Week 42

Week 42 brought another tooth---#8. Hayes is settling in to daycare a little more and along those lines has also brought home his first Connecticut daycare cold. We knew it was inevitable; we just hoped it would take a little longer. He is standing and letting go of support (without realizing it, I think) for about 3-4 seconds at a time. Kyle is encouraging this. I am not. Hayes still loves his plastic toy balls--he even crawls around holding them in his palms: Hayes is also becoming much more bold in his explorations, as you can see in the following pictures. Now, we just have to wait until he becomes curious about the litter boxes...

We decided to test a theory of ours that Hayes did not totally hate the cold or being outside, but that he was afraid of us wearing stocking caps/toboggans instead. Remember, he would cry hysterically for 20 minutes or so after we tried taking him outside in the cold---but we were always wearing hats to keep warm. Well, this time, Hayes did great! Our heads (well, maybe just Kyle's) were cold, but Hayes didn't break into hysterics and we actually stayed out in the snow for 15 minutes or so. This is a wonderful discovery as we were wondering how in the world we were going to survive in the Northeast with a baby that didn't like the cold or winter time. Here he is with a bona fide SMILE on his face in the snow!

Here is Hayes on one of his/our favorite Christmas gifts. Betty (Kyle's mom) made this "learning quilt" with bright colors and different patches of pictures to help him learn. How cool is this?!?!

Nothing like frying a little bit of baby brain...

Cracking himself up: