Holmes Family Pictures

While we were back in Utah we had the opportunity to have some family pictures taken. Looking at these makes me excited to see the actual photos from the photographer. We captured these photos on our own while waiting for the others to finish.

Rhianne's siblings: James, Morgan, and Brady

Hayden with his Aunt Brady.

Mom and Dad

Paige and Brady

Our Family Trip to Utah

We were so excited to head to Utah as a family before Preston deploys to Afghanistan that we jumped at the chance, even if we were only given a weeks notice (gotta love the Army). What this really meant was my parents were in the process of moving into their new house and were making temporary residence at my Grandpa's. This made for a crazy few days but, we were so excited to see all of our family and introduce them all to Hayden that we didn't mind. We enjoyed large family dinners, 4 wheeling, playing cards, outdoor barbecuing, Swiss days and just visiting with everyone.

Hayden had a few first on this trip, including his first overnight trip away from home. His first airplane ride, which he did awesome on, in fact the flight attendant even commented that she had forgotten they had a baby on board he was so quite. He also got to meet his great grandparents for the first time, including Great Grandpa Alden Shurtz, which he is named after. Preston and I were also lucky enough to get our first outing out together since Hayden was born. We want to say thank you to all of our family for making our trip fun and exciting.

Hayden napping on his 1st airplane ride.

Hayden with his Great Grandma Dean and Grandpa Eric.
Oh and daddy.

Eating out with family.

Hayden's sitting up just like a big boy with daddy.

Ah, home in my bed at last.

Four Months

Soooooo, I was hoping to get this post off before we left on vacation but, as you now know that did not happen. Hayden began rolling over about a week before his 4 month birth date. We had been watching him get so close for days and every time we'd pull out the video camera and he'd stall. Then off course after an early morning wake up I set Hayden down on the floor and was stealing a few minutes on the computer when I glanced over to find Hayden on his belly. I was so sad that I'd missed it and yet excited at his accomplishment. Now if I'd truly known what this really meant I don't know if I'd been as excited, Hayden preceded to roll over several times that day and hasn't stopped, now this includes during nap time. Which is when I'm wishing he'd stop and go to sleep. Hayden has also really began to get into Trigger. He loves to watch Trigger walk by wagging his tail. We also discovered that if Hayden's cranky all we need to do to perk him up is to play ball with Trigger. This gets Hayden smiling and laughing in no time. I just know they are going to be the best of friends.

Just after rolling over for the first time.

Hayden sitting with his proud daddy.

Reading with mommy before bed.

Look I've found my thumb.

Eating out with mom at Lady and Son's.

The boys of the Dean household chilling on the couch.

Aunt Aubrey and Gabriel's Visit

Around the middle of August Preston's sister Aubrey came to visit with her youngest son Gabriel. We had lots of fun getting the boys together as they are only 3 days apart in age. I enjoyed showing Aubrey around Savannah. She had lots of memories from when her family lived here during her childhood. While Aubrey was here I got to experience my first trolley tour of Savannah with her. And even though we could have driven to all the locations on our own, I loved hearing some of the stories and history attached to the sites. I would highly recommend a tour like this to anyone wanting to learn some fun history about Savannah. We also did the usual River Street activities and such. What was new for us was a trip up to Charleston, S.C. We didn't get much time to explore but, we did enjoy an authentic tea lunch and the local city market. The down side was the 2 and a half hour drive with two babies who we learned don't like riding in the car for long periods of time. We had a fun time visiting with Aubrey and Gabriel and are so happy that we live in a place that beckons visitors.

Gabriel and Hayden checking each other out.

Trying to get a picture of two smiling babies is super hard!

Hayden cruising down River Street in his stroller.

All of us out tea in Charleston.

Finally a video!

I've been hoping to post video footage of Hayden now for a while. But, due to some computer issues I had been unable to do so sooner. So, this video was actually taken a couple of weeks ago. I guess better late than never.

Three Months

Hayden playing with his toys before bed.

Hayden loves sleeping with daddy in the morning. This is the only way we are ever able to sleep in on the weekends, and even then it's usually only for another hour or so.

Hayden is changing so much right now. It seems that just as we're getting a schedule down he changes and we have to figure it all out again. He's certainly a happy little guy and seems to take everything in stride. We are such proud parents and are sad to see how quickly these baby days are flying bye.

Hayden is 2 months old!

I just can't believe how fast time is flying, this is my excuse for not posting sooner. Hayden is growing like a weed, at his 2 month checkup he weighed in at 13.0 lbs and 23 inches long. As he is growing we are seeing more and more of his personality shine through. He is such a fun happy little guy most of the time. He's starting to reach out and swat at his toys on the play mat more and more. I can often hear him gurgling and cooing across the room, which makes me smile and walk over to join in every time. We were able to spend the 4th together as a family with some friends of ours. I was excited to see that Hayden seemed to enjoy the fireworks, or maybe it was just being outdoors.

Hayden is learning to hold his head up.

Hayden's first night in the sleep sac.

HAYDEN'S FIRST 4TH OF JULY!

Preston was gone for the last few weeks of June on a training exercise and got home just in time for the 4th. Hayden and Trigger were very happy to have their playmate home. We all missed having him around the house. We spent the 4th with some family friends and I was excited to see that Hayden seemed to enjoy the fireworks, or maybe it was just being outdoors. Having Preston gone was a sad reminder of what little time we have left together as a family before he deploys again this fall and we're taking advantage of it every chance we get.