Friday, July 31, 2009

No words, really...


...just have to show off my girl all dressed up for her Daddy's birthday.

Monkeying Around

This morning Hayley added the matching hoodie* to a pair of pants she'd worn as jammies the night before so we could go on a walk.


After a photo shoot, of course.



*Thanks to Naini for the outft!

This will come as a surprise to no one...


Like I need jammies to tell me that.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Picking up steam

Two days ago, Hayley turned 5 months old. To celebrate, she had her first cereal/bowl/spoon experience. Our pediatrician (like most these days) recommends waiting until 6 months to start cereal. Hayley has been showing signs of being ready for weeks now, so we decided to give a try. The food doesn't replace any of her actual meals, i.e. her bottles, as it's more about learning how to eat. For anyone unfamiliar with baby cereal, it's not a whole lot different from formula. Mix powder with water. Done. Depending on the ratio, you get thick or thin cereal, and it's barely thicker than formula at first. Like I said, it's really about teaching Hayley a new skill. So here's video of her first non-milk feeding:



I'm happy to report that after only 3 tries now, she's already getting better at it. This comes as no surprise to me though. This kid is a quick study. Hayley is more capable than I could have imagined at 5 months. As Miranda mentioned in previous posts, she can wiggle all the way out of her car seat and is on the verge of sitting unassisted. Today at her playdate, Hayley rolled over with absolutely no help, gravitational or otherwise. Speaking of playdates, she is making friends left and right, taking after her mother with the social skills. Here's a video of her hanging out with her cousin Caiden:



That actually took place a while ago. I've got a few other old videos here that I should have posted last month. This is Hayley finding her voice. Her babbling has increased a lot, and in the process she discovered higher registers:



Recently the babbling has leveled off. She pretty much only does it when she is on her changing table or when she gets excited about something. One of the things Hayley gets really excited about is her new activity center. We bought this to celebrate her 4 month birthday, and she now uses it every single day:



Hayley is hitting her stride when it comes to playing. Whether it's in the activity center, lying in her crib with her toys, or simply playing with her pacifier, this baby wants to either hit or eat everything in sight. One night she was playing with her paci when we introduced Hayley to frozen teethers:



It's pretty much non-stop entertainment when you've got a 5-month-old!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Once upon a time...

Hayley is getting stronger and stronger and yesterday she demonstrated how close she is to sitting on her own while reading a book to Daisy (the horse) and Liv (her first doll).

Things are about to get interesting

Hayley learned a new skill yesterday when she decided she'd had enough sitting in her car seat and watching me cook:




Saturday, July 18, 2009

Good Morning Sunshine!

Dear Hayley,

Last Wednesday your father and I had the crazy idea to see if you'd sleep in your crib at night. We're not entirely sure why we decided to do this since both of us love having you with us at night and getting to wake up to your cheerful smile and lovey face pats is the highlight of our days. I worried that you wouldn't sleep as long, wake up multiple times or you'd wake up upset that you were alone.

I was especially distraught over this change as I've settled into a nightly routine with you: I change your diaper and get your jammies on while your dad makes your bottle and then he feeds you. Swaddling you after your bottle is a team effort as you now think it's a game and apparently a very funny one. I usually then go rock you to sleep in your room, often singing to you and every once in a while you'll sing back. I'd then put you down in your co-sleeper in our bed and kiss you good-night and tell you I love you. Once I eventually came to bed myself, I'd use my cell phone to light the area around your face, place my hand on your chest to make sure you were breathing and then give you another kiss before finally going to sleep.

You sleeping in your own room messes up my whole routine, a routine I've become quite dependent on in order to get a good night's sleep. Now, once I lay you in your crib, I turn on your monitor and then check the little screen every so often to see you sweetly sleeping. Ok, fine, I look at the monitor every 5 seconds, but it's just because no matter how trying a day we may have had, I can't wait for you to get up so we can do it all over again. Overnight as I try to sleep I'm usually distracted by the glow of your monitor and the image of you sleeping. I don't sleep as well without you by my side, but I'm trying to do better about relaxing and acknowledging the fact that you're growing up and need your own space. I'm proud to say that you've been a champ with this while transition. You sleep until about 5-6 a.m. without as much as a whimper and then you want one of us to come give you your paci and you quickly fall back to sleep for another couple hours.


Before I head to bed now, I stop by your crib to check in on you. I still place my hand on your chest to make sure you're ok and I still tell you "I love you, baby girl".


I guess some things never change.

Love,
Mama

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Happy Birthday America



I can't believe it's already July! Yesterday, Hayley celebrated her first 4th of July with us on a beautiful, sunny California day. As usual, we made the trip down to Morgan Hill for Uncle Danny and Aunt Patty's annual get-together. This time, we arrived with a baby and lots of baby gear.



The day had actually started off a bit slow, since I wasn't feeling well and Miranda was busy with party preparations. By the time we headed out, though, spirits were high. We happened to be the first to arrive, but it wasn't too long before the house started to fill up with family and friends. The afternoon that followed was nothing but good times.



The highlight of the day was taking Hayley into the pool for the very first time. Since she is such a fan of bath time, we figured this would be a joyous occasion. We were mostly right. There was a bit of trouble getting Hayley into her floater, so she was a little upset to begin with, but once Miranda calmed her down it was smooth sailing. After a while, Hayley was done and fell asleep in mommy's arms pretty quick.




Playing in the pool with Kati, Kelley and Dylan was lots of fun. Afterward we all got to enjoy the great food that we've all come to expect on the 4th of July. Especially Miranda's delicious cake! The rest of the evening was spent in relaxing conversation with family. Then we headed home before fireworks started to get a jump on traffic and to make sure Hayley stuck to her bedtime routine. Once she was tucked in, Miranda and I finished off the holiday by watching the Boston Pops fireworks show.






All in all, a pretty perfect Independence Day with the fam.