Happy 2nd Birthday Hayden Emerson!

Happy Hayden after her pancake

Lindsey and her kiddos

The girls and Coady painting and glittering up their pots

Maeve getting serious about her pot

Camryn eating the peanut butter for the bird feeder

Hayden's just getting started!

Hayden was super excited to blow out the candles on her Tinkerbell cake

Getting some help from Big Sis

Sneaking frosting off of the cake

Enjoying the cupcake cones

The cuties eating the sugar

Getting some support during gifts

Sean, Declan and Harper made it! The girls were so excited!

She even has frosting up her nose

What were they doing? Sneaking the frosting off of the cake!

After a week of celebration, Hayden's 2nd Birthday has finally arrived! She has been singing happy birthday to herself all week! Seriously we have listened to her sing this song over the monitor every night and we have had to sing to her and let her blow out two candles after dinner every night as well. This kid LOVES her birthday! Here are some of the highlights of her birthday week.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Last Saturday we had family friends over to celebrate over a Funny Face Pancake Breakfast.... yummy! It is a family tradition to have funny face pancakes on Saturday mornings. I usually make chocolate chip pancakes and we make faces on them with whipped cream. We followed breakfast with some crafts. I never knew how many people despise glitter until craft time! The kids painted pots and then planted marigolds in them, made bird feeders, and decorated foam with stickers. Then it was fun in the newly mulched play area and sandbox. Hayden requested a Tinkerbell cake and showed me exactly what she wanted.... the girl knows what she wants! We also enjoyed some cupcake cones with sprinkles. My favorite family birthday tradition is the slideshow Brady makes for the girls every year on their birthdays. It gets harder and harder to watch every year as they grow older and we see just how much they have changed.

THE 2 YEAR CHECK UP

Yesterday I took Hayden in for her 2 year check up. Brady and I were really curious as to how our little girl has grown. Hayden acted like a little grown up in the office. She stepped on the scale and got her weight checked all on her own. She let the doctor check her out without any problems... not always the case! She even got a shot without a tear... NEVER the case! She collected some stickers and a book and headed out the door! Hayden weighs 29 lbs and is 33.5" tall. She is definitely a lot bigger than her sister was at 2! I am taking clothing out of Taylor's closet and putting them directly into Haydens! Her feet are almost as big as Taylors now! I have a feeling that Tay better watch out because as Hayden gets older she is definitely going to be able to hold her own!

Hayden's Big Day

Brady and I were trying to come up with an ideal day for Hayden so here is how we celebrated April 29th. Brady took the morning off to participate in the morning activities and I am pretty sure that alone made Hayden's day! We started off by letting Hayden pick out a donut at DD, strawberry with sprinkles, and eating it on the way to drop Tay off at school. We then took her to get some shoes because her feet are so much bigger and she LOVED trying on shoes! She demanded to wear them through the store with tie holding the shoes together so it was more like a waddle but whatever... it's her birthday! We then went to music class which she waits for all week! She was excited to have Brady there to show him what she can do. With a little time before getting Taylor we went over to Colonial Williamsburg for a quick stroll in the gorgeous weather. She headed straight to the candy shop for some raisins before the walk... that's our girl! When Brady asked her where she wanted to go for lunch she quickly responded chips and dip! Brady probably bribed her because the request was for Plaza his favorite place!

The Easter Bunny Photo

Ok Hayden.... the other bunny is going to be a little bit bigger....

No way!

The girls think that they are just getting a shot in the princess chairs

Well after Hayden's reaction to Santa this year we were fairly confident that she was not going to be a fan of the Easter Bunny. It was worth a shot! Our friend Carrie runs the photos at Yankee Candle so she was super patient and had some good ideas to get the girls and bunny together without tears! It came down to the bunny sneaking in to the picture! Whatever it takes!

Easter Festivities

Daddy helping the girls decorate their cupcakes

Hayden couldn't get enough sprinkles

Sneaking a few

I don't think Taylor got enough of the pink sprinkles! Purple must not have been an option!

We absolutely love spring here in Williamsburg! Not only is it green and beautiful but there are so many things to do we can hardly keep up!

The girls were really into the easter egg hunt this year and we hit up a couple in the community. Our neighborhood started it off with crafts and an egg hunt. Of course our camera died after the first craft so we do not have any more pictures of the event. The girls really got into looking for eggs and then devouring an assortment of candy.

The Walker Girls Get....... HAIR!

WOOHOO! It was a big day in our house... Taylor was finally able to get piggy tails in her hair and Hayden finally got enough to pull into a band! They were both so happy that we just had to take some pictures. We are still working with Hayden on keeping it IN her hair. However, she has stopped putting barrettes in her mouth which is a HUGE relief.

The Girls Playing Soccer Together

Taylor continues to attend soccer practice at the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex and now Hayden has become an unofficial member of the class! She has been following along with Tay for the last year and now she has really been making an attempt to participate in all of the activities. Coach Chris had even given her a t shirt and let her score a goal at the end of class. It is hilarious to watch the girls warm up together! Hayden is still working on getting both feet off of the ground at the same time for jumps and both of them have their own jumping jack style! Of course Hayden makes sure to include SEVERAL snack breaks into the 45 minute class.... that's our girl! Taylor has been really supportive and encouraging. She tries to help out her little sis and explain game rules to her as well. Taylor continues to perfect her ability to really play up an injury- you can totally tell she watches a lot of soccer with her daddy! The way she throws herself down on the ground and rolls in pain and then magically jumps up and continues on is impressive! It is so fun to go to class and see what they are able to do now and participate with them in the activities. Soon Taylor will have to move up to the next class so we are just taking it in and enjoying the time....... I have a feeling this won't be the last time they will be on the same soccer field together :)



These photos were taken on the last day of the session. All of the kids were presented with a medal... so excited!!! It was during the Olympics so it made it extra special for them!

They start off on the white line. Coach Chris asks them the question of the day and then they do a warm up. Hayden just got a new ball and decided that she just wanted to sit on it!

Taylor is into BEING FIRST or right next to Coach Chris

Girls participating in the obstacle course

I thought that this was funny because it was right around the time of the Olympics and I seem to remember an Olympian causing an uproar when a girl did something similar to his medal in a bar....hmmmmmmmm! She did this on her own!!! Why? I have no idea!!!

Taylor and her buddy Ella

So proud! Of the medal and the fact that we got her hair into piggy tails!

Yes they wore the medals for days! Hayden ended up falling on hers and bleeding all over the ribbon....... lots of blood and sweat went into that medal!

Celebrating Grandparents Day with Taylor

Grandparents Day at St. Stephens

A couple of weeks ago I was able to fill in for Taylor's Grandparents at preschool. Brady volunteered to take Hayden to music so Taylor could have my full attention. We started with a scavenger hunt around the class and a bonus introduction to Stevie the class fish. Taylor was really excited to show me her cubby and tell me all about the daily routine. She cracked me up telling me where to go and what I was allowed and not allowed to do. It was fun to see what she was able and expected to do. Brady and I are so happy with the school and all of the wonderful people that take care of our baby! Here are some pictures of this special day.

The kiddos start the day on the carpet. They sing this adorable Good Morning song and then do the day of the week and weather.

Taylor singing a song with her friends


We went up for Chapel and discussed that if you get lost God will always find you. Later in the week, we misplaced something.... Taylor explained that God would find it :) Then they sang Jesus Loves Me, one of my faves, and signed to it......tears..so cute.

Tay taking the craft for the day VERY seriously. She made a cross sun catcher which is hanging on our back window.

Still working.....

We celebrated the school's anniversary with lunch and cake

Having fun!

Daddy and Hurricane Hayden joined us at the end! Taylor proudly showed Daddy her kite.

Carrot Tree Tradition

Tay looking sweet and innocent

Silly smile with Daddy.... I just noticed that she is holding a knife!

Diggin in

Her Big Sis taught her to strike a pose for the camera

So Big!

Normally we go to The Carrot Tree for lunch on Valentine's Day as a family but this year we did it on St Patrick's Day instead because we were in Cabo. For the last two years we have been at the same table and have fun reminiscing about the years before. I remember taking Taylor when she was just 7 months old, and then right before Hayden was born, when Hayden was nearly one, and now this year....... Taylor was sitting in a big girl seat and Hayden in a highchair. All four of us were chatting and nothing was being thrown..... it was a good lunch. One that made us realize that our girls are growing up way too fast! We played I Spy and Hayden devoured some tea sandwiches!

St Patrick's Day

We had a great time celebrating St Patrick's Day this year! The girls were very entertained with the idea that the leprechaun would be coming to their house and getting into trouble while they were not looking. The leprechaun made a mess in their playroom over night and then left a trail from their rooms to the kitchen table where he left them Lucky Charms for breakfast. It was the first time they have had Lucky Charms and they LOVED them.... of course they picked out the marshmallows! Yummmmm! Taylor thought it was funny when he hid their toothbrushes but began to cry when she noticed that the toilet water was green. Of all the pranks to cry over she chooses the toilet water! Of course we topped it of with an Irish dinner of shepherds pie and green pudding. It was a special day :)

Lovin the charms!
Flash to the future.... Hayden looks like she is getting ready to be leaning on a bar drinking beer...ugh!

Elway looking thrilled

Sisters..... probably followed by a head lock!

Our happy Irish babe

Us girls