10 Months!

 

"Sure, I'll give you my best smile. But I want you to know how much I dislike this photo shoot, too."

 

Hayes turned 10 months old on December 11th! At this time last year I would daydream about what it would be like to have our little man to celebrate the Christmas festivities, and I can't believe that time has arrived. We don't have accurate stats this time around, but here's the run down on this oh-so precious baby boy...

Weight: About 23 pounds. This boy is solid and Mommy's biceps are living proof!

Height: About 28 inches

Loves: Above all, Hayes Man has developed quite the affinity for standing! He loves to pull up on our hands or the nearest sturdy table or piece of furniture and stand so tall. He is also working on his steps and can walk while holding our hands. He walked all of the way from our room to the kitchen to see his daddy the other morning, and we were quite impressed with his stamina! Hayes still loves Rio, and will occasionally sneak him a piece of whatever he is eating at dinner time. Rio has become quite fond of his smallest master, too, needless to say!

Sleep: I'm sad to say that our championship sleeper has regressed slightly in the sleep department this month, probably due to being sick and having his routine shaken up a little with Thanksgiving week, Mommy and Daddy having to work late, attend Christmas parties, etc. Poor guy! He has decided that he likes to sleep on a belly for a least a portion of the night, but don't dare try to place him there bc he will do it himself! Hayes also prefers to put his own paci in his mouth these days, and will flail and yell if we try to do it when he wakes during the night. He has recently determined that he prefers Mommy and Daddy's king sized bed to his crib (I mean, can you really blame him?), so he has slept with us a little more than I would like to admit this month. You do what you gotta do for sleep, people! For the most part he still sleeps well and is taking two naps just over an hour during the day. We just have a few kinks to work out to eliminate the middle of the night wakeups and need for mommy snuggles that are happening at the moment. I would be lying if I said I didn't love those snuggles though and I know one day soon I will be missing them! He is so sweet when I pick him up from his crib and puts his arms around my neck and squeezes SO tight. Melts my heart everytime! I'm sure the sleep routine won't improve much with all of our upcoming Christmas travel, but I suppose things could always be worse. Now if someone could procure me a coffee IV, I would be eternally grateful. :)

Food: This month Hayes has been quite the adventurer when it comes to trying new foods, and he has become a pro at feeding himself. We started to introduce more table foods this month and he is doing great with them. He especially loves chicken, cheese, french fries and sweet potato fries and beet pancakes (thanks Aunt Katie for the tip!). He still isn't the biggest fan of his green veggies, but see below for Mommy's strategy on getting him to eat them! We had our first Thanksgiving feast and LOVED all things turkey and mashed potatoes, but I can't say that is at all surprising. I mean, who doesn't love that stuff? It is definitely getting easier to feed this boy now that he can eat what we're eating a lot of the time! I am still making baby food purees for him to eat at school and some at home, and he is a big fan of beets these days, as evidenced by the pancakes. Hayes is also still taking 4-5 6 oz bottles during the day and drinking his sippy cup with water at meal time. This boy still loves to eat!

Personality: Hayes Man is independent and fearless with a capital F! He can frequently be found diving forward off of his rocking chair, Mommy and Daddy's bed, the lap of an innocent bystander, the couch... basically anything that sits high off the ground. He love to swing, but it must be high or don't even waste his time (his facial expression says it all, trust me). Hayes is still the sweetest boy around, and loves to give big, open mouthed slobbery kisses and big, big squeezes. He is still Mama's boy, but often calls for DaDa, especially when he wakes up in the morning. (I think he's learning the routine, as DaDa is usually the one who gets him from his crib for breakfast!) Hayes loves to laugh and squeal, especially toward the end of meal times. He is quite the entertainer and will make the goofiest face where he squinches up his mouth, nose and eyes and then breathes really hard out of his nose. He also loves to "cluck" with his tongue and still gives the best raspberries around. He is quickly becoming a little mime and can repeat back pretty much any noise we throw at him. His laughter is contagious and he seems to have the same effect on Mama as Pops when he gets going with his little giggle... Mama can't stop laughing! Hayes also prefers to be the star of the show, and when in a group of family members if someone is telling a story he will stand up and yell at the top of his lungs to be sure his story is heard, too. (I have no idea where he gets that! Haha.) This boy couldn't be more fun, and we are just loving all of the new things he continues to learn and do daily.

Dislikes: Poor Hayes Man experienced his second bout of sickness when the stomach flu hit him and Daddy the week before Thanksgiving. He was not a fan. He also still doesn't love his green veggies, but Mommy is extra sneaky and purees them with bananas and it sure does the trick! Hayes also still could do without being held down on the changing pad and definitely prefers to get dressed in his bedroom floor these days. Hayes still isn't the biggest fan of being on his belly or crawling for that matter, but he has master the art of the backwards army crawl and can do it across an entire room. He has recently started to sleep on his tummy more, so perhaps we are making progress in this department. Only time will tell! One thing that Hayes also really, really does not like is being alone. This boy is super social and will completely melt down if he is left in a room alone for too long. He can handle a few minutes of alone time, but definitely prefers to be where the action is. I would have to say he comes by that naturally, too!

Oh, you know, just checking out the Victoria's Secret catalog with Pops. Raise 'em right, start 'em young.

 

Buddies!

 

Pretty sure there's nothing cuter than a baby boy in overalls. Nothing.

We love our Hayes Man more than words and just know the next month is going to bring us even more fun and adventure!

Hey, Santa!

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Hayes had the pleasure of meeting the man in the red suit for the very first time. Like most babies, he wasn't super impressed with the whole experience, but Mommy and Daddy were just impressed that he didn't enter full-on meltdown mode upon taking his place on Santa's lap!We had even more fun because Addie and Lila were there to join Hayes in a picture. I do have to say that Bass Pro Shop's Santa was legit-- he even had a strategy to get the best picture possible with minimal crying.  Gotta love a Santa with heart and experience!

 As if this time of year wasn't already wonderful enough, there is just something about adding the wonder and joy of experiencing it through the eyes of a child to it that makes it even more amazing! We couldn't be more thankful for the precious gift of our little Hayes Man and are so excited to watch him celebrate his first Christmas in just a couple of weeks!

 "Do I have to, Mom?"

"So you're that Santa guy they've been telling me about."

 "If I'm going to sit in your lap, I guess we should at least get acquainted first."

 Cousin love-- can't beat it.

 Pure joy!

 Hayes and Pappaw had to take a pic outside of their go-to place for hunting and fishing supplies. Something tells me we'll frequent this place even more than we already do one day soon...

 Family pic with Santa

MiMi and Pappaw's little rays of sunshine!

Bring on the Turkey!

While Hayes celebrated Thanksgiving last year with Mommy by enjoying every bit of her turkey feast in utero, this year marked his first celebration in living color. We had lots of fun with the Johnson clan and celebrated in style at MiMi and Pappaw's house. It was so fun to watch Hayes interact with all of the children and even indulge in his own mini Turkey Day feast. It came as no surprise that he loved the turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans! We played hard, ate too much and took a good nap after lunch. The electricity strangely went out shortly after our feast, but it certainly did not deter any of the Johnson's from having fun. With perfect weather, good company and the entertainment of a bunch of old guys playing football, what more could you ask for?!

Hayes is 9 Months!

 

Too much personality to handle!

At 9 months, our Hayes could not be more fun. We've had a lot of new developments in the last month...

Weight: 22 lbs

Height: 27 1/2 inches

Loves: This boy LOVES his Rio dog! It is so sweet to see him interact with Rio, and he has recently started reaching for him and giving him open-mouthed kisses. Speaking of kisses, Hayes is super sweet and very generous with giving Mommy and Daddy lots of slobbery ones. Everytime I pick him up from school or come home from work, he greets me with a big hug and an open-mouthed kiss. Talk about melting Mommy's heart! He is still a bit of a stage five clinger when it comes to me, but once again, I love every second of it and am cherishing these moments while they last. I know soon he'll be choosing Daddy and all of the outdoor adventures, so I have to soak up all the snuggles I can while I can! Hayes still adores bath time and playing with his bath toys, and bounces with excitement when he hears the water running. He also loves to clap, and is especially good at performing "If You're Happy and You know It, Clap Your Hands". Hayes also loves singing "This Little Light of Mine" and reading books, especially his bedtime books (The Going to Bed Book and Goodnight moon). It is so fun to watch him get excited as I read each page. I'm thankful for a boy who loves books! Another favorite activity these days is playing catch with his soft A&M basketball, and playing with his bowls and stacking rings. As long as this boy is busy, he's happy!

Sleep: Besides the week of sickness that through his schedule a little out of whack, Hayes continues to be a rock star in the sleep department. The week he was sick also happened to be the week of the time change, which was a little bit difficult, but after a couple of days he was back on his normal schedule. Hayes still goes down at about 8pm and wakes at about 6:15 every morning. Sometimes he will talk himself back to sleep until 7:00 on the weekends, but this isn't usually the norm. We are just thrilled he has continued to sleep through the night and wake up happy!

Food:We have started incorporating more blends in Hayes's purees this month, and he has taken quite an affinity to his butternut squash and pear puree. I can definitely see why... this one is delish! Hayes Man is becoming more and more like his Daddy and deciding that the taste of strong green veggies just isn't his favorite. In fact, I usually have to mix his green veggies with sweet potatoes, carrots or butternut squash (basically something with a little bit of sweet flavor) to even get him to partake. I have a feeling there will be lots of veggie sneaking into my recipes in the future! Hayes usually take 4-5 bottles a day, but is starting to be less interested in his early morning bottle. He is a champ with the sippy cup and LOVES his water. We are starting to work in more and more finger foods, and have mastered chicken and cheerios in the last week!

Personality: Hayes Man has recently become quite independent. Case in point: There have been quite a few days this month that he has decided that he would rather not eat if he can't feed himself. This has caused the meal time experience to lengthen just a bit, but it has been so much fun to watch as Hayes meet the next big milestone of feeding himself! We may drop more food in our chair at the moment than we make into our mouth, but that's beside the point. :) Our little man is still full of sunshine and will wake up most mornings with a good belly laugh. We can't get enough of his squeal and his recently acquired "dinosaur roar". He especially enjoys letting this one rip in nice boutiques and embarrassing his Aunt Kirby to death. Haha! Pops is loving that Hayes is getting more and more fearless by the day, and he definitely does not like to sit still anymore. Whether he's scooting, barrell rolling or diving from a lap into the floor, Hayes definitely keeps us all on our toes... and he's not even walking yet! (I see a lot of heart attacks in my future...) Our boy could not be sweeter, and while he can be a bit mischievous and insists on trying to pull the paintings down from the wall above his dresser, we are enjoying every second with our adventurous little one! Never a dull moment, that's for sure!

Dislikes: I suppose this really qualifies as more of a mommy and daddy dislike than one for Hayes, but assuming that he wasn't happy during the experience I think it's safe to say that Hayes is not a fan of being sick. This month we had our first ear infection and bout with RSV, which was no fun at all given the fact that Daddy was in Seattle on a work trip for most of the week. Hayes ran a 100 degree fever off and on, and did not sleep a wink unless he was laying on top of Mama. It was heartbreaking to watch our little man suffer, but we are so glad that he was able to heal quickly once we saw the doctor and received a good dose of antibiotics. After the first treatment, little man was already back to playing and laughing again! We are very glad to have survived the first sick experience, and hope we don't have another encounter anytime soon. Another painful obstacle Hayes had to deal with this month was getting his first *two* teeth! That's right, not one, but two! We are clearly champions in the Johnson family and don't have time for getting teeth one at a time. :) Our little drool machine has been working on these suckers for a couple of months, and this month they finally broke through. Poor kid couldn't have been comfortable through the process, yet he keeps a smile on his face anyway! Hayes has also recently decided that he's not a fan of the changing pad. We think it's due to the fact that he is being restrained and can't see the world... it's the adventurer in him. He will yell and yell until we let him sit up, or better yet, take him off the changing pad. I suppose this is something we'll just have to deal with until the phase passes!

Hayes Man truly lights up our lives every day and we are having so much fun watching him learn and grow. Every day brings something new and we can't wait to see what is ahead of us in his ninth month of life. We love you, Monkey!

Hayes Man Does Halloween

This year marked our first Halloween as a family of four (Rio included, obvi). Our baby boy wasn't feeling his best, and ended up being diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection, but he was a champ and let his mommy and daddy dress him up like the cutest little monkey there ever was. This was the first time Hayes has been sick with more than a cold, and while it was a bit of a challenge to have Daddy out of town on a work trip during this experience, we all survived and Hayes is back to playing, laughing and smiling like his normal self. Mommy would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy all of the extra cuddles with her boy, too! Getting back to Halloween... we had lots of fun carrying on our tradition of sitting on the truck tail gate and passing out candy in our driveway. Uncle Cale joined us and we once again went through four giant bags of candy within less than an hour thanks to the masses that populate our neighborhood on the spookiest night of the year. Earlier in the week, we kicked off the Halloween festivities with Oktoberfest, a fall festival that TSTC puts on every year. I had to work a booth, so Cody, Cale, Lynn, Tami and Hayes came and kept me company, checking out all of the fun activities. Hayes wasn't feeling great so he was less than impressed by most of it, but it was still fun regardless and he couldn't have been more of a trooper, or better behaved at that!

 Oktoberfest!

 

 Petting zoo with Pappaw

 

The zoo keeper with his monkey and flamingo ready for the trick or treaters!

 

 

Edgar Allen Poe came to visit

 

 

Tyler, Cooper and Claire made a stop to trick or treat on the way to a Halloween party. Had to get a pic of the whole crew!

Hayes is 8 Months!

 "Let's see what I can get into next. They'll never see it coming if I make cute faces."

It was way too hard to pick just one picture. As you can see, this boy has some MAJOR personality, and energy to boot!

On October 11th, Hayes turned 8 months old. It feels beyond crazy to write those words! We are having the time of our lives with our sweet baby boy and just can't get enough of all that he is learning and doing these days.

Weight: I think it's safe to say we've topped 20 lbs. Mommy's biceps are living proof. :)

Height: Approximately 27 inches

Loves: This boy would still rather be sitting in the floor playing with toys than anywhere else. Move the toy playing outside, and he is even more ecstatic! Hayes loves to swing and watch Rio fetch the ball, and he adores school, his teachers and his friends. He has gotten to the point that he will reach for the infant room as soon as we walk up to the building and he grunts until one of his teachers sits him down in the play area. I am soooo happy that he is super comfortable at Calvary and loves to be there! Hayes has also developed a love of playing catch lately, and believe it or not, has the ability to watch the ball and grasp it more times than not! (Needless to say, Pops is thrilled that the fundamentals are already being established.) Because this is a blog full of documentation about Hayes and his many stages, I must also add that this boy loves his mama. No, I'm not gloating... OK maybe a little, but I know these days are numbered so I must soak up every bit of the extra snuggles and kisses I get now! I literally can't leave his sight or a meltdown ensues, but again, I am cherishing every moment of this phase full of extra lovin! Speaking of lovin, Hayes has the best open-mouthed, slobbery kisses these days. He loves to give them, too! He still adores his food and lets us know when he's ready for it, which dare not veer from his normal schedule or else. :) What can I say, the child is a fan of consistency and routine, much like his mama! Hayes moved up to a convertible car seat this month and travels like a champ on car rides now, though he was never bad before. We still love playing with our bath toys and splashing, reading books (especially Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), as well as playing patty-cake and singing Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off". Hayes also has become a fan of yelling (bc everything is so much more fun when it's loud!) and will often squeal with excitement or yell words as he "tells stories".

Sleep: Hayes dropped his evening catnap right about the time he turned 8 months, and has been taking two long naps at school (one AM and one PM). The naps are usually about an hour and a half each, which is so impressive considering naps were not something I thought would ever happen for this little man! Hayes continues to sleep very well at night, and due to the dropping of the catnap we have moved up his bedtime to 8pm. He usually sleeps from then until about 7am-- sometimes a little later on the weekends which Mommy and Daddy LOVE. Hayes spent the night with GG and Pops for the first time by himself this month when Mommy and Daddy went to John and Courtney Lairsen's wedding in Concan. As usual, he was a rock star and didn't give his grandparents any trouble in the sleep department or otherwise. Well, besides that broken decorative clock that he threw across the hardwood floors, but who's counting? I may have said my son is a great sleeper, but I never said he wasn't wild, people. :)

Food: We've recently added green beans and non-pureed veggies to the diet, and Hayes seems to be taking to the new, thicker consistency of his food quite well. He is also eating a veggie and some puffs at dinner now, which has helped us to better establish a set dinner time where we all sit down at the table together and eat. Hayes is still a big fan of the sippy cup, and holds it and his bottles on his own when he needs a drink. We are still drinking about 4-5 6 oz bottles each day, about every 4 hours or so. The self-feeding concept is something we continue to work on, but Hayes has gotten the pincer grasp down within the past week or so, so now all we have to do is get the food to the mouth instead of in his lap in the high chair and we'll be golden!

Personality: Hayes becomes more sweet, fun and mischievous everyday. He is still incredibly active, and only sits and snuggles with mommy when he's sleepy. He prefers to be on the go or outside to sitting indoors, and will sure let us know this when we forget. Hayes loves women, and has perfected the art of flirtation as of late. Daddy is so proud that he inherited his "mad game" and Mommy just keeps hoping he'll focus on sports and hunting more than girls, at least for a while. :) Hayes is now able to say "mama" and "dada", associating them with Cody and me-- we can't get enough of this! He is also practicing his "p" sound and I even heard him mumble "Pop" the other day. Hayes is super curious and intrigued by all things new and different. He wants to touch, see and experience it all! If I am holding something (a cup, for example), Hayes will "help" me hold the cup and smile so proudly as he does it. Our little man has started to hear the words "no, no" a lot more lately, though I'm not sure it's really sinking it yet. This boy is into everything! When on the changing pad on his dresser getting a new diaper or changing clothes, he insists on attempting to pull the pictures down from the wall above the dresser. When we tell him "no, no" he just laughs and does it again. Gotta give him props for being persistent and optimistic, I suppose, but I have a feeling the terrible two's are going to be an adventure in our house! Haha. This last week, Hayes met a big milestone when he learned to clap on his own! From time to time, I can sing "If you're happy and you know it" and Hayes will clap his hands! I love it so much. Hayes is so sweet and social and adores being surrounded by other people, especially kids. He reaches for them and squeals when we see kids in public, which is so fun to see.

Dislikes: If I had to say one thing Hayes can't stand at the moment, it's simply to be alone. This boy is super social and does not like to be in a room by himself! He still doesn't love being on his tummy and has yet to crawl, but he is scooting on his booty all over the place. We continue to fight the tummy time fight in hopes that crawling is just around the corner. Hayes also isn't the biggest fan of teething. Poor baby drools a bucket a day but we're still waiting on that first tooth to appear!

We love you so much, Hayes Man and can't wait to see what the next month brings. We have a feeling it will be some big things!

Hello again, Aggieland!

Last weekend marked the third time Hayes has ventured to Aggieland. We had so much fun seeing Aunt Nanny's new big girl apartment (which was just as fabulous as we expected) and hanging out in one of our favorite places. Despite a 3 hour lunch at Northgate's newest microbrewery with less than mediocre service, we had such a fun time visiting with GG, Pops, Aunt Nanny, Caitlin and Meagan. Plus, we ended up with free lunch and drinks which definitely brought a silver lining to the whole poor customer service experience. Haha. Thanks, Mom for bringing up the importance of proper business practices to the owner of Blackwater Draw! :) After our lengthy mealtime experience, we introduced Hayes to his first tailgate and several of our college friends. He could not have been better behaved considering his naps were cut short all. day. long. It wasn't until about 5pm that he began to reach the point of delirium, yelling at random passers-by and laughing at absolutely nothing, much like his mommy does when reaching the point of sleep deprivation. Poor kid. While the brave crew of Pops, Cody, Uncle Cale, Aunt Katie, Pappaw, Aunt Sherry and Kelly ventured to the TAMU vs Ole Miss football game in the fabulous new Kyle Field, GG, Hayes and I chose a quiet evening at Aunt Nanny's crib complete with Chinese food and much needed rest. After putting our little man to bed, Mom and I watched what we could of the late football game, though I must admit after the day's adventures I was wiped out and crashed by about 10:30 (no surprise there!). Needless to say we were quite disappointed in the turnout of the game, but we still decided to don our maroon for the ride home on Sunday. Before we headed south, we took Hayes to the cutest pumpkin patch in Bryan and took the obligatory "baby sitting in a pile of pumpkins" picture(s). Hayes loved being outside and was especially interested in the petting zoo animals, which was so much fun to watch. I can't wait until the next visit when I'm sure he will be running like crazy, playing and possibly trying to break into the animal cages for the full experience! (Trust me, if I know my child, this won't be too far-fetched of a notion either.) And now, let the photographic proof of all the fun we had commence!

  Mad photo cred goes to Meagan Haak for her amazing photography!

  

 Hayes turned 8 months on gameday. Love this big boy to the moon!

 

 It was a little chilly, but we loved the "real" fall weather!