Meet the Johnsons

The Friday of Fourth of July weekend my cousin Nick, his wife Jenny & their adorable daughters Madeline & Taylor (aka Maddy & Tay Tay) drove through Missoula on their way to Seattle.  Luckily they were able to stop for dinner so we could see them & they could meet Hayden.

The Johnsons

The girls checking out their new cousin.

 Tay Tay giving her sister some love.

 My two favorite red heads.

 Adam hanging out with Tay Tay.

We hope to see you guys again soon.  Thanks so much for stopping to see us.

Hiking with Hayden

At the end of June we took Hayden for his first hike.  We went to one of our favorites, the North Fork of the Blackfoot River.  This place reminds us a lot of Yellowstone, it had a major fire in 1988 as well.  It is a little bit of a drive but well worth it once you get there.  Usually we would be fishing by the end of June but with the tremendous snowpack this winter the water was still really high & muddy.  Just as well as we didn't know how Hayden would do on his first hiking outing.  If you can't tell from the photos he pretty much slept the whole time.

These last two photos are from trips we took last year to the North Fork. 

 We can't wait for Hayden to catch his first fish and experience one of the reasons we are lucky to live in the beautiful state of Montana. 

Busy Busy

Summers in Montana go by so fast, especially with a new baby.  I just downloaded the pictures from our camera & there were over 1000 new pictures, whew!  That means we are really behind on our blogging so we will start the recap. 

Mid June Auntie Elizabeth and Cousin Jack came to meet Hayden for the first time.   

Missoula has a really cool carousel in Caras Park next to the Clark Fork River.  We took all the boys there for a fun afternoon. 

 By the looks of things, this isn't Clives first rodeo.

Rebecca & Luke had everyone over for an early Father's Day BBQ so we could celebrate while Elizabeth was still here. 

Thanks for visiting us Auntie Elizabeth it was great to see you.  Hopefully Uncle John can come next time.

Little Bugger

No pictures for this post just a funny little story.  Last night we got Hayden all ready for bed, he'd eaten, been changed, was all swaddled up, had a pacifier & his Great Barrier Reef soother was on.  (Aunt Elizabeth got him this great soother that attaches to the side of his crib, it plays music or water sounds, lights up & has sea creatures that scroll across the screen).  What more could a little guy want? 

We thought he was down for the night until we heard some rustling around about 30 minutes after putting him down.  Adam went up to check on him & he whispered in the baby monitor, "Tia, can you come up here?"  I was a little worried so I hurried up the stairs & turned on the hall light so I could see what was going on.  Hayden was laying in his crib completely unswaddled with his arms raised over his head in victory.  When he saw both of his parents standing by his crib he got the biggest smile across his face & giggled.  He was so proud of himself.  Not only had he escaped the Harry Houdini proof swaddling but he had succeeded in getting both his parents in his room at the same time.  What a little bugger!

We both laughed & then started the bedtime process all over again, this time with success.  : )

Saturday was a big day!

Saturday was a lot of fun for us.  Hayden went to Yellowstone for his first time.

We saw three black bears that morning.  None of them were big but they were still fun to see.  Bears always bring out the best in Yellowstone tourists.  When you enter the park they always give you a handout about approaching the wildlife.  All that information goes right out the window at the first site of an animal.

One of the reasons we went to Yellowstone a little earlier than we normally do is to see the cutthroat spawning and they put on quite a display for us.  We saw some monsters in there!

Our main goal was to make it to this place for photos of Hayden.

No trip to Hayden Valley is complete without a brief stopover at Buffalo Ford so we turned in and wandered around a bit while Senna cooled off in the river.  Tia thought Hayden would enjoy a splash as well.

This is exactly how much Hayden liked a little wading in the Yellowstone.

The water is high at this time of year and was all the way up to the parking lot.  I braved a few inches of cool water for this shot, and it was time to head out for Fishing Bridge, but not before an aerial photo.

Before these shots we stopped at the Fishing Bridge General Store to poke around a bit, and when we returned to our car and tried to start it, it was dead.  No power, like we'd been running on the battery with a dead alternator.  Fortunately there is a service station next door, and fortunately they were working late.  They tested the battery and charging system.  Hayden was a champion while we worked on the car.

The verdict:  Battery bad, alternator still good!  I purchased Tia a really really fancy (expensive but functional) car battery and it was time for the photos we came here for.

After that we went to the lake for one more shot, and it was time to go back to Bozeman.

Rub a Dub Dub

Hayden loves bathtime, especially when Daddy is the bather.  Apparently my water temperature is to cold.  Our baby is going to like Uncle Luke & Auntie Becca's hot tub.

Weight Check

When Hayden was born he weighed 7 lbs 9 ozs & by the time we left the hospital he was down to 7 lbs 2 ozs.  Our pediatrician likes to do weight checks a couple of days after leaving the hospital to make sure the babies are feeding well and gaining weight.  6 days after Hayden was born he was back up to 7 lbs 7.2 ozs.  Seems like we may have a good little eater on our hands.  Let's hope the trend continues.

 While waiting for the nurse Hayden decided to practice flexing his muscles.  Have you seen the gym?  That's alright, I'll check it out.

 Left jab

Worn out after his excercise session.