The Arrival of Augustus (Gus) Hayes

Upon our return from New York, we made a quick detour at the airport to the cargo area.  Ever try to find the cargo area at your local airport?!?!  What a nightmare.  Anyway, we eventually found the cargo area and were able to pickup our newest addition to the family, the Yellow Lab formerly known as Tank.

Although it all appeared to Katie that we got lost, the arrival of Tank was well planned.  Whit's Aunt Carol and Uncle Randy and their two labs, Jack and Zoe had a small first litter of pups in August.  As I recall, Tank got his name because he was the firstborn pup and also the largest pup of the liter.

On the way home from the airport we contemplated what his new name should be.  Eventually we settled on Gus as this was the name of the polar bear we met in the Central Park Zoo and also the name of the goofy fat mouse in Cinderella (duh...Gus Gus).

As soon as he entered our home, Sally began showing him the ropes.  She showed him where the back doors were so he could wait to be let outside to go potty; she shared her bed with him; she sacrificed nearly all her toys for Gus to chew on and play with; and she helped him learn to sit.  Nearly every time we told her to sit, he looked over at her and then imitated her.  As such, Gus is now weakly trained to SIT on command.  Gus spent nearly every minute of his first week at the Casa de Hayes chasing Sally and trying to play with her. 

NYC meets Katie

For Katie's fall break, we decided to take her to visit Aunt Adrienne in New York.  So Whit and Katie flew to New York on Thursday while Scott was at a work conference in California.  The girls enjoyed a girls night and went out to dinner and then watched the 80's classic movie, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Friday morning the girls hit the streets and did a ton of walking. Katie was a super trooper and kept up all day.  We just had to carry around a few extra apples and stop periodically for food to help her re-charge.  We walked along the Highline, through the Chelsea Market and in and out of almost every "spinny" door in New York.  We went up to the Top of the Rock for some spectacular views of the city.  Scott arrived around 6 ... just in time to get the key to the apartment as we whisked off to see Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam theater.  While the girls soaked up all the spoonfuls of sugar they could, Scott spent the evening touring the Chelsea bars with Adrienne's wonderful friend, Maria.

Saturday morning we were up early and on the first ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and then toured Ellis Island.  Katie had a headset and listened to the narration for kids at her own pace.  She learned a lot and was very patient with Scott and Adrienne (the two slowest museum tour guests ever).  After lunch we headed back to town and walked around Battery Park, Ground Zero, through Wall Street (and the protests) and halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Again, Katie was a fantastic trooper.  Our last stop of the day was the Tenament Museum, which was very interesting.  The tour group was small and Katie was the only kid, so she got special treatment from the tour guide.  She even jumped in and asked a few great questions (i.e. where did the people who lived here take a bath?!?!).

Sunday was a little more laid back.  We slept in ... Katie until 9:30 and then headed to The Plaza Hotel and Central Park.  The 3 of us planned a surprise trip to the Central Park Zoo to see their resident Polar Bear, Gus.  After walking around the park for a while at a lazy pace, we ended up in the zoo and boy was Katie thrilled to see that there was a polar bear exhibit.  After the zoo, we visited FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's and the St. Regis Hotel where the rude bartender promptly escorted us out of the bar as Katie was underage (duh). Sunday night ended with Thai food at Maria's and then "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" on the couch at Adrienne's wonderful apartment.

Thanks to Adrienne and her marvelous planning, we had a fantastic time and wish we could have stayed longer. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

Click on the photo below to see all the photos at your own pace.

5 months and 15 lbs

"Apparently it's that time again.  Mommy woke me up this morning singing the Happy Birthday song.  She opened the curtains, tossed Marty into my crib and took a few pictures before changing my diaper.  I tried my best to smile, but I'm not always very happy in the morning until after I have my diaper changed and get some breakfast in my tummy. After all, I sleep for 12 hours at night.  So mommy took some more pictures while I was happy after my bath tonight.  Hope you don't mind my naked bottom.

Over the past month, I've started eating more and more interesting stuff.  At first I started with rice cereal once a day, then I worked my way up to eating cereal 3 times a day.  After I mastered cereal, mommy started to give me some orange mush that she kept calling Sweet Potatoes.  I LOVED them.  A few days later she switched from the orange mush to a green mush called Green Beans.  They're not as good as sweet potatoes, but they're pretty good too.  I still eat cereal three times a day but now also eat my veggies once a day at lunch time.

I've mastered the art of rolling over...from front to back and back to front.  I can roll myself under the coffee table if I try hard enough.  I like to do "baby skydiver" with my big sister.  We both lay on our bellies and then throw our arms out and kick up our legs and my sister makes cool noises to simulate skydiving. But most recently, I've discovered our dog, Sally Wally.  She is my best friend and touching her makes me giggle and squeal.  I love her a lot...even though her breath is really bad.  When I get really grumpy and mommy doesn't know what to do (this doesn't happen very often), mommy flies me around the house like an airplane and then she chases the dog with me in airplane mode.  She gets close enough behind Sally that her tail tickles my nose and this makes me laugh a lot.  Like I said, I love my doggie.

Well, that's about it.  It's time for bed.  Goodnight!"

Big sister

Despite the almost 10 year difference, Katie really seems to love spending time with Natalie!!  She is very helpful in entertaining her when mom is making dinner, talking to her on long car trips, picking out clothes for her, dancing for her and reading books to her before bedtime.   Katie likes to sit on the couch with Natalie on her lap like in the photo.  They watch TV together or sometimes Katie tells Natalie stories.

When Natalie is extra fussy and nothing seems to calm her down (this is rare), Katie gets out her cello and plays for Natalie.  It is like magic.  Natalie instantly calms herself down and watches Katie play.  Eventually she just starts kicking and waving her arms and talking while Katie plays.  It is Katie's special trick and is so much fun to watch.

In return, Natalie smiles at Katie every single time Katie looks at her and says "Hi."

Mmmmmm, rice cereal

I had my 4 month checkup last week and she said I am a beautiful and healthy textbook baby.  Mom thinks I am growing into a string bean like my dad.  I measured 25" (85%) and weighed 13 lbs and 9 oz (50%).

While we were at the doctor, she gave mommy the OK to feed me some new food, so on Saturday evening I got to try some rice cereal with mommy and daddy.  I loved it.  I cried when daddy didn't get the spoon back in my mouth fast enough.  I have no idea what was taking him so long in between "bites" but I wanted him to move a little faster. So in between bites I started sucking my thumb so I wouldn't cry.  I was a little messy but I didn't really care because after cereal I got to take a bath and I really love bath time.  My favorite part of bath time is when mom or dad pulls the plug and the water starts to drain out. This is when I like to kick my legs and wave my arms around a lot.  Sometimes I even make myself giggle.

On Sunday morning, mommy fed me more cereal while I was still in my PJs.  I still really liked it but mostly, I like the spoon.  I took it away from mommy and chewed on it for a while.  It didn't take my dog long to figure out where to hang out during all this fun.  Now when mom puts me in my highchair, Sally-Wally comes over and sits right next to me hoping I'll drop the spoon or mom will accidentally knock the bowl of cereal off the highchair tray.  She's a pretty smart dog.  I love her.

Click below to check out pictures of my eating adventure...

Rolling into 4 months

Apparently yesterday was my 4 month birthday.  I had no idea, but mommy sang "Happy Birthday" to me when I woke up in addition to the "Good Morning to you" song that she and daddy normally sing in the morning.  After I had breakfast and got a clean diaper, mommy laid me in my crib with Measurement Marty and took some pictures of me.  When she was mostly done, I tried to eat him.  I try to eat lots of things these days.  It's fun.

Last week I started holding my own bottle when I eat and finally figured out how to get my arm (daddy called it my kickstand) out from underneath me when I roll over.  Now I can roll from my back to my belly and then onto my back again if I want to.  I like to roll onto my belly and then push myself up so I can look around.  But after a while I get tired and then I cry.  Sometimes I fall asleep when I'm on my tummy and I like that because it is different.

Here are some pictures of me and Marty.  Check this album again later because mommy will continue to add pictures to this 4 month album until she makes a 5 month album for me.

SURPRISE!

My Aunt Adrienne and mommy had an idea: surprise Grandma Becky for her birthday in August.  So they worked with Grandpa and made plans.  Mommy and I flew to Nebraska on Friday and Grandpa and Adrienne picked us up at the airport.  When we got home, Grandpa carried me in the house and told Grandma that the UPS man brought her a birthday package.  When she saw me in Grandpa's arms...she screamed and it scared me.  Then when she saw mommy and Adrienne, she screamed again.  I think it was happy screaming, but it still scared me so I cried.  Then everyone laughed and I laughed too.

Saturday afternoon I got to meet almost all the Nebraska Schwisow's.  Lots of  Grandma and Grandpa's friends were there too.  I was held by lots of different people, but I didn't really seem to care.  I just like attention.

Sunday afternoon we went for a car ride to Valley to meet the Poore family.  My Great Aunt Holly and Great Uncle Roger drove down from Minnesota to surprise Grandma Becky for her birthday and so I got to meet them too. 

It was a great weekend but I was very tired when I finally got home.  And I missed my daddy a lot.  I can't wait to go back again sometime and see everyone again.

Who do I look like?

Mom finally got the photos rescued from the hard drive she stupidly fried while she was pregnant. After incurring the cost of clean-room data recovery, she says she has learned her lesson and is now in the process of burning lots of DVDs, putting them in special envelopes and dividing them into 3 separate bins with pink lids. One of them has my name on it, but I don't know what it's for.  Maybe she'll tell me when I'm older.

During this process, she came across lots of old photos of daddy and herself that she scanned before their wedding. Sadly, there aren't a ton of baby photos.  Or maybe there are but because we have a digital camera, it doesn't seem like there are a lot of photos by comparison.

Either way, momma can't decide who I look more like.  So I figured I'd post some of the photos she found and let the readers decide. 

She's not sure of the age of daddy in his picture, but mommy is 5 months old in her photo.

3 months old....already????

Lots has happened in the past month.  I met my Aunt Adrienne, I learned to swim in the pool, I am learning to talk more and smile more, I started going to "school", momma went back to work and some of my favorite jammies suddenly don't fit anymore.  I can roll onto my side, but then I get stuck and it makes me upset.  I can see much better these days and watch everything that is going on around me.  I even like some of my toys now that I can hold onto them and listen to the sounds they make when I squeeze or shake them.

Mom and dad keep saying how much I'm growing and so last night daddy got on the scale at home with me and then did some math.  Apparently I weigh almost 13.5lbs.  Mom said I'll go back to the doctor soon for another checkup so we'll get a more accurate measurement then.

My first day of school was a little sad.  When daddy handed me over to my teacher, I turned around and gave him my really really sad face (no crying) but it didn't work because he and mommy left me there anyway.  Turns out, school isn't so bad...in fact, I think I love it!  I am always very smiley and talkative with my friends and teachers and I do my best to play nicely with others.  My crib at school is special - it is the one with the green flowery sheets.  Mom brought them in from home so that my school crib would feel more like home.  I like taking naps during the day again so it must be the magic trick.  I got my first runny nose and cough, but momma said it was going to happen sooner or later.  2 days later, mom got the same runny nose and cough but she is all better now.

That's all for now...mom says I'm going to be late for school if we don't leave soon.

Play Ball!

For Father's Day we promised Grandpa Larry we would take him to a D-Backs game on a weekend when we were all free.  He cashed in on his tickets this past weekend on a Sunday afternoon game against the Dodgers.

Katie and Natalie both made it all the way through the game and we all had a great time. Go D-Backs!

Best of Both Worlds

This summer Katie signed up to take a two-week long Musical Theater Camp at the Chandler Center for the Arts.  The result of the camp was a well produced play entitled "Best of Both Worlds" starring all the camp participants.  After auditions on the first day, Katie was awarded the role of Snow White.

The play was wonderful and Katie did a fantastic job.  After the play she was so exhausted that she turned down the opportunity to go out for ice cream and slept in until 8:30 the next morning.  Now that's hard work!

Fourth of July Weekend

So Aunt Adrienne came to visit for the Fourth of July weekend.  We spent lots of time in the pool, lots of time playing legos and lots of time playing with Natalie.  While Adrienne was in town, the Hayes family also celebrated Katie's upcoming 10th birthday.

Click on the picture to scroll through the photos on your own...

Belated 2 month birthday

So I'm 2 months old now and I've been so busy learning new things that I have forgotten to blog. Whoops.

I've mastered the art of sucking my thumb, fingers or fist...whichever I'm in the mood for. I've been sleeping through the night for quite a while now and mommy and daddy really seem to love this. I am an eating machine and went to the doctor and I was 12 lbs, 5 oz and 23.5 inches tall/long. The doctor said I was very healthy and then some other lady stuck a whole bunch of needles in my leg. I cried but my mommy was there to make things better. The next day I got to meet my Aunt Adrienne from New York. She's fabulous!!! Mommy said she'd post pictures of the July 4th weekend events separately though so I wouldn't have to write as much.

From 2 months

Summer Vacation, Daddy-Style

Despite having a newborn, we decided to take a family vacation while Whit was off work on maternity leave and Katie was out of school on summer break.  So we shipped Sally-Wally off to Camp Gramma Judy, packed up the car and headed to Durango, Colorado.

Natalie was an angel in the car, crying only when her diaper was in need of replacement or when her ears needed to pop as we gained elevation.  On top of that, she slept for almost 11 hours once we got to the house and laid her down.  A+ for Natalie!

Daddy had many activities planned for Katie during our stay, including: mountain biking, river rafting, rock climbing and other various treats.  They tried something new each day and Katie even had time to play tennis on the private tennis court at the house.

It was a fantastic first family vacation for the 4 of us.  Photos are below.  Click to browse.

Hayes Memorial Day

Uncle Mark, Aunt Meridith and Riley came to Arizona for a quick weekend visit for Memorial Day.  We spent most of the weekend together so everyone could meet Natalie and catch up on time with Riley.  Thanks to Grandpa Larry and Gramma Judy, all the adult ladies were able to go out for a pedicure and then the adult kids even managed to go out to dinner and drinks one evening...an event I think we all wish could occur more often.

On a whim during a swim and grill afternoon at our house, we managed to get our wonderful neighbor Kris to take some quick photos of all of us since we are so rarely ALL together. 

Finally, some Hayes family photos that include both Riley and Natalie.

My first birthday...

So I hit the one month mark this week.  Time flies when all you have to do is eat, play a little, sleep and poop!!!  Mommy and daddy seem to be getting the hang of this parenting thing.  I've been pretty helpful by staying on my 4-hour eating schedule.  Sometimes when mommy and daddy look REALLY tired, I even sleep longer at night.  In fact, the first night they moved me into my big girl crib in my room I slept for almost 8 hours straight.  They were pretty surprised and happy the next morning.  I do this from time to time as a way of saying "thanks for being such super cool parents" since I don't have any words to say yet.

Over the past month I think my eyes have developed a bit more and I am starting to see new things.  I like to stare at lights and ceiling fans.  Now that my bellybutton is finished being gross, I am allowed to take big girl baths in a tub.  Mommy thought I would hate it, but I really like it as long as the water is warm enough.  When I'm in the bathtub I like to splash with my feet and legs...but I really like it when mommy rubs my head with a warm washcloth.  After bath time, I like to stare at myself in the mirror while I'm laying on the bathroom counter with mommy.

One of mommy's friends had an idea that mommy thought was pretty clever: get a stuffed animal bigger than me and take a photo of me laying in my crib next to the stuffed animal each month over the first year.  Mommy's friend then displayed the photos at her son's first birthday party.  Mommy thought it was a very cute way to see the child grow.

So mommy and I went shopping (well I went along but I slept the WHOLE time) and found a stuffed monkey for me.  Below are a few photos of my birthday, including a few of me with my new monkey...

Katie's Muddy Fun Run

While killing time on the internet one day, I found a 1 mile muddy fun run for kids in Chandler.  BRILLIANT!  I pitched the idea to Scott and then to Katie.  We both had no idea how she would respond, but she was instantly excited.  So we signed her up and she spent many days asking about what she should wear to this race.  Her brilliant daddy suggested her swimsuit.  It turned out to be a fantastic idea.

The course was not a mile, but there was enough mud that none of the kids seemed to care.

When Natalie met Sally

When we brought Natalie home from the hospital, we introduced Sally to her right away.  She was curious about her and cautious around her.  We laid out the rules (you can hear some of them in the video) for her and they were best friends from that moment on...

http://youtu.be/EV8U1jysy0Q

Newborn Natalie, Blowing Bubbles

We took this video of Natalie while we were still in the hospital.  She was less than 24-hours old and was blowing bubbles in her sleep.  At the time, we thought it was fascinating.  And now, it seems like years ago.

http://youtu.be/DjQdIbh6nTo

41 weeks later...

...it's a GIRL!!!!  We finally got to meet Miss Natalie Jane Hayes, born April 20, 2011 at 9:20pm.  Natalie weighed in at 9lbs, 2oz and measured 21in.

We came home from the hospital 2 days after Natalie was born and so far, both mom and dad are doing well with the new addition.  Natalie is sleeping/eating on a 4-6 hour schedule and we are thankful for this already.

Katie and Sally are adjusting to life with a newborn in the house.  Sally is learning to keep a safe distance and sleep when the baby sleeps and Katie is doing her best to be helpful in any way she can.

All in all, we are very thankful for a healthy addition to our family and are cherishing every day with lil Miss Natalie.

Click on the photo below to scroll through the photos at your own pace...