I know, I know, I’m a week late on the update (as usual) but at least I’m doing it. ;) And actually, this is the 2nd time I have written this because when I wrote it yesterday, I accidentally closed out the window instead of posting it and of course none of it saved. But that’s neither here nor there. ;)

This month has been another great one…and we are all very glad that summer time is officially here! Anyway, here is the update.

Weight/Length: 24 lbs and somewhere between 33-34 inches long (YOU try measuring a wiggly toddler!). She is still in 12-18 month and 18 month clothes, and some 18-24 month stuff. She is also still wearing size 3 diapers, which I feel like she has been in FOREVER.

Sleep: No changes, except that bedtime has moved up ever so slightly to around 8:30 or 9. She still sleeps until 9:30 or 10 most days, and still takes one 2.5ish hour nap a day. 

Favorite Foods:  Mealtime is a battle 98% of the time. I have been told this is normal at this age…but it is so exhausting! She still prefers to eat vegetables over ANY other food (peas are her hands down favorite) and she loves most fruits…but the rest is hit or miss just depending on the day. There are days where she eats great for all three meals (those days are few and far between, unfortunately), and days where it is all I can do to get her to eat anything more than peas. I try not to worry about it too much since she is still growing as she should be…and I just try to make sure that she is eating as much and as often as she will. ;)

Her favorites lately have been mostly the same as previous months: peas, corn, carrots, green beans, edamame, baked beans, bread, blueberries, apples, hot dogs, crackers, strawberries, quesadillas, and cheese.  

One tiny breakthrough has been that H has actually eaten chicken a few times in the last few weeks! Baby steps on the whole meat-eating thing….but I’m not going to give up!

Developments:  No huge changes from last month, just growing and learning new things every day. Hadley still loves being outside, and we are having so much fun. We spend as much time as possible each day outside, and any time we are inside, she just bangs on the door and says “outsiiiiiiide!!!” until I eventually cave in and go. ;)

Very shortly after she turned 16 months old, H popped four more teeth (her canines). We had a couple days of fussiness, but nothing too bad… so lucky to have an easy teether and little to no symptoms! This brings her grand total of teeth to 16!

She has mastered a TON of animal sounds, and loves to show off make them for anyone who will listen. We went to Zootastic in Troutman a few weeks ago, and she LOVED seeing all the animals and copying the noises they were making (her favorites: goats and sheep). This made us even more excited for our trip to the NC Zoo on Memorial Day weekend (post coming soon about that). 

In situations where there are only a few people around, H can be a little shy at first, but it usually doesn’t take too long before she opens up and is talking everyone’s ears off. However…when we are out in public (Target, Trader Joe’s, etc.), there isn’t an ounce of shyness in the kid. She says “hey!” or “hi!” to every. single. person. we pass… and then “bye! bye bye!! byeee!” after they walk by. Sounds cute, and it is… for about the first five times or so. After that, I just want to ask her if she could please limit it to every other person or so instead of every single one! ;)

In general, Hadley is a one-person wrecking ball. I realize this is normal for all toddlers, but it is so exhausting to try to keep up with her!! She is into everything, and if it can be opened, pulled out, climbed on, taken somewhere else, thrown, or hidden, you can bet that she is doing any combination of those things. I am finally starting to realize that my house really will never be clean again…considering it only takes a few minutes for Hadley to put it back into total disarray. Ha!

The last thing I can think of is that we turned Hadley’s carseat to forward-facing this month (I know, they recommend for them to be rear-facing until age 2 now, but her little legs were just so cramped that we felt so bad that we went ahead and did it!). Anyway, we made a mistake let her watch a “movie” (a Baby Einstein DVD) on the way to the lake the first time she was turned around. She loved it, which was surprising considering she would never sit still long enough at our house to watch anything on TV! So, now every time we get in the car to go anywhere, I hear “moobie! moobie! moobie!” and see her pointing for me to flip down the screen. I haven’t given in yet and am maintaining that the rule is for no movies in the car unless we are going on a long trip. There have been no total meltdowns yet because of it, but I know…we’ll see how long that lasts. ;)

Favorite Things/Activities: Her bears and bunnies (and any stuffed animals). Giving kisses and hugs. Talking (ALL the time). Being outside/going for walks. Ralph. Kissing Ralph. Hugging Ralph. Annoying Ralph. Anything involving Ralph. ;) Dancing (any time the music starts, she starts breaking it down). Bath time. Building with blocks. Swinging. Sliding. Bubbles. Sesame Street. Baby Einstein DVDs. Her “Little People” toys. Her water table. Books. Juice. Milk. Running from us while we “chase” her around the house. Making messes. My iPhone. Being cheered for. Eating (sometimes). Sleeping. Getting dressed. Shoes (especially Mommy’s shoes—she likes to try to put them on herself and also loves to put them on my feet). Refrigerator magnets. Her ball pit. Doing things herself. Throwing and kicking balls. Singing.

Firsts This Month: First time picking strawberries (see pics below— we had so much fun! Next year we will just try to go earlier when it’s not SO hot!). First time seeing zoo animals at Zootastic in Troutman (also see pics below. I wasn’t expecting much from a local “zoo”, but it was actually ok and Hadley loved seeing all the animals!). I’m sure there are more but I am drawing a blank!

Nicknames: There are still so many. We like to call her: Ma’am, Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks, Miss Jenks, Jenkins, Jenkers, Stinkins, Stinks, H, Sweet Pea, Sweet Cheeks, Beautiful, Hadley McGee, Sugar, Shug, Honey Bunny, Missy, Shorty (by Pop), Darlin, etc. etc. etc.!

What I’m Thankful For: Summer weather. Enough said. ;)

What I’m Looking Forward To: Summer. Grilling out. Pool and lake days. Having a tan!! Are you seeing a theme here? ;)

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 18 month appointment is July 2nd.

Highlights from this month: tons of playing on her new playset, playing basketball on her goal from Aunt Jennifer, Zootastic trip with Pop and Meemaw, Mother’s Day at the food truck rodeo with Sarah, Dan & Lilly, fun with water table and bubbles, strawberry picking with Sarah & Lilly, and helping me water the flowers and plants in the garden (her favorite thing to do). 

All for now! Until next time…

-S

Hey, y’all. Long time no see… no one told me that life would be so crazy juggling a 17 month old and starting a new business! ;)

Anyway, I have been collecting these videos (and photos) for a while in hopes that I would find the time to upload them all to do this post. I know I have said it a million times and at every age, but this age is definitely my favorite so far…Hadley is so much fun, and developing such a little personality. I love SO many more things than are in this list, but I have to share some of my most favorite things that she is doing/saying right now.

Disclaimer: these aere all iPhone videos so the quality isn’t great. Also, I’m a photographer but I am most certainly NOT a videographer. Sorry bout it! 

So, here we go. I never, ever want to forget:

1- How she has so much fun with her Daddy. They LOVE to be silly together and I love to watch it. 

Related: I never want to forget the way she calls out “Daddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” over and over all day long. She loves him. (And I love the way she says it). 

2- The way she runs everywhere she goes. My mom says I was the same way until I left for college (though if you see me running now, call the cops because someone is definitely chasing me!) ;)

I could watch her do that all day long (good thing, too, since I pretty much do). :)

3- The way Hadley says “bless” after anyone sneezes (or coughs…). Sweetest girl.

4- How she plays with her bubbles in the tub and especially the way she calls them “bubbies”. It will be a sad, sad day for me when she learns how to actually say “bubbles”.

Sorry for the crotch shots of Jon. HA. They were kind of unavoidable to get H in the video. ;)

5- How she figures out new things and concentrates so hard on things. I can certainly see her little wheels spinning!

6- The way she says “oh noooo”. Loud noise? “oh noooo”. Drops something? “oh noooo”. Just riding in her carseat? “oh noooo”. Love it.

7- How she plays and delights in the smallest things. She is a dare devil and isn’t afraid of anything (she gets that from me…not her Daddy!). Related: I never want to forget that little giggle.

8- The way Hadley says “Hi!” and “Hey!” to every.single.person. we pass in Target/Trader Joe’s/the post office etc. I wish I had a video of this, but just imagine her saying it at the top of her lungs, and if (heaven forbid) the people ignore her, she only says it louder until they pay attention to her. What can I say, she loves the attention! ;)

9- The way that Hadley loves Ralph…and vice versa. He has been even better than I can imagine with her and often times takes some abuse from her… but he loves her because she feeds him tons of food. And she most definitely loves her “bubbie”/”ra-ra-ra-ra-ralph”/”raaaaalphie”. I don’t have a great video of this so I will go with photo evidence of this one. ;)

10- And finally…her “fake laugh”. She does this if other people are laughing… and she has found that when she does it, it makes them KEEP laughing, so she keeps doing it. Total ham.

All for now…the munchkin is awake and it’s time to play!

-S

Hola! I’m actually writing the monthly update only a few days late this time. I’m patting myself on the back as we speak. ;) In all honesty I have a full weekend coming up with 4 photo sessions and also hopefully squeezing in some birthday celebrations for myself in there, too (it’s Monday, you’re welcome for the reminder)…so I know if I don’t do it now, it will likely be closer to 17 months before I write the 16 month update. ANYWAY….here goes nothing:

Weight/Length: She is around 23ish lbs (she was 23 lbs, 12 oz with clothes on at the doctor last week) and 32 3/4 inches long. Still growing like crazy, and officially in mostly 18 month clothes now (and 12-18 months, too). Most of her 12 month shirts and pants are too short now, especially all of her PJs. Sometimes I look at her and think she looks SO big!!

Sleep: No changes—and I am doubting there will be many for a while, so I will probably drop this category next month. Bed time is around 9-9:30 and she sleeps until 9:30 or 10 at the earliest every day. Naptime is between 1-2 and she usually sleeps around 2.5-3 hours.

Favorite Foods:  Mostly the same as last month, except that she has acted like she doesn’t really like blueberries lately…which is nuts considering for the last 4 months she inhaled as many as I would put in front of her at any given time. Anyway, favorites now are: apples, grapes, cantaloupe, cheese, hot dogs, corn, crackers, strawberries, turkey, freeze dried bananas, strawberries, and mango, edamame, black beans, baked beans, green beans, peas, stir fry, bread, spaghetti and meatballs.

She eats this “organic foursome” from trader joe’s (carrots, peas, green beans, and corn) like it is CANDY and often, it is the only thing I can get her to eat for lunch/dinner. She will turn down chicken nuggets, french fries, grilled cheese, quesadillas, peanut butter & jelly, and any of the “normal” kids meal type foods…but will scarf down the vegetables like they are going to run off her plate. I suppose I shouldn’t complain…but, seriously? We were out to dinner not too long ago and she finally ate TWO french fries, and you would have thought she had just won an Olympic gold medal with the way Jon and I were praising her. Seriously, what parent praises their kid for eating french fries?! HA! Meatballs, hot dogs and turkey are literally the ONLY meat that I can get her to eat, ever, and still sometimes she will reject those. I am not a HUGE meat eater (could definitely do without it, if my husband wouldn’t disown me for not cooking meat, haha), so I can’t say I blame her…but I’m guessing it is just a texture thing, and we will keep trying!

She also drinks whole milk, 8 ounces twice a day—after her nap and before bed. I still heat it just a tad just to take the chill off, because she will straight up refuse it if it is cold. Diva. ;)

Developments:  I am having a hard time thinking of any real completely “new” developments over the past month. Mostly she is just learning more and more and becoming more of a “little person” than a baby. I realize she has probably “technically” been a toddler for a while, but I guess I am just now really realizing it. Tear.

She is getting really good at naming and recognizing shapes—circle, square, triangle, and sometimes oval…and colors, too (her favorite is purple, but she can also name/point out green, red, yellow, and blue). She has several books and also flash cards that reinforce these, and I can tell that she is really “getting it” when she points and yells “CIRCLE!” when we’re out at the grocery store, etc. 

I am SO glad spring is finally here, y’all. Most of our days are spent outside, and she loves to explore anywhere we go. We have had some fun days exploring parks in the area, but she really is just as happy playing in our back yard and sliding/swinging on her new play set (which we found on Craigslist for a SERIOUS bargain). We usually go for several walks a day, usually in her wagon or car…and I just hear giggling behind me because she is just SO happy to be outside. It really is the little things. ;)

This month, she has (finally?) starting singing. Her favorite is “Old McDonald”, which I really need to get on video. When we sing it, she will sing along, and she immediately breaks into a dance when we start singing it. She randomly bursts out with “E-I-E-I-O” whenever the feeling hits her, and she will say “cow, mooo, duck, quaaack, E-I-E-I-O”. The cutest is when I catch her on the monitor singing it as she is going to sleep. 

She also loves to talk to herself. Last weekend, Jon went on his fraternity beach trip, and Hadley, Ralph and I headed to the lake. On the way home, Hadley napped for the first hour or so, and when she woke up, I heard something like this coming from the back seat (while pointing to each body part): “Eyes. Ears. Hair. E-I-E-I-O. Cow. Moooooo. Raaaalph! Ruff ruff. Elbow. TOES!! E-I-E-I-O!”. These are the things I NEED to be videoing! ;)

Favorite Things/Activities: More repeats from previous months. Her bears and bunnies (and any stuffed animals). Giving kisses and hugs. Talking (ALL the time). Spinning around/being dizzy. Being outside/going for walks. Ralph. Kissing Ralph. Hugging Ralph. Annoying Ralph. Anything involving Ralph. ;) Dancing (any time the music starts, she starts breaking it down). Bath time. Building with blocks. Swinging. Sliding. Bubbles. Sesame Street, at least for the first 5 minutes. Her “Little People” toys. Her water table. Books. Juice. Milk. Running from us while we “chase” her around the house. Making messes. My iPhone. Being cheered for (she’s a total ham when we clap and cheer). Eating (sometimes). Sleeping. Getting dressed. Shoes (if she even SEES a pair of shoes, regardless of if she already has some on, she pitches a fit until I put them on her). Refrigerator magnets. Her ball pit. Doing things herself. Balls. Singing.

Firsts This Month: The main thing is that Little Miss was sick for the FIRST time ever (other than a runny nose that lasted about 24 hours a few months ago). :( I will just say that I don’t think I’m cut out for dealing with a sick kid, y’all. Last Tuesday morning, when I picked H up out of her crib, I noticed immediately that she felt HOT. Not just like hot because she had been sleeping hard, but h-o-t. I immediately took her temperature (the first time I had ever had to do it, actually), and bam—103.7 degrees. WHAT?! I called Jon (I really had no idea what I was supposed to do), and he (of course, duh) told me to call the doctor. When they heard how high the fever was, they told me to go ahead and bring her in.

At the doctor, they did a full exam, and everything looked completely normal—no congestion, no ear infection, nothing— so they decided to do some blood work to check her white blood count. The doctor was concerned that it may be a UTI due to her temp being so high and with no other real symptoms (other than H fighting us during diaper changes and baths, but that really could have been from anything), and she said the white blood count would be elevated and that she would rather see the results of that before going straight to the next step—a cath. Anyway, they pricked H’s finger and took several viles of blood (all while she screamed bloody murder—which KILLED ME. I always make Jon come to the doctor appointments with the shots, so I am not used to being the one having to hold her down. Sigh!). Anyway, I am not sure what her actual count was, but the doctor said it looked “more viral”, aka she likely just had a virus. They sent us home with the normal instructions of alternating ibuprofen and tylenol and said to call back if her fever didn’t lower or if she started acting like she felt worse or stopped eating. 

So, we went home, and H took a 4 hour nap that afternoon. We spent most of the afternoon like this:

Each time I took her temperature, though, it was still very high—never went below 102.5 even after taking the ibuprofen/tylenol…but I tried not to worry too much. She was really still in a remarkably good mood that afternoon, but after dinner, she started fussing/crying and really didn’t stop for several hours. Her temp was back up to the high 103s and she was having violent chills. I took her upstairs and wrapped her in one of her warmest blankets and rocked her, and she fell asleep. That seriously NEVER happens. While she was sleeping, she kept having the violent chills, so much so that I was afraid she may have a seizure. I sat there and rocked her, held her as tight as I could, and bawled. I never realized until that moment just how much my mom meant it when she would say “if I could take it from you, I would” when I was sick growing up. I would have done ANYTHING to take it from her.

Jon stood in H’s doorway, in silent support (I think he really just had no idea what to do, H was shaking violently and I was sobbing), and kept asking “what can I do??”. I told him I didn’t think there was anything that he could do, so he did what made him feel like he was doing something for her—he went outside, at 8:30 p.m., in the dark, flashlight in hand, and put together H’s new play set that he had just picked up that day. To think about it now makes me tear up, and it is just another one of the 29358203582 reasons I love that man. 

She woke up about 30 minutes later and was so pitiful—just a low, painful sounding cry, and still the high temperature. Jon came inside and said “why don’t you just call the doctor so we can at least have piece of mind tonight?”, so I did. I told her all of her symptoms, and without hesitation, she said “you need to go ahead and bring her in now”. SIGH. So, off to the ER we went. 

We waited for about an hour before being seen by the triage nurse (who almost caught the wrath of this protective mama bear when she kept saying to Hadley “I am not listening to that crying, you really should be quiet”…seriously?! I would hate to have to slap someone in the hospital). Her temp was 103 and her heart rate was elevated—around 170 bpm just sitting there, which they were also concerned about), so they sent us back to the waiting room to wait to see the doctor. Another hour and a half passed before we were called back to see the doctor. After asking about a million questions, they decided to go ahead and do the catheter to check for a UTI.

Y’all. A catheter + a 16 month old who already feels terrible = the hardest thing I have had to deal with thus far. She was PITIFUL. The nurses insisted that it didn’t hurt her, that it was just uncomfortable, but H’s screams suggested otherwise. It didn’t last for too long, thank goodness, and they sent the urine off to the lab to test. While we waited, H perked up some and even ate some snacks—a big improvement from earlier in the evening. Despite the fact that it was around 11:30 p.m. and way past her bedtime, she was in a great mood.

The results finally came back, and… no UTI. SIGH. I felt terrible that we had just put H through all that agony for seemingly no reason, but I guess there was some peace of mind at least that it wasn’t a UTI and was likely just a virus. Long story short, we spent several hours at the ER, forced a tube up H’s unmentionables while she screamed bloody murder, and kept her up way past her bedtime for them to send us home with the same instructions the doctor had given us earlier that morning—motrin and tylenol and to call if anything changed. SIGH.

Whew. That was long, but several people have asked me what all happened, so that is the story. The first time H had ever been sick, and we ended up spending the morning at the doctor’s office and the night at the emergency room. Sheesh. I realize that it probably sounds like we totally overreacted, but in our defense, we just did what the doctors/nurses told us to do! ;) The rest of the story is that she had a fever for several days after that, and also developed a cough/chest congestion about 4 days after all this went down, but I can finally say with full certainty that my sweet Little Miss is, barring a tiny bit of congestion, back to normal. Thank God. And thanks to all of you for your prayers, because I know they helped. 

Nicknames: There are still so many. We like to call her: Ma’am, Ma’amy, Jams (by Daddy), Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks, Miss Jenks, Jenkins, Jenkers, Stinkins, Stinks, H, Sweet Pea, Sweet Cheeks, Beautiful, Hadley McGee, Sugar, Shug, Honey Bunny, Missy, Shorty (by Pop), Darlin, Baby Doll, etc. etc. etc.!

What I’m Thankful For: Our family. This has been one of those months where I have felt extremely homesick and just a little bit lonely in my little SAHM world, as my friends here have all just been busy with life and such (it happens, I get it)… but the weekends we have spent at home have made it so much better; they help me regroup and realize what is really important. I’m ready to move home when you are, Jon…. ;) Ahem.

What I’m Looking Forward To: A fun birthday weekend. We are heading home (yes, again, did I mention I’m ready to move back?!) to the lake and don’t have any real plans, but Jon is taking off work for my birthday on Monday, so I am excited for a long weekend! :)

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 18 month appointment is July 2nd.

Without further ado (I know, I have already written a book), here are the pics I took this month. Highlights: first picnic, fun with bubbles, squirrel/bird watching out of the kitchen window, water table fun, a playdate, an impromptu photo shoot at Duke Gardens while I was there shooting for another project, making memories with Mamaw and Papaw at Pullen Park/the Farmers’ Market, and lunch with Daddy on his 32nd birthday! 

That’s all for now, folks. Yet another eventful month! Hope everyone has a great weekend…it’s almost here!

-S

Howdy, y’all. I am finally getting around to part two of the Easter photos (see part one here if you missed it). The last week has been a little crazy as Little Miss has been pretty sick (I will try to give the details when I write her 16 month update, hopefully this week). Luckily, she seems to be on the road to recovery, and I am using her naptime to blog even though there are 289357982372 other things I should be doing (aren’t there always? Sigh!). 

After leaving Concord on the Saturday before Easter, we headed to Lake Norman to spend some time with my family. We laid low all afternoon, but that evening the kids (and Bek, Kyle & Miki) dyed some eggs. Aunt Bekah helped H dye a few before she went to bed and she loved it (again)!

I forgot to take a pic of the finished product, but trust me when I say they were beautiful. ;)

The next morning was Easter, and church was an hour earlier than usual, so we (of course) had to wake Hadley up. She was still pretty sleepy when she saw her Easter basket, but she loved her bunny, which we weren’t too surprised at since her stuffed animal obsession is still going strong.

Did I mention she was still half asleep?! ;)

We headed off to church at UGUMC, and after a great service (which just so happened to be Daddy’s last Easter service at UG…*tear*), we went back to the lake for a yummy lunch and more fun with the family. Of course before they changed out of their pretty Easter dresses, I had to snap a few photos of the girls.

Take two of H with her Easter basket:

I had been collecting things for her Easter basket since Christmas… she got: some play clothes, several animals for her Little People Zoo Talkers toy (have I mentioned how much we love this toy?!), a few (classic) Disney movies, a beach towel, a basketball hoop for the tub, and of course, a stuffed bunny.

After H’s nap, the kiddos decided to do a little Easter egg hunt. H was a pro since it was her 3rd hunt…she loved it!

The bunny ears. :)

Aunt Jennifer came over later that night and brought H yet another Easter basket full of goodies. (Side note: example # 350892305982309582 of how just having a nice camera does not guarantee good photos… I really should teach Jon how to use it!)

We finished off the night with a good old fashioned game of family Twister. Just lol. :)

I would say that Easter weekend was a real “slam dunk”! (Ba-dum-chh!) (How do you even spell that?!)

Seriously though, we had a very happy and blessed Easter full of family time and fun. We are so lucky to be making such wonderful memories!

-S

Yep, you read that right. Part one. As in, I took way too many photos over Easter weekend, so I have to share them in not one but two posts. I know, I have a problem. Sorry ‘bout it.

On the Thursday before Easter, we headed to Concord to spend a few days with Jon’s family. I must note that I was on day 2 of a terrible stomach bug, and in fact still had a pretty high fever, but I knew that it would kill Jon’s mom if we waited to go until the next day (maybe it was the email she sent me that said “deep down it would kill me if you don’t come tonight”? haha…she was dying to see Hadley!), so I sucked it up, threw on some sweatpants and a hoodie and off to Concord we went. I went straight to bed when we got there, but I started feeling better later on that night, and was finally feeling back to 100% by Saturday. I digress.

First off, Hadley is a huge fan of being at Jon’s parents’ house, partly because she gets to see the cows! She practically begs to go outside any time she gets a glimpse of the cows, and luckily her Papaw is happy to take her to see them.

Jon’s parents had several fun Easter activities planned for us Hadley, the first of which was dying Easter eggs…H’s first time! I was nervous that she would make a big mess and dirty up Kim & Tim’s immaculate house, but shockingly, she did great! Of course her Mamaw was armed with lots of paper towels, and they covered the table up, so no mess was made that wasn’t easily cleaned up! H had a BALL, dropping the eggs into the cups and stirring all the cups one by one (she would go up the row and back down, and up and back down…it was quite cute). Anyway, I took a zillion photos of the event but here are way too many of my favorites.

Jon’s face in the next one makes me laugh out loud. He and Heather like to tell stories about them growing up and dying eggs…and their mom “helping”, aka doing it for them because she wanted them to be perfect. I was secretly a little scared that Jon would be the same way (he is an engineer and likes things to be “just so”), but surprisingly he let H do her thing and I was very proud of him. You will notice in quite a few of the photos, however, that it wasn’t necessarily easy for him to do. ;)

The finished product:

And the finished product along with the finished mess. Not too bad for a 15 month old!

H went down for her nap shortly after the egg dying, and when she woke up, it was time for an Easter egg hunt! She was a pro at finding the eggs and putting them in her basket, especially after her first hunt with Lilly. Yet again, I took tons of photos of this…

Something about a baby in blue jeans. And the little bootie? Forget it.

Even Ralphie had to get in on the Easter egg action. ;)

To say the least, she had a ball “finding” the eggs and putting them in her basket. I am sure all the cheering and “YAY HADLEY”s definitely encouraged her. ;) We ended up the afternoon with a ride on H’s car, one of her favorite pastimes!

Finally, the next morning before we left, H got an Easter basket from her Mamaw and Papaw…complete with peeps! (Yuck!)

First taste of a peep… she was a fan! I love how Ralph is creeping, hoping to get a taste of the peep too!

We had a great time in Concord, as always, and H loved spending time with her grandparents and having fun making new Easter traditions. 

All for tonight…part 2 of the Easter weekend coming soon!

-S

Warning: This is about to be some serious photo overload. Luckily, I think that the photos are the reason most people look at my blog anyway….;)

Our Easter activities started the weekend before Easter, when we went over to Sarah & Dan’s neighborhood Easter egg hunt! Last year we skipped the hunt and just went for the Easter bunny, but Sarah and I were excited that the girls were big enough to actually pick up eggs right in front of them hunt for eggs this year. The rain luckily held off, but it was COLD. The girls didn’t seem to mind the cold too much, though!

The girls had a blast picking up the eggs and it didn’t take long before they got the hang of it—before long they were picking them up and putting them right in their baskets. :)

Hadley decided to keep looking for eggs….

While Lilly was a little more interested in what was IN the eggs. ;)

ONE DAY we will get a photo of them both looking at the camera and smiling. One day. Until then… these are still super cute of them checking out their eggs (and each other). :)

Next, it was time to go see the Easter bunny. I was nervous that H would hate him (remember her first time meeting Santa?!), but luckily she and Lilly both didn’t think he was that big of a deal. I love the next few pics, they first looked at each other, like “what are they making us do?”…then they check out the bunny “hmmm should we be scared of him?”…then “just look at the camera and maybe they’ll let us eat the rest of the candy in the eggs”. ;) I love them. 

As always, we had a blast with the besties. I love making these memories that I know the girls will love to look back on for many years to come! We love y’all, Baum family!

I’ll be back soon with the Easter Weekend update/pics…just have to go through the 290682096820962 photos I took first. ;)

Happy weekend!

-S

Hi, friends! Wow—it’s been almost a month since I’ve blogged. Bad Mama. No excuses, just been super busy (with a couple stomach bugs in there too). I really want need to get better at documenting things, so I am really going to try! :) We just got home not long ago from H’s 15 month checkup with the pediatrician, so I will jump right into her stats. :)

Weight/Length: Her official 15 month stats are: 22 lbs, 2 oz (37th percentile), 32 1/4 inches long (92nd!! percentile), and her head is 18 inches around (44th percentile). Dr. S looked at her stats and looked at Jon and said “well, it’s clear where she got her height from!”. It appears that she is going to be tall and skinny. Basketball player? Volleyball player? Supermodel? Hehehehe :)

Sleep: No changes with her nightly routine/sleep, still going strong with around 12 hours each night. The only change this month has been that we have officially dropped the morning nap (she dropped it at right around 14.5 months). She just wasn’t tired in the mornings like she used to be, and after about a week of her just playing in the crib instead of sleeping, I decided to just drop it. She now goes down for her one nap at around 1:00 and usually sleeps until 3 or 3:30. It has been more of an adjustment for ME than her, since I now have to figure out how to do everything I need to do in just 2 or 2.5 hours compared to 4 or 5 hours between two naps!

Favorite Foods:  Blueberries, apples, grapes, cantaloupe, cheese, hot dogs, corn, crackers, strawberries, grilled cheese, turkey, blueberry waffles, edamame, black beans, baked beans, green beans, peas, stir fry, spaghetti and meatballs.

Developments:  Jon said this weekend that he is amazed at how much H just “gets things” now. For example, she is getting really good at recognizing and naming things she sees in her books (bears, bunnies, ducks, shoes, socks, all sorts of foods, to name a few!) and just when we are out and about. At the lake this past weekend, she walked right up to a painting of two ducks and said “ducks. quack quack quack!!” without anyone ever telling her or pointing them out to her. And today at the doctor’s office, she pointed straight to this huge circle painted on the wall and said, “bubble!” (close! haha). It usually takes only one or two times of telling her what something is and she will remember it even hours and days later, it amazes me. 

She is using a fork and spoon at every meal these days, and really doesn’t eat much without them (unless it’s something she LOVES in which case she shovels it into her mouth with her hands as fast as she can…). It has been fun to watch her motor skills develop as she has learned to use the fork to pick up the food. It was slow work at first but she has really gotten the hang of it and meal time isn’t taking us an hour + anymore. :)

She still loves to point out (and name) her body parts when we ask (eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, head, hair, ears, belly button, feet, toes, fingers, hands, tongue, elbow, knee). She also is still a big fan of making animal sounds (cow, duck, goose, lion, tiger, bear, dog, cat, bird) and is learning more with her Little People Zoo Talkers (one of her favorite toys!).

The girl is the happiest outside. In fact, most days, that is all I hear while we are inside… “out-siiiide, out-SIIIDE, OUT-SIIIIIIDDDEEEEE!!”. We take tons of wagon rides, stroller rides, and rides in her car.  I am so. ready. for warmer weather (Dear Mother Nature, it is April, get with the program!) and days at the pool and lake. H will think she has died and gone to heaven being outside all the time!

H is already very (VERY) independent. She wants to do everything herself and will often pitch a fit if I try to help her or (heaven forbid) stop her. And yep—the tantrums have definitely started as well. Mostly stemming from me telling her “no” or not letting her do things on her own, she will lay down on the floor on her stomach and flail her arms and legs. I mostly just ignore her, and she usually stops within a minute or so. I know this is only the beginning…….

Favorite Things/Activities: More repeats from previous months. Her bears and bunnies (and any stuffed animals). Giving kisses and hugs. Talking (ALL the time). Spinning around/being dizzy. Being outside/going for walks. Ralph. Dancing. Bath time. Sesame Street. Her “Little People” toys. Books. Juice. Milk. Running from us while we “chase” her around the house. Pulling anything and everything off of every shelf and out of every drawer that she can get her hands on. My iPhone. Being cheered for (she’s a total ham when we clap and cheer). Eating (sometimes). Sleeping (she is her father’s child!). Getting dressed (especially putting on shoes). Refrigerator magnets. Her ball pit. Doing things herself. Throwing and kicking any kind of ball.  

New Words: I think it might be time to take this category off, because she is learning so many new words and using them in context now that there is no way I could ever remember them all! The ones I can think of that are new are “Papaw” (Jon’s dad), “cow”, “Abby” (both from Sesame Street and Jon’s parents’ dog), “duck” (her newest obsession), “stop”, “let’s go”, “bubble”, “rock”, and “outside”. 

Firsts This Month: I really should write these down, because I have such a hard time remembering!The ones I can think of are: Hadley went to her first NC State Baseball game a few weeks ago, and loved it! (She went to the NC State landmark Amedeo’s for dinner afterwards for the first time too). 

Nicknames: There are still so many. We like to call her: Ma’am, Ma’amy, Jams (by Daddy), Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks, Jenkins, Jenkers, Stinkins, Stinks, H, Sweet Pea, Sweet Cheeks, Beautiful, Hadley McGee, Sugar, Shug, Honey Bunny, Missy, Shorty (by Pop), Darlin, Baby Doll, etc. etc. etc.!

What I’m Thankful For: My husband. I have had not one but two (though one WAY worse than the other…) stomach bugs this month, and he stepped up and stayed home to take care of not only Hadley but also me! I couldn’t have done it without him and appreciate all he did (and does) for us. :) Love you, Jon!

What I’m Looking Forward To: Our birthday month! Jon’s birthday is the 15th, and mine is the 29th (and Jon’s mom’s is the 15th, Miki’s is the 23rd, Kyle’s is the 24th…) so we will be doing lots of birthday celebrating this month. :) I am also looking forward to some WARMER WEATHER (so hurry up!!!). 

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 18 month appointment is July 2nd.

I have done better about taking pictures this month! So here are a ton… however, I am withholding some from Easter because I hope to do a separate post with photos from all of our Easter activities later this week! :)

Hope everyone has a great week! I promise I’ll be back soon with the Easter update. :)

-S

Hi, friends! I’m keeping up with the theme of posting things late, yet again. I’m only about 2 weeks late on this one, ha! Anyway, I won’t make excuses, I’ll just get right into the update. ;)

Weight/Length: According to our scale (which isn’t the most reliable, I admit), she is 22.4 lbs. She is around 31-31.5 inches long, and still wearing 12-18 month clothes…she can still wear some 12 month stuff but has outgrown some of it and moved into 18 months shirts and outfits.

Sleep: Still 9-9:30 bedtime and waking up around 9 or 9:30. The only change here has come in the last two weeks or so, which has been that she is fighting her morning nap some days. I am just not QUITE ready for her to give it up, so I am still putting her down for it. Some days she will just play for the whole 1.5-2 hours, and other days she will go right to sleep. As long as she isn’t fussing/mad about it I am going to still put her down for it for as long as I can! Luckily, the days she doesn’t take the morning nap, it doesn’t seem to affect her mood at all, so that’s a plus. Most people I have asked have told me that their kids dropped the morning nap around 15 months, so I suppose we are getting close! Like I said, I’m not in any hurry for her to give it up, haha!

Favorite Foods:  Blueberries, apples, grapes, cantaloupe, cheese, crackers, strawberries, cherry tomatoes (some days!), grilled cheese, turkey, blueberry waffles, smoothies, edamame, black beans, peas, stir fry, spaghetti and meatballs.

Developments:  Still walking/running and climbing on EVERYTHING. She never, ever slows down. She definitely helps me get my exercise just by running after her!

I’ve said it a million times, but she is such a little sponge. She knows and will point to and name many of her body parts, including: eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, head, hair ears, belly button, feet, hands, and just recently, tongue.

She can make the sounds that a cow, duck (“cack cack cack”), goose (“honk honk”), and lion (a big “raaawr”) make, and she will mimick others (dog, cat, bear) but hasn’t quite mastered those yet. She also knows the name of and will point out lots of different types of fruit if we ask her…apples, blueberries, grapes, bananas, cantaloupe (“caan-low”), and strawberries (“staw-bwee”). She knows that if I tell her something is “hot” to stay away from it (fireplaces and space heaters) and will say “hot” and point to it from across the room. She has a few books called “first words” and “colors” that have just a picture and word on each page, and she can name a lot of things just by looking at the pictures (apple, shoe, sock, blueberry, ball, baby, bear) and it seems like she learns a new one or two to name every day. 

She is currently obsessed with shoes, which is good considering that she has about 92302093852 pairs (thank you, Aunt Jennifer), ha! She knows the difference between “shoes” and “boots” and loves to play in my closet and show me which are shoes and which are boots, and she loves to try them all on!

She has a little purse that has keys, lipstick, a debit card, wallet, lipstick, and a phone in it. She will pull out the phone and say “hello, Lilly!” (any time she plays with a toy phone we tell her that Lilly is calling!). If I ask her if she’s ready to go drive her car, she will pull out the keys…and when I ask her “where’s your lipstick?” she will pull it out and “put it on” flawlessly—my aunts and Granny would be proud! ;)

She still does great with entertaining herself… but I feel like we are starting to get a little repetitive with activities each day. I have been scouring Pinterest for activities for busy toddlers and have found a few things that I want to try…I will report back if I find any good ones, and if anyone has any good ideas for me, please share! I, for one, am surely ready for some warmer weather (after all, March is here…time for Spring!) and time at the pool/lake this summer.

These are the main things I can think of that she has been doing lately, but I’m sure I’ll think of more once I post, as usual!

Favorite Things/Activities: Going to leave some repeats from last month, because many are still the same! Her bears (and any stuffed animals). Giving kisses and hugs. Talking (ALL the time). Spinning around. Being outside/going for walks. Ralph. Dancing (I need to get a pic of the little “shuffle” that she does…adorable). Bath time.  Her “Little People” toys. Books. Juice. Running from us while we “chase” her around the house. Pulling anything and everything off of every shelf and out of every drawer that she can get her hands on. Being cheered for (she’s a total ham when we clap and cheer). Eating. Sleeping (she is her father’s child!). Her Aunt Jennifer (“Compton” to Hadley…and we’re trying to get her to start calling her “Coach” too, haha!). Getting dressed (especially putting on shoes). Refrigerator magnets. Her ball pit. 

New Words: There is no way I will ever be able to list all of these each month, but I think I can name the main new ones this month. Blueberry. Compton. Pop. Kyle (she can finally say it correctly instead of “i-kull” like before). Strawberry. Hot. More. Help, and help please. Hadley.

Something kinda funny she has been saying, she picked up from me. It all started with me bending down to pick her up and saying “ohhh goodness” one day. About 10 or 15 minutes later, I saw her bend over and pick up one of her teddy bears and she said, clear as day, “ohhh goodness”. I couldn’t stop laughing… and now I realize more than ever that I need to watch my mouth! Anyway, now she says it ALL the time, and almost always in context, too. Funny girl.

Firsts This Month: Hadley experienced her first snow!!We were worried that we might not get any this year, but a couple weeks ago, we got a couple of inches (it wasn’t a ton, but enough to go out and run around in)…and Hadley LOVED it! I planned to do a post with photos from that, but let’s be honest I’ll probably never get around to it  I think I’ll just put them in here, so please excuse the photo overload. ;)

I can’t talk about the snow without sharing a collection of photos from H’s first time “eating it” in the snow. I know it shouldn’t be funny…but it is. And she was just fine, and happy again in just a minute. ;)

Nicknames: There are still so many. We like to call her: Ma’am, Ma’amy, Jams (by Daddy), Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks, Jenkins, Jenkers, Stinkins, Stinks, H, Sweet Pea, Sweet Cheeks, Beautiful, Hadley McGee, Sugar, Shug, Honey Bunny, Missy, Shorty (by Pop), Darlin, Baby Doll, etc. etc. etc.!

What I’m Thankful For: It is always so tough to narrow this one down, because there are so many. I think this month I will go with Hadley’s “Aunt” Jennifer, one of my best friends since 6th grade. She loves H so much and spoils her beyond belief… and H loves her, too! We love you “Compton”! :)

What I’m Looking Forward To: A busy but fun month of March! I have a bunch of fun spring photo sessions coming up and we have lots of family time planned. I can’t wait! Also…March Madness, aka ACC/NCAA basketball tourney time (Go State!)!!!

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 15 month appointment is April 2nd.

Here are the photos I have taken this month… we did a couple of Valentine’s day quick sessions, so that is what most of them are from…enjoy!

All for now… hope everyone has a great week!

-S