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

Hi, friends! Hope everyone is staying warm and safe on this icy, freezing day! I am secretly hoping that there is at least SOME accumulation of snow so that H can play it in a little, but so far it just looks like it’s going to be ice. Oh, well. :)

Now that little miss is 13 months old, I think it’s time to change up the “updates” a little. For starters, I’m going to go to trying to do monthly updates in an effort to force myself to write them to have some sort of consistency. Also, I’m going to try to change up/add/get rid of some of the categories in the update to change with our growing girl! So, without further ado… her 13 month update!

Weight/Length: She had her official 12 month checkup with the pediatrician about 3 weeks ago (I know, total slacker on posting about that), but her official stats are: 20 lbs, 4.5 oz (33rd percentile), 30.5 inches long (86th percentile), and head circumference 17 3/4 inches (48th percentile). No big changes in her percentiles, except that she is getting longer and leaner (supermodel?! haha). Her checkup was great, and I got a lot of answers to questions I had. She did have to have some shots (4 sticks plus a finger prick!), which was, as always, tougher on me than it was on her…but it wasn’t TOO bad. Anyway, the basic gist of the appointment was that she is right on track with her growth and development. We couldn’t be more happy or proud. :) 

Sleep: No changes here. Still bedtime of 9-9:30 and sleeping until 9:30 or 10. And still two naps (usually), each around 2ish hours. She definitely fights them some days, and I don’t push it too much if she just isn’t sleepy…we kind of just go with the flow around here. :) I think this category can probably be dropped from now on unless there are any major changes.

Feeding: This is another category that I think I can probably drop…or maybe I will just change it to “favorite foods”? Anyway, no big changes, she is still eating whatever we eat (with some extra fruits/veggies added in when we don’t have the healthiest of meals) and doing great. She has started trying to feed herself some with a spoon, but so far, more of it gets ON her than IN her, but she is enjoying learning. :) 

We officially weaned on December 31 (a little over a week after her first birthday), and while it was super hard on me emotionally, it really couldn’t have gone smoother. H didn’t miss a beat, and only really tried to nurse just a few times after that. It was hands down the best experience for me in our whole first year together. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to be here and exclusively nurse the whole year. I can only hope that my experience with our future children will go as great as it did with Hadley. :)

We introduced cow’s milk shortly before weaning, and H wasn’t really a fan of it at first (I don’t blame her…yuck!). But, I found that if I warm it a little, she will drink it…so that is still what we are doing, before her afternoon nap and before bed. Some days she will drink it (from her sippy cup) no problem, and others she wants nothing to do with it. I talked to H’s pediatrician about it, and she said, and I quote: “cow’s milk is for cows. I don’t care if she drinks it or not…there are plenty of other ways for her to get the vitamins and calcium she needs.” (Have I mentioned how much I love this doctor?!) Anyway, she calmed my worries and on days that H wants nothing to do with the milk, I just make sure she gets some foods with extra vitamins and calcium in them.

Her favorite foods right now are: blueberries (hands down favorite), cantaloupe, bananas, cheese, crackers, pizza, and chicken pie!

Developments:  H is a pro at walking now… even running some, too! Probably right around New Year’s is when she began exclusively walking, or walking more than crawling. She is all over the place and loves to explore everything around her. She is also an expert climber…in the last few weeks she has mastered climbing to the top of the steps in about 5 seconds…and she climbs on our kitchen chairs, tries to climb onto the couch, into her toy box…etc. Monkey!

She is talking more and more, too. (See new category, “words” below!). For the last few months, she has been repeating tons of words we say…but just in the last 6 or 7 weeks have I noticed that she is actually understanding the meaning of words and will point at things and say what they are, rather than just repeating what we say. It’s crazy how fast she picks up on things. It took only about two days for her to learn to point to the various parts of her face when I ask her “where’s your ___?” (nose, head, teeth, mouth, and ears, so far). And just the other day, she stumbled and fell down and immediately said “ouch” (emphasis on the “ch”)…which I haven’t necessarily taught her, but I have definitely said in front of her several times. She is a little sponge!

She loves to give kisses, to anyone and anything (seriously—the floor, her high chair, the couch…but especially to Ralph and to me!). I don’t ever want her to stop wanting to give me kisses!! Hugs, too… she is great at throwing those little arms around my neck and squeezing with all she has. Cue heart melting. :)

She has been teething in FULL effect this month. She got 6 teeth (4 molars, and 2 more on the bottom front) in 10 days…and handled it like a CHAMP. She woke up two nights crying, but went right back down after I went in and soothed her a little (and gave her some tylenol). She may have been a little fussy for a couple of days, but definitely nothing too bad. She is a trooper!

She does great at entertaining herself… She goes from toy to toy and room to room just exploring and discovering new things! And when she wants my attention, she will bring me a book or a toy and we will play together. :)

I’m going to stop there with the “developments” and move on to another new category… her favorite things!

Favorite Things/Activities: Her bears (and any stuffed animals)—she is obsessed and carries them around everywhere. Giving kisses and hugs. Being outside/going for walks. Ralph. Bath time. The Sesame Street theme song. Her “Little People” toys. Books. Running with Daddy (I HAVE to get a video of this soon). Being silly in general (mostly with Daddy). 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 grandmas and aunts. Talking/singing/babbling to herself and others. Getting dressed (especially putting on shoes—“soos”). Her ball popper. Refrigerator magnets. Rocking in Meemaw and Pop’s little rocking chair. Rocking her bears in any rocking chair. :)

Words: Like I said, she will repeat pretty much anything, but the ones I know that she really knows are: Bear (she uses this for pretty much any stuffed animal). Ralph. Dada/Daddy. Mama (still only sometimes). Bekah. Kyle (“i-kull”). Heather. All done. Thank you. Cracker. Bye bye. Hello (especially when she is playing with a toy phone or one of our phones—she will hold it up to her ear and say “hello!”). Hey. Cantaloupe (“canlo”). Bunny. Quack quack quack (when she sees her duck book). Nose. Head. Water. Drink. Read. Book. Cheese. Ouch. Whoa. Wow. Those are the ones I can think of right now!

Firsts This Month: Hmm. I know there have probably been a ton, but I am drawing a blank! I guess I will say that this month is when she started really using words and knowing what they mean… does that count? :)

Also, on a sad note, H got her first black eye this week. :( She slipped in the tub and hit her eye right on the side of the tub… bless her little heart! She was fine after just a few minutes, and I am positive that it hurt her Daddy (who was bathing her) more than it hurt her…though she did (still does) look pitiful!! The swelling is all gone now, and people who have seen her say it looks like she is wearing eye shadow on that eye, haha!

The black eye did give us a chance to use our boo boo bunny, which is so cute, but H did NOT want anything anywhere near her eye, so trying to use it was kind of a fail! Hopefully we won’t have too many more incidents where we NEED to use it, though! ;) 

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: I have probably said this at least 359082305823 times in these updates, but I am so very thankful that I get to be here every day with our girl. I cherish every single minute and am loving getting to be here for everything—small and big. I have just been feeling extremely blessed lately. (When did I become such a sap, seriously?)

What I’m Looking Forward To: Lilly’s (Hadley’s BFF) first birthday party tomorrow! Some fun photo sessions coming up (and hopefully squeezing in a 13 month session of H sometime when it’s not so COLD!). 

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

So…I have a confession. Ever since our “365 days of Hadley” project has been over, I have been a TOTAL slacker as far as taking pictures of H. I promise to get better about it, I’m not sure what has happened to me! I will say, though, that I have approximately 236509826 videos of her on my phone, because it is nearly impossible to get her to stay still enough to get an in-focus photo these days! Anyway, here are the pics that I do have from this month. :)

That last one makes me laugh…she was squealing at the top of her lungs. ;)

On that note, I’m going to play with my sweet girl and wait for Jon to get home. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

-S

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

As promised here are the rest of the “update” pics…these are from December. And if you happened to read part 1 of the update yesterday, you might want to check back because I added in some more things that I had forgotten to include. ;)

Crazy to think that this is the last update I will write before she is one, ahh! Enjoy! ;)

With that, I am FINALLY caught up! Now, off to finish some last-minute birthday party things!

-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

H has been getting braver and braver and taking a step here and there for the last couple of weeks, but tonight she officially took her first steps (and a TON thereafter!). Like I posted on Facebook, I am feeling a range of emotions from super excited to sad. I just am not sure where my baby went?!?!

Anyway, without further ado, here is a little video we put together from tonight. We didn’t get all the steps on video, but once we realized that she was really going to do it, we pulled out the camera. Can you tell she was excited about it?!

Way to go, sweet girl, we love you! (And we realize that our lives will never be the same now…) ;)

-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