Goooooo Rangers!

An unprecedented amount of blogging is going on in the Meador house this weekend. I can't promise this is a trend that will continue. We had an action packed weekend (as you can gather from the zoo pics).

The Ranger game was a success. We had a lot of things in our favor though. The weather was okay -- slightly cool and overcast. There was plenty of room (good for us, bad for the Rangers, I guess), so we were able to spread out. The way we figure it, we'll have to get Hayden his own seat, because Mr. Wiggles won't sit on our lap for longer than, oh, 2 seconds. We lasted until the 8th inning when we decided to head home since the Rangers had a 6 run lead. It's been nice having Clark home so much and spending time all together!

** Clark actually took that picture of Josh Hamilton. Our new camera is awesome, especially when Clark is taking the pictures. The camera is not awesome enough to make me a good photographer.

Zoo -- Part Deux

I just love this age. Hayden is so much fun. Allyson and I took Hayden and Maggie to the zoo back in January. Hayden wasn't walking yet and not nearly as vocal as he is now. While I think he enjoyed to the zoo then, it was nothing compared to our experience yesterday.

Only 3 months have passed, but Hayden has changed a lot in those 3 months. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, so we met Jason, Kassidy and Anna at the zoo for an afternoon of fun! We pulled Hayden in the wagon he got for his birthday.

Hayden got to put his pointing to good use on Saturday too. He LOVED looking at all the animals.

I'm not sure what we were looking at here, but what I can tell you is that Hayden was definitely calling whatever he saw a "dog." He would yell out "dog dog dog!" at every animal. It was pretty cute.

We were looking at some orangutans/"dogs" here and Hayden thought they were hilarious. Lots of big smiles today.

The Ft. Worth Zoo has some fun interactive activities for kids. You can walk into a giant "bird cage" with a stick with bird seed on it and feed the birds -- for $1. I wasn't sure what Hayden would think about this, but we tried it anyway. Clark was tall enough to reach some hungry birds, and Hayden laughed and laughed. Until he decided he should be scared. If a bird flapped over his head, he'd duck his head onto Clark's shoulder. No tears though...I think it was an "this is so scary it's fun!" scared.

I can't say that Anna gave the zoo an enthusiastic thumbs up -- as she slept through most of it. However, she was definitely the cutest baby there in her sweet outfit. Anna was very patient as we stopped multiple times for Hayden to look up close at "dogs" and feed birds. We can't wait until Anna can do all of that with Hayden. They will definitely be handfuls then!

I think the highlight for Hayden was the ice cream.

He and I shared a cone and he was a big fan.

I think that is a face says it all, right?

Hayden was such a trooper. He basically had no nap to speak of all day long. You could have never guessed it by his attitude, though. He was so into looking around at the animals and the people (and there were some weird people at the zoo yesterday).

I think we'll be looking into a zoo membership in the near future. Today we're headed to a Ranger game. I'm not too sure how that will turn out, but we're going to give it a try!

What is This Face All About?

We're not sure either...but it's funny!

Happy Easter!

I just love this picture. He's so pleased with himself. It was really fun to watch Hayden experience Easter this year. The downside was that Daddy couldn't be there to share in all the fun. Being a resident intern can be no fun -- especially when it requires working nights during a holiday. Since Clark was working nights, Hayden and I headed down to Lumberton (near Beaumont) to visit with Grammy and Grandpa.

The 5 1/2 hour car ride is no better with a toddler than it was with an infant. Ugh. Add to the fact that I was by myself and it was kind of worse. Hayden slept for maybe an hour total for the first leg of the trip. Then we stopped at McDonald's for a little Happy Meal action (remember -- easy trumps healthy in these situations)

This pic is actually from our return trip -- yes, we went to McDonalds twice in one weekend. Trust me, it hurt my thighs far worse than it hurt Hayden's development. Hayden was an eating MACHINE all weekend. He ate entire pack of nuggets (4) and some fries. That is just out of control to me. He also had a blast watching all the weirdos that came in and out of the Huntsville McDonalds. He spent a lot of the his time turned almost completely around in his highchair with a fry hanging out of his mouth, people watching. The second leg of the trip (Huntsville to Lumberton - approximately 2 hours) was considerably rougher. Hayden managed to throw every toy he owned out of arms reach in a matter of about 3 minutes. This resulted in crying. I refused to pull over for this. In my mind, if I pulled over and gave him toys back, I would be stopping every 5 miles. Therefore, I turned my music up and did my best to ignore him.

When we got to Grammy and Grandpa's the spoiling began. We went out to eat at Pappadeuxs where Hayden made short work out of corn dog bites (okay, so we don't eat healthy, like, ever) and some green beans (seriously, I'm not just lying about that to make myself look like a better parent -- he truly likes vegetables). Hayden loved playing with Grammy and Grandpa! The Easter Bunny visited and Hayden went on the hunt for some eggs!

I, I mean the Easter Bunny, got these cool big eggs that had Fisher Price Little People toys inside of them. Little People are cool little figurines that Hayden really likes. I highly recommend them. They seem to be great for teething b/c Hayden constantly has one in his mouth.

Dad's fancy camera has a serious flash on it, however Hayden tried to persevere through the picture taking. He wasn't always successful.

In teething news, one of Hayden's molars finally broke through -- the bad news is the molar on the other side is starting to really bother him. As a first time parent, you're woefully unprepared for so many things -- and I think you definitely have to include teething tantrums on that list. I don't even know if teething tantrums are a real phenomenon or something I've completely made up. Regardless, they happen. My child is usually pretty sweet natured. Sure, he cries when he's hungry, tired, thirsty, etc. He's a baby. That's what they do. However, today I felt like I had a glimpse of what the terrible twos are going to be like. Mondays are rough transition days for Hayden anyway, so Monday afternoons are usually a little rough before bedtime. Today was a WHOLE new ball game. When Hayden and I get home, I try to convince him to do "chores" with me. Happy, well adjusted Hayden, likes these chores. These chores include, helping Mommy get clothes out of the dryer (he really does like to take clothes out) and playing in the dishwasher while Mom tries to load it (while avoiding knives, etc), and watering the flowers (H's fave). Well today, our chores weren't really working out. He tried to pull a wine glass out of the dishwasher so we had to promptly close that up. Crying ensued. Then, Hayden tried to eat some baking powder that he found on the lower shelf in the pantry (I can't believe I even typed that sentence, but it happened), so I quickly put the kibosh on that, since I don't think it should be ingested by babies (or anyone). Well, what ensued was the worst fit I've ever seen. Hayden stood in the center of the kitchen, screaming uncontrollably until he turned red and was hyperventilating. What the heck?!? He was sweating he was crying so hard! He had clenched his little fists up so hard they were shaking! I'm blaming this evil molar on this behavior, since I don't think my laid back kid would act so wheels off otherwise. Needless to say we had an early bed time (plus a squirt of Tylenol)!

Clark has a weekend off -- so hopefully the weather will be nice so we can do some fun outdoor activities!

Reflections by a Parent of a Toddler

So when I first started this blog (and clearly had an abundance of time on my hands), I used to post a "what I've learned as parent" post once a month. These posts were obviously tongue in cheek, as I clearly have no idea what I'm doing as a parent. Since Hayden is officially a walker -- I'm classifying him as a TODDLER. Yikes. So in my two weeks of having a toddler...what have I learned?

• My child is enamored with dog food. And the dog food bowls. Oh, and the dog water bowls. Whenever he comes home from school, he toddles over to the dog's dishes and tries to stick his hand in it.
• My child thinks the word "no" is the funniest thing he's ever heard. He belly laughs when he hears it. The meaner and sterner we sound, the funnier he thinks it is. This is ridiculous and must stop.
• He thinks the nose sucker thing (yes, that's the technical term for it) that they send you home from the hospital with is the best teether around. Gross. I've tried to tell him, it's been up your nose...covered in your boogers, and yet he thinks it now belongs in his mouth. I think it now belongs in the trash.
• If you thought infant teething was bad -- just wait into those horrible molars come in. What a freaking nightmare! I went to babycenter.com to read about molar teething. It said, "Molars are even more painful because they are so big and dull." Wow. Amazing. They don't sugar-coat it do they? How many molars do we have? Too damn many.
• Mr. Tude wants to do things his way. For example, if I hand him his sippy cup of milk, No thanks. He will shove it away and clamp his mouth shut. If I simply set it out for him, then he'll take it on his own sweet time. Same thing with certain foods. I can't offer it to him by handing it, I have to sit it in front of him and let him do it. I find this new independence sometimes endearing, sometimes incredibly frustrating.
• Sometimes, McDonalds is just easier. Yeah, it's not organic. I'm not even sure what's in a McNugget, but it makes him happy. I know the trend is for everything to be organic and to be an Earth Mother and burn incense while you make your child's baby food. If you're one of those moms -- I salute you. I think it's admirable and amazing. However, it's not for me. I work a full time job and my husband works ridiculous hours. So, some days, it's easier to order the happy meal, or bake some Mickey Mouse shaped nuggets or fish sticks or whatever. Some days easier trumps healthy.
• Baby jail + Mickey Mouse Clubhouse = 30 extra minutes of sleep for Mom. Some weekends, Hayden sleeps until 7:30. Those days are awesome. Other days, our wake up call is more like 6 or 6:30. Those days are not so awesome. So, I wake up (kind of), put Hayden in baby jail (or "playpen") with his favorite toys and turn on the Disney channel. I lay down on the couch and nap until breakfast (which is usually 7:45 or 8). So, am I using the TV to babysit my kid? You bet I am.

I think I'm about out of wisdom. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys Easter this weekend. Hayden and I are heading down to Beaumont to see Grammy and Grandpa while Clark works nights. I'll be sure to take pictures of Hayden's first egg hunt.