Dear Hadley,

I apologize for being a few days late on this letter this month. As I’m sure you will soon come to realize, your birthday falls at the absolute busiest time of the year! Anyway, just four days ago, you turned ONE. One. year. old. How is that even possible?!?! It truly seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital, wondering how in the world those nurses let us take you home since we had absolutely NO idea what we were doing! ;) 

I have had a few days now to reflect on our year together. To be completely honest, in probably every other year of my life, I would be able to list off close to an equal amount of highs and lows…but from this year, thanks to you, all I can think of are highs. So, here is just my short reflection of what has definitely been the best year of my life (again, all thanks to you) to date.

We have been so incredibly blessed with a whole year of perfect health for you. Not even a runny nose! I know that cold and flu season is upon us, so I am preparing myself that our lucky streak may soon end. But, you are tough and I know that we can get through whatever may come!

Like I mentioned earlier, when your Daddy and I left the hospital with you, we felt like we knew nothing. I am not exaggerating. In the hospital, it was great because we had nurses helping us and guiding us… but after only two short days, they turned us loose with you. I have never felt so unprepared in my life (and I know your Daddy felt the same way). But, guess what? We learned. And I feel like we did a pretty dang good job, if I do say so myself. ;) We grew up and learned right along with you, of course with plenty of help and advice from our parents, family and friends. Learning to be a parent has been the most fulfilling job of our lives and we are still learning something new every day.

It was especially amazing for me to watch your Daddy with you in those early days… he was so nervous that he was going to break you, or do something wrong. But instead of just deferring the duties to me, he took the reigns and made sure that he learned, too. He even took over as “chief bather”—his special one-on-one time with you every day. Sometimes I will stand outside the bathroom door and listen to the two of you during bath time. He is so silly and you LOVE it…there are always tons of giggles. I swear I fall more and more in love with him every day, just from watching him with you. He loves you so much, and anyone around you two can see that.

I can’t talk about the high points of this year without at least briefly mentioning what a great sleeper you are and have been. From the very beginning, you slept 6-7 hour stretches, which quickly became 9-10 hour stretches… and then (and still now) 12-13 hour stretches. Naps have also been a breeze for the most part—you really just love to sleep (you most DEFINITELY get that from your Daddy!). To say we have been lucky with you being a great sleeper is the understatement of the century. So thank you, baby girl, for making that part so easy on us!

One of the most special times came just a couple months after you were born, when you flashed us that first smile. Talk about heart melting. It sort of felt like confirmation that you were indeed happy…and that you loved us as much as we loved you! I can also say that even now, a year later, those smiles still make me melt inside a little. And then there were the giggles. When those started, we became infatuated with making you laugh. Still now, whatever we find that makes you laugh, we will do over and over and over because it is the BEST sound in the world. You are such a sweet girl!

One of my favorite memories from your first year is when we went on your first beach trip with the Aldridges—we got to spend a whole week in Cherry Grove with your Mamaw and Papaw, Aunt Heather, and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Aldridge. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, them (getting to spend a whole week with you), you (having someone to play with you 24/7), or us (having SO much help that we started feeling guilty that we weren’t having to do anything!). Anyway, you loved the beach and we all loved getting to spend such precious time with the family. I know that the photos from that trip will be some that we look back on with the fondest memories. 

Speaking of grandparents and great-greatparents, watching all four of your grandparents and all six of your great-grandparents with you has been the sweetest thing. They all ADORE you, little miss. There is no way I could ever adequately explain it, but I hope that one day when you look back on the photos of you with them, you will be able to see the love and adoration. We have tried to make a conscious effort to make many trips home to see everyone and to invite them up to our house to see you…but hopefully it won’t be too long until we will be back “home” (just somewhere closer to our families) and you will get to see them even more. It is so important for us for you to grow up knowing the importance of a close family…and you are beyond blessed to have one of the BEST (though sometimes crazy, haha) families there is. 

I could talk about your physical developments all day, but I’ll try to keep it short. Life changed a lot for us shortly before you turned 6 months old, when you learned to sit up on your own. Play time changed drastically, since you were able to sit and play with your toys. And then (it seems like it was almost overnight) came the crawling, and pulling up to standing. This made me nervous, since you would pull up on anything you could get your hands on, sturdy or not. You got the hang of that quickly, though, and soon began exploring the world around you. You are SO curious about what everything is, how it works, what it tastes like… you are happy as can be when I just let you roam free and let you check everything out. Most recently came the walking! You are still learning and getting better at it, but you show little to no fear, which of course triggers the fear in me (so many corners, ah!), but I am making an effort to let you go and explore, even if it means the occasional bruise or two. I want you to grow up to be independent and tough, which you are already proving to be.

The most recent exciting development is just how extremely aware you are of everything around you. You have an excellent memory, and are learning several new words every day (most recently “bear”, “Ralph”, “Bekah”, “all done”, and “whoa”), and it is SO MUCH FUN! If we ask you where your bear is (only one particular bear, though), you will go find it, and you know who Ralph, Mama, and Dada are and will point to us if we ask you to. The sweetest thing you have learned lately is to give kisses. You will kiss anything/anyone if we ask you to (Daddy hopes this isn’t a problem later…), and you will do it a lot even if we DON’T ask you to (your bear and I receive the most kisses, for sure). I can’t even imagine how it will feel when I hear the first “I love you too, Mommy”… just the thought brings tears!

Finally, the biggest “high” I can think of from your first year is simply how we have grown as a family. We have started traditions that I hope to carry on for many years to come. We have determined what things are important to us as a family, and what ideals and morals we want to stand for and instill within you and our future children. Most importantly, your Daddy and I have fallen more and more in love with each other and with you with each passing day. I hope that you will always feel the love coming from us and that you will grow up to love others and God with your whole heart and without reservation. I also hope you know that your Daddy and I will always be here for you no. matter. what. and that we will always be your biggest supporters. You are the light of our lives and by far the best thing that we have ever done! 

I have said it over and over again, but I still can’t believe that you are one year old. Happy birthday, and thank you for blessing us by just being you, sweet Hadley Jo. I love you to the moon and back, and cannot wait to see what the next year brings us—if it brings half as much joy as the first year, we will be the luckiest little family in the world. 

Love,

Mommy

First off, I want to say a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sweet Hadley. Yesterday was an amazing day full of family and celebrating Little Miss. I promise to blog about her first birthday party at some point when I have a few seconds to breathe… (what were we thinking having a Christmas baby?!). We had a great day and Hadley is so blessed to have so many people who love her.

So. Remember this post where I vowed to take a photo of Hadley every day for her first year? I am proud to say that not only did I accept the challenge, but I completed it! I am not going to lie…it was a LOT of work. And there were plenty of days where it was 11 pm and I realized “crap, I forgot to take her photo today” (hence the ones where she’s sleeping in her crib…I crept in stealth mode to take an iphone photo for those, ha!). But I did it!

Full disclosure, I missed ONE day, but it was at the very beginning when we were so tired, and I realized it around 4:30 a.m. the next day and immediately took the photo then…and waited until late that night to take the next one. So TECHNICALLY I missed one. Sue me. ;)

Jon worked really hard to put them all together and to splice in some videos of some of our favorite moments from Hadley’s first year (thanks, babe!). I am still in disbelief that she is officially one year old. Someone told me before I got pregnant, “If you want to see how fast a year can fly by…have a baby”. SO TRUE!!! 

Without further ado…here is the culmination of my “365 days of Hadley” photo project (set to one of our favorite songs by our favorite band…the Avett Brothers). We love you Hadley Jo!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

-S

First off, I want to wish my bestie Sarah a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! Loved spending the weekend with you and hope you have a fabulous day today! xoxoxo

I have been needing/wanting/meaning to write a weekly update for WEEKS… bad mama! Life has just been so. crazy. lately. I feel like I barely have any time to stop and sit down at the computer and when I do, I need to be editing photos (the new photography business is definitely keeping me busy and I am l-o-v-i-n-g it!). Anyway, excuses, excuses. This really should probably be called H’s “one year update”, however I am currently still in denial that my baby turns one on Saturday… so 51 weeks it is! ;)

Sit back and relax, because this is gonna be a long one, folks. In fact, I think I will just break it into two posts because that seems easier for me to tackle than one gigantic one. So, I’ll head straight to the stats. 

Weight/Length: I’m gonna hold off on her official one year stats until her doctor appointment, but my guess is around 20 lbs and 30ish inches long. She is getting longer and longer and is continuing to slim down—she is long and skinny! She is wearing all 12 month or 12-18 month clothes now, and still in size 3 diapers.

Sleep: The only real change here is that recently, we have transitioned to one 3 or 3.5 hour nap a day for most days, unless she just seems really tired and then she will take two shorter ones. She is back to sleeping late again…bed time is around 9:30 or so and she sleeps until somewhere around 9:30 or 10. 

One sleep-related thing to note is that just a few days after my last update, (I think at around 10.5 months?), H decided she no longer wanted her paci to sleep. Up until that point, she used it only at bed time…but she took it upon herself to get rid of it, which was fine with me because I was planning to take it away at a year old anyway. ;) Anyway, for a couple weeks after she gave it up, she would fuss and sometimes cry a little bit (sometimes for 10-15 minutes) when going down for naps and bed time, but she got over that pretty quick and now will just play in her crib until she is tired and then she’ll lay down and go to sleep. Couldn’t have asked for an easier transition as far as that goes… I was nervous about it, though!

Feeding: I sure do miss the days when she would just eat anything and everything I put in front of her. She is still a pretty good eater in that she loves pretty much all veggies and definitely ALL fruits, but she is weird with some textures, and she is just very moody about it! I can give her the same thing 3 days in a row and she will gobble it up…then try to give it to her the next day and she acts like she is gagging and throws it all on the floor which is part of the reason Ralph has gotten so fat. It is sometimes a struggle, but I am trying to be persistent in making her try things a lot of times (I read somewhere that it takes 7 times of trying foods to develop a taste for them?) even if she just spits it right back out. 

One thing to note is that I am AMAZED at how much the child can eat for breakfast. I suppose it is because she goes so long between meals from bed time to breakfast, but she seriously eats more than I ever could for breakfast! A typical morning meal for her is: a banana, blueberries or cantaloupe, oatmeal or multigrain cereal with fruit mixed in, a mini bagel or piece of toast, one egg with or without cheese, and a cereal bar (she LOVES Trader Joe’s cereal bars). Seriously. I don’t know where she puts it. Or how she doesn’t weigh 40 pounds. Guess she inherited my metabolism, ha!

We are down to nursing once or sometimes twice a day, still aiming toward weaning at a year old. (Which is only 5 days away. WHAT?!) I have not had any problem saying that I am planning to wean at a year… but now that it is so soon, I am definitely starting to feel sad about it. I find myself enjoying every second of our nursing sessions now, and I am trying to take it all in and remember just how precious those moments are. It is just so hard for me to admit that H really isn’t a baby anymore. I will say that nursing her for this year has been one of the most fulfilling, amazing parts of her first year for me. It hasn’t always been easy… but it is one of the best decisions that I made. Now… who has advice for me on weaning completely/introducing cow’s milk? I am not really sure how to go about any of that!

Developments: Whew. I don’t know where to start with this. It seems like EVERYTHING has changed since my last post, which was only 6 weeks ago! 

I guess the biggest development is that H is officially walking (I think the most I have counted is about 17 or 18 steps)! She took her first steps just last week, but it is crazy to me how fast she is learning! She is still wobbly and learning to catch her balance…and usually once she loses her balance and topples over, she will just crawl to wherever she is trying to go to. It won’t be long though, I know, before walking is her main means of getting from place to place. Just in the last few days, she is walking from place to place on her own (without encouragement from us, which is the only way she would do it for the first week). This makes me very nervous, because like I said, she is still very wobbly and susceptible to hitting her head/face on so many things! Now more than ever, I feel like she can’t be out of my sight for a second!

Hadley still loves books. ANY books. She especially loves to turn the pages. I am excited about her getting some new books for Christmas/her birthday…and I know she will be, too!

She is repeating more and more sounds/words that we say. She says “dall done” (all done), “walllph” (Ralph), “byyyeeee”, “hi”, “hey”, “da da”, “yaaay”, “yuckkkkk” (emphasis on the kkk), and drumroll…….FINALLY “mama”! It took her long enough! And she normally really just says it when she is crying and/or fussing, but at least she is saying it, and I know that she knows what it means. ;) I think I have remembered most of the words, but I’m sure I will think of more after I post this.

Pretty much her favorite activity of late is finding any cabinet, shelf, or drawer that she can get to and completely clearing its contents. This keeps her entertained for hours each day… it also keeps me extremely busy, making sure that she isn’t getting into things that she shouldn’t and of course, cleaning it all up! She just loves to explore and to examine new things…I can see her wheels turning as she checks everything out.

She loves to go for walks in her stroller, or rides in her car. She generally just loves being outside, so we try to go for at least one walk or trip out a day. She LOVES grocery shopping (lots of things/people to look at), especially at Trader Joe’s, where many of the cashiers know her by name. :)

A seriously cute/sweet development is that H loves to give hugs and sloppy, wet kisses now. Mostly to me, but sometimes to Jon, too, if she is feeling particularly sweet. There is no better feeling in the world than her wrapping those little arms around my neck and then slobbering all over my face.

The last “development” I can think of is that my sweet girl unfortunately now realizes when bows are in her hair, and she is not having it. :( She pulls them out immediately…and if I try to distract her and/or force her arms down so she can’t take them out, it only takes a few minutes before she pulls it right out. :( Whoever told me that if you start them young with wearing the bows, then they will be more likely to keep them in when they get older…you lied! ;) We will keep trying, though!

Firsts This Month: First trip to cut down our Christmas tree! First steps. First time in big girl bathtub. First time meeting Santa Claus (fail). This is all I can remember for now, but I will come back and update if I think of more later.:)

Nicknames: The nicknames are really out of control lately. I don’t know if she even knows her real name! We like to call her: Ma’am, Ma’amy, Jams (by Daddy), Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks, Jenkins, Jenkers, Stinkins, Stinks, Chunkster or Chunks, 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: One year of perfect health for Hadley. (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!) We haven’t even had a runny/stuffy nose. Praying this continues and thanking God every day for our happy, healthy girl!

What I’m Looking Forward To: The holidays (3.5 days until Jon is off work until after the new year)! And H’s first birthday party with our family this weekend. I love this time of year!!

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 12 month (!!!!!!!) appointment is January 3rd.

So, I started going through all the photos from the last 6 weeks. There are a LOT (shocking, I know). So, here are the photos from November… I will post the ones from December either tonight or tomorrow. :) Without further ado, here’s what my sweet pea has been up to!

Whew. That was a lot. More to come soon, I hope! ;)

Happy week before Christmas!! 

-S

I had big hopes and dreams for H’s first encounter with Santa Claus, I have to admit. She LOVES people, and I was really hoping that when she sat on Santa’s lap for the first time, she would just be intrigued by him, pull on his beard, etc. I’ll just cut to the chase and say that unfortunately, that was NOT the case. ;)

This week, Jon and I took H to Ruckus Pizza in Cary (we LOVE their pizza!!) to eat and to meet Santa. I heard from a good friend that the Santa there was legit (this was very important to us… I wanted real beard, good outfit, etc…), and the best part was that it was free to have the photos taken, they gave you a CD for free… it was all for donations for Free to Breathe Lung Cancer Awareness. H got to meet Santa for the first time AND we got to give to a worthy charity? A win-win for sure. :)

H was in a pretty good mood, so I really thought she would be good… sit on his lap, give us a few “cheeses”, and we’d be done with it. However. It was not all I hoped and dreamed. I put her on his lap and here is what happened:

Yeah. So pitiful, right? Bless her heart. :( I was standing off to the side (I am who H is looking at like, “please save me!”), and I was saying to Santa “I am so, so sorry, I didn’t think she would react like this!”… he told me he was “batting a thousand” for the day, and that every single baby her age had screamed. He kept saying “please don’t apologize, I’m used to it”, but I still felt terrible for him! To say the least, Little Miss was quite terrified of him. I really hope she isn’t scarred for life!

The photographer suggested that maybe H would be happier if I sat on Santa’s lap with her….you can see that it took her a minute, but that seemed to do the trick. She just needed a little TLC from Mommy and then Santa wasn’t so scary. ;)

She was just fine, no tears, just chilling as long as I was there. So I figured, let’s try again with Santa, she’ll be fine now! (dun dun dun…)

All I can say is… we are so, so sorry, Hadley. I hope we didn’t scar you for life. ;) Like Aunt Bekah said, “I don’t know why they had to make Santa look so scary, anyway.” 

After posting a few of the photos on Facebook… several people have mentioned that these photos are priceless and will make for great senior yearbook photos one day… haha! I was almost feeling guilty for posting them until I had tons of parents tell me that they have the same photos of their kids with Santa. Hopefully next year will be better…?! ;)

Merry Christmas! 

-S

Last Sunday (the Sunday after Thanksgiving), Jon, Hadley and I started a new family tradition. After church, we headed up to Boone, NC to cut down our Christmas tree! Technically this year is Hadley’s 2nd Christmas (she was born on December 22), but I feel like she kind of got jipped (or is it gipped?) since she was just a few days old last year…the whole holiday season 2011 is kind of just a blur to all of us! Anyway, we obviously got our Christmas tree last year before H made her grand debut, but this year we wanted to start a new tradition of going to the mountains to cut one down!

I have actually never been to the mountains to do this, but Jon did it sometimes growing up. We thought it would be something fun to start now when she is little and then go every year from now on. The mountains of Boone are gorgeous, and just the drive up to the tree farm made the trip worth it. God’s country!

We went to Dark Mountain Tree Farm with my sister Bekah, her husband, Kyle, and my mom (my dad had something at church that he was afraid he wouldn’t be back for). Hadley (and Jon) slept most of the way up, which isn’t unusual. ;) Anyway, the tree farm was awesome! They had a pretty barn with wreaths, etc. for sale and also a fun little trolley ride pulled by a tractor that took us out to where the trees were. It was cooooold, but luckily Bekah let me borrow a coat and gloves of hers…and Hadley sported her super cute toboggan and gloves that Meemaw (my mom) made for her. Of course we took the opportunity for quite a few photo ops since we had Bekah there to take some of our family (I am usually the one BEHIND the camera, not in front!). 

When we got out to where the trees were…I was SERIOUSLY overwhelmed. SO. Many. Trees!!! But it was so pretty!

We walked around for a LONG time before finding the perfect tree: a 7.5 footer that was just perfect for our living room. (It actually ended up being more like 8 feet which was too tall for our living room but we won’t talk about it… Jon fixed it right up!) :)

Shortly after we found ours, Bekah and Kyle found their perfect tree. They are goofballs. ;)

The tree farm was one where the workers come and cut the trees down for you, so they came and cut them down and had them taken out front for us, while we headed back down the hill to take the trolley back. As we were walking down…this happened. I would like to say that I didn’t laugh…but I couldn’t help it (she was ok). My mom will kill me when she sees I posted this, but oh well! ;) (Love you Mom!)

On our way down, Jon snapped a couple sweet pics of me with my girl. :)

We had a great time choosing our tree, and Hadley loved the mountain air, the ride out to the trees and helping us pick one out. :) I am looking forward to keeping this tradition for many years to come!

We spent several nights last week decorating the house for Christmas…here is the finished product. I LOVE Christmastime!!!!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend! I’m off to edit about a million pics while H is napping. ;)

-S

Dear Hadley,

It is so fitting that your “monthly birthday” this month falls on Thanksgiving. I can’t imagine anything that we are more thankful for this year than you! Because it is Thanksgiving, I am going to take a little different approach to my monthly letter than usual and let you know what I am thankful for on your 11 month birthday and very first Thanksgiving.

First off, I am thankful for our little family. We were already pretty blessed when it was just your Daddy, Ralph and me, but adding you to our family has brought more happiness, love, laughter, and joy than we could have ever dreamed of. We say it all the time, “What on earth did we do before Hadley was here?!”. The answer to that question is, we were really lazy. We prayed for you for so long, sweet girl, and God went above and beyond when he blessed us with you.

I am beyond thankful that I am lucky enough to get to stay home with you. It is hands down the best decision I have ever made, even though it has definitely involved some sacrifices. No sacrifice is too great, though, if it means I am able to spend my days with you. We have so much fun!! You are quite literally attached to my hip the majority of the time…a Mama’s girl through and through. You are my mini BFF, and I can pretty confidently say that I am your best friend, too. Fingers crossed that this lasts a long time, because I can’t imagine it being any other way.

I am thankful for your smiles. And your laughs! Especially the ones that come from deep down in your belly. Nothing is better than the huge grins I get each time I come to get you after you wake up. And those laughs—there is no. better. sound. in the world! Sometimes your Daddy and I will do the same thing over and over and over as long as you will keep laughing. Those are the moments that I know we will remember forever.

Speaking of your laughs, I am so, so thankful for your Daddy, who gets you laughing like no one else can. (He is the person you are looking at when you are cheesing in all these photos!) You love him so much, and it is no secret that you have the most fun with him. You light up each day when he gets home, and you can almost see his heart melt when you do. ;) I am thankful that he supports us and works so hard for both of us. I am positive that he is the best Daddy and loves you more than he ever thought he was capable of. I hope you find a man just like him one day (I don’t think there are many out there, but you will be the luckiest girl in the world if you do).

I am thankful for your personality. You are one-of-a-kind… sweet, mischievous, smart, wild, bashful, scheming, and snuggly, somehow all at the same time. You keep us on our toes, that is for sure. You are so full of wonder and delight in the smallest things… a great reminder to us to always live in the moment. And you definitely keep us laughing all of the time!!!

I am thankful for your grandparents…and great-grandparents! You are so lucky to have four grandparents who basically think you hung the moon and SIX great-grandparents who feel the same way. They are a huge support system for us and I am so grateful for their unending love and support. From the advice, to the gifts, to the babysitting—you are one super lucky little girl to have them all!

Finally, I am just so very thankful for you. For this life. You and your Daddy are my whole world, and what better day to reflect on this than Thanksgiving (though I seriously feel like my heart could burst from being so full on any given day). Thank you for being you, and for making this life so great.

One more month until you are the big o-n-e. I can’t believe it. I can only hope the next days, months, and years are as amazing as the first 11 months have been. I am one thankful mama.

Love,

Mommy

Happy Election Day! But I’m not going to blog about that because it makes my blood pressure go through the roof and I really just want to love everybody. Just ready for it to be over and to know the results. :)

Soooo it has been OVER a month since I wrote an “official” update. Like I said in my last post, I’ve been a bit busy with launching my photography business…oh and with keeping up with a 10.5 month old who is FAST AS LIGHTNING and into everything! 

As usual, a lot has happened since the last update. The most notable being that I feel like Hadley has grown from a baby to a toddler in just a few short weeks! She is definitely not a “little baby” anymore, and this makes me both sad and happy: sad that she’s not so little anymore, and happy that she is growing and loving her little life!

Weight/Length: Bad mama, but I’m not really sure. I weighed her at some point last week and per our scale she was just under 20 lbs (19.8), but I am not sure if that is reliable. She was 28 1/2 inches long at my last post and I know she has gotten longer, because she is getting too long for her 9 month sleepers now, so I will guess she is around 29+ inches long. :) She is definitely outgrowing quite a bit of her 9 month clothes and is moving to some 12 month stuff now…but her 6-12 month stuff is still fitting quite nicely which is good because there are about a million things in her closet she hasn’t worn yet!

Sleep: No changes here… so thankful for a good sleeper. I was just telling someone the other day that I don’t think I realize JUST how lucky we are, but seriously since H started sleeping through the night (6 or 7 weeks I think?), she has literally never woken us up in the middle of the night. That is not to say she hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night, but when she does, she doesn’t cry or fuss to wake us up. And that is also not to say that we haven’t had a couple mornings where she has woken up abnormally early, but for the most part she sleeps for ridiculously long stretches and we are so. lucky. Everyone tells me to enjoy it because the 2nd child will probably not sleep until he or she is 2! ;) 

Daylight savings time threw her for a little bit of a loop (much earlier bed time and much earlier wake time), but I think we are back on track now with a 9:00ish bedtime, and she sleeps until 8:30 or 9 each morning. Still taking two naps a day, around 2 hours each (sometimes a little shorter or longer, just depends on the day). 

Feeding: The girl still loves to eat. Anything. When she tries something new that she likes, she gets REALLY excited and I can’t give it to her fast enough. I would estimate that she is eating 75% finger foods (feeding herself) and 25% purees (I just have so many in the freezer that I need to use up!). Her current favorites are bananas (yep, they are her favorite now even though she despised them at first), cheese, turkey, any type of bread, edamame, apples, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, pizza, cheeseburgers, chicken… really the girl likes everything. I really, really, REALLY hope that she will continue to be a great eater even through toddlerhood!

We are still nursing 4 or 5 times a day, but I think we will soon be cutting back to 3 times a day. She isn’t nearly as interested as she once was (she gets extremely distracted by anything/everything) and we are moving toward weaning at a year old (which is sooo close, sigh!). I am having mixed feelings about weaning; I have loved (almost) every minute of breastfeeding and it is hard for me to believe it has almost been a year. I love how close it makes me feel to her and it has definitely been an amazing experience. 

Developments: Like I said, Hadley is still all over the place. She is ridiculously fast at crawling, and she cruises all around everywhere holding onto the furniture, her toys, etc. This week, we bought her this push toy with her halloween money (yes, Hadley’s grandparents and great-grandparents sent her “halloween money”…spoiled girl) and she LOVES it! She caught right onto what she was supposed to do with it and now is walking all over the place pushing it. In fact, I snagged a video of her using it the first day we got it:

I don’t know how long it will be until she is walking by herself, but it’s crazy to me that she is big enough to even be walking behind something now. She can stand up by herself now for 20-30 seconds at a time (before she sees somewhere she wants to go and sits down, starts crawling and is off!). 

In teeth-related news, she now has 6 teeth! I think the last time I updated, she had 4 (2 on top and 2 on bottom), but 2 more have come in on the top. They came in much like the others, with little to no indication that they were coming in (except maybe a day or two where she fussed a tiny bit more than normal). She has a gap between her front teeth as of now, and I have nicknamed her Michael Strahan, and Jon tells me I am being ugly…but I think it is seriously cute!! She uses those cute little teeth to chomp down on food, and I have been calling her a little rabbit. :)

She is mimicking more and more sounds/words that we say. She will say “all done” when she’s finished with her food (my mom told me I should not be teaching her bad grammar, that I should teach her “all finished”…whatever, Mom ;)). She says “hi” and “hey” and “ba ba” (“bye bye”) when she feels like it, but not necessarily whenever I ask her to say it for other people. ;) She is also still a big fan of giving high fives and clapping. 

Her absolute favorite thing to do these days is reading! Well, being read to, I mean. :) She will crawl over to her bookshelf, pull down several books, and push them to me while crawling, then climb into my lap and will sit there as long as I will read. I have read Ten Little Ladybugs and Where is Baby’s Belly Button (along with about 10 other Karen Katz books, they are the best!) at least 5 million times. The lift-the-flap books and any books that have textures and things to touch/feel are her favorite. As soon as she sees the flaps she is grabbing to open them. She also loves to turn the pages and if you turn one without letting her do it, she will turn it back just so she can turn it (I am already foreseeing hearing lots of “I do it!”). I am so happy that she loves books and I am looking forward to her getting lots of new books for her birthday/Christmas. 

P.S. THANK YOU for the farm animals book, Laura!! It is one of her favorites, she loves the animal sounds!!

One hilarious discovery she has made this week involves the bathroom. Specifically, the toilet. I had her in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready one day this week. She was sitting on the floor happily playing with a toy, so I turned my back for literally 5 seconds to brush my teeth before I heard splashing. Yep, baby girl found her way into the toilet water! After washing her hands AND rubbing hand sanitizer all the way up to her shoulders, I sat her back down and started to dry my hair. It was this time that she discovered her new favorite obsession…the toilet paper roll. I am not sure what the fascination is, but she is seriously obsessed. I have to watch her like a hawk or she is trying to crawl to each bathroom and get her hands on it and start unrolling it!

Firsts This Month: First time walking behind her push toy. First trip to the pumpkin patch. First Halloween (no trick-or-treating because she is obviously too young for candy, but we had a good time hanging out with our neighbors in the cul de sac and walking around and seeing everyone’s costumes!).  First time on NC State’s campus (I think she loved it)… I’m sure there are plenty more but I just can’t remember!

Nicknames: Little Miss, Haddles, Jenks or Jenkins, Stinkins and Stinks, Chunkster or Chunks, 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: Being able to start my photography business and do something that I love (while still being home with H). I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I am loving every minute of it and can’t wait to see what it brings in the next few months. 

What I’m Looking Forward To: The holidays. Last year this time was full of excitement and anticipation of H’s arrival, and this year it is full of excitement and anticipation of H’s “first” holidays (technically last year was her first Christmas, but we feel like she got robbed since she was only 3 days old!).  Also looking forward to H’s first birthday party with our family… we aren’t doing a huge shin dig, but it will still be great to get everyone together and celebrate little miss turning one!

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Her 12 month (!!!!!!!) appointment is January 3rd.

Ok, now for the part that most of you probably scrolled down to find, anyway… the pics from the last month! Warning: this is extreme photo overload. Like even more than usual. But I am determined to get them all on here!

Whew. Finally caught up!! Now the Aldridges are headed out to watch the election coverage with friends. Happy Tuesday everyone!

-S

Dear Hadley,

You are officially into double digits! I can’t believe I am the mom of a 10 month old.  I probably think or say about 5 times a day, “can’t she just stay this way forever?” or “does she HAVE to grow up?!”. The stage you are in right now is SO. MUCH. FUN. I never want it to end!

Literally the day after I posted your 9 month post, you started full-out crawling (as opposed to the hybrid army/spider crawl you did for a while), and you have not looked back since. You are lightning fast, and if I walk from one room to the next even for just a second, you are right behind me…my little shadow! You continue to pull up on everything within your reach, and are really “cruising” (someone just told me that is what it’s called)—walking around everything while holding on, going from the table to the couch to the chair to the jumperoo to the recliner. You do a great job walking while holding on to our hands, and it is one of your favorite things to do. You are also standing by yourself now for short periods…and you get so excited when you do it that you start clapping and that makes you lose your balance and have to sit down. Pretty darn cute. :) No signs of taking any steps yet, but I feel like you are getting closer and closer… I am not sure I am ready for that! Again—time: please slow down!

You are (knock on wood…) a great eater. Even the two foods you had earlier decided you weren’t a fan of, bananas and avocados, you love now! The only thing I can think of that you do not like are tomatoes, which you just tried for the first time last night. Your face was hilarious…but we are going to keep trying them! You love meal time, and those are my favorite times of each day. You are so happy, so curious to try each new food, and you love to feed yourself (AND Ralph…….) and get excited when you try something that you like. You have decided that you are pretty much over all the million purees I have made you…but I am still trying to feed them to you to use them all up! You usually only put up a fight for a few seconds and then give in; you just keep trying to grab the spoon and feed to yourself. Miss Independent…just like your mama!

Your favorite word is (still) Dada. You say it all the time. To your Daddy, me, Ralph, the pizza delivery guy…whoever. We have this conversation at least 15 times a day: 

Me: “Hadley, say Mama.”

Hadley: “Dada.”

Me: “No, MA MA MA MA”

Hadley: “DAA DAA DAAA DA.”

Me: Sigh.

Your Daddy finds this hilarious. One day soon, can you PLEASE just say it for me? Pretty please?! :) You also will proudly say “all done!” when you are finished eating, and it is seriously cute. “Heeeey” is another favorite, and “bye bye”, both while waving (though you never do it when I ask you to say it to someone… only when you want to!). You love to repeat sounds or noises that I make (all but Mama, of course) and I love to hear you having conversations with yourself. Whatever you are saying, you are saying it with conviction! I love hearing you discover your voice and new noises you can make!

Lately, tons of people have asked me, “is she always this happy?!”. I always say, “I hate to say it, because what if I jinx it, but yes!”. It’s true, sweet pea…you are one happy girl. You grin, clap and belly laugh for everyone you meet—I can’t tell you how many people have told me “she just made my whole week!”. It is so sweet to see you lighting up so many others’ lives the way that you do ours. People also always tell us how expressive your little face is! You know how to work those little eyebrows and come up with the cutest, most hilarious expressions. You keep us laughing all the time!

I never knew that being a stay-at-home mom could keep me so busy (and tired)!! We are having a blast, though, and I wake up each day excited to see what new thing you do or what way you are going to make me smile and laugh. You bring me so much joy, I sometimes feel like my heart is literally going to burst…I am in a constant state of euphoria with you. You are my best friend, already! (And I would say I am yours, too…though you sure do have a special place in your heart already for your Daddy). I am so proud to be your mom and I cannot wait for our relationship to develop even more as you grow.

We are almost to a year (!!!) old. I don’t know where the time has gone, but I don’t want to blink, because before I know it my baby girl is not going to be a baby anymore! It makes me tear up just to type that. I am so proud of the sweet, beautiful baby girl you already are and I can’t wait to be here for every step of the way as you continue to grow into an amazing little girl!

Happy 10 months, gorgeous. Your Daddy and I love you to the moon and back!

Love, 

Mommy

P.S. We did your 10 month photo shoot yesterday on NC State’s campus. Your Daddy and I had so much fun taking you around campus to all the places we used to go during our time there. In fact, the belltower right behind where you are sitting in one of the pictures above is where your Daddy so nervously sweetly asked me to marry him almost exactly 6 years ago. As we walked around, we talked about how much we were sure things would change “before Hadley goes there”… you are going to want to be a fellow Wolfpacker, right?!?! (I promise we will love you no matter what! ;-))