Field Trip!!!

Hayden had a school field trip at the end of September to the Marietta Fairgrounds. It was a great little trip! Hayden was super excited to ride the bus there and Dave, Livee and I met his bus there. When we got there we got to ride a trailer to the animal area, got to see lots of great animals, and have an ice cream sandwich snack.

Loved this picture!

Hayden kept complaining that it stank in there!

He really liked the rabbits.

Livee was just happy to be running around loose!

15 months old!

Livee is 15 months old! And what a ham she is! She can say just about anything that you ask her to. On average, she says one or two new words a day. She surprises us so much. She loves to push her baby stroller and the grocery buggy around the house and carries her chair around so that she can sit in it wherever she wants. She always follows me into the kitchen whenever I'm sitting at the desk or unloading the dishwasher or cooking. She also loves going to watch Hayden play soccer and actually dribbles the ball really well. Anytime she sees a ball or balloon she has to point to it and tell us it's there. She also likes to wrestle with her daddy and big brother. Yesterday she pointed to a Cinderella costume hanging in her closet and giggled, and also made me put a hairbow in her hair. We love her so much!

Soccer!

This fall we finally enrolled Hayden into organized sports. The first one we decided to try was soccer simply because it didn't involve physical contact and Hayden likes to run a lot. Well, as far as coaches go we got the short end of the stick. We only had 4 practices while the other teams had at least 6, and our team has no clue about what they are supposed to be doing. It doesn't help that Dave and I don't really know either. ;) His team has lost EVERY game and has only scored 2 goals the WHOLE season I think. Sad, huh? Good thing that they don't even notice! Hayden's favorite position is goalie. I personally think it's just because he doesn't want to run after the ball, but he's good at goalie...so whatever. Anyway, here are a few pictures of him in his uniform. I don't have any action shots because, honestly, he has only gotten into the action a couple of times. Maybe we'll try karate next.

Shoes

Hayden's never been a hard one to dress. We don't fight over what he's going to wear...he usually just puts on whatever I lay out. Don't get me wrong, he does have certain t-shirts that he has loved more than others and the kid is a sucker for patterned socks (toy story in particular), but when it comes to shoes he definitely has his favorites.

And they are known as his "super fast shoes". Why is this? We have no idea. I guess because they are totally psychodelic looking or something, but who knows really. He has to wear them to school every day and if he has it in his mind that he needs to wear them somewhere else, then sometimes we have issues. I honestly don't get it because I bought him a new pair of low-top Converse's for school this year and he says they are girl shoes. Say what?

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

Hayden wanted pancakes for dinner tonight and I wanted to try something different. These were delicious, especially with a little cinnamon butter on top and a tall glass of cold milk.

Yummy! Here is the recipe:

Pineapples:
Melt 2T butter in small skillet. Stir in 1/3 C brown sugar and let caramelize. Add 1 C diced pineapple and cook until juice is evaporated. (I also added around 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.)

Pancakes:
1 C all purpose flour
1 T white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Combine milk, egg, oil, and vanilla in separate bowl. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture. Beat with whisk until smooth and do not stir again (this is the key to fluffy pancakes!). Scoop by 1/4 cup-fulls into hot skillet or griddle. Spoon desired amount of pineapples onto pancakes. Flip when they become bubbly. Serve warm with cinammon butter and leftover caramel sauce, if desired.

Wish I had a picture to share, but we ate them too fast! :)

What you missed over the weekend...

Or for the past 2 weeks. We've been busy busy getting ready for school and being sick (blech). Hayden and Livee both had fevers 2 weekends ago and then I had one this past weekend (which made getting ready for Hayden's party so much fun). I tagged clothes for a couple of weeks and worked on the house to get it picked up really well, along with the usual errands and dentist appointments. I've also watched my neighbor's little girl a few times for her to go on job interviews.

Chillin' at home on one of their "sick" days. You can't say we're not casual at home. Check out those bear feet paired with Spiderman jammies and a sword. :)

We gave Hayden his big gift from us a little early, mainly because we wanted to play it with him! It is soooooo fun, too!

Last Thursday Hayden started Georgia pre-k up the road from us. He goes 8-2:30 every day. He has a morning snack and eats lunch there. The first day he was gone Livee followed us around like she was lost. She is still doing that, but today she did entertain herself for a little bit so I am looking forward to this fall with her when we get a routine down pat.

His first day of Georgia Pre-K. He was so excited to start his new school!

Last Friday Grammie and Deeda came and brought Uncle Brandon and cousin Carson with them for Hayden's birthday! Carson and Hayden had a great time playing together and we actually were able to let them play in Hayden's room without worrying about them killing each other. What a difference a year makes!

They came down from his room on Saturday night dressed like this. So cute!

On Saturday we got up bright and early for Hayden's party. I scheduled it at 10 am for the pool because I didn't want it to be too hot for all of the adults. The weather was really nice! After all the kiddies swam for a while we chowed down on nuggets, chips, dip, pasta salad, and watermelon. Then Hayden blew out his candles so we could eat cake and ice cream. After that, Hayden opened his gifts and the kids swam some more. Then it was time to go! Two hours flies by quickly when you have swimming to fill it up! We had a great day with family and friends!

The Luau Spread

Caught Jack with his mouth full of watermelon! Hayden didn't even eat any cake.

The beach cake + Buzz and Woody (as requested). It was so good!

Swimming with his buds was fun. Oh wait, where is he? Off swimming with Uncle Chris!