Within the past couple of days Hayden had learned to climb out of his crib. At first we were able to prevent it by removing some of the things he was using to get a boost, but that was only a temporary fix. Last night was the first night that he climbed out at bed time. He was put back in his bed twice by Matt, and was pretty quiet after that. However after hearing some soft talking off and on over the next hour I was pretty sure our little monkey was not in his crib. I last heard from him at 8:55 and decided to check on him on my way to bed at 10:00. I found him curled up in a chair in his room sound asleep.

Fast forward to nap time today. I spent a solid hour walking back and forth, putting him back in his crib, even resolved to putting a blanket over him on the floor where he would choose to lie down. I finally gave up as long as he would stay in his room and I heard him jumping on his trampoline even. Finally it got quiet. Once it was quiet for several minutes I went to check on him and this is where I found him:

Looks like we will be shopping for a toddler bed sooner than later!

Boys Will Be Boys

Hayden had his little buddy Jack over to play the other morning and I was able to get a quick video of them running around being goofy. Enjoy!

Bowling Away Boredom

Last Saturday we woke up to snow on the ground and cold, blustery wind. While the snow didn't last very long, the cold wind did and we had to find a way to keep ourselves entertained inside the house. Enter "indoor bowling". I raided our recylce bin and cupboards for things that we could help Hayden bowl down with one of his rubber balls. It was a success! It kept him entertained for quite a while and he even had fun taking turns and resetting the "pins" for Matt and I.

Here is the first attempt with a giant ball. Yes, it is an exercise ball and yes, it is somewhat deflated. Maybe I would have a flatter tummy if I used it to do crunches and not to play children's games with. Oh well.

Now trying with the smaller ball...

The take back...he was a little over enthusiastic.

"Yes!"

The new strategy: stand right on top of the pins and crash the ball into them.

The set-up.

Four Years Down...

Yesterday was our four year wedding anniversary. We've actually known each other for almost twelve years and been friends for about ten years. I am so thankful to be married to my High School sweet heart and best friend and could not ask for a better husband.

Anyone who knows Matt and I know that we are pretty simple, down-to-earth people, not very big on a lot of frills. But since it was our anniversary we decided to dress up a bit and do something special. We went to Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant and had a long and leisurely dinner.

We took just a few pics, mainly because that's the sort of thing you do on special occasions:

(Note to self: next time make sure there is no big red EXIT sign glaring above my head. At least the girl had better waitressing skills than photo taking skills.)

While at dinner, I asked Matt how old he wanted to live to be (strange question to ask my husband during a romantic dinner, I know, but this is just how my mind works). He told me he wanted to live until 80. I told him I was shooting for 90 so that just wouldn't do, and that he would have to start working on getting healthy to live longer. I have no intentions of being a widow for the last decade of my life.

Ultimately I was just having fun picturing what "forever" with the love of my life looked like, and doing the math on what anniversary we might make it to. Even though I can hardly remember what life was like before Matt was in it, it is wonderful to know that our life together is only just getting started. Happy Anniversary, Matt! Looking forward to forever with you...however long that may be.

Today while in Boise we decided to take Hayaden to a park to play before we went to church. It has been getting warmer around here and today there was a high of 55. Not exactly what I like to call fun in the sun weather, but we will take what we can get. Hayden had a great time playing; it makes me look forward to summertime when we can spend every day outside!

At one point Matt climbed a small tree and Hayden insisted that he get a turn. I think he was less sure of himself once he got up there- but it was a new experience!

And after the park- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car! Life is good :)

Earlier this afternoon I was busy getting ready for some friends to come over for dinner. I had less time to myself than I had anticipated due to the fact that Hayden only napped for an hour and fifteen minutes today. I think have mentioned Hayden's new-found desire to "help" me do things as of late, and needless to say he was slowing me down considerably.

I had already taken his booster seat off of a dining room chair and he found it sitting on the floor. He brought it to me, sat down in it and said "buckle, mommy." "Why sure, son, I'll put you in a three point harness system while I get dinner ready with no interruptions." I mean, that should keep him contained for a few minutes, right????

Wrong. 60 seconds later this is where he was:

And he was still buckled in! He scooted himself with his little booty up in the air half way across the house and climbed up onto the couch and plopped down. You think that is adventurous? Right after this picture he hopped up and starting jumping on the couch like that.

There are some upsides to this independent nature of his. Lately he has started pushing a little ottoman all over the house as a sort of step-stool to reach things on the counter, to wash his hands, etc. Tonight while our friends were over he got himself a brownie off of the counter after dinner, followed by some chips. Later he had headed into the bathroom to "wash his hands" i.e. play in the water. I heard the water going on and off intermittently for about two minutes, so I walked in there to tell him to turn it off and found him brushing his teeth! He knew it was bedtime and had decided to start getting himself ready. For a moment I thought I heard the hallelujah chorus...and saw a light at the end of a very long, dark, baby-with-me-wherever-I-go tunnel. I will have to remind myself of said light tomorrow when it takes twice as long to do everything because Hayden is doing it by himself.

A Swing and a...Yikes! Careful Hayden!

We don't have too much going on these days. Yesterday, the UPS man delivered a package to our door from Florida; it was the t-ball set Hayden received from my grandparents for Christmas. It just now got around to getting shipped here. Knowing what was in the package I didn't open it since it is hardly an "inside toy" however Matt wasted no time tearing into it and getting Hayden all excited about it while I was cooking dinner. "You didn't tell me that," was his response when I told him it was for outside in warmer weather. Sorry, honey, I will be sure to remember to state the obvious next time. (I tease). Despite the temporary breach of indoor safety rules, the two of them had a great time swinging a plastic baseball bat and sending a plastic baseball flying through the house. Since Hayden can't hit it very hard it we were able to keep it fairly contained, until after dinner when Matt and I were listening to some music Hayden felt it necessary to do this:

Yes, he drug all of that mess up there by himself and commenced swinging away. Despite how funny this was initially, he eventually became quite good at hitting the ball, and once said ball was sent crashing behind the computer on the desk, we put a stop to it.

In addition to creating an entertaining blog post, I write all this to say: Thanks, mom! We got the package! Nothing like a two-year old with a baseball bat to add some excitement to a long and boring Monday :)