Let's Hit the Road

Last week we headed to Texarkana while making a few fun stops along the way.  I had heard about a smocked sample sale that was happening in Dallas on the day we were passing through.  We were so excited about finding some good deals that we left our house at 6:30 am and made it to Dallas before 10!  Here is what we left with:

 It also gave me the perfect opportunity to meet up with one of my good friends from college, Callie.  I was thrilled to get to meet Noel Grace for the first time.  She is the cutest thing you have ever seen!

 Here is Carson during the 5 minutes of the trip he actually slept.  Thankfully both boys were wonderful during the car ride even without naps.  What did we ever do before DVD players?

We made it to Momma Lou and Ed's house that afternoon just in time to celebrate Momma Lou's birthday.  It was so fun to have all 4 great grandsons together.  We had a great time getting to visit with everyone.

We made a few attempts to get a picture of these 4.  It is harder than it looks!

Owen(1), Carson(1), Connor (4), and William (2)

Our little lover Carson took every chance to pass out hugs and kisses.  He loves his cousins!

Time for cake!

While we were in Texarkana, we also did a few fun things around town.  We took the boys to Discovery Place which had lots of fun things to see. 

Carson and Owen loved this sound wall.

Next stop... Texas/Arkansas state line.  Standing in 2 states at one time.

Standing on the right side. :)

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Melanie let us take a swim in their pool.  The boys loved playing with Courtney!

Sunday morning in the church nursery.

And the fun continued with bubble wands and sprinklers!

Another great part of our trip was getting to spend some time with Papa and Ginny. 

Rachel took this sweet picture of Ginny and the boys that I love!

High five!

Mom and Papa

These two have quickly become best friends.  It has been so much fun to watch them together.  They had lots of fun running around the house playing peek-a-boo.

On Tuesday it was finally time to head home.   Our one and only stop on the way home was in Waco for lunch and a trip to the Baylor bookstore for a few goodies.

We are so thankful for fun times spent with family.  It was a great trip!

Happy 21 Months, Carson!

Carson continues to melt our hearts every day!  He is such a little lover and passes out the kisses left and right.  He will be busy planning then walk across the room give me a quick kiss then go right back to what he was doing.  I love how affectionate he is.

This month he has really been talking up a storm.  Even his teachers at church have commented on how much he is saying.  I still notice he tends to be quiet in large settings.  However, he has a lot to say when he wants to!

His favorite toy this month has been these stacking blocks.  He loves his "bocks" and is really good at getting them all stacked up just the way he wants.

Aunt Rachel took this cute little video that I am adding to remember that sweet little voice.

Carson loves to go "side" (outside) and run free.  He especially loves to swing and drive the tractor.  We can't wait until it cools off so we can spend more time out there.

When I put him to bed we always sing Jesus Loves Me, the ABC's and pray.  He loves our little routine and now can sing along with me on the songs.  He also loves naming all the people we pray for and saying amen really loud.  If we forget to pray before we eat he is usually the first one to remind us by reaching out to hold our hands.  I love that about him.

Carson is one tough little boy.  He can get hurt and never shed a tear.   He usually gives a really sad little pouty lip and then goes on with playing.  

This boy loves to watch a "show" and will ask multiple times a day to "press show" (press play). I think he would watch it for hours if I let him.  He also has become quite particular about what he wants to watch and will let you know if you pick the wrong one.

Carson loves other kids, especially babies.  He calls all his stuffed animals "bay be" and treats them like they are his little kids.  He is very caring.

Happy 21 Months, Carson!  We love you!

4 Year Check Up

For his birthday, Connor received a doctors kit that he has loved playing with.

Melissa & Doug Doctor Role Play

He makes his bedroom an office and sees all his stuffed animals as patients.  He can have hours of fun with this!

His love for the doctor came in handy when we had to go for his 4 year well check and get 3 shots.  Connor has been at the same pediatrician since he was born and has become very popular with the staff over the past year.  He flashes that smile at everyone and talks to whoever will listen.  As soon as we walk in he wants to greet all his friends.  He LOVES his pediatrician, maybe because she looks just like Sleeping Beauty. :)  We passed with flying colors, including his vision and hearing test.  He thought it was all fun and games until the needles showed up.  Thankfully the nurse was quick and Connor was very brave.  After the appointment we meet Cole for lunch.  It was such a special treat for Connor to have both of us to himself.  He just kept hugging and kissing us because he was so excited!

Connor is growing up so quickly and will start preschool before we know it!  I wanted to share another great gift Connor got for his birthday.  These DVDs are amazing!  Connor has watched these a few times throughout the past month and played the games that go along with it on our phones.  He knows almost every single word and has developed such an interest in learning to read.  

Preschool Prep Meet the Sight Words

Here is a short video of him reading a beginning reader book.

I wrote down some of the sight words from the videos so he could show how much he has learned.

These videos would also be great for school age children who aren't a fan of flashcards, but need help learning those basic sight words.  You should check them out!

Our Weekend Away

This past weekend we took our annual anniversary trip to Hyatt Regency Lost Pines.  Mimi kept the boys at home and they had a great weekend. 

Connor loved the surprise we left them to play with.

 Fun in the sprinkler!

 Connor finds any chance he can to use his umbrella.  We were thankful for even a few drops of rain!

Craft Projects

Doesn't Carson look so grown up?

 The boys kept her busy all weekend.  She even had to take Connor to the doctor for an ear infection on Saturday.  Thank you, Mimi, for taking such good care of our boys!

While they were busy playing, we were by the pool pretty much the entire time either floating on the lazy river or reading a good book.  It was perfect and so relaxing!  

 On Sunday, Mimi and the boys came out to join us for a day at the pool.

 Both the boys really enjoyed the lazy river this year so that is where we spent most of the day.  Connor preferred to use his Lightning McQueen float.

 They also had a great time in the splash pad

 and playing in the sand.

 Carson even took a turn down the water slide with Cole.

 It was a great way to end our vacation.  I think we will have to plan a family trip next year since the boys loved it so much!

Happy 20 Months, Carson!

 Now that Carson is 20 months...

Loves to sing and dance

Favorite food: any kind of fruit

Favorite song: Jesus Loves Me

Loves to color and use stickers.

Saying more words every day.  Carson is a typical 2nd child who has a very verbal older brother.  He does not say a whole lot, but he can when he wants to.

His favorite words are "dada" "mimi" "choo choo" " bye byess"  "side" (outside) "no" "mo" (more) "ease" (please) "go" "press show" (press play on the dvd player)

Can act very shy and try and hide his face one minute and then yell across the room the next. Silly boy!

 He is a boy of few words, but those eyes say it all!

Tries to keep up with everything Connor is doing.

Climbs anything and everything.  We have to keep a constant eye on this one!

 Loves looking at books, but be sure not to give this boy any pop up books for awhile.  This one was torn to shreds by the time we finished taking pictures. :)  Good thing it was from the Target $1 section.

Loves to play and splash in the water.

Here are a few videos we took the other day.  I took them on my phone where he could watch himself.  He is more focused on him than what he is saying, but they are still cute.   I just want to be able to remember this sweet voice.  

Family names:

Counting:

His typical answer for any question...

Carson is such a sweet boy and continues to bring our family so much joy!  Can't believe we are getting so close to 2.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you and your family had a great 4th of July.  We had a day full of non-stop fun!  Two celebrations in one day makes for a LOT of pictures, but I figure this would make up for my sporadic blog posting lately. :)

There is never a dull moment with these Hayden boys!

 We started the day off with a neighborhood parade.

Carson would just take off running trying to join the crowd.

 Connor on the other hand enjoyed his front row spot and waited patiently for some candy.

 This picture makes me laugh because I see these "looks" multiple times a day.  They like to keep close tabs on each other.   

 When we got back home, Connor and Mimi organized our own parade.  They decorated a few bikes and headed outside to get started.

 Connor LOVES to be in charge so he was obviously excited to be the "parade director."

 They managed to find time for a few races too.

 Sweet boy!

 Connor rode his tricycle so he could have a place to keep his candy to throw to onlookers.  I love how he pays attention to every detail!

 Cupcakes were next on the agenda.  Mimi and Connor made some really good cherry almond cupcakes.

 We decided to celebrate Cole's birthday since he had the day off.  Connor was in charge of decorations and thought streamers would be perfect.  He was so proud of his work!

 Cole grilled us some hotdogs and we enjoyed a strawberry limeade recipe I found on pinterest.

 Cupcakes complete with a few more patriotic treats!

 Connor gave his stamp of approval!

Before nap time we squeezed in a quick trip to the pool.  

Later that evening we headed out to Dripping Springs to celebrate with Nana and Poppa.

 I love these two!

 Mimi and her boys

 They love their Mimi!

 This was the best I got of just the 2 of them.  Apparently 1 and 4 year old boys don't appreciate the need for some new blog pictures. :)

 And we even bribed them with marshmallows. :)

 Nana had everything decorated so beautifully!

 Nana and Poppa picked up some Salt Lick for dinner per the birthday boy's request.  It was delicious!

 Along with his other gifts, Nana and Poppa gave Cole a baseball and bat.  Then each boy got a glove.  So after dinner we headed outside for a little baseball fun.

He looks ready for the big leagues!

 Connor designated Nana and Mimi to be the "getters" and bring back any runaway balls.

Carson lost interest and decided to take a spin on the gator.

 Grandmommy also joined in on the fun. (Poppa did too, but I got away without a picture of him!)

 We ended the evening with some strawberry birthday cake.  Cole's favorite cake he requests every year.

We didn't think fireworks were going to work for us this year with such early bedtimes, but we ended staying out so late we caught a few on the way home.  We pulled over and let Connor watch through the sun roof.  

We were thankful for a day full of family and fun!