The Relations

My immediate family was here over Memorial Day weekend and they had a great time getting to know the newest member of the family. At one point, Hayden and I were on the couch while they sat at the kitchen table. . . he gazed over and just stared at them all sitting there. I said, "yeah, pretty scary, them there are your relations. . ."

Here are some of the sweet and silly antics from their visit. . .

Meeting his Aunt Janet and Uncle Doug for the first time:

Playing with Aunt Laura:

Uncle Doug's impression of Hayden sitting in his carseat:

"Hayden's eye view " of his crazy Grandpa and Uncle:

Playing with Grandpa:

A nice moment with Uncle Doug:

A military history moment with Uncle Doug:

A "belly ride" with Grandpa:

Trail Ride

With the warm weather, Hayden has been spending quite a bit of time in his Chariot. Since the snow has all melted, the preferred propulsion mode has been running, until this past Sunday. We hit the Santa Fe Trail with Aunt Laura and the Cobb's and he got a "high-speed" experience being towed behind his Dad's bicycle for the first time.

We love cycling, but the best part about this ride was the destination: The Rock House in Palmer Lake, site of some very tasty homemade ice cream. Also site of a pretty cute kid-sized bench out front. Erin snapped this photo of Hayden. . .

And because I think this is too funny to pass up, here's the shot she snapped about a second earlier:

Mommy and Aunt Laura decided to test out the bench, too. I think the smiles convey our sentiment about the afternoon!

Hand Sandwich

After a few brief days of exploration about a month ago, Hayden must have grown tired of his hands. Well, this past weekend he rediscovered the joy of stuffing his fingers into his mouth. While riding in the backseat of the car with his Aunt Laura he went for not one, not two, or even three fingers simltaneously, but all five! I particularly like it when he attempts to tell us how good those fingers taste while they are in his mouth. Too cute!

Wedded Bliss

“The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life.” ~Hugh Walpole, Sr.

Today, Rich and I celebrated 7 years of marriage! We've been through alot together and it's amazing to think of how our life has changed over the years. When we first got married, it seemed as though marriage was something between the two of us and just for us. But as we've gotten older, and with a son of our own, I've realized that a strong and loving marriage also takes the support of a strong and loving circle of family and friends. We did get to celebrate (just the two of us!) with a dinner date, but we also spent the day with our family and some of our dear friends.

And a day earlier, we also got to celebrate by attending the wedding of a good family friend right here in Colorado. The groom's parents have been friends with my parents since they were in college, yep, college. And our families have lived about 5 miles down the road from each other since 1984. . . we were so happy to be a part of this beautiful day! Congratulations Sam & Julie!

My entire family made the trip to Colorado, I think as much for the wedding as to spend some more time with the newest member of the family. Here's the Fitch clan (notice who stands out. . . Rich is obviously not genetically tied to anyone in this vertically challenged family!):

Hayden was looking daper as ever, almost upstaging the bride. (I say almost. Julie looked so stunning that no amount of adorable baby could have stolen her day!) :-)

(with his Aunt Janet)

(with his Daddy)

Exhausted from the activity, Hayden managed to get in a short nap while we partied at the reception.

I'll close with some wishes to Sam and Julie (and to A.K. and Scott, who also celebrated a wedding this weekend). . . may you always share love, happiness, and a sense of adventure. 7 years passes quickly, so enjoy every moment!

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

He's got the "roll" down (front to back, at least. . . and he also gets from his back to his side) and now, thanks to a cool gift from Grandma, he's got the "shake and rattle" part down. Here are some photos of Hayden enjoying his new favorite toy:

Maybe you noticed his shirt (also courtesy of Grandma). . . it says, "I pulled an all-nighter". Cute, Grandma. Umm, maybe not. There is truth in his advertising. Just a few weeks ago, we were getting at least two 5-6 hour stretches of sleep each night (it was like heaven for a new mom!). Recently, Hayden has decided that one 3 hour stretch is all he needs. Then, he'll wake up almost every hour until the morning. A true test of our stamina. Hopefully he waves the white flag soon, cause we're close to our limit! Like I've said in some previous posts, it's a good thing he's so darn cute!

Cruisin' the Neighborhood

We took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather last week to take some walks. Hayden is all about cruising the neighborhood. He has always been wide-eyed and alert, from the time he was only a few weeks old, but now he really seems to be taking in the world around him and he loves what he sees!

This is one of my recent favorite pictures, taken on one of our walks. I can't believe how big he's getting! My friend Gina just had a baby on May 11th. I can't remember Hayden ever being as tiny as her sweet little girl (he actually was a pound and a half lighter!) and that was only 3 1/2 short months ago!

Spoiled

With all these grandparents around last weekend, Hayden sure was enjoying lots of time in his Grandmas' arms. . .

Hayden did all he could to convince them of the truth of this quote:

"If your baby is 'beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,' you're the grandma." - Theresa Bloomingdale

Rich and I got our share of spoiling, too. Grammy and Grandpa enjoy doing yardwork so they attacked some of the out-of-control grass growing in our backyard.

Look what a fine job they did. . . that rock border looks mighty nice, huh! Spoiled by our own personal gardeners!

Beautiful Photos on a Beautiful Day

Erin took some beautiful photos at Hayden's baptism on Sunday and just shared them with me. I wanted to share them here because they are just so wonderful! Thank you, Erin, for documenting such a special moment for us!

A Blessed Mother's Day

What a wonderful 1st Mother's Day! I snuggled with my favorite boys in bed before being surprised with some lovely cards and a gift certificate for an "ultimate massage" at Veda salon. I then got to enjoy breakfast with both my mom and mother-in-law.

So, why did I get to spend my first Mother's Day with my Moms? Hayden was baptized on Sunday and all of his grandparents made the trip to Colorado for the special day. On this day honoring me, as his mother, Hayden started his lifelong journey of faith. Rich and I made the promise to teach Hayden what it means to be loved by God, to nurture him in a life of faith, and enabled him to receive the gift of His unfailing grace.

I think Hayden knew what an amazing moment it was to be sealed into a covenant with God. . . he quietly, almost solemnly, watched Pastor Bob as the handfuls of water were poured over his head.

We were blessed to have our family and lots of friends there to support Hayden on his special day. We celebrated after the church service with a houseful of 17 people (plus lots of babies!) and LOTS of food, to honor him and all of the Moms who love him!

After all the excitement, he and I settled in for an afternoon nap and I ended up rocking us both to sleep! As I woke up holding my sweet peaceful baby, I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be at that moment. A perfect Mother's Day afternoon. . .