Hayden On the Move; No More Paci

Just wanted to post a little update on how Hayden's physical therapy is going.  We love his therapist, Melissa.  She comes once a week for an hour and is very helpful in giving me tips on how to work with Hayden to encourage his gross motor skills throughout the week.  At the beginning of all of this (a little over a month ago), Hayden wasn't rolling over, HATED being on his belly, and couldn't get from-here-to-there on his own in any way.  He is now rolling over all the time and uses it as a way to get himself across a room.  Plus, he is now a belly sleeper!  I love that because it helps him sleep-in some mornings.  He doesn't have a problem being on his belly at all anymore.  When he is sitting on a hard surface, he can now scoot himself on his bottom anywhere he'd like to go.  It's so nice to have him more mobile!  Yeah, he can get into more things, but he is learning to obey and is MUCH more content to play on his own and explore.  It is so great.  Below is a video taken a little over a week ago when he had just gotten the hang of scooting.  Our next thing to tackle is getting him to be able to get to a sitting position from laying down.  His muscles are getting stronger and stronger, we can tell each week.  It's just a matter of time before this little guy will be running around destroying everything...Oh My!  Hayden, maybe you can hold off on the whole walking/running thing until the house sells.  :)

Another update on both Tenley and Hayden: they are both now paci-free!  I started noticing that Tenley's 2 top front teeth were beginning to buck out a little bit - not bad, but I could tell.  I don't believe she's doing any damage to her adult teeth, but I also don't want her baby teeth sticking out.  She only used her paci during naps and nighttime, but she sleeps at least 12 hours each night and takes a 3 hour nap, so she really does have it A LOT!  I did not warn her.  I just noticed her teeth one morning, then at nap time I told her that her paci was hurting her teeth, so she couldn't have it anymore.  She asks for it still, but when I give her the reason, she doesn't fuss at all.  Yes, she is my easy kid, haha.  Now for Hayden, I can already tell he is much more...stubborn...than Tenley.  After reading recently the struggle my friend, Cassie, went through taking her son's paci away at age 3, I decided to nip this thing in the bud and take it away now, at 14 months!  He didn't care a whole lot for the thing anyway, but did use it to fall asleep and then spit it out.  I wanted to avoid any greater attachment that we'd have to break, and he has done just fine with it.  YAY!

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.

Reminiscing

I was just looking through some pictures of the kiddos and thought I'd share.  The first two are of Hayden and Tenley both at 8 months old.  I think they look more alike than I realized!  

 




These two are of both of them at Hayden's current age - 10 months.  You can see the beautiful little chunk my Tenley girl is (this was her thinning way out), and then how thin Hayden is!  I think people are crazy when they mention anything about him being chubby, and you can see why.

                           
                                    

Looking through all these old pictures of Tenley, some of them make me wish I could go back to that moment just to hold her at that age and during that activity again.  It reminds me to work at not taking any moment for granted with Hayden (or Tenley!), because they are both growing up so fast.  I needed the reminder to forget about putting them in the perfect cute outfit or the cutest shoes, sweater vest, hairdo, or bow.  Who cares how they compare to other people's kids?  And I'm not just talking about clothes here!  I'm sick of the comparison wars that moms all over the world silently struggle with.  Let's fully enjoy our babies now.  They are perfect gifts from the Lord.  Let's treasure every moment possible up in our hearts, because the moments are gone all too soon.

Halloween 2012

This Halloween, Hayden was a whoopie cushion.  It was a very appropriate costume for him!  He can be really gassy.  And Tenley loves to say "fart."  Awesome.  This costume was a hand-me-down homemade costume from Aunt Jessica Wade.  Thank you!!!  We get lots of great boy clothes from her.

Tenley was Foofa from Yo-Gabba-Gabba.  She's never seen the show.  I can't stand it.  We watch Veggietales because it is my favorite too.  Anyway, my mom, the deal hunter, found this costume for $1.  It is super cute, too!  She enjoyed dressing up, but most of all, loved getting candy.  The only thing she got to eat was a fun size package of M&Ms.  I don't think she even cared about eating it - she just loved the idea!  I'm sure I will not be so lucky next year.  Instead of going trick-or-treating, we just went to see both of my sisters.  Barb was at home, so we got to see a lot of kids dressed up around their neighborhood.  Sheri was at work, so we walked around Barnes and Noble all decked out.  

Hayden's favorite part was playing in the dirt.

Hayden 10 months

                              

10 months: 29", 19.5lbs

Hayden is sleeping about 11 hours at night, wakes to eat, and then goes right back down to sleep a couple more hours usually.  His favorite time to sleep is 7pm-7am and then stay awake.  I'm trying to move him to an 8-8 schedule (or ideally 8:30-8:30), but it seems like no matter what time he goes to sleep, he wakes up at 7am.  That's not terrible, but for now I'd rather keep him up a little later, feed him at 7, and have him take a short nap to finish out the night.  He naps twice a day, for about an hour and a half each nap.

This month, Hayden got 2 more teeth - his top front teeth.  We tried baby cereal again, which he still didn't like.  So we tried carrots a couple days before he turned 10 months, and he loved them!  He still does the tongue-thrust thing, but I can tell it's a reflex rather than a dislike.  He tried peas too, which he sort of likes.  He also tried puffs, which he usually just plays with in his mouth and spits back out.  For now we are only doing solid foods once a day, about 5 days a week, and at a different time than when he normally eats.  It's really not for nutrition at all at this point - just for developing skills and having fun.  One thing I hadn't thought about in regards to eating was Hayden's love of throwing everything.  He will throw anything he can get his hands on...including carrots, spoons, cups, and puffs.  Oh boy.  He is going to be one messy eater.  We'll slowly work on correcting this during meal times.

yummy carrots

                                   

awesome eyelashes

Hayden is not crawling yet.  Kind of like with standing, it just seems like he doesn't care to.  Eventually he decided to stand, and it may just be the same way with learning to crawl.  For now, during tummy time, he will push up and look around for awhile, but then just lay down.  I joke that it's just because his poor little head is so big.  He's a little less than 50th percentile in both height and weight, but his head is in the 90th.  I love my ole mr. big head.  For now, if a toy he wants is out of reach, he will fold himself in half, flat on the ground and reach to get it, then pull himself back up.  This kid has great flexibility and is working on those core muscles, but he is just content to sit and lay!

He loves to try to join in our conversations, but isn't saying any real words yet.  "Dadadada" and random babbling are his favorites right now.  He is starting to mimic our hand movements, like clapping and waving.  It is really cute.  

Big Bed for my Little Girl

At 2 years and 1 day old, Tenley got her first big girl bed!  We moved the crib out and brought in a twin bed, covered in Dora and pink.  She loves it.  Night time has been a very easy transition for her.  We are on a successful 3-night run.  It has only been two nap times though, and one of those was a Sunday, when she naps at Grandma and Grandpa Roehr's house.  So she's only had one nap time in the big girl bed and it was ROUGH.  She did not sleep at all, but had to stay in there for 2 hours.  That is always our rule.  I tried many things to get her to stay in bed, but I bet I had to put her back 25 times.  By the end, I was able to get her to stay in bed for the last 30 minutes and praised her when I came to get her.  I think it might take a few days to get used to, but I know she can do it.  I expected naps to be more difficult.  It is not as dark in her room and she is not quite as tired, even though she definitely still needs the nap.  She is used to a 3 hour nap!  Anyway, it's just another fun part of growing up.  I just LOVE this girl!!!!!

Tenley is TWO!!

Tenley Grace is two years old!  So far, "twos" aren't terrible at all.  Our most difficult time was probably around 18 months when we had to spend more time figuring out discipline and obedience.  Of course she has her moments of testing boundaries or just getting crazy tired, but overall, she is very obedient and teachable.  She is such a joy.  She is a great helper and loves to learn and do whatever I am doing.   She has a great personality, full of laughter and kindness.  She is so friendly and outgoing and has so much love for life.  Even though I try to teach her, I have a lot to learn from her too.



God blessed me with a sleeper.  He knew I needed it; I am a sleeper too.  Tenley still sleeps at least 12 hours each night (8pm-8am).  If she's exceptionally worn out, she can easily sleep 14.  She also takes one nap each day that is about 3 hours long (2-5pm).

She is saying 2-word phrases now.  Some of her favorites are Papa's house, all done, socks shoes, and Bubba's seat.  She talks all day in her own little language, though.  She understands just about everything I say to her and she loves to learn new words.  Some of her favorites to ask about are body parts.  Of course,  she has a brother, and they bathe together.  Awesome.  I am still claiming that I can avoid those questions.  I'd rather not teach her words that I don't want her to repeat all day!

I am not hard core potty training and don't have a plan to for now.  She has a potty sticker chart.  She has come to me a couple times asking to go and has success.  She tells me every time after she poops, but never before.  She even sometimes tells me after she pees, but not often.  I ask her every day a few times if she wants to go, and usually even if she wants to sit, she doesn't go.  We're moving slowly in the right direction and surprisingly, I'm totally okay with that.

homemade "paint" in ziploc bag, taped to table

she loves water play!

learning time - eating apples, "A" apple coloring page, using red crayon

We had 2 birthday parties for Tenley.  One was a combined birthday party for all 6 of the September and October Roehr family birthdays.  The other was for the Helm side.  Both were a lot of fun!

Tenley loves her new car

Helm party was "You Are My Sunshine" + rainbow theme