Part 2 of the Christmas Experience.....

On Christmas Day we headed to Great Aunt Bert's house for our Christmas meal. We were able to catch up with all of the Dever cousins and meet some for the very first time.  We only could stay for a few hours and then headed to Mt. Pleasant to the Wenstrand House.  Hayden Elizabeth was so glad to celebrate Christmas with Great Grandma Phyllis, Great Aunt Karen, Great Uncle Tom, Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Doug, Aunt Misslissa, Uncle Chris, and Cousins Meg, Marne, Tony and Reed.  She was happy to entertain everyone and she thoroughly enjoyed exploring her new surroundings and playing piano with Aunt Melissa.  Also, Hayden really loved meeting all of the African animals that reside at the Wenstrand home:  the rocking warthog, the African Nyala, the front of a giraffe, the zebra carpet, and a kudu.  It was also Hayden's first experience climbing stairs.  Grandpa Doug encouraged that adventure and of course the fearless Hayden did not hesitate to tackle the task. 

The Christmas Experience....

Hayden's first memorable Christmas was a lot of fun and action packed.  On the 23rd we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Wing's house to enjoy a few days together before the Christmas snow hit.  On Christmas Eve day, 11 inches of snow appeared and we all welcomed our guitar playing Santa into Grandpa and Grandma's living room. Santa brought presents to all the cousins and he sang several Christmas tunes.  First, Santa sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, followed by White Christmas to honor the Troops serving overseas, and finished with Thank God for Kids and a prayer to give thanks.   Hayden had an opportunity to sit on Santa's lap, and as it turned out, she wasn't even phased by the large man with a white beard in a red suit.  Hayden took the whole experience in stride and certainly loved all the attention.  Santa brought her a Sing-a-ma-jig to enjoy!

 

Millie( 9mo), Rylee Jo (Age 3), Taylor (Age 3), TJ (Age 3) Hayden (Age 1) Grace (Age 5)

The Hayden Curl....

One of my favorite things about Hayden and her new found little toddler-self is the appearance of curl in her mostly straight locks.  I am not sure how long the curl will stay, so I thought I would embrace the moment and take a few snapshots to remember the girl curl in her goldi-locks.  Too cute.

Hello Father Winter....

Saturday night we were gifted 10 inches of snow, no power for several hours and a child with a fever of 103〫F.  It was an action packed night in the small town of Garnavillo. Andy and I headed out to go caroling and left behind a sick child with the Berns girls.  Even though Hayden was a bit crabby we went ahead with plans to go Christmas caroling around town.  Well, it turned out due to weather we ended up just going caroling at the local nursing home and then headed to the KG Bar.  The snow continued to fall after a few hours which made the festivities cut short due to a power outage throughout the whole town.  Even Grandma and Grandpa Reimer reported loss of power and had to fire up the generator.  So we headed home to find a house full of candles lit, a cozy Hayden with the Berns girls and no heat to speak of.  Luckily Andy found his headlamp and moved everything we needed for the night into the bedroom.  At about 11pm the power came back on and there was hope for better times.  Now if we can just get our little girl to be healthy.....again.

The Nighttime Ritual

They say consistency is always important for kids.  Well Hayden makes me abide by our night time ritual regardless of her disposition.  It all starts with bath time.  She loves her baths and soaking in the tub. After her bath we lotion her up and put on her warm jams.  When that is all said and done before we leave her room we have to say, "HI" to baby Hayden on the wall and twirl the butterfly mobile in the room.  I ask Hayden, "Where's baby Hayden?" and she will point to her picture on the wall.  I ask Hayden, "Where's your butterflies?" She points and has to touch the butterflies which always brings a smile to her face.  One would think this would get old...but she loves to do this each and every night. 

The Tricks in the Bag....

Hayden has been working very hard at learning her body parts and animal sounds.  She has figured out what a cow says and can point to her nose.  Even though she doesn't always do her tricks on command she does know her stuff.  It's been a lot of fun to teach her new things.  It is amazing how quickly she picks up on things.