Hayden's First Baseball Game

Today we went to see the Rockies for Hayden's first ever baseball game. We took part in a great Arizona tradition: Spring Training.

March is the best time to be in Arizona - the weather is perfect, the people are happy, and the baseball teams and their fans are in town with a happy and positive outlook for the season. The atmosphere in the Valley is amazing and you can feel it.

We watched the Rockies smash Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers, always a fun time, on a perfect day. We sat in the grass so that Hayden could roam and play during the game. Grandpa Bob is in town so it was great to have him experience Hayden's first baseball game as well.

Afterwards we had dinner with the Curds, Aunt Diane, Uncle Brian, and Kacie so it was really good to see them.

In other news, Hayden has hit some recent milestones: she now waves hello and bye-bye (to both friends and strangers alike), and she also slaps high five on cue. She stands up on her own and can walk with Mommy and Daddy while holding onto us with one hand. However, she has yet to take that first step on her own. That's when we'll know we're really in trouble.

Galloping Hayden

Just a quick video for you: Grandma Coleen and Grandpa Mark gave Hayden a rocking horse and she loves it. She likes to try and rock the horse by bobbing her head up and down and it's adorable. Enjoy.

9 Months

Last week Hayden turned 9 months old. It is hard to believe that she has now been breathing air longer than she was in Mommy's belly.

She is now eating solid foods 3 times per day and she sleeps through the night (about 12-13 hours) regularly so Mommy and Daddy are happy. However, she still has no new teeth, only 2 on the bottom.

But the big news is that she has reached a major milestone recently: she can stand all by herself. She will be holding onto something, then she'll let go and stand unsupported for 10- 20 seconds before falling back onto her butt or grabbing what she was holding onto before.

Now, people see something like this differently and it really depends on how you know this kid:

A Friend of the Parents: Cool. The kid is growing up.

A Grandparent or Aunt/Uncle: Wonderful, she is progressing nicely. I want to see her more so I don't miss this stuff.

Parents: OMG! OMG! OMG! MY KID IS THE MOST ADVANCED KID IN THE WORLD! EVERYBODY LISTEN AND LET ME TELL YOU ALL ABOUT MY KID!

For the over 35 crowd "OMG" means "Oh My God" (or "Oh My Gosh" if you live in Utah or some counties in Kentucky).

So anyway we were pretty excited.

In other news, we were visited by Grandma Coleen, Grandpa Mark, Grandma Sarah, and Grandpa Dave all at the same time so it was good for them to see Hayden again.

Enjoy the photos.

Crazy 8

Hayden is now 8 months old and she is officially a wild child. Everything piques her curiosity and she has to touch and taste whatever she sees. She crawls and cruises all over the house to explore her world.

She is more interactive with us every day as she now craves our attention. She has also learned to clap! Thanks to Grandma Sarah for helping with that one.

Enjoy the pictures and the videos below. In one Hayden claps, practicing her new found ability. In another, she attacks the camera like a charging bull. Careful, this footage is dramatic and should not be seen by younger viewers.

Hayden Claps



When Babies Attack

Hayden Attends First Football Game; History Repeats Itself

Last Saturday we took Hayden to her first football game, a playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and the hometown Arizona Cardinals. We didn't plan on this but we couldn't find a sitter so we brought her along.

Precedence had been set. Daddy attended his first playoff game when he was 3 months old, in 1977. That day the hometown Denver Broncos who had historically been terrible, won. On this day, the Arizona Cardinals, who had historically been terrible, won. Hmmm.

The place was crazy loud, the loudest we have ever heard it. A few times little one grabbed her ears so we had to give her "earmuffs" with our hands. I think somebody called child protective services on us but they didn't have any tickets to the sold out contest so they couldn't get in.

Anyway, Hayden was great the entire game and even though she didn't sleep all day, she created absolutely zero fuss during the game. It just proves that she is a social girl and loves being around people. She was very interested in all the people around us, the lights, the sounds - all of it.

In the 4th quarter, fatigue caught up with her and she was out cold. Even though the stadium was as loud as ever, it didn't wake her from her slumber. She was adorable and it is a great memory.

Hayden Dances with Mommy at the Football Game

Happy Crawly-Days

Hayden's first Christmas has come and gone. It was a great season for the Wolach family and we hope it was for you too. After Grandma Coleen and Great Grandma Shirley visited just before Christmas, Grandma Sarah, Grandpa Dave, and Great Grandpa Mike came down to visit on Christmas.

Santa came and brought gifts for all, but mostly for the little princess. She loved her new toys and played with them most of the day. She was very excited for some new things that piqued her curiosity.

Thanks to all who sent holiday cards and pictures of your family. It was great to hear from you. Happy New Year!

Lucky Number 7

Hayden is 7 months old and the time is flying by. She is such a joy and her personality is really coming out.

Hayden is now a professional crawler. She can get anywhere. Quickly. This sounds cool. It's not. We can no longer just leave her in a room without needing to keep a close eye on her while doing quick tasks like cooking dinner, paying some bills, or going out to a movie.

She is also great at going from crawling to sitting which she will do to go across the room to get a toy, then play with the toy. Recently, she has begun to pull herself up into a standing position on things as you will see in the pics. She gets really impressed with herself but the she gets over confident and lets go with one hand or something and she falls backwards on her butt.

She also loves wrestling on the floor with Mommy and Daddy. We lay there and she will climb on us, pin us, and even deliver a forearm shiver to our grill every now and then. Aggressive. All the while she has her tongue out just like her Daddy always did/does.

Below there are 3 movies:

-one where Uncle Ashley plays the mean uncle part perfectly and makes her fall over
-one where she is at the dinner table wanting her dinner and playing with her hair
-and one where she is playing with toys and crawling to Daddy

Enjoy and thanks for all the comments.

Hayden and Uncle Ashley


Hayden at the Dinner Table


Hayden Playing Around

Hayden and Vincent

Hayden's friend Vincent visited recently (along with his dad Vinny and his mom Sheila).

In their second time hanging out together, the two kids are extremely cute with each other. They spent the weekend with Sheila, Savannah, and Heather. Good times.

Vincent has been sitting up for weeks and Hayden hadn't yet done it. But maybe hanging out with him inspired her as she started sitting up by herself during this weekend.

These Boots Were Made for Crawlin'

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Click the above to see a slideshow

Hayden is doing more and more everyday. Just this past week she crawled for the first time - if you call moving along the ground in a low profile manner like you are storming the beaches of Normandy crawling. We do.

She has been on all fours rocking back and forth for the past couple of weeks so we knew she was close but she is now officially mobile. Great and scary at the same time. One of the videos below shows her crawling to a toy.

Also, she laughed for the first time since our last post! It is a small little chuckle that she does but it is wonderful to hear. The other video below shows her laughing - yes, it's quick. But now we know she has it in her.

Halloween went well, although Mommy was sick. But Hayden was cute as a giraffe and she and Daddy went trick or treating with Alden Coy, her dad Mike, and John Damiris. 2 year old Alden was super cute and Hayden had no idea what was going on. Good times.

Hayden Crawls (Sort Of)


Hayden Laughs

Five Alive

Hayden is now 5 months old! She is learning more and more everyday and it is a joy to watch her grow.

This month she was bitten by another kid in day care. She was playing on the floor when another kid crawled over and bit her under the eye. She was pretty sad but she was less upset than Mommy and Daddy. To make her feel better, Daddy bought her a pony - but it didn't seem to make her feel better at all. So much for the myth that little girls love ponys. But the good news is she looked tough for a week with her first black eye.

She also received her first haircut. Mommy and Daddy decided to trim her hair since it has become unruly. The first of many times she will get her hair done.

We also visited Utah where Hayden met her new cousin, Zach, for the first time. Zach turned a month old just a couple of days ago. Zoe is also doing well and is super sharp at nearly 3 years old.

Enjoy the pics and thanks for the comments.