Merry Christmas from Baby Hunter!

Where is Hayden sleeping tonight?
I went to check on Hayden the other night and this is what I found...

Hunter has wild hair!
I tried to capture a picture of his normal hair-do. His hair refuses to lay flat!

Hunter's first smile caught on camera!

Hunter will be 5 weeks old on Wednesday. I can't believe how time is flying! I've pasted below some new pictures of Hunter. According to our home scale, Hunter weighs around 10 or 11 lbs now. We are still unsure as to who he favors. His eyes are blue but they don't show up well in the pictures. I think they will be a darker blue than Hayden's eyes. Hunter is still eating and sleeping well - and beginning to give his mom and dad a few smiles.

Hayden at 6 weeks...

Hunter Gill Hodges has finally arrived! We couldn't be more excited. He was born, Wednesday, October 29, at 2:38p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz - and was 20.5 inches long. He has a ton of dark brown hair, blue eyes, and his daddy's chin. We are home now and settling in well. Hunter is eating plenty and sleeping pretty good too! Much to our surprise, Hayden loves his baby brother. He always wants to hold him and kiss him - and even help change his diapers. This could all change - but for now - they are big buds. Here are some pictures of Hunter and family below...(Darrell was the photographer and had a bit of trouble with the camera, so some pictures are blurry.)

Hayden says, Popsicles are GOOD!

Hayden turns TWO!

...these pictures from the boy's combined birthday party at the Gill's in Amelia
In this picture (l to r) is Hayden, Landon, and Parker.

...this is at the Hodges celebration of Hayden's birthday
...this is the tractor cupcake-cake that I made for Hayden's birthday party on the Hodges side...this is the fire truck bed that Hayden got for his birthday

A few of Hayden's favorite things...

...still loves bath time
...handed-down duck boots: literally wants to wear them 24/7

...has a serious love for lawn mowers - this is our neighbor's lawn mower
...must play outside - even it means getting stuck in this basket on our porch...this is actually a love of Hayden's mother's!! For Mother's Day and my upcoming birthday, Darrell gave me front-row seats to a Phil Vassar (country music singer-songwriter) concert as well as a private breakfast with Phil the following morning. It was awesome! My friend Mary Krouse went with me to the concert and breakfast. It was in Nashville earlier this month. This is a picture from the concert. As you might have guessed, I have a slight obsession with Phil Vassar.

NEW BABY HODGES!
As many of you know, Darrell and I are expecting another little bundle of joy this fall. I am due on October 21st. We couldn't be more excited! While Hayden has no concept of being a big brother, we are sure he'll love his new sibling (eventually). :)

When we announced the news to the family, we were at a family luncheon celebrating Easter and Hayden's baptism. Darrell quietly took Hayden and changed his clothes. Then, we waited to see who would be the first family member to read Hayden's new shirt...see picture on left. Ginny, Chad's wife, as predicted, was the first to notice his shirt. She noticed it within 30 seconds of him wearing it!



Then, I changed my shirt to match.













(my shirt says "due in October")

Here are some early pictures of the new baby - taken at my 13 week ultrasound.















In the picture below, the nurse thought that she saw some boy parts already! So, we won't know for sure until early June, but for now it looks like Hayden is getting a little BROTHER!

Another Belated Blog Update!

We've been so busy and I have neglected Hayden's blog once again. But, I do have a few updates and pictures to share.

This pictures was taken before Church this past Sunday. Hayden was excited to be wearing his first "big boy shirt." I swear he looks 30 in it.

As you will notice in many of the following pictures, Hayden is always showing something to the camera. Well, this is the only way I can get him to sit still long enough to take a decent picture. In this shot, he is "showing" the camera his truck and tractor book.






Showing you his toothbrush - one of his beloved items. This boy LOVES to brush his teeth!









Hanging out with Dada
Hayden is still (much to his mother's dismay) a daddy's boy. If Darrell is at home, then I am the equivalent of chopped liver. Every afternoon, Hayden asks "Dada, I see moo?" This mean that he wants to walk across the road with his Dada to see the cows. Hayden can't get enough of the cows, or "moos." While the cows belong to our neighbors, Hayden truly believes they are his and he must check on them every afternoon. He also tries, unsuccessfully, to feed them carrots - which Hayden tells us is "moo food."

On this lucky day, our neighbor was kind enough to take Hayden on a ride in his "tractor" to see the moos up close! Hayden was so excited! He loves tractors (and lawn mowers) more than he loves cows.

(Yes, I know this is not a tractor, but to Hayden it is!)

Fun time with my nieces!

Logan, my neice, turned six in March. Cooper, my other niece with the dark hair, turns four in August. Here we are at Logan's birthday party.

Easter 2008
Hayden was baptized on Easter Sunday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Farmville. For the special day, he wore these super cute monogrammed overalls. I just love them! Here are a couple pictures from the special day.

From left to right: Theresa Denaro (Darrell's sister), Mary Denaro, Frankie Denaro, me, Darrell, Hayden, and Pastor Joel.

(This is Hayden's new smile...if you ask him to smile, he makes this crazy face!)

Hayden is 20-months-old now - approaching the terrible-twos very quickly! He is walking, running, climbing, talking, jumping, and more! He is so much fun - this is my favorite age so far! He just seems to learn something new everyday. It's amazing.

He has been working on learning his colors and trying to sign his colors. He is also learning his shapes, alphabet, and numbers (in Spanish too!) at school. He will count with you to 2 - it's really cute when he says "twoooooo." Hayden still LOVES school and currently has a crush on Aubrie in his class.

Some things that Hayden loves:
-talking on the phone to his grandparents, aunts, and cousins
-talking in general...constantly! Probably has about 50 words in his vocabulary.
-playing outside (in the dirt, of course)
-"moos" a.k.a. cows
-tractors and trucks
-Elmo
-his "bankie" & "dawg"
-his Aunt Tee Tee's 'fooood'
-his cousin Fee Fee a.k.a. Frankie
-finally loves reading books
(3 favs: Brown Bear/Polar Bear/Moo, Baa, La La La)
-going bye-bye in "Dada twuck" or "Mama new twuck"

Here some overdue but updated pictures of him:

In Daddy's boots - this is one of his favorite things to do!

Playing outside with Granddaddy!

Hamming it up for the camera at lunchtime.

Wearing his bling around the house...

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures. Hayden loves to read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. When we get to the page about the goldfish, Hayden makes this face and I was finally able to catch it on camera.