Fun in the Sun!

In July, Hayes went to the beach - Seacrest Beach, Florida, to be specific.  He had such a fun time!

Hayes and Daddy at the ocean for the first time!

Hayes putting his toes in the water

Hayes trying out the sand for the first time

Hayes spent lots of time hanging out in his spiffy little tent . . .

and sleeping in his tent.

Rosemary Beach outside Trent's favorite restaurant - La Cocina

Hayes spent time with all of his favorite people - at the beach with Aunt Jen

At the beach with Mama and Daddy

On the porch with Grandma

Taking a nap with Will

Hayes liked swimming the pool much better than spending time at the beach.  He had a little float with a sunshade on it, and he liked floating around in that.  He loved to drink the pool water, which Mama did not like!

Hayes LOVED taking baths at the beach.  He's not such a fan at home, but he got to splash around in the kitchen sink and had the best time! 

We left for the beach on Friday, July 9.  Mapquest told us that going through Birmingham was the best route, so we decided to try it out.  Just days before we left, I found out that a Chuy's had opened in B'ham!  It goes without saying that we had to eat dinner there.  Hayes was not a fan of the car ride and after the two hour wait for a table, we were all about to lose it, but the creamy jalapeno dip made it all better!  That night, Hayes stayed in a hotel for the first time, and it did not go well.  He was supposed to sleep in his pack and play in the living room with Daddy, but after he woke up crying for what seemed like the 10th time, I just put him in bed with me and Grandma.  Then he slept! 

The next morning we got up and continued our trek to the beach.  We made it to Florida right about supper time.  Since it was my mom's birthday, she got to pick our dinner location.  We went straight to the Red Bar, and got in with no wait.  The BP oil spill was Florida's loss, but our gain!  We did not have to wait once at a restaurant all week, except for the last night at Stinky's Fish Camp.

After dinner, we got settled into our beach house.  Hayes got his own room - the master bedroom closet!  It sounds terrible, but it was a perfect place for him.  His pack and play fit great, it was dark, and it was quiet.  He slept great the entire week.

For the next 7 days, we relaxed at the beach and pool, slept, and ate!  We went to La Cocina (daddy's pick), Old Florida Fish House, Louis, Great Southern Cafe in Seaside, Seagrove Village Market Cafe, and Stinky's.  It was all so good!

The most exciting moment of our trip was meeting Erika from Urban Grace!  Jen and I have read her blog, as well as that of her sister, Darby, for several years.  Jen was brave and called her office in the middle of the week to see if we could drop by.  Her very sweet assistant let us know that she was swamped, which I completely understood.  Will and Trent had a hey day with that - saying "sure, she's got a lot of meetings!"  So, on Friday night, we went to Stinky's to eat dinner.  Trent dropped off me, Grandma, and Hayes.  As I was walking into the restaurant, I saw Erika's husband Chance holding her baby Sloane.  Although I was about to have a heart attack, I proceeded calmly to the hostess to give her our name.  Jen walked up and was about to flip out too.  We discussed strategy, got out the camera, and let Will take the lead.  We ended up visiting while we all waited for tables, and she is just as nice as we thought she would be!  Hayes and Sloane got to meet, and we are all now BFFs with plans for a lunchdate next summer!

Six Months

At six months, Hayes is just so much fun!  I can't believe how much more I love him every day.

He goes to bed around 8 pm and sleeps until 6 am.  For most of month six (and months four and five!), Hayes has not been sleeping well at all.  He has been getting up four to five times a night.  I feed him twice and give him his paci the other times.  He usually goes right back to sleep, but not always!  Mama was getting really tired, so we made a trip to see Dr. Mahan about sleep training.  She recommended Dr. Ferber's book, which I immediately went out and bought.  We saw results the first night!

Hayes eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day.  He takes 4 oz bottles and sometimes goes on strike against the bottle.  Shortening the time between his daytime feedings is part of a campaign to help him gain weight.

Has had round 4 with his ear infection, his first two visits to the ENT, and finally got it beat!

He gained a whole pound during the first half of the month!

Hayes loves to pat your face and likes to chew on his toes.  In fact, anything that is in his hands goes straight to his mouth.

He has really started rolling over from tummy to back.  When he does it, he smiles the whole time and looks for us to clap and cheer for him.

He can sit up with some support for quite a while and can sit on his own for very, very short periods.

He has started eating solids.  His first food was green peas, which was a very bad choice.  They made his tummy hurt!  Carrots went over much better.

He is really talking and experimenting with new sounds.  He primarily works on "m" and "b" sounds and says mama a lot!  Of course, he doens't know what he is saying.  I've also heard some "l" and "n" sounds here and there.

Hayes no longer likes his swing.  He still likes his play mat and he hangs out in his bouncy seat in the mornings while I get ready.  We do have to strap him in now because he is so wiggly!  He likes his floor mirror and small toys.  I got him a toy that stretches across his carseat and it helps keep him in his carseat when we go out to eat.

Happy Father's Day!

To Daddy and Grandpa, Hayes sayes Happy Father's Day!

Hayes and Parker

Here is a picture of Hayes and his buddy Parker.  Parker's mama Ashley and I put the boys down together on the blanket, and when we went back to check on them, they were holding hands!  So sweet!  Of course we weren't quick enough to get a picture of that, but this is pretty cute too.

Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day, we did Hayes's Dedication at church. 

Here we are on stage:

The church makes a slide for each baby with his or her name, the scriptural meaning of the name, and a verse that the parents choose for their child.  Hayes's verse is Zephaniah 3:17.  I have always liked this verse, and while I was pregnant, it seemed like this verse kept popping up in different places for us.  I told Trent that it was a sign that we were supposed to use it for the baby's verse. 

Hayes wore an adorable "Karen Minor original." She made it for her grandson Rhett to wear for his dedication. Rhett was originally going to be dedicated in February, but he got a tummy bug and his mommy had to reschedule his big day, so he had outgrown it by May. Because poor Hayes had such a hard time gaining weight between March and May, the outfit I had bought for him to be dedicated in was way too big! Lindsey was kind enough to let us borrow Rhett's ivory silk bubble suit! I loved that Hayes got to wear it. Karen is such a talented seamstress, and it was exciting that he got to wear such a special outfit.

The Walker fam afterwards

With Nana and Papa

Since it was Mother's Day and Trent's family was in town for the dedication, we had a joint Mother's Day celebration at my parents' house.  We had yummy chicken casserole from Spring Street and my mom and I cooked southern-style green beans (recipe courtesy of Erin P.), layered salad, rolls, spinach dip, creamed corn, and cheese ball.  It was all so good!  I ordered a cute cake from Shelby Lynn's to match the invitations we sent out for the party.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jarrett!

Hayes, Trent, and I were invited to Hayes's Uncle Jarrett's birthday party.  He turned 27 today!

The party was at Sassy's Red House, and Hayes was a pretty popular little guy.  He had a fun time flirting with all the girls!  Thanks for inviting us Jarrett!

Five Months

Hayes is now five months old and so much fun!  He is developing more and more of a little personality and it is so exciting to watch him change every day!

Hayes now eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day (part of our "bulking up" program) and wakes up twice to eat during the night.  I will be glad when I'm able to wean him off the nighttime feedings, but until we get his weight up, Dr. Mahan said I should continue to feed him at night.

Aside from waking to eat, Hayes usually wakes up at least two other times during the night.  Trent handles some of these, as it usually just requires us to stumble across the house to Hayes's room and give him his paci.  Sleep training is over - until he's up to a good weight.  Then, we will start working on it again.

Hayes goes to bed around 8 pm and gets up between 6 and 6:30 am.

Hayes takes two to four naps each day, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours.  He is totally inconsistent with his napping.

Hayes still sleeps in his swaddler, but we leave both of his arms out.

He recognizes people who are in "his circle."  This includes mama and daddy, Aunt Jen, Mimi, my dad, and his teachers.

Hayes still likes his bouncy seat, Bumbo seat, ocean playmat, and swing.  He hangs out in his bouncy seat each morning while I get ready.  He is able to really reach for and grab hold of the toys that hang down from the bouncy seat and playmat now.  He can grasp objects, and everything goes straight into his mouth now!

He found his feet!  He likes to hold onto them, which makes diaper changes a whole lot of fun, let me tell you!  He hasn't gotten them into his mouth yet.

Hayes has rolled over from his tummy to his back.  So far, it's just been a one time thing, but at least we know he can do it if he wants to!  He still rolls from his back to his side a lot, but he doesn't go on over to his tummy.  He hates tummy time so much that I don't really expect him to voluntarily roll to his tummy.
He has started laughing out loud a lot more, and he can blow raspberries.  This involves a lot of spit, so his face and shirt are always wet!

Hayes had his first sick day off from school.  The stomach bug went around his classroom, and his teacher thought he caught it.  I think he just had some tummy problems from his antibiotic and that she took his temperature right after his nap because when I got him home, we had no problems.  But he still had to stay home the next day too!

Hayes is on round 4 with his ear infection.  We thought he kept getting new infections, but now think that it is just one really bad one that took four rounds of antibiotics to clear up.
He has started sitting in high chairs when we go to restaurants.

He weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces.  This is right at the 3rd percentile.  We are working on getting him to gain more weight.  Obviously, since he hasn't put on any weight to speak of since his 4 month post, he is still in size 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers.