messed up his routine and bedtime. So far, we're back on the old routine, today, but I do want to take him outside some. I hope I can find a way to do both that and get him his afternoon nap.

New videos

15 months

Hayden was wonderfully happy when we got to the doctor's office for his check-up today. He had a good nap beforehand. However, it was 45 minutes past his appt time when the doctor finally saw him. He was not happy at all. He acted like every instrument (thermometer, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, etc.) was a torture device. Luckily we didn't have to do any shots today. Hayden just got through a major growth spurt. His whole life, he's been in the 25th percentile on weight and now he is in the 76th percentile, weighing in at 26.9 lbs. Height is usually in the 50th percentile and now he's up to the 72nd percentile.

I spoke with Hayden's doctor about his eating habits. He usually spits out any meat I try to give him and spits out most things that aren't mashable. She is giving him a referral to see a speech pathologist at the Medical College of Georgia for testing with different textures to see if they think he has texture aversion. I don't have an appointment for him yet. It has to be approved by Tricare first. I'll update when we do this.

Hayden and Paco playing

Puppy Uppy

Hayden's favorite thing to say right now is
Puppy." Often times it comes out "Puppy Uppy." I can't get him to say anything else (besides Mama and Daddy and bye bye). He is trying to say Paco. It comes out Pa-pa, Pa-po, or Pa-pu. Once in a while he'll say "baby" but usually he calls everything puppy.

Hayden is getting too tall for me to keep everything out of reach. Just when I think he can't possibly reach something, he surprises us. He really stretches to get to stuff. I've had to take the knobs off of the drawers to the antique sewing machine. I can push them open from the back, but it will be a long time before he figures that out.

Our house is shaped just right that you can walk/run laps around the inside between the dining room, family room, and kitchen. We spend a lot of time playing follow the leader. Hayden will grab something and take off and walk around with it for a while. Sometimes I'm the leader and he'll follow me and laugh at me while I gallop or "run" away from him. He isn't running yet, but it won't be long.

Hayden has two top molars that have cut half-way through. He has swollen gums on the bottom where his bottom canines are trying to break through. We have a doctor's appointment for his 15 month check up next week, and his first dental check up the following week.

Hayden's puzzles

Hayden has been getting some new skills this past month. He has a helicopter toy that he puts balls into. He's good at putting them in and taking them out. He's also practicing his baseball arm with them. He tries to throw them for Paco to chase.

Hayden has a tower with rings and if I hand them to him in the correct order, he can put them all on the stick himself. He has a puzzle with big shapes that have wooden knobs. He is quickly learning how to put the pieces back where they go. The circle he got easily, because it doesn't have corners that he has to try to fit the right way. Today he fit the rectangle, the triangle, and the octagon into place on his own. I wish I could get a video of him doing this, but he has eyes on the back of his head when it comes to my video camera. I can not sneak it in.

Mike's job and my boredom

Mike has just started his schooling here. In the army school and work are synonymous. He got stuck with mids (aka: 3rd shift). Mike wakes up around 9:30pm, leaves for work around 11:30pm, starts class at 12am, comes home at 6am. He gets to have breakfast at home then get ready for PT (physical training) at 9am. He comes home, takes a shower, spends a little time with me and Hayden, then has to be back on post for a meaningless formation at 1pm. Then he comes home and sleeps. We're grateful we only live 5 minutes from post, but when he goes in for midnight class, the gate we live close to is closed, closes at 8:30pm. At least during the day when he's making trips back and forth, he can go through the closer gate. Mike has been awesome about starting breakfast before I am out of bed. We've been on an oatmeal kick lately.

Hayden and I are trying hard to make new friends here, but we are struggling. I think I might have social anxiety disorder. Everytime I talk to new people I feel like they are looking at me like I have a booger hanging or something. It's very uncomfortable for me. Maybe it's just my really bad eyebrow waxing. Next time, I'll try to ask around for a recommendation. Thus, we've been rather bored lately. Not being used to the cold weather here kept us indoors too much for a while, but it's getting better. It just seems like everyday we wake up and do the same thing we did the day before.

I was very spoiled in Mililani, HI. Wal-Mart was within walking distance (for a person who's not out of shape anyway). Now I have to drive 10 minutes to get there (oh no!) and it seems like a day trip. I hope to get over this feeling soon. It's rediculous!

Hayden's words

Momma, Daddy, Hi, Bye, Baby, Puppy (sometimes it's Pa-py - a mixture of Paco and Puppy), we think he said Doggy last night. He likes to point to the baby on his baby food jars and say the word baby over and over.

Catchin' up to now

HAYDEN'S 1st BIRTHDAY, November 28
Since we didn't have our household goods here yet and also did not yet have any friends here, Hayden didn't get a party. He did have his Grandma Gowin here, though. We opened presents that morning and went to the zoo in Columbia, SC most of the day. Columbia is around an hour and 20 min. from here, perfect length for a nap. We left at nap time and Hayden was good to go when we got there. Mark, Tena,and Joe (Uncle, aunt, cousin who live in Columbia) and my Mammaw (from Kentucky)met us there. We had a good time. The zoo there is very nice. Mom stayed with Mark and Tena and we came home. They took her to the airport the next day. On the way home, I bought a little birthday cake at Wal-Mart so Hayden could get his first cake and get some pictures. He played with it a little, but wasn't real interested in eating it. It was much sweeter than the food he's used to.
TMI warning ---> Hayden then threw up the entire contents of his stomach and when I thought he couldn't possibly have another drop in him, he threw up some more. He had a bath, then some yogurt, then went to bed and slept well.


A VISIT FROM PAPA AND MIMI BROWN
David and Mary came for a very short visit the week before Christmas. They arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. Paco had been staying with them since we got back to the mainland. He came with them. We are very happy to have him back. We opened Christmas presents while they were here. Hayden has way too many toys now.


CHRISTMAS DAY
Just another day for me and Hayden. Mike had to work from 8am to 8pm.


HAYDEN'S LATEST TRICKS
Hayden took his first few steps on his own just before his birthday. Between his birthday and the visit from Mimi and Papa Brown, he would walk holding one of our fingers, but he was pretty lazy about taking off on his own. When Papa came to visit, Hayden discovered the IPhone in his shirt pocket. He decided it was worth walking for. He would love up on Papa just to steal the phone out of his pocket. Then he'd carry it across the room to show someone else. He didn't walk on his own much when the IPhone wasn't around. After they went back home, we couldn't get him to walk on his own much. Then, Hayden's cousin, Josiah was born on the 22nd of Dec. We went to Alabama for a quick visit when Mike got a 4 day weekend pass for New Years. Hayden suddenly decided to be a big boy and walk. He has been unstoppable since then. Unfortunately, he has also stopped taking his afternoon nap. He is solid on his morning nap, but won't fall asleep in the afternoon. He is definitely tired and gets whiney and snuggles with his blanky, but just won't fall out, unless we go for a long drive. I took Hayden's bottles away and he just uses sippy cups now. Some days he does a good job drinking his milk, and some days he wants nothing to do with it. A lot of milk gets wasted around here.

ANNIVERSARY
Mike and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year. We were married on 01-01-2000. Yes, we really are that old. Since we were in Alabama visiting Josiah and Mimi was still there to babysit, we got to go out on a real date for once. On New Years Eve, we drove to Gulfport, MS and went to the Beau Rivage casino/hotel. We didn't stay the night, just played some slots. Then we walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe/Casino. We had a huge buffet for dinner, and with my players card, they gave me a free birthday dinner. We only ended up spending 12.83 on dinner for both of us and it was a huge spread. I lost a little money at the roulette table, but it was a fun time. We drove back to Mobile and went to the theater and saw Avatar in 3D. If we had known when we set off for Mobile from Georgia that Mimi was volunteering to babysit while we went out, we would have packed some nicer clothes and make-up. I felt a little shabby while we were out, but we had fun anyway.