We have definitely been keeping busy lately. We have taken the girls to the beach a few times, and for Labor Day weekend we drove to visit Aunt Bindy (Pam) in Kingman, AZ. We went to Oatman to see donkeys, Havasu, and then even drove up to Las Vegas.
Also, Hayden is beginning to count. She starts with two, of course, but if we say one she will say two, three. Her four molars have all broken, and there are many ridges in between her front teeth and the molars so we are expecting lots of teeth soon, though since she is such a slow teether maybe the end of the year is more realistic!

One more thing we forgot to mention. Lately when we change Hayden's diaper she reaches up and says "hug". It is the sweetest thing to see these little arms and hands reaching up to our face to grab it and get a little hug!

Finding the time to sit down and chronicle Hayden's progress has proved difficult recently :) Hayden has been doing great. We have had no more incidents with sickness or fever so that has been a relief. Just after Hayden's febrile seizure, she had a really hard time sleeping. We were back to being up either multiple times per night or hours at a time in the middle of the night. We were very paranoid of getting her temp too high so she was sleeping in just a shirt and diaper. As we tried to figure out what could be happening, Lauren remembered that as an infant last summer Hayden had to be swaddled up with no fan on, even in the midst of the heat of summer. Soooo... we put her jammie pants on and voila! She slept all night! What a stinker!
Hayden has been chewing on things a lot lately and last night Lauren gave her some Orajel and while she was feeling around found two upper molars broken through. She still only has 4 front teeth and two bottom teeth, plus these new molars, but obviously things are moving. We can see ridges all along her bottom gums so we expect more toofers to break through soon.
Hayden's communication skills are really getting good. We took the girls to the beach and Hayden saw a seagull and started chasing it saying "Birdie! C'mere!" So sweet. She really enjoyed playing in the sand. She is learning her body parts, and can point to and name her nose, ears, eyes, mouth, tummy, toes, feet, hands, hair.
Many people have remarked about the way Hayden walks, so we thought we should diary it for posterity. Hayden walks with a bit of a swagger. Its as if her hips are loose or something, she sort of leans back and sways her hips and the result is this assured, swagger walk which is so unlike a baby just getting her bearings walking.

Hayden's First Trip to the ER

Sunday, July 26, we suffered the most frightening moment of our lives when Hayden suffered a febrile seizure.
She had been fighting a virus, throwing up Saturday night and Sunday morning. Finally, she was able to keep a cracker and water down before she took a nap around 1pm. She woke up around 2 pm and wanted another cracker. So Lauren gave her one. Aaron had poked his head in from outside and she laughed at him and was fine. Hayden did not eat the cracker and Lauren gave her a fingernail-size bite of something else. As she was closing it up, she looked at Hayden (on her hip) and her eyes were rolling in the back of her head. Immediately, Lauren started screaming for Aaron to come in. She thought Hayden was choking. She tried to get her finger into her mouth but her jaw was locked. Aaron took Hayden and told Lauren to call 911. Lauren called 911 while Aaron put Hayden over his knee and patted her back to dislodge anything since we thought she was choking. Her body was like a doll - tense but sort of lifeless. When it was over, she whimpered, and sort of passed out. She was breathing, though. The man on the phone tried to soothe Lauren and the emergency rescues were there really fast. At some point, all the hysteria woke Jordyn up from her nap and she came out of her room and just stood watching. Lauren was still on the phone, crying, but took her hand and told her it would be okay. All told the seizure probably lasted 1 to 2 minutes and 3 minutes for emergency to arrive.
First the police came in and took Hayden. No sooner had she changed hands than the firemen and paramedics arrived. When the paramedic took Hayden he remarked she felt really hot. They gave her oxygen. She was sleeping, and they put her on the couch. After we explained what happened they told us that she probably suffered from a febrile seizure, which is caused from a spike in temperature. The entire time Jordyn was not even scared by all the people in our house, Lauren held her and she was great.
Aaron called Lauren's mom to come over to watch Jordyn as Lauren rode in the ambulance with Hayden, Aaron followed. Hayden slept the whole ride and had the oxygen blowing on her face. Her levels were all good (heart rate, etc.) She was transported in her infant carrier since that was what Aaron could get the quickest and it was weird seeing her back in it.
When we arrived at the ER we were given a room. Hayden was awake in her carrier and looking around, but her eyes did not look right. She was not crying which made Lauren worried. The doctor came in and Lauren had taken her out of the carrier. Once the doctor started examing her she started crying and got really mad which was what they wanted to see. She was diagnosed with the febrile seizure and they wanted to keep her for observation for a few hours. These are not epilepsy, they are the result of a temperature spike, should not leave lasting damage, and the child should grow out of them. We were to give her pedialyte to make sure she could keep it down, to keep her hydrated, and to make sure she did not have another one. She slept most of the time we were there but we did manage to get the fluids in her and by the time we left she was asking for a cracker, walking around the room, playing on the doctor's stool and laughing and flirting with the doctor. The doctor said that her reactions afterward were completely normal and she was doing everything she was supposed to be doing. Once we got home she was very hungry. She ate well and had a pretty good night. She was on Tylenol for the first 24 hours. Since then she has been her normal self, though of course we are monitoring her very carefully and are painfully aware of anything that seems out of place.
From what the doctors told us, the literature, and a little bit of research, we have found that febrile seizures affect about 1 in 25 kids, usually toddlers. 98% grow out of them by the time they are 5 or 6. Most of the kids who don't grow out of them have other indicators, like an especially long seizure or other things Hayden does not seem to have. They are scary, but we have been told how to deal with one should it occur again. At any sign of a cold we are to put her on Tylenol for the first few days. There is not a whole lot known about them, but the seizure is caused by a spike in temperature, either on the way up or the way down.
We are so thankful for the paramedics, ER staff, police and firemen who helped us. They were there so fast. We are so thankful Hayden is all right, and while we are shaken up, we are okay, too.

Here is Hayden eating her cracker while the doctor talks to us before she was discharged.

We realize we are way overdue for a post. Photos to come soon but for now we will try to catch up on the last few weeks.
Hayden has lots of words. She loves bananas and asks for them often, especially when we drop her off at daycare because she sees them on the counter. She also gets very excited when she sees "Mamo" (Elmo). Just like her sister, Hayden understands the telephone and will put it up to her ear and say "hello" into it. She is excellent at saying 'thank you' if she is given something, and she will ask for things by saying "I want that". She often walks around saying "I want baba", but half the time we think she just says it because she can, not because she wants the bottle. She gets very excited when she sees balloons as well.
She is recognizing people, too. She can pick Boppy and Grandma out of photos. And, the other night when Jordyn was getting into bed Hayden said "Night night Jordyn." She has not said it since but we were shocked and excited that she called her sister by her name!
Hayden is also learning body parts. She knows "nose" which she calls "no" and occasionally will point to mouth ("mow").
We got out our little kid pool this past weekend but Hayden is not interested in the water at all. She climbed up Lauren like she was a tree to get away from the water. Some of that may be in response to how enthusiastic Jordyn is in the water, but since she has just started being more comfortable in the bath it may just take her some time to get interested. Or it may just take her watching Jordyn - she watches Jordyn and tries to imitate her big sister on lots of things so maybe she'll look up to her with the pool, too!

Hayden is now in her big girl carseat! She absolutely loves it. Jordyn was very excited, too. Hayden cannot keep from smiling when we put her in it.
Hayden also has a lot of words, now. She knows bottle, bath, ball, cracker, doggie, book and will repeat lots of things we say like please or I love you (which is a jumbled mess but we know what she is saying). We are amazed at how much she is picking up. But, she does have a big sister that she adores that she is learning from!

Birthday Girl

Hayden turned 1 this past Sunday! This photo was made for us in addition to the portraits we had taken of the girls this weekend.
We began the day with Hayden being fussy to the point where she wasn't going back to sleep. Lauren went to cuddle her for a few minutes and when she put her back down and came back to bed, it was 5:15 a.m. We had to reflect on the fact that one year ago at that time Lauren's water had broken, paving the way for Hayden's arrival. Very interesting. Its bittersweet to look back over the past year. It has gone way too fast but we are enjoying every minute of it.
We held a small birthday party for Hayden. We began at 11 a.m. with lunch with the grandparents, then her party and we did not leave until 8:30 p.m.!! Party girl! Boppy and Grandma were gracious enough to have the gathering at their house which was great. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate this great day! Luckily, Aunt Bindie (Pam) was able to make it out for the event. She had some car trouble, but she did make it!
Hayden is walking so well that she pretty much won't crawl at all anymore. She is such a mellow, happy girl. She had her one year checkup and shots on Monday. She weighs 17 lbs. 13 oz. which puts her at about the 10th percentile, and is about 24 inches long. She is holding steady at the 25th percentile for height, but for now she is still a petite little girl. She did absolutely awesome for the doctor. She smiled, laughed and walked for him. Hayden was also tested for anemia (came back negative) and she did not even react when they pricked her finger for the test. She did cry for her shots but after that she was a real trooper. Slightly fussy that night but other than that great. We are transitioning her to milk now, and in compliance with California law, she will have to wait until she is 20 lbs to get her "big girl" car seat.

She's Walking!

This past week Hayden officially started walking (as in taking more than 3 steps to daddy or mommy). She is doing great! She can walk down the hall or through the kitchen, but the funniest part is when she just stands and "dances" which basically consists of her hulaing her hips. Here's a clip of her singing and "dancing", and walking a little. More to come next week but we had to share - its very exciting but also a little sad that our baby is growing up so fast!

First Easter!

Hayden celebrated her first Easter this past weekend. She had a great time. She really enjoyed shaking her eggs. She's been getting more brave with standing and taking steps but still likes to hold on. She has been very fussy the past few nights but we are not sure if she will finally get more teeth, or if she is just mad that we are settling down rather than playing.

11 Months

Okay, we feel like we just posted and here it is a month later and time for a new post! Hayden has been doing well standing on her own. She balances really well. And she will stand up by herself with no assistance sometimes. She has taken a few steps but overall she doesn't seem real interested in trying. She will pull herself up on things, and cruise, but seems happy just crawling around. This weekend she started to bear crawl a little.
She still only has her two bottom teeth. We can see ridges all along her bottom gums but none have broken through. She seems to have been growing them since January, and hopefully they will just all break through at once.
Hayden is eating more "people food" these days and of course loves grapes. She's been doing well with most of the foods we give her. We saw the Easter Bunny this weekend and Hayden did not enjoy sitting without Mommy (or Daddy). We did get a decent one of the girls on the Bunny's lap, though.
Hayden's hair is getting longer, and is still red. It is a really pretty shade, especially against her blue eyes.

Forgot to mention: Hayden also gives great kisses. We will ask for a kiss and she will come in for a kiss, all puckered up, and then give multiple kisses! Very sweet.

10 Months

Hayden is 10 months old!! She is just motoring around everywhere now. She really likes when we "chase" her. She will start crawling, then turn to make sure someone is coming, and then go again, laughing all the way. She absolutely loves it. She and Jordyn will play, and Jordyn will crawl and let Hayden chase her. Then when Hayden gets close Jordyn will turn on her and tickle her. A few weeks ago they were chasing eachother around Boppy and Grandma's dining table and Jordyn is much faster so Hayden figured out if she turned to go back the way she came she'd actually catch Jordyn. She did this a few times, so it was not just a fluke.
Hayden of course is cruising and pulling herself up everywhere. She is even brave enough to let go and can balance for seconds at a time. She will sometimes let go and try to turn to move away from wherever she has pulled herself up on, and also likes holding our hands to walk, though she does get frustrated and gets down to crawl.
We have started to give Hayden "real" food, too. She really wants to be eating like us. She likes bread and french fries (something we never would have done with Jordyn), but is not impressed with eggs so far. We think we see some more teeth lurking beneath the surface, but are still waiting.

Finally

Last Tuesday Hayden went in for her 9 month checkup. She now weighs 16 lbs 13 oz and was measured at 26 inches. She is just motoring along. She is teething, and from the looks of it her bottom eye teeth are coming in which we find funny since she only has her bottom two teeth, not all four. Other than that she is right on track. She is trying to stand on everything, and she is starting to take a stand when Jordyn takes a toy from her. She is also starting to go after toys that Jordyn starts to play with.

9 months old!

So we are a little late posting this but the girls have been really sick. Both girls have had respiratory viruses and ear infections. In the process we have discovered that she is allergic to penicillin just like her sister! So, Hayden has not been able to get her 9 months stats yet. She will go next week.
In the meantime, though, Hayden has been doing so much! She is really getting up and crawling, and pulling herself up. She prefers to pull herself up on us then hang out holding our hands. Or she will bounce/dance and do a few bends to sit down.
Hayden is also doing her "So Big" move with her hands up above her head, and then she immediately claps.
As for words, she is saying dada more. Not sure if its meant to call Daddy or not. She will throw in mama every now and then, and is making all other sorts of incoherent sounds like gagaga, etc. Hayden does, however, have a turtle toy that she really likes and when we are playing with it Lauren will tell Hayden it is a "turtle" and Hayden repeats "to to"! It might just be mimicking but hey, we are impressed!
And of course she is loving dropping her toy so that someone will pick it up for her. She knows to say "uh oh" when the toy drops, too. Thank goodness Jordyn seems to enjoy picking up her toy and giving it back to her. The girls have found a way to play together!

Last weekend we went to Sea World. Hayden absolutely loved the manatee exhibit. The viewing area was under the water where we could see the manatees and other fish. She just laughed and laughed. Hayden had a great time at Sea World and was sooo good!
We forgot to mention in the last post that she has been waving to people. Its so cute, we will pass a mirror and she will wave to herself. Her second tooth is breaking now on the bottom. We can't tell if there are any more because she does not want us checking.
She is also just so mobile, its great. The second one of us leave the room, there's Hayden coming along! Now she's able to go after Jordyn when she has something Hayden wants :) This weekend she was doing a bunny hop. She'd get up on all fours, then hop forward with her knees/legs and then move forward with her arms. It was so cute!

8 months old!

Hayden is 8 months old! One bottom tooth poked out about two weeks ago and we were hoping to be able to post that she had a tooth but she is a slow teether and it is still about halfway out. She was pretty uncomfortable this past weekend and it looks like a few more are moving to the surface so we might just get a bunch at once. The one next to it is ready to break Here's a photo.
Hayden is getting around still by rolling and army crawling backwards, and she can scoot forward a bit. She will get up on all fours and sort of rock but then fall but she is building up her strength. She also really wants to pull herself up. She enjoys holding our hands and pulling herself into a standing position and just hanging out.
She is absolutely dazzled by Jordyn, she cannot keep her eyes and head from following her big sister, and smiles and laughs whenever Jordyn talks to her.
Hayden started meats last month and really took to beef and turkey. Over Christmas her appetite was huge, we thought she put on 2 pounds between Christmas Eve and New Years, even our daycare provider noticed. She's getting ready to grow and move, and needed the energy! She has now moved to one 2 hour nap during the day but still sometimes wakes up at night.
Hayden just loves to smile. She is such an easy-going kid. Her hair is getting longer, it now gets sort of stuck on her ear so we have to push it behind her ear, and it is still a lovely red. Her favorite toys are baby dolls. She tries to take Jordyn's Barney when she can and she has sort of taken one of Jordyn's babies, but since Jordyn has so many she doesn't notice. It almost seems like Hayden is talking to her baby, she coos and makes noises and smiles and laughs while holding baby and chewing on whatever part she can.