We survived another fun filled weekend! Hayden enjoyed Friday night with his Nana, Papa, Jacob, Andrew, and of course Brent and I. We took him to Lost Dog for some yummy pizza. We then went to the lake with friends on Saturday. It was 85 degrees. We definitely enjoyed ourselves! Sunday, Hayden was kind of “scaring” us. He was breathing at an odd pattern. He slept most of the day. His Aunt Whitney came to the rescue to watch him while I went to Wal- Mart. WOOO Thank You Lord for helpful friends.

We had a party to plan! Hayden is so blessed to have so many awesome friends in his life. I can tell you that he is loved by so many. The bond that some of our friends have with Hayden is amazing. I can promise you one thing; you know you have genuine, caring, and kind-hearted friends when they don’t leave your side during difficult times. In fact, they get that much closer to your side! Hayden woke up so excited about the PARTY. I believe he thought it was for him. I kindly explained to him that he has 2.5 weeks left until he is 15 months. He promised me that he would be patient. We cooked and waited on Hayden’s “Aunt” Kelli to get here. She had NO CLUE that a lot of her friends and family would be waiting here on her. We had a grand time. Hayden and Cash were swapped from person to person as everybody enjoyed baby time. We laughed, ate, and enjoyed each other’s company.

My nephew never wore this outfit so Hayden glady borrowed his outfit. So precious on him! I love the high button outfits. He was excited and looking forward to party time!

"Aunt" Leathe came two hours early so she could sneak a lot of loving.

 He was so excited to see his friends! Hayden loved all of the love that Brianne had to share!

 Happy Birthday Kelli! We are so thankful to have friends that loves our child like you and Clayton do. Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on, a friend to laugh with, and a loving person to our child.

 I LOVE that all our friends are still wearing their hope bracelets! All the guys are still proudly wearing them. We must admit it warms our heart:)

Even 31 year olds can eat cake and blow out candles. Hayden was still slightly confused as to why we were singing to her vs him. He thinks ALL parties are for him! He did get a bit of the ice cream though:)

 Sweet Jordan has texted many days to check on Hayden. Her encouraging words have been very helpful on bad days. I am so thankful that she was able to meet Hayden! I know he loved her!

 Hayden was thinking really hard about what to give Aunt Kelli for her birthday.

We thought about gift certificates. We thought about clothes. HMMM? What should Hayden get her? We finally decided that the best gift of all would be his feet on a stepping stone. Yes it made his Aunt Kelli cry big crocodile tears.  She loves Hayden so much. I got some pretty ugly looks from his Aunt Whit and Aunt Lauren. I believe they were jealous! Looks like we will be making more stepping stones for Christmas gifts this week! I am so blessed to have such caring friends. Hayden is so blessed!

I found the following quote on somebody’s Facebook this morning. It truly reminds me of my life. I have learned who cares. I have learned who loves. I have learned that most of our friends are closer to us now because of their love for Hayden. I feared at the beginning of his diagnosis that we would lose friends young and old because they wouldn’t know what to say or do. I feared they would just run away.  Luckily, almost all of our friends have become more like family because of their bond with Hayden. Our friend’s text daily to encourage Hayden to have a good day. Each friend is a blessing to our life. Each friend has become more like family. They have all encouraged us more than we could have ever imagined.  They have cared for us on the good days but more importantly the bad days. I am so thankful for each weekday and weeknight that our child gets to share with our awesome friends. YALL ROCK! THAT’S EXACTLY WHY HAYDEN LOVES EACH OF YOU SO MUCH! LOOKS LIKE WE WILL BE ORDERING MORE STEPPING STONE KITS TODAYJ EACH OF YOU DESERVE ONE!

Hayden has seemed pretty peaceful in the past few days. His hands have been opened more often. He has even been smiling. We are still seizing. Fortunately, only around 6 times a day. Yesterday, he was seizure free until 6:00p.m. We almost had another 24 hour day! This is a huge little miracle. Hayden has been using the restroom on his own. This is huge too! Normally he gets constipated before going to the restroom. All in all he has been feeling good. He is officially 30 lbs. Can you believe it? He is one growing little Earth Angel!