spring soccer

for the past 2 years we have put hayden in soccer during the fall. the place that we take him also does a spring soccer which we have never done. this year we decided it would be a good idea to put him in it for the spring as well.
unfortunately, the first game day...april 23rd, was rained out. so we went over to the field to pick up his shirt...this year he's on a new field with the oldest kids (7 and 8 year olds) and on the yellow team. he was very happy that he was on yellow and not on the purple team.
so today was the first game hayden had. it was a little chaotic as there was only one coach and the field was really wet from all of the rain we've been getting. but hayden still seemed to really enjoy himself.
talan just wanted to get out on the field and kick a ball around as well. it's going to be pretty difficult to keep him on the sidelines this time around! in the fall he'll probably be able to play as well though!

hayden as goalie:
talan sitting RIGHT behind the line:
talan wanting in on the action:

talan was scared that dave was only holding his feet. so he held dave's face:
hayden blocking the ball:

u of m spring game

hayden headed to ann arbor with dave once again this year for the u of m spring game. they met up with chadd and ashton howard and seemed to have a great time. earlier in the week they were saying the weather was going to be great for today. unfortunately, once today finally rolled around, the forecast was much different. a high of only 47 with some scattered showers.
thankfully the rain never came in, but it was a bit colder than they would have wanted.

hayden, ashton and chadd:

bingo for books

tonite hayden and i went to his school for "bingo for books" as we did last year. last year hayden ended up winning the raffle for a webkinz dog, and this year he won something again!
this year they not only had bingo, but they also had 6 math stations set up with games that the kids played that also helped them learn more about math (as if hayden really needs that!). after completing each game they would get a stamp. when they filled up all 6 spaces with stamps they could then put their name on 6 pieces of paper that would enter them in for a drawing to win 1 of a bunch of different prizes.
also at the raffle table they had a jar with marbles in it that the kids needed to make a guess as to how many were in it. immediately hayden said "i think it's 115!" i would have guessed far less. one of his teachers asked him how many he guessed and then she said "i guessed 80." hayden replied "oh, there are WAY more than 80 in there!"
after hayden completed all of the math games, we headed into the gym to play bingo. each kid was able to win 2 times so they were able to go and pick out 2 books to take home. shortly after winning for his second time they held the raffle. the first thing they gave out was a giant frog stuffed animal which was given to the person that guessed the correct number of marbles.
they said that 2 people had guessed exactly the right number so they had a drawing to find out who would win the frog. and the winner was....hayden skiver!!! there were exactly 115 marbles in the jar!
when the drawing was over, we headed home so hayden could tell dad all about his amazing win.

math station #1. jumping and counting by 2's, 5's and 10's:
math station #2. crab walking around a figure 8:
hayden and julia playing bingo:

they had hawaiian punch. can you tell?:
hayden's new stuffed frog:

big brother of 2!

on saturday, march 6th, 2010, hayden michael became a big brother again!
hayden woke up shortly before we left for the hospital as he heard us moving around. he came to give us a hug and said "i knew you were going to the hospital!" then he headed back to bed.
i went in to kiss him goodbye, told him we'd see him a little later and he said "ok. and remember, mom. i really hope it's a girl!"
we called him probably a little after 7am with the good news. he was a big brother to a little sister named london avery.
as soon as hayden got to the hospital, he couldn't wait to hold and feed baby london. he even lead the family in singing "happy birthday" to london shortly after meeting her. his face lights up every time he sees her. he brought pictures of himself and his new little sister into school on monday and the teacher's said he was just beaming. he's even learned how to make a bottle for her.
we're sure hayden will be very protective of his little baby sister!

hayden meeting london for the very first time. he couldn't wait to hold her!:

the tooth bandit strikes again

today hayden got off of his bus and told me "i have 4 great news' to tell you!" he ran down the list of how he got a school zone, he got a sticker, something else and then....."i lost my tooth!"
the whole time he was talking i was thinking he sounded a little funny. sure enough, the tooth bandit struck again, this time taking his front tooth!
hayden said he didn't even know where he lost it. he just realized it was gone at some point on the bus. he said he knew it wasn't during lunch, so he didn't swallow it this time around. and this time he wasn't freaked out at all, as he knew the tooth fairy would still be coming to leave him some money. and sure enough, she did!

missing bottom tooth update

hayden is now not just missing 1 bottom tooth, but 2! and not only that, he also has a top tooth that is loose as well! it took him awhile to start loosing them, but now they just won't stop coming out!
hayden lost this tooth today during lunch. i was in his room painting when i heard him run from the kitchen to the bathroom. then i heard him frantically go out to dave and start explaining the story. apparently he was eating lunch and felt something crunchy. he swallowed it thinking it was food, but pretty much right after swallowing he thought maybe it was more than just food. so he ran to the bathroom to check it out and realized it was his tooth that he had just swallowed. dave was able to talk him down pretty quickly and hayden didn't get too bent out of shape. he was mostly worried that he wouldn't get any money from the tooth fairy but dave explained she would still leave him money.
after that, he found the story to be pretty funny and especially loved telling uncle justin that his tooth would eventually just come out in his poop. thankfully he never went looking for it!!!

hayden michael turns 7

i know i say it every year, but seven?! really, SEVEN?! that sounds so old. it sounds far more like an actual kids age than a little kid or baby. seven. it's crazy. i really cannot believe our mad rush to the hospital happened seven years ago today.
this year for hayden's birthday he requested a mario theme since he LOVES playing mario kart on wii. i found some sample mario cakes online and realized this was the year that i would have to take up fondant in order to decorate his cake. i put a few ideas from online together with some of my own and came up with a creation that i hoped would work out.
i was getting pretty nervous about making the cake since i had never even touched fondant let alone made a cake with it! so i started bright and early, just a little before 8am, and by 11am i was done! and actually a little impressed with myself! i think the cake turned out really well and hayden loved it, so that was all that really mattered!
i ran out to pick up the balloons and buy hayden's last but main gift...super mario brothers, and then headed back home to start decorating the basement.
hours fly by pretty quickly when you're trying to get so much done, but we got it done just in time for the guests to arrive at 7pm.
mom, dad, jenn and rainah came as did jack and caroline skiver, chadd, ashton and lorelei howard (melanie was working and we really missed her!), and our friend shawn stopped in from california! unfortunately, jessica and justin had to leave for tour early in the morning so they weren't able to celebrate with us. we sure missed them! and will for the next 3 months!
everyone ate snacks and watched while hayden played some wii until he realized everyone was there and asked if he could open presents.
hayden got several games...board games, leapster games and wii games, some hot wheels tracks from jessica and justin, and the monsters vs. aliens movie which he FLIPPED out about getting saying how badly he wanted to see it. he said something like "this is just what i've wanted to see all of my life, again!" because we did see it in the theater. good work, jenn, don and rainah! he also got an amazon gift card which he doesn't really get but i know he'll LOVE when we go online to pick something out, order it, and then have it come shipped right to him! and he got lots of money. he was also quite confused about the checks and what they were. i tried explaining that it's money that we will take to the bank but i still don't think he really understands that!
after the presents we sang happy birthday and dove into the cake and ice cream. all of that work only to peel the fondant off and throw it away. oh well, it looked good and that's all i cared about! and hayden ate one of the fondant turtle shells and said he liked it...so hey, some people really do like it i guess.
the kids all played, hayden playing wii...of course, and then people started leaving. shawn, dave and hayden all played wii for awhile before shawn left and the boys headed for bed. the whole time hayden was complaining "but i don't want my birthday to be over yet!" he was so excited all day long and just kept saying "i'm seven years old today!!!" to which talan would reply "i'm two years old!!!"
so another great birthday for hayden and another year magically disappeared. i know it won't, but i sure hope this year passes a lot more quickly than the last seven!
happy seventh birthday, hayden michael. we love you so much!!!


the cake:
from all angles:





the setup:





talan entertained the guests as they arrived:

present time!:


because i always have to get a gift that matched the theme:
here is where hayden was opening jessica and justin's gift. he stood up with the card to show everyone, put on a sad, serious face and said "jessica and justin REALLY wanted to be here but they can't be. they are so sad they can't come. and i'm sad too. i'm really going to miss them.":

justica's gift of hot wheels:

he was very excited:

cake time:
hayden picked these candles out and i thought they would match with the cake. when i was opening them i saw that they were trick candles...something hayden knows nothing about. as i was telling people that fact, and as he was blowing them out, the immediately blew out and never came back. some trick:



asthon and talan: