2 years ago...

From this:

To this....

To today:

Hayden is such a joy and has truly blessed our lives in too many ways to count. He's hilarious and developing the best personality. For those of you who keep up with his stats, he's 28 lbs and 6 oz and 34 1/2" tall. Long and lean. Wonder where he gets that from?

He talks non stop. He doesn't really make sense all the time, but he's starting to put 2 words together to form phrases. Last night me he informed me that his shark towel bit him by saying "owie! shark bite!" when I wrapped the towel around him. He'll repeat anything you say as Pop learned when he said a crass sentence that ended in "Heidi's butt" and Hayden shouted "Heidi's butt!" about 10 times in the middle of the frozen yogurt store. He can identify the colors yellow, blue, green, red, black, white, brown, purple and orange. He can also point out circles, ovals and diamonds. We're working on squares and triangles. I'm telling you, Primrose is worth the investment b/c God knows I didn't teach that kid about ovals.

He's still a big "reader." His favorites include, "Brown bear, brown bear" "Polar bear, polar bear" "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and Olivia books. He loves Handy Manny, good old Dora, Wonder Pets and Mickey Mouse. He also LOVES Toy Story and Cars.

I know this stage is going to pass quickly and I'm trying to treasure every moment. He loves to snuggle and hug and give kisses. I'm trying to commit each one of these moments to memory so when he's 13 and convinced I'm lame and he hates me I can remember these wonderful times.

Almost 2

I don't even know where to begin with this post. Hayden amazes me every day with all he is learning. He is literally a little sponge, soaking up all kinds of knowledge. He's a whiz at puzzles and loves to read books. He recognizes Hop on Pop ("Pop! Pop!") and Good Night Moon ("Night night moon!") and Sandra Boyton's Going to Bed Book ("Night night!". He loves to play in his farm and make animal noises. He's starting to say 2 word phrases, but not that many. He says, "Hi Daddy" and "Bye Daddy" and "No no Daddy." He only started saying "Hi Momma" today.

Hayden is also very kind. If he thinks you're upset he'll come and lay his head on you to comfort you. He did this a lot as I cried my way through Toy Story 3. Pathetic, really. He offers to share (most of the time) and has never met a stranger (which is also a little scary). Today he was convinced his stuffed puppy had a "boo boo" on his foot and proceeded to kiss the boo boo every five minutes. Very cute. All of these qualities he clearly inherited from Clark.

Hayden is done with the high chair and sits at his own table and chairs to eat all his meals. He drinks out of a cup with no lid at snack times. Unfortunately he has not repeated his 2 pees in the potty trick since New Years. He has sat on the potty but refuses to do anything on it. Oh well.

Clark and I think we have "Our Kid is Obviously Beautiful and Perfect" Syndrome*. We're trying not to be those people, but this little face makes it hard.

*Obviously this syndrome forces the parent to act like know it alls who think their child can do no wrong and all other children pale in comparison. The Syndrome causes the parents to forget that said perfect child spent a record 5 minutes on the Time Out Stool for hitting Mommy and biting Daddy and refusing to say he was sorry. In fact when asked if he was sorry the child responded, "NO! NO! NO!" over and over again. Also the Syndrome makes the parents forget that as part of their angel's astonishing development, the child is also learning how to ignore anything Mommy says. Please pray that this condition goes away quickly and Clark and Kelly return to their normal, sane, jaded selves.

Hey 2011!

Happy New Year! In 2010, Hayden mastered walking, talking and even peed in the potty twice! He gained new friends Liam Horn, Nevis Cacciotti, Patrick Yocum, Hudson Blow and Jack Lyssy. Hayden continued to amaze us with how quickly he grew up before our eyes and how smart, handsome and dashing he turned out (obviously). Of course, in 2010 we had some dark spots, like when Hayden decided to guzzle some Tylenol in an act of toddler rebellion and earned his first trip to the emergency room.

In 2011 we look forward to our newest friend, Zoe Ferguson's arrival. Here's hoping she debuts today...or at least by the 4th! Hayden also looks forward to more pee pees in the potty, because his Mom and Dad get SO excited when he does it. Maybe 2011 will mean the Meadors will be diaper free??? Here's hoping! Mommy also turns 30 this year...uh, boo.

Of course, before we officially give 2010 dueces, we must document Christmas Part Deux at Grammy and Pop's. As to be expected, Hayden got more toys than is normal.

Aunt Katy and Uncle Win gave Hayden is very own grill. Hayden loves to grill hot dogs!

Hayden's life was pretty empty without an Elmo doll. Thank God Grammy and Pop pulled through and got him one.

Hayden also got a Toy Story personal bounce house. Here Daddy is putting on an elaborate puppet show. Those puppets were mine when I was little. The bounce house was a HUGE hit. In fact, Hayden is currently lying down in the bounce house as I type this.

On the 29th, Clark and I met up with Jason and Kassidy for the Texas Bowl where Baylor took on Illinois. The weather was HORRIBLE. Rained all day, so no tailgating for us.

We were soaked by the time we walked into the game!

Jason and Kass were still excited though.

We look so hopeful here.

RGIII is praying that his O-Line doesn't play like a bunch of little girls. God chose not to answer that prayer.

So much hope, so much promise. Unfortunately during Baylor's first possession there was an interception that the Bears could never recover from and we lost. Bad. I don't even want to talk about it anymore. Stupid Illinois. At least we have Basketball, right? Oh wait. Stupid Baylor.

Anyway.

Today we celebrate one of Hayden's best girls -- Anna James! She turned 1 yesterday and Hayden is going to wear his fancy boots to her party today. Yay!

Toy Extravaganza!**

**Or more appropriately titled So Blessed!

This year was the first year that Hayden "got" Christmas. I don't think he fully understands Santa (except that he says Ho Ho Ho) or Jesus (other than he's the baby in the manger), but he understands presents. This year we made our own Christmas Eve and Chirstmas morning traditions. I even cooked a "big" meal with pies by myself! And I didn't poison anyone! We decorated cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, which Hayden loved.

On Christmas morning, Hayden discovered his presents. Love his baby bed head:

I don't know what he's more excited about, the "choo choo" or Toy Story DVDs, but I love the look on his face.

Of course any good Texan, must have a pair of boots, and Santa did not disappoint:

He loved his boots, even though it took him a minute to figure out how to walk in them:

Of course, the Christmas fun didn't stop there. After breakfast we loaded up and headed to Sherman for Christmas with Nan. Hayden didn't like leaving his choo choo one bit, but little did he know one billion presents awaited him at Nan's.

What boy doesn't need a Handy Manny (or as Hayden calls him "Hammy") 4 wheeler?? It was a huge hit

Needless to say, we had a great Christmas. Hayden received wonderful gifts from some of the sweetest people in his life (Kathy and Mark, his aunt BeBe to name a few). Hayden got more presents than he knows what to do with...and we're not finished! We're heading to Beaumont to see Grammy and Pop on Tuesday. Hayden can't wait to hang out with them for a couple of days! Mom and Dad will be going to Baylor's bowl game at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday while Grammy and Pop have a day full of Hayden. More pics to come then.

Oh, in the meantime, if you have any medical needs, please contact Dr. Meador, he'll be sure to help you out.

He's highly qualified, I assure you.

Tis the Season!

For medical mishaps...and first time trips to the ER. So Hayden beat the child proof cap and drank half a bottle of one these bad boys last Sunday. Judging by the look on Clark's face when this happened, this is a very bad thing. So we went to Cook's Children's ER. They were very kind, very understanding (CPS wasn't even called) and fixed H right up. One chocolate milk and charcoal cocktail later, Hayden threw up a lot of Tylenol and we were okay! This is of course a very abbreviated version of events. I was too busy crying hysterically to know what exactly happened. Hayden never acted worse for the wear. He got to watch Dora, Finding Nemo and How to Train Your Dragon, so he actually kind of enjoyed himself.

We're preparing for Christmas around here. It is so fun to play Santa! We also bought Elf on a Shelf. We named him Petey and Hayden loves to find him every morning. He yells "Pe-ey! Pe-ey!" When you ask him where Petey goes at night he says, "ho ho ho!"

Yesterday was Cookies with Santa at Hayden's school. We didn't do the mall Santa thing this year b/c I am not waiting in line for 3 hours for Hayden to scream his guts out when he sees Santa. Hayden didn't scream when he saw Santa at school, but he didn't like it either.

We're really looking forward to Christmas morning to see his reaction to his gifts. I'll have lots more pics then!

Hayden wants....

Okay, I want. I'm sure Hayden will get into this eventually. Elf on the Shelf looks like a cute little tradition that I would love to start with Hayden. The elf (you or your child names him) comes out after Thanksgiving. He is not to touch. He hang out on a mantle or various other places around your home. Every night he goes back to Santa and reports on your child's behavior. The next day he comes back to watch you from a different spot. How fun is that? And talk about some serious, kick ass bribery! Granted I don't think Hayden is at a point where he understands what naming something is (he would likely name him Ho Ho Ho, as that is his favorite thing to say right now) and he certainly doesn't understand holding Santa over his head (but he will one day).

What do you think? Anyone out there do the Elf on the Shelf thing?

Thankful

So, I'm late with the Thanksgiving post. Shocking, I know. We hosted Thanksgiving for the 3rd (4th? I'm not sure) year in a row. It was a total success. We were so sad that Pop missed out, though! All week, I thought about the things I'm most thankful for. It really can be summed up in two words: family and friends. I love the little family Clark and I have made and I'm looking forward to all the family traditions we will continue to make together.

How could I not be thankful for this guy? He is so perfect, so handsome, so incredibly brilliant. Really, I could go on. He's healthy, which I'm incredibly thankful for. Sure, learning how to be a parent has been incredibly difficult and I'm not always good at it, but being Hayden's mom is easily the crowning achievement of my life.

I mean, just look him. Toddler perfection.

Check out how determined he is coloring...such drive! Hey Baylor, give this kid a scholarship!

An artiste! And ambidextrous! Seriously Baylor, give us $$!

Have I mentioned he's technologically savvy?

Yes, that's Hayden working the iPad. God help us. Thanks for that one, Grammy.

Since I started the post out sappy, I'll end sappy too. I'm so thankful for all my friends. I have amazing friends. Friends who are willing to spend a few hours discussing the finer points of Harry Potter, friends who are separated by many miles but always seem close, and friends who are my Mommy Yodas. Each one challenges me and makes me laugh. No need for an exhaustive list, they know who they are! And to keep it Hayden-centric, Hayden loves them too!