Harley Chick

Hayden just had to have this Harley Davidson tank top since she sat on Pap's bike while she was in Pittsburgh. Just kidding, Pap bought this for her when he first bought his motorcycle. It's a 9 month shirt so it didn't fit until now.

Officially Getting Into Things...

I was working on the computer today and Hayden was crawling on the floor below me...just entertaining herself. Little did I know that chair grease was what was keeping her so preoccupied! I was on the phone with Sep and looked down at her and said, "Oh my gosh!". She had grease all over her hands and mouth. When I realized what it was I said, "Oh it's just oil....I mean grease." Sep was like, "I don't think it's ok for babies to eat oil or grease."

Zambia

This is how the women in the bush of Zimbabwe carry their babies. Chenayi gave me this Zambia (green cloth) so that I could carry Hayden around when she was born. We put Hayden in it today so that I could send a picture over to Chenayi.

This is the first time that I have used it, but it seems like Hayden liked it a lot. She kept patting me on the back. Jeremy will take these pictures over to Chenayi when he sees her during these next few weeks in Zimbabwe. He is going to meet the woman that Hayden Chenayi is named after...how awesome is that! On that note, please keep Jeremy and the other travelers in your prayers. They are currently traveling to London (where they will see Johnny!). Then after a 9 hour layover they will be off to Zimbabwe. Next they will travel to the bush to do their mission work. They will be back on July 14th.

Notice that I didn't have time to dry my hair this morning....it was very hectic in the Ross home today-getting Jeremy ready to leave and all.

Saving That One For Later

I checked on Hayden during nap time yesterday and I found a leftover puff on her leg. I guess she was saving it for a wake up snack. Not a bad idea if you ask me.

Ridin' the Night Train

Last night Pap got his bike nice and clean so Hayden could get her picture taken on it. What a proud Pap!

Howat-Jardine Family Reunion

Every June Marmee (Hayden's Great-Grandmother) hosts a family reunion. It's a chance for two families to get together and have a great time. This year was no different!!

Tee ball anyone?

Hayden had a great time meeting the families for the first time.

She wasn't too sure about this water balloon that had a tiny hole in it.

Pappy with his favorite daughter....

This high chair was Hayden's great grandfather's when he was a little boy!

Catching up with the ladies.
Hanging out on the blankie with Auntember.
The bean bag game can be quite intense as you can see.
This year we had a new version of the bean bag game. Not really sure how this one was played.

Gardens & Glass at Phipps Conservatory

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Captain Nemo's Hibachi Grill

Last night we all went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. Grandma knew that Hayden would love all of the noise and entertainment.

Here's Hayden hanging out with Pap. She loves the feel of his handle bar mustache.

While Grandma and Pap were busy playing "pass the baby" Auntember snagged a swig from the good old sippy cup.

Trying to dodge the camera, but got caught right in the line of fire!
Hayden was mesmerized by Chef Colin's tricks.
Speaking of Chef Colin....
Your purchase at Captain Nemo's includes: soup, salad, vegetable, meat, hair removal, and a flash tan. What a deal!

Mission Impossible

Yesterday afternoon Sep, Hayden, and I were outside playing with the dogs. I ended up throwing the only available dog toy right into the middle of the only tree in the back yard! My MacGuyver-like instincts kicked in and I realized we could make a dog toy getter outter from a tall piece of lumber. Below is the rescue effort.

Walkin' The Dog Farm

Last night I got to experience one of the four dog walks that mom talks about! Sometimes she walks all four of them on her own!! Let me tell you a little about these dogs. The white fluffy puff ball is Wiley. He was my dog (I was told that he was going to be a little 8 pound Pomeranian). Poor guy was caged in my apartment in Georgia while I worked all day. He chewed everything and was very hyper. So, I shipped him to mom and Bernie. The tan boxer is Johnny's dog-Savannah. She is staying with mom and Bernie while Johnny is in London. He has been there since September. The Silky Terrier-Sadie-belongs to mom and Bernie and so does Max (the big black one).

The dogs and Hayden have all gotten along really well. They love to give her kisses and she squeals at them.

Waiting For Auntember

We all made the trip to the airport to pick September up at 10:30pm last night. We sat and talked, laughed, and people watched.

By the time Sep got in it was around 11:15 and Hayden was pretty tired. She wasn't too sure about the crazy lady that was poking her!

Pittsburgh Festival of Lights

On the way home we drove through the city to see the lights display. It's an art display created by a French artist by the name of Lucette deRugy. She uses state of the art technology to project images onto the architecture. We saw two of the 4 buildings. It was pretty cool.

We Have Arrived!

We flew into Pittsburgh yesterday in order to visit with my family. Let me tell you....traveling with a baby in a stroller is the way to go! We were treated like royalty. When I saw the security line stretching all the way to the commons area I started to sweat a little. Many of you know I get very stressed and nervous when it comes to airports. As soon as someone with a walkie talkie saw me they said, "Stroller....come here." I looked around and then realized he was talking to me. He told me to walk outside of the roped off line and someone else would instruct me from there. So, that's what we did. When the second person saw us coming she immediately knew what to do. In the past people have mistaken me for Angelena Jolie, Jennifer Anniston, Demi Moore, and Eva Longoria so I figured it was happening yet again! But all of the security people so affectionately referred to me as "Stroller" so I quickly realized that it was not a mistaken identity just the fact that I was traveling with a baby. So, we zipped right through the security and made it to the tran in no time. Hayden wasn't too sure about that one. She just stared up at me with her lip poked out the entire time. After the exciting tran ride we headed for the rest room so I could feed and change her. I wheeled her stroller into the handicapped stall, sat on the toilet, and fed her! It was kind of weird, but I really didn't have anywhere else to go. Thank goodness those automatic flushing toilets only flush when you get up as apposed to every 4 minutes or something! Then I changed her on the counter in the restroom and we were off to the gate. The plane took what seemed like forever to take off. Let me put it this way, I had gone through 2 books, 10 pieces of cereal, 1/2 of her juice, 1 bink bink, and 3 toys by the time we were taking off. I was a little nervous. She was really great though. I was so exhausted from entertaining her the whole time though. The people around us couldn't believe that this was her first time flying because she was so good. We then headed to meet grandma. She had a little koala bear for Hayden, which won her huge points in Hayden's world! We got home and Hayden met Grandpa for the first time. She just loved him...when he was kneeling down to her level! They have all kinds of toys and supplies here for us. It's as if we were at home, except for the fact that daddy isn't here. I think Hayden misses him. She wouldn't wake up for me this morning (that's normally daddy's job)!

Here she is in her car seat with her new buddy Mr. Koala.

Mini Me

Today we went to Target and bought this little doll for the long plane ride tomorrow. The ladies in the nursery say that she loves playing with the dolls there. When we found this one I let her hold it while we were still shopping. But, when we got to the check out line I had to put it on the counter....she had a mini melt down! Thankfully, the Target gift card had a doggie on it and we made the card bark and talk to Hayden to keep her entertained! She just loves her mini me. We also got these pink and white tennis shoes! Aren't they too cute!?

This Can't Be Comfortable!

Hayden just couldn't stay awake in the car as we ran all of our errands today. She never looks comfortable when she falls asleep in the car seat.

Soggy Biscuits

Grandma Ross bought some teething biscuits for Hayden. She loves them, but man are they messy!! Take a look and see.

Neighborhood Cook Out

Jeremy and I hosted a neighborhood cookout in our cul-de-sac today. It took a TON of planning, but we pulled it off and it was a huge success. We started by delivering invitations to every home on our street. Then we walked the neighborhood last week to see who was coming and what they wanted to bring. We also got our wonderful Sunday school class to make some food as well.

Here are the tables before everyone arrived with the TONS of food. These three tables were packed with all kinds of food.

We asked our neighbors to fill out information cards and turn them in for a chance to win a bunch of candy and a Blockbuster card. We had 10 families fill out the cards, so that's not too bad.

Here's Jerm getting the coals hot on his new charcoal grill. We had a gas grill, but he needed this grill for the cook out because the meat tastes so much better. He did an amazing job of cooking every one's meat. We have so many hot dogs left over!

We provided 2 tables where people could sit. A lot of neighbors brought their own chairs which was really nice. One of our neighbors even brought the 2 hydrangea pots for decoration! Aren't they beautiful.

Here's the kids table. They played with the scented bubbles, chalk, and Frisbees.
Hayden just sat in her stroller and watched us prepare for the cook out. She was such a good girl.
Here are some of our neighbors enjoying fellowship with one another. I think that everyone had a great time. Or at least that's what they said.
A lot of people stuck around to help us clean up around 9:00! By that point Hayden was getting pretty tired, so it ended just in time. One of the neighbors even brought an Exersaucer out for Hayden to play in! It was great. Daddy put this flower behind her ear. See how tired she looks.

Crawling Everywhere

We have started playing a new game with Hayden. We walk out of her room and say, "Come on Hayden." and she eventually crawls down the hallway to see where we have gone. Right before she leaves her room she peeks her head around the corner to see where we are. It's really cute!

Playing with the Big Kids

Tonight, Kenneth and Angie came over for dinner and a visit. Hayden had a good time playing with them.

Here she is showing Angie how she uses her diaper chest to stand up and get to her animal friends.

Hayden crawled over to Kenneth's shoes because she just had to get a closer look.

At one point Hayden crawled out in the hallway because she thought Hershey needed some company. Don't mind Mazie's crazy hair do. I put it in pig tails (Kenneth's great idea!) but one of the elastics broke. So, half of it is down in the picture!

After Hayden pet Hershey for a while she decided that maybe she needed to try and ride on him. What a crazy kid....