1 year old! (a month late)

Hayden Titus Helm is ONE!  Hayden turned one on December 28, 2012.  We celebrated with my side of the family on Christmas.  That was a lot of fun.  Tenley learned the Happy Birthday song and sang it to Hayden and Jesus all month long.  "Happy to you...Happy to you...Happy to you, Hayden!"  I guess "Birthday" was just too hard to even attempt.  We will probably not always combine Hayden's birthday and Christmas, but for now, he had no clue.  It also helped that Tenley was getting presents at the same time, so she wasn't jealous.  Not so for party #2...

We celebrated with the Helm side of the family on January 13.  I wanted to remove the party enough from Christmas to keep it separate, but still sort of close to his birthday.  Tenley loved being able to sing "Happy to you, Hayden" again, but threw in a lot of "Happy to you, Jesus" phrases too.  That's okay!  She'll figure it out.  Tenley is still trying to cope with the fact that some toys are Hayden's and not all of them are hers.  Yes, they share everything, but after Hayden's birthday parties, we moved some toys into his room.  Before, they were all in hers.  She is okay with it for the most part, and brings him toys that are "his."  She has also started to read him books - especially ones that are "his."  It's really cute.

He loved his no-sugar banana cake.  :)

As Hayden's first birthday was approaching, I went back and forth every day as to whether or not I should call First Steps about his gross motor development.  I hate comparing kiddos because they all have their own individual timelines, but I also don't want to ignore something that could potentially be a problem.  At 12 months, Hayden was sitting up well, but not rolling over consistently.  He could not get himself into a sitting position if he fell, and he HATED tummy time.  Like, the second he was placed on this tummy, automatic tears, screaming, red splotchy face, MAD.  So, he wasn't crawling or even attempting, not pulling up on things, not cruising or walking.  It actually took him a really long time to even bear weight on his legs.  That was something we had to intentionally work with him on every day when we realized he wasn't getting it on his own.

So, I called First Steps around his 1st birthday.  They evaluated him and are setting him up with a physical therapist who will meet with us once a week for an hour.  As far as we can tell, he has no real physical problems.  He's just very content with sitting.  Some kids just move from milestone to milestone in gross motor skills without much help, but with Hayden, he just needs intentional, consistent help.  I'm okay with that!  He is so happy and so laid back, but we've decided it's time to push this guy a little bit in order to help him explore his own world around him.  He may not like it at times, but that's okay.  We haven't met with the physical therapist yet, but we are already doing 2-3 mini sessions of our own at home every day.  I feel a little silly even having someone come in to help, but I am open to seeing what they can show us.

As for everything else, Hayden's doing super.  He is sleeping 12 hours at night...wahoo!!!  This is a new development!  I think more solid foods has helped!  He naps once a day for 3 hours, or sometimes two shorter naps.  At his 1 year appointment, he was 28 3/4" long and 19lbs 13oz.  To me, that's a little tiny guy.  At 12 months, Tenley was 30" and 22.4lbs.  Same head size, though.  He'll grow into it.  Haha.
We started consistent solid foods around 11 months, and he is still eating purees, with a few exceptions.  He is nursing 4 times a day.
He says "Hi!" and waves, and sometimes I could swear I hear him say "Hayden."  He plays Peekaboo and PatACake, and is drooling like CRAZY, even though he still just has 4 teeth.

1st time sledding...he was not impressed.  TOO COLD!!!

1st snow of the season - playing at home

This picture is sideways - I couldn't figure out how to turn it.