On the mend

my little baker...my little Picasso

This last week has been full, but unfortunately full of sneezes, coughing and grumpy moods! Hayden has had a horrible cold that has sidelined much of our activities; perfect timing when mama has shopping to do, work, errands to run--and looks forward to dropping the little guy off at the gym's playroom! Oh well, Hayden had been in great health for about 7 months, so he was due, right? Happy to report he's now over it, but guess who's feeling run down? Mama and daddy, that's who! We're not nearly as bad, but still, it's a bummer to be congested and lacking energy...

Here are a few photos from the past week of Hayden helping me make banana bread, doing a "Christmas project" and enjoying some outside time yesterday!

p/s A special hello to my blog's new "biggest fan"...love you gramps! keep checking in--you're why I do it!

Hayden begged to go outside. It was a brisk, wet 40 degrees! So, we bundled up in two layers and braved it. After an hour i literally had to drag him back indoors to thaw him out!

Thanksgiving at the Kramer home

Hayden attacking his aunt Megan

"Get Meg's nose!"

Hayden and great-grampa, the golf champ!

My gramps and grama

Chris, Hayden and I traveled to Eaton last Thursday morning to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. I dropped Chris off at the golf course and he played 18 holes with my dad, grandpa, uncle don and three others. This group consisted of some very good golfers...but my 85-year-old grampa Kramer beat them all! So, we were all very proud of him (sorry Chris, sorry Dad)! Megan and I helped mom in the kitchen before my aunt, two uncles and grama and grampa arrived for dinner. To say we had a feast is a huge understatement...my mother went all out, as usual. Every bite, every dish was just fantastic and we definitely ate our fill! I wish I'd taken more photos, but i was just too wrapped up in the fantastic little moments we had! Later on we received a visit from some dear family friends, the Hawleys, and then ended the night by the fireplace with entertainment from Hayden and his best buddy; grampa!

Ohio State v. that school up north

This mama got a much needed and very special day out Saturday, November 22. I traveled to Ohio and my awesome parents treated me to an OSU football game. But not just any game--the final home game of the season; and the one that some say is for "all the marbles"--the Michigan game! It was only 20 degrees, but we got there early and tailgated with friends! My dad's famous bloody Marys and mama's chili helped keep us toasty! We walked to the stadium to see the band play before the game started and to enjoy the atmosphere. The spectacle that is an Ohio State home football game is truly something to witness! I had a wonderful day and it was kinda nice to have my parents all to myself; there on either side to watch our buckeyes beat out the wolverines 42-7! But man, did I miss Chris and Hayden ;)

I got another treat the next day...a stop in Cincinnati to have a birthday dinner with Megan, my little sister who turned 25 on the 22! Happy Birthday Wookie~

Enjoy the pics! My parents and I, Script Ohio (though the view doesn't do it any justice) and my Michigan "pal" who sat directly behind me!

Mr. Sillypants

One of the many things I'm thankful for...Mr. Sillypants!

You're a good boy, Hayden Crotts

Today Hayden was angry at me (for making a quick phone call) and to show it he deliberately picked up a glass vase and hurled it at the floor. The flower arrangement broke out of it and the vase shattered. I was so taken aback at witnessing this that I promptly hung up and scolded him, along with a little spank. He knew what he'd done--and I couldn't believe he did it. He went from fuming to crying and as he did I felt that familiar wash of guilt, but I stood firm. I picked up the glass and vacuumed while he watched in silence. Later after he'd had his lunch I was washing the dishes when I saw him walk back over to the table where the vase had been...he quietly picked up the flowers and tried to stand them back up like they had been sitting before. He didn't know i was watching. He was somber and determined. I walked over to him, with melted heart and tears in my eyes and knelt down, asking for a hug. He said "better, mama" and motioned to the flowers before giving me a big hug. When he pulled away I looked in his eyes and said to him "you're a good boy Hayden." And then I told him I loved him and explained how it was wrong to act the way he did, but also that fixing it was a sweet thing to do. It really was his way of apologizing. He IS a good boy. Sure he's wild and crazy and he definitely has a temper, but he's two...he's allowed to make mistakes. He does bad things sometimes, but you know what, this time I'm confident he learned a lesson out of it. Call me crazy, but I recalled the incident the rest of the day with a sense of pride. And after it was all over, he was extra good the rest of the day to boot!

Hayden at the office

I figured out a way to occupy Hayden while I get some computer tasks accomplished! He watches daddy go to work everyday and we talk about it; so i asked him if he wanted to go to work...I set up a table with his laptop, crayons and some paper and he was a happy boy while I balanced the checking and caught up on emails. He even made a birthday card for his aunt Megan! It was too cute (but ignore the booger, haha, he has a bit of a cold).

p/s Hayden wants to wish his uncle Tim, in California, a Happy Birthday!

It's a Wiggly Party

Hayden's very cool parents took him to see the Wiggles live in concert last Wednesday. He loves the dvds and characters and it's one of the few shows he actually gets into. What a great night we had! We were joined by Allyson, Kevin and Chandler, so that made it extra special! Hayden was a little dumbstruck at first. Here we are in huge Rupp Arena, thousands of kiddos, big stage...when the show began and out came that big red car his eyes got wide and he was in total AWE! I'd have given anything to know what was being thought inside that little head! Here are these four guys he watches on TV--live, in person, singing his favorite songs! :) About the third song that little body started wiggling and before the song was over he'd hopped down from his seat and was boogying like crazy! He danced the whole time after that! I brought along his wiggles guitar and he played it while dancing. Between songs he'd set that down, swig his juice and then go back to dancing! Chris and I laughed at Hayden the whole night! Honestly, I had just as much fun as Hayden did I think! Laugh if you will, but it was a very entertaining concert for the adults too! I'm just so happy we could go. Hayden was so excited. So in awe and so very happy! Obviously that filled Chris and I with such happiness that we could do that for him!

Here we go!

Alright, so after talking about it for a long time; after being inspired to do this by friends who have similar blogs...here we go--I'm doing it! I'm definately not the tech-savy type, so hang with me while I figure all this out.