10 months of Hayden!

Again...we can hardly believe how quickly the time is flying! I know that the first year goes so fast because of all the new milestones and such, but man! we can hardly keep up!

Pumpkin pot is doing fabulous (except for the fever and crankies she has had this week...perhaps a cold or something? No other symptoms so we are waiting it out :)

We tried this great experiment with time change...instead of doing anything to her schedule we would just leave her with her old one and it would change from 6:30-6:30 to 7:30-7:30 magically (also known as daylight savings time). This would make our lives so much easier...Bryan could spend more time with her in the evenings, we could eat dinner together, etc., etc. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out very well. She has gradually scooched everything back. The mornings of sleeping til 7:00 are over again. Apparently DST doesn't fool her.

She has become a more finicky eater. Gobbling down something one day and refusing it the next. I'm hoping this is just a phase! (inside I'm a little scared that she could be a tad bit willfull...surely not, right?) Our most recent food tries have been beets, brown rice, chicken, toast, cottage cheese and sprinkle cheese. Likes and dislikes depend on the day...she definitely has a woman's perogative. (except for banana...that is a yes food anytime! Just like her Gramps and her daddy.)

Hayden is cruising all over the place and standing "free" for extended periods of time. She hasn't really taken steps yet. She likes to lunge which can look a little scary but seems to work for her. One of her favorite activities is to cruise around the sectional and lunge between the two sides. (the lunging is usually interspresed with lots of tumbling, rolling and laughing...perhaps a video is needed...)

She is finally saying ma, ma, ma. Not tons and not usually aimed at me, but I'll take it :) Bryan on the other hand gets a very clear and specific "DA" whenever he comes around. Sometimes it is even "dad." The signing seems to be going well. I thought she would get the more frequent signs first like "more" but she hasn't ever done that one. She has done sleepy, bye bye, hi, eat, milk, please and finished. The signs aren't real regular but do seem to help confirm needs when we ask her. (the cutest one is sleepy where she puts her hand by her ear and leans her head over...so cute! ...perhaps a video is needed...)

There are things she recognizes and knows...ball, George (the curious monkey doll she sleeps with), Lenny (stuffed leopard), Dad, Lucy (stuffed sheep that hangs out with her in the car), and book. We can say, "Hayden, where's your ball?" She usually looks around and then will crawl over to her ball and pick it up. In the morning after she has nursed she will hear Bryan in the other room...she says, "da" and then crawls to the door. All this fun, new communicating is wonderful. I have to admit that the mind reading/guessing game gets so old!

Her baby dedication is coming up at church on the 29th. This is such a special time for us as we covenant together as a family and church to pray for and teach Hayden about Jesus. I think Bryan would agree that the greatest "pressure" we feel as parents is to share God's love with Hayden and see her come to know Jesus personally. This would be the greatest blessing for us. Being kingdom minded takes on a whole new depth of meaning once you have a child.

A neat part about the dedication is that we are doing it with three other couples from our church small group. So the four couples who had babies in 2008 will all be dedicating them together in the same service. This just makes it that much more special! (we will also be needing new outfits...another great aspect of dedication!)

Our next doctor's visit is the "birthday" visit at 12 mos. I'm pretty sure that Hayden is growing up though not out. Her six month pants are definitely too short (finally), though she can still sport the cute dresses and the 9 mos. pants are fitting without dragging though they are all a little room-y in the waste area. We should all be this lucky :)

Bryan and I continue to savor every minute with our sweet baby girl. She brings us so much joy!

Thank you Lord for our sweet baby Hayden!