Hayden David is our 2nd son and is truly a gift. Hayden made his entrance into this world approximately 8 weeks early. I remember when Hayden was born we were so excited to finally have him here. Once he was delivered, he never cried and the nurses moved him to the incubator to work on him. Suddenly, everyone was asking questions about how far along I was and had I had any complications. Brian was standing by the incubator out of the way but close enough to see. I was watching him and I remember watching the color just drain out of his face and tear welling up in his eyes. They ran him out of the room and he stopped breathing on their way to the NICU. Once in the NICU, they placed him on a respirator to help him breath and to assess what was going on. They performed the heel-prick test to do a blood test and realized that he was only 28 1/2 weeks instead of 36 weeks. His lungs had not developed and his heart was not functioning properly. Hayden was given a beautiful blessing by our then bishop, Mark Bradshaw, promising him and us full health and complete recovery. Not only did he recover faster than was anticipated, he had no lasting effects of his traumatic entrance into this world and we are so grateful for him.
Hayden brings a tender, loving dynamic to our home. Hunter looks like a Mini-Me of Brian but Hayden is a Mini-Me of Brian's personality. Hayden is very calm, collected and thoughtful. His older brother dominated the spotlight for many, many years and Hayden has always been content to sit back and go with the flow. Hayden rarely gets upset or mad. He has to be really pushed to topple over the edge. He is super competitive and wants to be as good if not better than his older brother. For example, on the day that Hunter learned to ride a bike, that also was the day that Hayden learned to ride a bike. Hayden does have the Hadlock temper and you with children that have it (Mom, Allyson, Kimberly...) know what I am talking about. He is very slow to boil but once he digs his heels in, good luck steering him another direction. Hayden has to think that the decision to change was his idea so again, I learned very early that there was a delicate balance. Hayden is the peacemaker of our family. He hates contention and internalizes everything. He wants to have a plan and a back-up plan before he makes a decision - another trait he got from his dad.
Hayden is named after my dad, David Hadlock. Hayden reminds me very much of my dad. My dad is very soft spoken and very tender. The Spirit resides very close to his heart. Hayden is very much the same way. From a super early age, Hayden has had a testimony of the Gospel. He amazes me and those around him at the depth of his testimony and convictions. He is aware of the promptings and is always very quick to let us know when the Spirit has prompted him to do something. We recently had an very humbling experience in where he let Brian know what the Spirit had prompted him to say. He has a strong testimony of fasting, prayer and the priesthood and like with Hunter, I am taught almost daily by his convictions of the Gospel.
Hayden is one of my most precious treasures that I am grateful for and I love him very much.
