Hayden and Noah

So as many of you may know, the only way I managed to finish my dissertation this year is that my next-door neighbor Mandy and I arranged a complex schedule of baby-swapping. Usually a couple times a week (or more), I would watch Hayden and Noah; in return, Mandy would watch Noah and Hayden a similar amount of time. Due to this successful this set up, we BOTH will graduate this August as Doctor Mommies. :)

And while the Ph.D. degrees were the main goal of this arrangement, we also instigated a lovely little friendship between the two kids. Both light up when the other is spotted, whether by eyes or ears. While they are both still too young to really play together, they are interacting more and more, as the following pictures will demonstrate. Just the other day there was an adorable bit of hugging (while on the airplane of course) that was unfortunately not captured by camera. Luckily, there have been a few other special moments that have been caught on film...

One of their favorite activities is ransacking the kitchen. They started with the drawer that holds baking utensils, sometimes emptying it completely.

More recently, they have recently moved on to the pots cabinet. Noah usually does the heavy lifting while Hayden watches carefully.

Sometime in the middle of spring semester, probably when the weather was not cooperating, the two of them explored the concept of reflections.

It was through their joint love of the airplane that we discovered the extent of Hayden brute strength. Noah had hopped on, hoping for a ride but I was not within reach (probably trying to clean up the destroyed kitchen or something). Hayden pulls up behind him and all of a sudden I realized he's moving, because Hayden is pushing! Strong as an ox, she is! :)

Now that the weather is nice and warm, they both really enjoy heading up to the tot-lot park that's just up the street. Climbing on the equipment is super fun. Slides provide lots of entertainment simply as a place to hold on to and pile up mulch.

And when the weather does turn really summer, they have both spent time playing with water. Noah is a true water baby and LOVES to be wet. Hayden is still figuring out how she feels about it. She was less than enthusiastic when Noah squirted her in the face with the hose - luckily Blizzard likes to mediate any water disputes. :)

When both kids are with me, Noah usually gets his lunch first. This works okay, but sometimes Hayden gets impatient - and now that she's taller, she often tries to sample some! Here she tries to snag a pea, even though peas are not her favorite food!

And when Hayden gets the prime lunch spot, Noah just can't resist tickling her toes!

All in all, the two kids have formed a beautiful friendship that is fun to watch. Noah has started saying Hayden every once in a while (sounds like Hay-dee). Hayden hears the door open in the morning and crawls furiously to the gate at the stairs so she can pull herself up and bounce enthusiastically as Mandy and Noah come in the door. And both kids have a VERY firm grasp of the sign for dog thanks to Blizzard!

Cake and strawberries

Here Hayden and Mommy sit with our friends at Megan's birthday party. Mommy and Daddy had lots of fun having a homemade ham dinner and eating delicious birthday cake. Hayden had slightly less fun since she was in the middle of teething - her first molar on the bottom left side. She didn't want to try any ham, or mashed potatoes, or really anything except bunny crackers and a couple tiny bites of vanilla cake. But she was a trooper in her party dress and even posed for a family photo before we headed home for bedtime!



The day after the party was even more momentous - Hayden got to experience her first berry picking!!! Many thanks to Aunt Lori for documenting the occasion.

Hayden wasn't really sure how she felt since she was strapped to Mommy's (sweaty) back the whole time - but it was neat to see the farm. The highlight was when Hayden started doing her airplane sign - swooping her hand and making a vroom sound - (keep in mind, she mimics us doing this but we didn't think she knew what it was) - and when Mommy looked up, there was a hawk soaring around. Not quite a plane, but pretty close!!! Yay for baby signs!


Picking together was hard work but we still managed to get a good harvest!






And Hayden got to try fresh local strawberries the next morning for breakfast. She ate the one Mommy put in her mouth, picked one up on her own and ate it and then spit out all subsequent berries unless hidden in yogurt. Oh well. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everybody! I've been making SO much progress this fall! I love kicking my legs and wiggle my arms. Mommy and Daddy try to give me lots of wiggle time so I can get really strong. I've started kicking the toys on my floor gym, grabbing things and bringing them to my mouth and I can really pick my head up during tummy time. I'm working hard at trying to roll over but haven't done it quite yet. Sometimes I'm really close and then Mommy cheers for me but that usually scares me so I roll back the way I came. She needs to be more patient!

We went to Columbus, Ohio to celebrate Thanksgiving with the DeRousie side of the family. I was VERY popular and got to play with all different people like Grandad (and my very favorite monkey), Aunt Jen, Aunt Martine, and of course my cousins Lucy and Will.

Lucy was so much fun; she was always near by and liked holding my hand and talking to me. I made her laugh when I smiled at her. She even laughed when I pulled her hair when she tried to read me a book!

I took a lot of naps on Grammy. She's very comfy and warm - good for snuggles!

And of course, since we were at the DeRousies, there were LOTS of pictures taken. Here's one of me with my cousins and my great-grandparents - Ammi and Poppa! They came all the way down from Michigan to visit! Poppa told me he'd teach me to play Euchre as soon as I could sit up by myself!

I had such a great time at Thanksgiving, I can't wait till Christmas! Mommy and Daddy have already started singing me Christmas carols. I better be good so I get lots of presents for Santa. Luckily I already have my happy face on!

Labor Day Weekend and more

Daddy and I put our Michigan outfits on to cheer on the Wolverines in their first football game of the season. I'm not sure Daddy's going to let me dress up anymore since Michigan lost! But I'm still practicing cooing to Hail to the Victors just in case he changes his mind. Go Blue!

Here I am having my very first tub bath! My cord stump took so long to fall off - 7 1/2 weeks! - that I had a LOT of sponge baths. I liked the warm water for a little bit but then Mommy handled me awkwardly when she wanted to wash my back and I got cold so I had to scream a little bit. Luckily Mommy got me out quick and snuggled me up nice and tight.

I like to practice smiling! Especially when Mommy has me wear my sunhat!

I am just so cute!

Here I am doing my "tummy time". I'm getting so strong!

These are tomatoes, and jalapenos and a green peper from Mommy's garden. She made yummy salsa for a Labor Day bbq. Even Daddy thought it was tasty and he won't admit to ever eating veggies!

Mommy and I were looking out the window one day and this hummingbird came to visit! Luckily Mommy's camera is really quick and the hummingbird was really hungry so she got this neat picture!

Hummels and Aunt Katie

Here I am checking out the beautiful Hummel that my Great-granma Jane sent me in the mail. She said that the little girl reminded her of her new great grandchild! I'm looking forward to meeting Great-granma Jane and Great-granpa Rut in 2 weeks. Mommy tells me they live in North Carolina and we are going to take an airplane to get there!

Aren't I just cute as a button?! I love hanging out in my Boppy!

Aunt Katie drove ALL the way from Vermont to come visit me when I was less than 2 weeks old. She was so nice to come see me! I had a lot of fun snuggling with her.

The Grange Fair

This was my first trip to the Grange Fair! Daddy and Mommy had a great time eating all kinds of fried food including mac and cheese bites, zucchini and Oreos. I only got crumbs dropped on me, and they wouldn't even give me a taste!

We played Bingo and even won a prize!

Mommy's favorite part of the fair was looking at the entries in the "freak vegetable" category. Personally, I just liked walking around and being close to Mommy and Daddy. They make good pillows. We'll be sure to go back again next year!

Aunt Jen sent me this cute outfit! It even has a starfish and a sailboat decorating my straps. I can't wait to meet Aunt Jen, Uncle Aaron and my cousins Lucy and Will when we meet up in Bexley at Grammy and Granddad's the end of September!