First Haircut

The Smoky Mountains

The Biltmore House - Asheville, NC

This is the family home of George W. Vanderbilt. It was opened in 1895 and has 175,000 square feet inside the house! It even has a bowling alley, gymnasium and swimming pool inside.

The Biltmore Gardens are also very beautiful. It takes approximately two hours just to tour the gardens. There are several greenhouses. They even sell some of the flowers to the public.

This is one of the pathways in the garden. There are numerous spots to sit on a bench and enjoy the sights and smells of the garden.

Here are some of the orchids located in one of the greenhouses.

A visit to my cousin Gina's house!

Boy, did we have a fun time visiting Aunt Terry, Uncle Don and Cousin Gina! Gina has a really neat swing set in the backyard. She let me swing as much as I wanted! We visited their church together on Sunday and listened to the choir sing. Afterwards, we played outside in the backyard a bunch. We used a sled to slide down the side of the hill together! It was FUN!


We visited the Georgia Aquarium one day and saw a bunch of really BIG fish. It was a big place so I decided to take a nap somewhere in the middle (after lunch though). We also visited the Children's Museum which had all the Sesame Street stuff there! Gina and I had a lot of fun playing and learning on Sesame Street together.

We even went fishing with Uncle Don! He caught a few tiny little fish, but nothing compared to the BIG one Gina and I caught! Uncle Don said the fish weren't biting like they usually do, but Gina and I didn't have any trouble catching the BIG fish...

Gotta wear shades...

Our day at the zoo!

With the warmer weather now upon us, we are happy to be regular visitors of the Columbus Zoo! Alex enjoys seeing all the different animals and people watching. Mommy enjoys the exercise and being outdoors. Today we visited the North America exhibit and rode the train. But his favorite thing today was visiting the goats at the petting zoo area. They currently have three kids (baby goats) that are no bigger than a small dog! The bigger older goats were not bothered by the zillions of little kids (children) running around trying to brush and feed them. It was so funny!

My big boy bed

What a great helper! Alex was quick to learn how to use the screw driver and to help Daddy put together his new toddler bed. Just like his dad, Alex was all business when working on a project!

While he isn't ready to actually sleep in his new bed, at least he can play on it for a few months!

The first mow

Daddy and Alex decided to mow the lawn this afternoon! He doesn't seem to mind the noise at all. Daddy found some ear protection that Alex can wear for just this purpose.

More Vacation Pictures!

John, Amber & Alex

Grandma Hayes & Alex

Alex taking a quick nap...

Cozumel, Mexico

Caye Caulker, Belize

The clear turquoise waters of Belize are so inviting. This was the first time Alex was in the ocean. He enjoyed the sand the most. Later that morning we boarded a small glass bottom boat and headed out to a coral garden to snorkel. We saw many small fish and even a large barracuda! John snorkeled at our second stop called Shark Ray Alley. There were about twenty stingrays swimming in the water (which was only about five feet deep and crystal clear). One nurse shark approached us to see what all the commotion was about.

For more information about this tour company, visit Tsunami Adventures (http://www.tsunamiadventures.com/snorkeling.htm). We had a great time!

Livingston, Guatemala

Norwegian Sun

This is the school we visited in Livingston. We handed out school supplies to all the children. It was really a special experience. The children were so appreciative.



Lillypad Island on the Rio Dulce River

Santo Tomas, Guatemala

One of the nicer homes along the Rio Dulce River

For more information about this tour, please visit http://www.gowithgustours.com/. I learned of this tour on the Cruise Critic website (www.cruisecritic.com).

Costa Maya, Mexico

Chacchoben Mayan Ruins





We visited these Myan ruins on Tuesday, March 20. A local tour guide named David provided a thorough history of this site. We spent several hours exploring the site. It was truly amazing to see up close. These majestic, mostly restored temple pyramids take on a mystical quality surrounded by towering mahogany trees, enormous cohune palms, strangler figs and the hanging tentacles of banyan trees. Chacchoben means "the Place of Red Corn", in Spanish "Lugar de Maiz Colorado".

For more information about this tour in Costa Maya, Mexico, visit http://thenativechoice.com/. I learned of them on the Cruise Critic website (www.cruisecritic.com).

New Orleans

Bourbon Street by day...

We arrived in New Orleans on St. Patrick's day! We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon just long enough to drop off our luggage. We ate dinner at NOLA's (one of Emeril's restaurants) and walked along the Mississippi River back to our hotel on Canal Street afterwards. It was a very nice evening.

The following morning we headed over to Cafe De Monde for breakfast. The famous cafe au lait and beignet (french donuts) is a proper breakfast in New Orleans. The weather was beautiful and we had a few hours until we could board the cruise ship.

John took these pictures of some of the more interesting parts of New Orleans. What is a trip to NOLA though without visiting Bourbon Street? If the sounds of the police sirens the night before were any indication of how crazy it can get on Bourbon Street, I'm happy I was safe in our little hotel room. I'm not sure that I could handle that kind of crazy anymore!

Birthday Pictures!

Happy Birthday, Alex!

It is hard to believe that Alex is already a year old! Time has gone by so quickly. When I think back to what he looked like when he was born...8 pounds, 11 ounces, 20.4 inches long.

He is now 24 pounds and 31.5 inches tall! He is wearing 18-month and some 24-month clothes! To say that he is growing by leaps and bounds is an understatement.

We had a party for him this past weekend. All the family was here to celebrate! He especially enjoyed playing will all his nieces (he is such a ladies man)!

I think he liked the icing on his birthday cupcake, but he didn't really dig in like we all wanted! He was more interested in the balloons. On February 13 Alex took his first steps alone! Once he figured out that he could walk from Mommy to Daddy without any assistance, there was no holding him back. He walked back and forth between the two of us for at least a half an hour. Over the next few days he found more courage to try walking from the couch to the coffee table! Before we know it, he'll be running around the house!

It has been such a great year having Alex in our lives. We look forward to the next year of watching him GROW!

SNOW!

Finally, snow! I know this is something that every adult dreads, but every child dreams of...

Daddy pulled Alex around in the snow for a little while today (Sadie trailing right behind them)! We only had one face plant in the snow. Alex didn't care for that too much!

Thank you!

"Thank you for all the great toys at Christmas!"

We finished the toy room just in time! Good thing because Alex received a lot of neat stuff! From Grandma Hayes and Aunt Sandy he got some of the Little People circus sets. He just loves anything that plays music. Grandma Hayes also gave him a bounce and spin zebra that plays music. He is just now learning to keep his balance while sitting on the zebra so that he can bounce and dance to the music!

We spend much of our day in the toy room playing. Santa brought Alex a Thomas battery operated riding train complete with a whistle! The track just goes around and around in a small circle. We are thinking of buying an extension that will convert it into a figure eight track. I think he may get a little dizzy on the current configuration!

We just started a water babies swim class last week! The class is only 30-minutes long, but it is a lot of work! There is only one other baby in the class, so we get a lot of one-on-one time with the instructor. She is really good with him and says that he is a natural in the water. We play games, sing songs, and use a variety of tools to help him float and practice kicking and (mostly) splashing. I hope to get someone at the pool to take a few pictures of us swimming at some point.

2006

2006 has been quite a big year for the Hayes family! We visited with family and friends in January as they "showered" us with baby gifts. Alex made his entry into our family in February and nothing has been the same since. In March and April we did a lot of sleeping (Alex & Mommy) at odd times of the day/night. By May Alex had settled into a fairly good sleeping routine that let us start getting out of the house periodically. In June we took our first family vacation! We drove to Mackinac Island in Michigan and then into Canada visiting Niagara Falls before returning home. Alex was only four months old, but he was a good little traveler. In July we watched fireworks at Grandpa Byers house and took Alex to his first major league baseball game! The Cleveland Indians beat someone - I'm really not a fan of baseball so I'm not sure who they played. In August Daddy had to go to Germany for work so Mommy and Alex tried to keep each other busy. Alex began sitting up with a pillow for assistance. We also visited the Smoky Mountains with Grandma Lou Ann in September. We rented one of those cabins WAY UP in the mountains. Lets just say that getting to the cabin was an adventure of itself! We saw the Dixie Stampeed and even shopped at the worlds largest "As seen on TV" shop (don't ask). Daddy decorated for Halloween and tried to spook the neighbor kids while Mommy handed out candy. On Thanksgiving we had dinner with Grandma Lou Ann as she also celebrated a milestone birthday (SHHHH!).

This holiday season has been more joyous than I could have ever imagined. With all the emphasis on "X number of shopping days left!" it is easy to forget the simple joys of Christmas. But there is nothing like a child to quickly remind you!

Since Alex is only 10-months old, he had no comprehension of why all the excitement. He had no idea why Mommy was rushing him from store to store. Why is Mommy hiding all those new things inside of pretty paper and bows? What must he be thinking? I doubt he was complaining the day we baked cookies! There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked cookies in the house.

As for Christmas morning, I doubt he had any clue why we were making such a fuss. We rushed down and lit up the Christmas tree and turned on the video camera. Santa had stopped at our house and left some really neat things around the tree! Still, no reaction from Alex. We put him down on the floor and let him crawl around from toy to toy (Santa doesn't wrap at our house). He loves his tool bench and Leap Frog learning table. But I think his favorite gift is his train!

I'll try to post more pictures soon!

'Tis the season!

With Thanksgiving under our belt (literally), the Christmas decorations have been hung! We put up the tree one evening after Alex had gone to bed. The next morning we lit up the lights and when Alex first saw the sparkling tree, his face lit up. After the initial reaction, he hasn't given it much attention though (thankfully). He isn't really into wrapping paper just yet, so we're not planning to wrap many of his gifts this year.

This Old Man!

Where does the time go? Just nine months ago we welcomed Alex into our family. He has grown up so much! He is now so independent, exploring his surroundings all day long. Now I understand what everyone was saying when they told me to hold him as much as I wanted when he was little because there will come a time when he doesn't want to be held. We now have a little gymnast on our hands. Instead of being held, he now prefers to climb all over me while I lie on the floor. Over my legs and then back again. Clawing his way up my back as I sit on the floor "trying" to read a magazine.

We had a check-up doctor appointment earlier this week. The doctor said Alex looks great! He weighs 21.2 lbs. and is 29 1/2" tall! Alex was so happy to be nearly naked on the examining table with a huge wall mirror to stare into. Ah, men! Our doctor is so nice and always talks to Alex as if he actually understands every word. I realize he won't always be this excited to see the doctor. After his shots, he cried for a minute and then was ready to play again.

Baptism

We had Alex baptized on Saturday, November 4 at the Church of the Master in Westerville, Ohio. All his grandparents were present along with some of his aunts, uncles and cousins. Rev. Richard Wilson performed a beautiful ceremony. It was very special for everyone.

Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Bucca di Beppo! It was so nice to celebrate this joyful occasion with family!