The Tuttle Family

From Your Nose to Your Toes

2011-03-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Lately Hayley has been extremely sweet and lovey. She also is at a stage where she likes to repeat everything she hears. A few days ago I told her, "I love you to pieces!" Right away she said "I love you" in the cute little way she does and then added "pieces". I just about died.

Since then I could count on her to say it back to me when prompted and each time it just got more and more cute. Then tonight after dinner we were having a little family hug and she leaned back, looked at us and completely unprompted said, "I love you! Pieces!"

Right back at you, kid.

Happy Birthday, Princess

2011-02-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Hayley,

Today you turned two. Two. Has it really only been 2 years since you made us a family? It's hard to imagine a time without you.

This past year has been nothing short of amazing. You learned sign language. You learned to walk. Then you learned to talk. It's staggering to think about all of the advancements you've made in twelve short months. Now you run around in circles for no reason other than you can. Now you talk nonstop (we stopped counting at about 85 words a few months ago) and we understand most of what you say. (Really need to work on that pronunciation, kid.) Now you use your imagination and love to spend your day doing pretend play. Now you love Beauty and the Beast, just like your Aunt Kati. Now you love to chase and be chased. Now you use your little finger to tap my nose while you say, "I love you." Now you know when something is funny and you laugh until your cute little face turns red. Now you love books and love even more when I tell you stories before bed (usually you request 2 stories: one about piggies and another about a princess).

I think a lot now about the relationship I want to have with you, now and forever. As much as I wish I could just stop time and keep you my sweet little girl forever, the truth is I'm so excited to see the person you grow to be. Something tells me you're going to be someone awfully special.

I've never been more proud in my life than when I hear you call for me, "Mama!" I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that when we're in public and you call for me I feel like I'm about to burst with pride. "That's right everyone. I'M the lucky person that gets to be the mother of this child", I think to myself. It makes my day when someone tells me they think you look like me. Cause, Hayley? You are the most gorgeous person I know. Hands down.

You melt my heart on a daily basis with your sweetness. I love to watch you shake and shush your dolls, just like Daddy taught you. I love how loving and careful you are while holding your baby cousin. Your little hugs and kisses are just too much to take. I don't know how there can be so much sweetness in one little person.

Two years ago I met you, my heart, my daughter. I can't wait to see what year three has in store.

I love you, Hayley. Happy birthday.

Love,
Mama

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

And now we start counting down to the day we become parents of a 2 year old...

Merry Christmas to all...

2010-12-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

...and to all a good night!

Yes, that is me with Hayley and Santa Claus. It was the only way I could get her to go anywhere near old St. Nick this year. I may be smiling, but at that moment I was feeling the way Hayley looks. Even Father Christmas himself doesn't look very pleased. That may have had something to do with the fact that a 200+ lb. guy and his daughter were sitting on his left knee.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Ryder!

2010-11-29T20:35:00.001-08:00

Ryder James Johnson

Born Monday, November 29 at 5:54a.m.

8lbs 4oz, 21.5 inches

Congratulations to Mom, Dad and Big Brother from the Tuttles

Words Update 2.1

2010-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Bagel, splash, grow, kick, eye, turtle, Squirtle, baby, mine, me, bear, please, help, wallet, Kiki, school, car, bird, Hayley.

Thankful Doesn't Even Begin To Cut It

2010-11-25T20:28:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2010

Fall 2010

2010-11-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

The holidays are about to descend upon us with full force, but before that happens, allow me to recap the last couple of months. Hayley just continues to become the most amazing kid. I know I sound like a broken record, but she never ceases to surprise me, day in and day out. There have been so many areas of growth and individual moments of awesomeness that it's tough to cover everything, or to know where to start.

Hayley has turned into quite the little helper. She already does so much for herself, but she rarely misses an opportunity to assist the people around her. She loves to pick out her shoes before leaving and put them back after coming home. She makes sure to give me my keys and wallet from the drawer that is so conveniently at her level by the door. She attempts to clean various things, either with the baby wipes that she is now obsessed with (completely my fault) or the kid's broom we got for her. She desperately wants to help us put away the dishes or sort/fold laundry. She even lent a hand (and a million sprinkles) when mama made some brownies:

Along with that industrious side, Hayley's creativity continues to blossom, mostly in the area of music. Her sense of rhythm is getting better as she plays with her drums or her friend Luca's drum set, and bops her little head along to the music playing in the car. She still dances her heart out when she really likes the beat. She sings along with the 'la la' parts in her favorite Fresh Beat Band songs. She rocks out on her cute little keyboard and guitars.

Hayley also loves to draw with her crayons, but we don't have a great setup for drawing, nor do we have many supplies. We plan to correct this with a cool xmas gift (you'll see). In the meantime, we got her a small notebook for collecting stickers (which I hope she will keep up with for a long time). So far, she loves it:

Two other fun new acquisitions include a pair of rain boots that Hayley seriously fell in love with at the store, and her first Build-a-Bear, which we named Coco:

As always, family is a huge part of Hayley's life, and as she grows and gains new social skills, her family bonds just get stronger. She has gotten a lot closer with her cousin Dylan, who really warmed up to Hayley in recent weeks. I don't think he realizes what's in store though, because she basically thinks he is the coolest person ever. Seeing them together is unbearably cute; hearing them talk about the other one when they aren't together is even cuter. It will be interesting to see how their relationship evolves as each of them gets older.

Probably the most significant change for Hayley is the rapid increase of spoken words over the past 2 months. Miranda has been covering this in other posts so I won't repeat those, but we are both continually left speechless (ironic?) at the explosion of words coming from Hayley's mouth. Of course, she still babbles all the time and uses plenty of signs, but the progress is undeniable. Just this evening, we finally got her to say 'please' instead of signing it (or more accurately, while signing). Along with how much she is saying is how much she is understanding. The number of words she actually knows has got to be in the hundreds at this point. We are so proud and excited to be supporting Hayley in her linguistic journey! Now if I could just get her to smile for pictures instead of pointing at her mouth and saying 'teeeeeth':

Of course, with the good comes the bad. Hayley is really hitting her toddler stride lately, with tantrums and attitude aplenty. As (relatively) new parents, we are still figuring out how best to handle it. Thankfully her sweetness far outweighs her sourness, but some days she is a 3-foot-tall teenager:

Anyway, Miranda and I are big fans of this time of year, for many reasons. Despite the often unseasonably warm weather, this year has lived up to our expectations. And it wouldn't be a successful autumn without some classic seasonal activities. We got our fall on in many ways, including visiting various pumpkin patches (complete with hay rides or train rides), enjoying lazy weekends cuddled up on the couch with some hot coffee, spending the day at the Cupertino Memorial Park (aka duck duck park), eating the delicious baked goods that mama makes, or simply stomping on the fallen leaves outside.

Which brings us to the main event of the season. Although this was her second time celebrating Halloween, Hayley got her first chance to really experience it this year. Dressed in her stunning Snow White costume (the official one from Disney), Hayley joined Cleopatra and Marc Antony (aka mama and dada) at a kid-filled costume party at our friend Clara's house. We took her out on her first ever trick-or-treating that night. After some apprehension and awkwardness at the first few houses, she started to get the idea (I get candy for being cute!) and was an old pro by the end of it. Her super cool apple bag (custom-made by Auntie Kati) was full of candy and we were full of joy. The night really couldn't have gone any better.

Mostly we've just been trying to have as much fun together as we can. Sometimes that means wearing silly wigs even though it's not quite Halloween.

Words Update 2.0

2010-11-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

Since I posted the list of words Hayley can say I've been keeping track of all her new words so I could periodically update the list here. When I get to ten or so new words I'll post an update- which might mean a ton of word updates because this kid is learning new words at an amazing rate! Here's what sh'se learned since my original post (9 days ago): shout, deer, Coco, stroller, corn, quack, meow, door, toes, keys, sharks, shoot, Belle, dip-dip, phone, bottle, baby.

Goodnight Moon

2010-11-11T21:13:00.001-08:00

Dear Hayley,

The last few days I've found myself counting down the minutes until your bedtime. Not because I want you to go to sleep, but because our bedtime routine has become so sincere and sweet and in those moments I remember just how lucky I am to be your mother.

After your practical routine of a diaper change, vitamins, jammies and brushing your teeth, I lift you up and we go about the apartment looking for people in all the rooms. I really have no idea how or why this started, but you insist we do this each night. Then I place you on your daddy's lap while he sits in the rocker and I get to your level to tell you I love you and thank you for another great day together. I ask for a kiss and you always oblige- and always lean up to make sure daddy gets one, too. When I tell you I love you you look me straight in the eyes and tap my nose- the way we taught you to sign "I love you". I then get up and leave the room, closing the door behind me.

Traditionally you've called out for me, "Mama!", and I quickly open the door and make a funny face or noise and we do this a few times before you lose interest and are ready for daddy to read you your book. Lately, though, you've wanted me to come back into the room and sit with you so we can have a few beautiful moments together. You're getting some new teeth so you'll smile, point with both hands to your cheeks and say "teeth!" with great pride. I get really excited and tell you how beautiful your little teeth are and tell you you're doing such a good job growing and building your little body. Then you look at me, so rare are the moments when you're truly still enough to give your full attention to someone, and we stare at each other in silence as you rub your hands along my shoulders and pat my back. You look at my eyes, then my lips, back and forth, before initiating a good night kiss. You gently hold my face in your little warm hands and I feel your little finger go tap, tap, tap on my nose. I try to hold it together and revel in your sweetness before once more getting up, saying goodnight and closing the door behind me.

I stand in the hall way, waiting. "Mama!" I can't help it. I go back in and we do it again.

I love you, sweetheart.

-Mama

Words update

2010-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Lately Hayley has been more and more willing to say new words and I want to be sure to record her progress here along the way. Here are all the words (that I can remember right now) Hayley's said so far with varying frequency and accuracy:

Mama, Dada, duck, dog, goat, sheep, turtle, bee, go, sit, shoes, socks, scooch, sheesh, yellow, blue, pink, green, brown, purple, black, Kati, Dyl, Maddy, Papa, Ming-Ming, ball, bubble, hot, hat, block, boo, shape, star, ship, bone, truck, no, yes, straw, hi, bye-bye

Class of 2031

2010-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Hayley,

This week Stanford welcomed the Class of 2014 to campus. For you, this meant mama hasn't been around a whole lot. I'm so sorry I've been gone so much. I'd love nothing more than to have been home for dinner and evening playtime this week. I hope you know I've missed you terribly and I couldn't help but think about you and our family all week.

Last year was the first time I was so involved in New Student Orientation and you were only 6 months old. This year you are 18 months and although I knew what to expect when going from event to event this week, I wasn't prepared to be so personally moved by the process. On Tuesday, as I watched teary eyed parents beam with pride as they moved their son or daughter in to their freshman dorm, I couldn't help but think of you and where we will be in 17 years. As I watched a crowd of highly intelligent and motivated students happily fill the Main Quad for Convocation, I couldn't help but think of you. And while I sat in my golf cart watching 1700 freshmen join the LSJUMB on Band Run in the middle of the night, I, again, thought of you.

As you grow older and continue to grow and learn (at an alarming rate) it becomes more and more apparent that we are raising an actual person that will become an adult and we have such a huge responsibility in shaping the woman you'll become. I watch you now, so amazingly smart, beautiful, funny, inquisitive, caring and happy and want to ensure you carry these traits with you always. I want to encourage you to work hard, take risks and try new things. I want to empower you to know who you are and what you stand for. I want to raise a daughter who knows her parents adore her and will always have her back, affording her the confidence to go out and do great things. I want to create a relationship that reassures me, when the time comes for your dad and I to move you in to your freshmen dorm and as you distance yourself from your parents, our friendship will keep us close.

I can't help but see you in everything I do. You are the single most significant contribution I'll make in my lifetime and I desperately want to do this right.

I love you, sweetheart.

-Mama

Happy Grandparents Day to us?

2010-09-12T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hayley is growing up way too fast. Case in point: she now has her own little bundle of joy. She's had other baby dolls before (including one that she spent a lot of time playing with, even recently) but the latest addition to the family has raised her level of interest in babies to near-obsession.

Hayley's friends Leila and Maddy each have a Circo brand baby doll that is much larger than any doll Hayley has had, until now. Last week, she got the chance to spend some quality time with Leila's doll; it become apparent that she wouldn't be complete without one of her own. So yesterday we headed to our favorite store (Target) to do our duty as both loving parents and American consumers. Here is Hayley mere moments after the purchase:

For the first day together, they were practically inseparable. Everywhere Hayley went, so too did her baby (which we've named Bailey - get it?). She fed Bailey repeatedly, comforted her when she cried, poked her in the eye when she fell asleep, and cooed back at her when she babbled. Yes, the doll can cry, babble, eat, and sleep. Fun, right? When she's not doing any of those things, Hayley just hugs or kisses it. The best part is that we didn't show her how to do any of this stuff; it all comes naturally.

The cuteness only became more unbearable. At one point, Hayley grabbed some of her blueberry bagel and shared it with her baby. She then signed 'thank you' to Bailey. This makes sense only when you realize that Hayley was trying to teach her baby to say thank you. How do we know? After showing Bailey the sign on herself, she moved her baby's hand in the signing motion to help her learn! Keep in mind, this was all totally unprompted by us. Sadly, it happened too quickly to capture on camera.

We did get some pictures of Hayley getting her baby ready for bedtime. After feeding her for the millionth time, she read Goodnight Moon to Bailey (the book I read to Hayley every night). I then helped her get her baby in the crib and cuddled up with Bunny.

We knew the danger of letting Hayley sleep with her baby, so we took it out. This, of course, resulted in a tantrum, but we held fast to the rule and to our bedtime routine. Luckily Hayley got over it and went to sleep.

This morning she woke up and immediately looked for Bailey. She still insisted on taking her everywhere she went today, but an interesting thing occurred: Hayley seemed to actually get tired of her baby. At naptime she pushed Bailey away because it kept crying and wanting attention. This evening, Hayley barely touched her. It's fine with me if she doesn't want to spend every waking moment with the doll, but I will be surprised and a little annoyed if Hayley dumps her altogether after only two days. I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Forget-me-nots

2010-08-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Hayley,

When Daddy and I created this blog it was mostly to keep our family and friends updated on the life of our expanding family. Since then, I've relied on this space to capture moments in our life that I never want to forget. I've been thinking lately that you are growing and learning so fast that I need to pause and take a moment to capture all of the magical moments and accomplishments that have been happening at lightning speed lately. So, here we go!

We've been working on sign language for months now and currently you sign for: more, eat, thirsty/water, milk, fruit, please, thank you, you're welcome, I love you, sleep, baby, dog, cat, duck/bird, chicken, car, train, home, shoes, play, book, help, bath, dance and music. It's not always perfect, and some of the signs you've made up yourself, but you're consistent enough that we know what you mean. You know so many signs now that sometimes you get too excited about something and you become confused, going through a few similar signs before settling on the correct motion.
You're pretty content with signing and are taking your time with the talking. You babble all. the. time. but you are pretty limited with your words: Mama, Dada, go, bye-bye, stars, sit, I did it! and what's this? round out your vocabulary. Sometimes you learn a new word and use it over and over for a few days and then all of a sudden you stop. This happened for duck, dog and other words I know I'm forgetting. You've also made up your own version of Kati, and call Grandma "Ah-ma".
Though you speak very little it's obvious you understand just about everything. You can follow directions, even if they are specific (for example, you know the difference between bringing me your slippers rather than your shoes). Not only do you understand what we're saying, but you're a great listener and will help clean up your toys, share and follow rules with minimal conflict. You understand concepts very well. We can tell you we're going to go to grandma's and you can pick a toy to bring. You'll get up, pick a toy and head straight for the door saying "Go, go!".
Grandma's already working on teaching you Christmas carols. When prompted with "Laughing all the way" you go "ha, ha, ha". Currently she's working on getting you to say "Hey!" after she sings "On a one horse open sleigh".
When you see a real, toy or picture of a fish you make a little fishy face with your mouth. When you see animals such as dinosaurs, lions, tigers or bears you let out a loud "Roar!" You just started making monkey noises, too.
You're slightly obsessed with books right now and reading with you is very interactive. When the book says "sick" you pretend to cough. When a book says kiss, you have to kiss whoever's reading to you. When your dress up book shows the secret spy, you hold your finger up to your mouth and say "Shhh!" When there are flowers on a page you have to stop and smell each. and. every. one (just like in real life). You really enjoy the books that encourage interaction, such as those with flaps or different textures to feel. You like us to ask you where things are on the page, be it the moon, the mouse, the bee, the mama, the baby, the cat, the...
As we read what the caterpillar in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" ate each day, you pretend to burp after each day's meal. I have no idea where you got this idea but I can't imagine the book being read any other way now.
You know a lot of body parts and can point out nose, mouth, eyes, ears, hair, tummy, bellybutton, hands, heiny, legs, feet and toes. You can point this stuff out on yourself, on others, on animals and in pictures of people or animals.
You like to pick out your own clothes now. You go to your dresser, open a drawer and tap your pointer finger on your cheek and say "Hmm..." as you make your selection.
You hate having anything in your hair. Clips, headbands, rubber bands, hats; doesn't matter what- you want it out. Sometimes if we distract you long enough after putting your hair up we can get you to forget about the offending accessory. Sometimes.
You love to play dress up. You love to wear bead necklaces, tutus and your dinosaur tail. Sometimes you wear it all at the same time.
When mama is getting ready you like to watch and you love when I put my face cream on you or let you wear a little perfume. It's just as awesome as I'd always imagined it would be.
You love shoes. You like to drag guests into your room to show them your bin of shoes, you love to try on shoes at the store, you like to try on Mama's and Dada's shoes, you like to bring people their shoes when it's time to go and you love wearing slippers cause they're the only shoes you get to wear inside.
You don't get to watch too much TV, but your favorite things to watch are The Fresh Beat Band and Pingu. You're completely obsessed with both. Pingu you often watch on our cell phones or on Auntie Kati's laptop. Sometimes you like to walk around with your arms behind your back, just like Pingu. The Fresh Beat Band causes you to either get excited and dance or sit there mesmerized for the entire show. You love them so much that Dada made you a CD of their music so we can listen to them in the car (which you ask for right away as soon as we're in the car). I find the fact that Daddy made you a mix CD too adorable to stand.
You love to be chased.
You love to give high-fives.
You love looking at pictures. Of yourself.
You love to tickle and be tickled.
You love hugging, kissing and playing peek-a-boo with yourself in the mirror.
You can go up and down stairs, using the railing, all by yourself. This means it takes longer to get anywhere, but it's okay because you're always so proud of yourself when you get to the top/bottom.
You have amazing hearing. It's usually birds or the train that make you stop what you're doing, sign and look for where the sound was coming from.
You are still the best sleeper I could have asked for. You sleep for a minimum of 12 hours a night and nap for 1 1/2 or 2 hours each day. You actually ASK for nap in the afternoon and get terribly excited for bedtime.
A month or 2 ago you started getting up a few times when Daddy first put you to sleep. It was super frustrating and then one night Daddy was in the middle of something and took a minute to respond. I watched you on the monitor and not even a minute in to your crying you decided to lay back down and go to sleep. Since then we haven't been going in and we watch as you sometimes stand up for a moment, don't cry for us, and then lay back down with Bunny and go to sleep. Lately, you haven't even been standing up and instead going right to sleep.
This past week you've been sleeping with a blanket. You seem to like this, but you don't like to have your feet covered.
In the mornings you often will lay or sit in your crib for a good 20 minutes just having some quiet time to yourself while you play. When we go in to get you in the morning you get extremely excited, throw your paci on the ground (which you immediately want us to retrieve for you) then you like to point out the stars on the wall and ask, "What's this?"
You sleep with both Olivia and Bunny in your crib. You are by far most attached to Bunny over all your other toys.
If we'd allow you to eat fruit exclusively you'd be a happy camper. Blueberries seem to be your favorite, but I've yet to see you really pass on any fruit offered. We can usually get you to try something, but after that initial taste there's no guarantee you'll continue to eat it.
If we offer you something to dip your food in the chances of you eating it increase dramatically. Sometimes this backfires and you end up just eating your ketchup with your finger for dinner.
You're working on using utensils to feed yourself but you always hold your spoon upside down. This drives daddy crazy.
You don't like to be messy. You hold up your hands to be cleaned mid-meal, you'll use a napkin to clean yourself and the table and if none are available you'll use your bib. It will shock no one that this pleases your daddy greatly.
You drink water and milk pretty exclusively. We don't offer you juice because it has so much sugar and we think it's good for you to get a taste for water now. The only real exception to all this is Jamba Juice. You love smoothies. A lot.
You are really loud when you want to be. Like, REALLY loud. You yell for "MAMA!" or "DADA!" when you want us, no matter where we are. When you're excited you squeal and shout. When you're angry, boy, do you make sure we know it.
You've started throwing tantrums and we're at a bit of a loss as to how to react. We try to ignore it, hoping the lack of attention causes you to try out a new approach, but it's hard. Partly cause we want to tell you to stop and quiet down, partly because it's extremely funny and partly because it's so cute when you get mad I want to eat your little face.
You're daddy had the genius idea to institute the "all-better hug" for when you fall or get hurt. You're very in tune with us and often look to us for how to react to situations and we consciously decided that we needed to contain our reactions and teach you (and us) to not sweat the small stuff. So, when you have a little tumble and your little face scrunches up we ask if you need an all-better hug and you come to us for a quick hug and then are back on your way.
You're getting another tooth right now, which will bring your total to 11.
We brush your teeth every night and just started using training toothpaste. When we first started with the toothpaste we all huddled around the sink and we tried to teach you to spit. It was a complete failure but it was also one of the funniest times we've had as a family yet.
You're in Gymboree level 4 now. It took a while for you to warm up to it, but you love Gymboree now. You missed it the other week because we were on vacation and when you went the following week you were thrilled to be there.
Every weekend, usually on Sunday, we go around the corner to Jamba Juice, Starbucks and Noah's for breakfast. It's our little routine and I wait all week for that outing.
You now can build with your LEGOs on your LEGOs table. And with that, all of your daddy's dreams came true.
You threw up for the first time 2 weeks ago (real vomit, not spit-up) and it was horrible and gross and you were so scared and upset. We all were.
Day or night, you search the sky for the moon.
Sometimes you zone out and stare into space and I'd buy you a pony to know what it is you're thinking about.
Sometimes when you zone out or are concentrating on something you softly say "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma..." to yourself over and over in the most adorable little voice we've ever heard.
You're somewhat stingy with the hugs and kisses, but when you do decide to give a kiss to someone you make sure to give kisses to everyone else in the room, too.

These are just a few of the millions of things I want to remember when I think about you at 17 months old. I could never capture all the little memories I want to always remember, but I know its okay because everyday there's something new and special that I'll hold on to. I am constantly telling myself that there's no way it could get better and, sure enough, another day with you comes along and I'm proven wrong.

To the stars and back, Hayley.

Love,

Mama

****

Are there memories you want to make sure we remember years from now? Post them in the comments!

Hayley doesn't need much to have fun.

2010-08-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hayley's been playing peek-a-boo with her reflection the last few weeks and Geoff finally caught it on his camera phone. (Sorry for the low quality video.) It should be noted that she started doing this entirely on her own. Man, I love this kid!

Summer vacation

2010-08-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Last week Miranda took some vacation time from work. What a week it was! It's funny how you always end up doing so much more on vacation than during normal time. So here comes another loooong post.

Instead of taking a long trip somewhere, we decided it would be more fun (and far cheaper and easier) to have a "staycation" of sorts. We had at least one event or destination planned for almost every day but we still got to sleep in our own beds. We even managed to get Hayley home for her midday nap most of the time.

Our vacation coincided with visits by out-of-state family and friends. On Saturday, Hayley's Uncle Gabe arrived, so we kicked off our week with a little dinner/reunion. She seemed pretty smitten with Gabe, as usual, although the effect wore off as the week continued.

Cousin Dylan celebrated his 5th birthday on Sunday and we were there for all the festivities. Everyone had a great time playing in the bouncy house, lounging in the shade, and eating birthday cake. Still can't believe little Dyl pickle is 5 years old!

After nap, we took Hayley to a San Jose Giants game. We've been avoiding taking her to baseball and hockey games this year because she is so mobile now (read: restless). Cheap seats at a local minor league game meant we could go without worrying about staying for the whole thing. We had some good food and a few nice, relaxing strolls around the stadium. We even saw some baseball.

Auntie Kati joined us for a visit to Happy Hollow on Monday. The recently renovated children's park/zoo has been around for a long time (it was a favorite of Kati's when she was a kid) but I had never seen it. I have to say, I was pretty impressed. It's pretty big without being overwhelming, there's a ton of variety, and everything is clean and new (thanks to the aforementioned renovation). Best of all, Hayley had a wonderful time. We enjoyed it enough to get a membership, so we should be heading back there pretty soon.

A few highlights of Happy Hollow include Hayley's first carousel ride, a huge play area with some cool slides, and tons of adorable animals.

That evening, Hayley spent some time with Caiden and they both learned a lesson in sharing.

On Tuesday, we drove down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We saw lots of cool exhibits, but overall Hayley was not as excited about it as Happy Hollow. We made the initial error of not bringing her stroller, so she got pretty crabby (pun intended). After we realized our mistake, I grabbed it from the car, but the damage was already done. We did our best to recover and actually had some fun, though.

A notable incident occurred near the kiddy area, where they had a large plastic clamshell for sitting in and general silliness (which is exactly what Hayley engaged in). She sat there and signed for sleep, so we joked with her that she should take a nap, at which point she laid down and pretended to sleep. Then she noticed the group of onlookers giggling at her. Hayley sat up with a big cheesy grin and basically showed off her cuteness for the crowd.

We left the aquarium pretty late with the intention of going to Casa de Fruta. Hayley was supposed to nap on the long car ride, but she took a really long time to fall asleep, so we decided to abort and head home. That night we had dinner with the family, including Kelley and Dylan. Wednesday morning was our first low-key morning in days. We had breakfast at Hobee's, then dropped Hayley off at Grandma's so we could take Gabe to see Inception (absolutely amazing movie, by the way). Afterward, we met up with family for another big dinner, this time with even more people (and awesome food courtesy of Dave).

The next day (Thursday) was my birthday. We had big plans for a trip to Berkeley, including a visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science in the morning and lunch at the Pyramid Brewery. Unfortunately, our natural alarm clock gave daddy a surprise gift by sleeping in later than expected, thus we missed our time window. So we had another relatively low-key morning with breakfast at Scramblz (an awesome family restaurant in SJ) and some light shopping. Following a relaxing afternoon, we headed out for, you guessed it, dinner with family! You'd think they would be sick of us; good thing we've got such a cute kid. Anyway, Miranda made some delicious steaks and my favorite cake. I capped off the night with some cognac I got with the BevMo card my parents sent to me. All in all, a very nice birthday.

On Friday morning we headed up to the Oakland Zoo with Kati. We went to the San Francisco Zoo before Hayley was born but we weren't that impressed. We had heard that the Oakland Zoo was better in some ways so we decided to see for ourselves.

As far as we're concerned, it's much better. Inexpensive, clean, and fun; it's big, but not so big that you feel overwhelmed (we covered nearly everything within 4 hours, including a lunch break). There are a lot of different animals and none of the exhibits are closed or incomplete. We all had a great time and will probably return within the next year.

Hayley slept over at Grandma's on Friday night so we could host a game night. As usual, much fun was had. Our awesome friends all chipped in for my birthday gift: Link's shield from the Zelda games. It goes with the sword that they gave me a few years ago. Yes, Hayley's daddy is a huge nerd and proud of it:

When we picked up Hayley on Saturday morning, it was time for us to say goodbye to Sandy, Dave, and Uncle Gabe. For the afternoon, we had tickets to an event that would simultaneously finish off our great week of vacation and officially welcome us into modern parenthood: a Wiggles concert! Hayley is not the biggest fan of the Wiggles, but we hoped that the live show would be more exciting for her. Luckily it was exactly that. After some initial worry due to the loud music and audience, she totally got into it, dancing and clapping along with the action on stage.

To commemorate all the places we took Hayley this week, we made sure to get souvenirs for her: a Giants hat from the baseball game, a book from Happy Hollow, a small stuffed penguin from the aquarium, an animal puzzle and a collection of toy animals from the zoo, and a wearable tail from the Wiggles concert (it resembles the tail of Dorothy the Dinosaur, one of the Wiggles characters). Here's Hayley wearing the tail:

Even though it was exhausting at times (especially for Hayley, who passed out hard every single night), this was one of the best weeks we've had as parents. There is really nothing better than making your child happy, and I'm pretty sure we did that. Unfortunately, the fun can't last forever. Mama went back to work today.

Christmas in July

2010-07-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hayley had a great weekend, which included a girls' night and sleepover. Grandma took the opportunity to start teaching Hayley some Christmas songs (it's never too early, right?). Unexpectedly, she learned her own little part: the "ha ha ha" in Jingle Bells. I started practicing it with her today and took a quick video:

Sadly, the video was taken with my phone, so the quality is rather low. You'll have to turn it up to hear Hayley.

The past month, in summary

2010-07-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since the last post (sorry about that) that I'm not even sure where to begin- so I'll take it from the top.

It has been our routine for some time now to have lunch all together on Wednesday afternoons, somewhere in the general Stanford area, then Geoff and Hayley head to Grandma's house and hang out until I'm off work and then we have family dinner at the house. Every once in a while we eat on campus so I can show Hayley off to my co-workers- which is just what we did a few weeks ago. The big difference this time was that Hayley's walking so when we went to lunch we let her lead the way- while also trying to steer her out of the way of golf carts and students on bikes- and watched as she waved at everyone we passed. We, obviously, took some pictures and this one of her with Hoover Tower in the background is a favorite of mine. I can't quite pinpoint why Hoover Tower is so meaningful to me, but I do know that from miles around it's always the beacon I look for to orient myself and find my way. Being on this beautiful campus, the same campus I remember running around on as a kid, with my own daughter and seeing Hoover Tower in the distance kinda brings tears to my eyes. Stanford, meet a future member of the Class of 2031!

Another part of Hayley's routine has been Gymboree class once a week. It's taken some time to get used to this new environment, and Hayley still hates going through tunnels, but over time she's warmed up to it and it is great to see her interact with the other kids and learn her little body's physical ability at this stage. Hayley just recently moved up to level 4 and it's, again, taking her some time to adjust to this change but she's making progress.

Now that Hayley's walking, time spent at the Children's Discovery Museum is much more enjoyable all around. Lots of new play areas and activities, such as virtual snowboarding, have opened up to her due to this new-found mobility.

A favorite section of hers seems to be the little house section; she likes to set the table, have tea parties and throw the pretend food, plates and cups all over the place.

She also seems to enjoy taking a snack break on the park benches outside- she even shares with the pigeons!

I've been wanting to get Hayley a little play table for a while now and a few weeks ago a neat little LEGO/activity table was on sale so Geoff took Hayley to Toys R Us to pick it up. I know Geoff's been looking forward to playing LEGOs with his own child for ages now, so this was a big day for them. Hayley seems fairly interested in the table, though her favorite way to "play" with LEGOs seems to be bringing them to us one by one over and over again.

Hayley's friend, Maddy, turned 2 at the end of June and she had her birthday party at a bounce house party place. Hayley wasn't so sure at first, but she couldn't hide her smiles as she went down the huge inflatable slides or chased me around the bouncy.

When it was time for cake we were surprised to find that Hayley preferred her little box of raisins to the yummy birthday cake. I suppose we shouldn't have been too shocked- that girl would happily eat fruit exclusively if we'd let her.

A few Dum Dums were included in the party's goody bag, which led to Hayley having her first lollipop. She enjoyed it for a while- then asked for some fruit instead.

Earlier this month was Independence Day and we went down to Morgan Hill to spend the day with family at Danny and Patti's.

As usual, the food was delicious, the pool and weather perfect and a good time was had by all. I think Hayley especially enjoyed her dessert of berries and whipped cream.

This year we decided to stay for fireworks and Hayley stayed up well past her bed time with no melt-down at all. I was so proud! She didn't seem to be very scared of the fireworks, though she did retreat to Geoff's lap a few times for some of the louder blasts.

Truth be told, Hayley was less interested in the fireworks than she was the graham cracker and marshmallow she was munching on throughout.

A week or so ago Hayley's started building towers out of her alphabet blocks...

...for the sole purpose of knocking them down.

Hayley's interest in books has dramatically increased lately, causing Geoff and I to read the same 4 books over and over again. And then another few times for good measure. Grandpa David and Grandma Tina came for a visit this past weekend and got to see first hand how much Hayley loves her story time.

Another development, one which I must admit I'm THRILLED about, is Hayley wanting to play dress up. She hands us her pink tutu and bead necklaces to put on her pretty regularly these days. I should have known this was coming, considering her slight obsession with shoes. Here she shows off her new Disney Princess slippers:

We caught Hayley playing with her reflection in the mirror the other day and found it especially hysterical when she'd hug or kiss herself. Though, we can't really blame her- she IS pretty smooshable.

Leaps and bounds and baby steps

2010-06-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

My amazement is renewed daily by this child of ours. Family members who spend some time with Hayley, but don't see her every day, frequently ask "How do you stand it?" We can only answer honestly: we can't stand it. Miranda and I alternate between staring in wonder and smooshing her. It's not like she never misbehaves, or frustrates us, but all is quickly forgiven and forgotten; we're just compelled to adore this kid. And it's only going to get worse.

A week ago Hayley decided that she could walk all the time, instead of only when we hold her hand. Knee-walking is now a very rare occurrence. She'll hold your hand if she wants to take you somewhere. She can go from sitting to standing without assistance in a couple seconds. She's on the verge of running. She can wear dresses without losing mobility. She can play outside, for real!

Speaking of playing outside, we started our Memorial Day weekend with a trip to the beach. This was actually a re-creation of a special day from last year (which I blogged about here) when Hayley was just 5 weeks old. Breakfast at a great cafe in Half Moon Bay, followed by a drive down the Pacific Highway where we stopped at San Gregorio beach (still the only beach Hayley's ever visited) and topped off with ice cream at Marianne's in Santa Cruz. She was a little hesitant at first, but once she saw how fun the sand was, Hayley dove right in. She happily played for quite a while and was less than pleased about leaving the beach. She forgave us when she got her ice cream (which was only her second ice cream cone ever, her first happening just a week earlier at Baskin Robbins).

Along with the improvements in mobility, Hayley has been pushing forward with her communication skills. Whether she is excitedly telling us about the train she hears across the street or letting us know she's hungry, sign language is fast becoming a fun and useful tool for her. She's even starting to link two signs together (such as "more" and "please"). Hayley can also understand quite a bit of what is said to her. I only have to mention changing her diaper once and she gets right up, toddles into her room and walks over to the changing table. Of course, as we all know, hearing and listening are two different things; I'm sure the listening is not going to happen as often as the hearing when she gets older.

This weekend also marked the end of bottles. For a while, Hayley was getting sippy cups and straw cups throughout the day and a bottle right before bed. That last bottle has now been replaced by a sippy cup. Aside from the big stuff like the crib and diapers, the last remaining evidence of once being a baby is her pacifier. She only gets it in her crib, but I have a funny feeling she's going to hold onto that one for some time. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to taking it away from her.

Not all of the changes happening recently are so obvious. Some of them are subtle: small changes in behavior that are hard to explain or even remember. Big or small, though, changes happen fast and they are always unexpected. These moments, when my daughter surprises me, continue to be some of the best moments as a parent.

Oh, and she had her first official tea party with daddy on Memorial Day.

Sign of the times

2010-05-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today Hayley is 15 months old. In some ways it feels like it's been a lot longer than 3 months since her birthday, but seeing how big she is just boggles my mind. We are full on into toddler country now. As some of you know, effective communication is one of the biggest issues when dealing with toddlers. To help with that, Hayley and I took a 5 week course in sign language (specifically ASL) at our local community center. The format was pretty simple; basically it's just a teacher (certified in ASL) showing the parents some signs each week while the kids play. Upon completion of the course, I know about 50 signs (including people, animals, colors, vehicles and more) as well as the alphabet. At this point, for any more signs I might want to learn and/or teach to Hayley, I can just refer to our old friend the internet.

One of the things the teacher explained right away is not to expect too much from our children. It can take anywhere from weeks to months for a young child to learn just one sign and there doesn't seem to be an established system for teaching them. The only thing you can really do is to consistently use signs while talking. So that is what we're trying to do, although it can be tough to remember to do that.

The first week of the class, we learned the sign for "more" (among others) and it's a sign that both Miranda and I have been fairly consistent with in usage. Hayley surprised us both a couple weeks ago when she actually did the sign on her own. She still does it occasionally and this was my attempt to capture it on video:

May the Fourth

2010-05-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today was a very special day. Today, our little girl officially became a toddler. Just last week we showed you how close she was to walking on her own. Then on Sunday she took a few steps by herself. Yesterday she did it again. Then this evening, right in the middle of a very exciting playoff hockey game, Hayley decided she could walk. She proceeded to show off her new ability over and over:

We are so proud of you, Hayley! Welcome to the wonderful world of bipedal independence.

I hope...

2010-05-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

...you always stop to smell the roses.

It's a process

2010-04-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

First she rolled, then crawled, pulled herself up and stood, cruised along furniture and eventually developed the unusual skill of knee walking (which she has since perfected). Over the past month, Hayley has thankfully taken a real interest in walking on her feet. She has yet to take more than a single step without holding on to something or someone; when she does have a hand, she is pretty much unstoppable.

The latest step in the process came this week when Hayley began standing on her own for more than 2 seconds. Her little legs are getting stronger and her sense of balance is coming along nicely.

At the end of the day, Hayley always resorts to knee walking, but she will outgrow that. It's only a matter of time before she is happily running into true toddlerhood.

The Wonderful Ones

2010-04-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Hayley,

Today you turned 14 months old. I know I sound like a broken record, but I must say this past month has by far been the best yet. I am just so appreciative of every single moment I have with you, with our little family. Daddy and I still have moments where we look at you, then look at each other, grin and say, "Can you believe that we were lucky enough to get HER for a daughter?" And you know what, Hayley? I really can't.

This past weekend we removed the rain battered "Baby on Board" sign from our car and it was quite symbolic for me because this past month I have come to terms with the fact that you aren't my little baby girl anymore- and that's truly ok because I just adore the little kid you're developing into.

You are starting to show interest in standing and walking more and more everyday. I think your cautious nature is really whats hindering your ability. You prefer to risk taking a tentative step unassisted on the cushy couch or our bed where you know the fall will be soft and gentle. You actually seem to rather like the falling part and often stand just so you can fall back down on purpose. Sometimes we can distract you with some beloved toy (or, most likely, my iPhone) and in your hurry to grasp the object you abandon all hesitation and take a few quick steps. Might you actually learn to run before you walk?

Daddy started taking you to Gymboree this month in an effort to get you some play time with other kids your age. You're gradually warming up to it but you still like to stay close to Daddy. I understand- he's awfully comforting, isn't he? That's kinda why I chose him for us. You do love when the teacher blows bubbles, though, so we bought are own to use at home. Just as in class, you always seem to catch a few in your hair.

Work has been difficult for me the past few weeks but the thing that gets me through every rough day is knowing that when I get home, we'll all three lounge on the bed for some family bed time. We grab a few toys and tell each other about our day. It's when I hear all about the neat/funny/weird/silly/impressive things you do while I'm away and you happily demonstrate the new trick you learned. The time is filled with lots of hugs, kisses and renditions of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and for those 10 minutes, everyday, I feel completely blessed.

So, no, you may not be a little baby anymore, but you're still my Sweets.

Love,

Mama

The egg is calling for you

2010-04-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's weird to realize that we're celebrating holidays for the second time with Hayley, instead of the first. St. Patrick's Day and now Easter have happened twice since she was born. The former was pretty low key for us, while the latter was a bit more eventful. Easter doesn't hold any religious significance for our family, but it's a special day nonetheless, especially now that Hayley is here.

We dressed her up in an adorable new outfit and headed out to grandma's house in the morning. First order of business: Hayley's Easter basket! Miranda put together another great little basket of gifts that Hayley genuinely seemed to enjoy, for the most part. There was a pair of sunglasses and a bunny ear headband that she really didn't want to wear (surprise!). Luckily, grandma didn't mind putting them on for the camera.

Afterward it was time for Hayley's first Easter egg hunt. We wanted it to be fun for her; as you'll see in the video, we made the eggs easy to find since she's only 13 months old. Also, Miranda got this cool electronic egg that calls out to the person trying to find it:

We spent the rest of our time there just hanging out and eating a delicious lunch together. We went back home in the afternoon so we could watch the opening night of the baseball season (Yankees @ Red Sox!). Easter and the start of the MLB season don't usually coincide, but that's how it worked out this year. It was actually a really great game and a very nice way to cap off the holiday.

Happy Egg-toting Rabbit Day!

2010-04-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone enjoys MLB Opening Night! I mean Easter!

I hope...

2010-04-02T22:53:00.001-07:00

...you never stop trying to snap your fingers to the beat.

Just walk already!

2010-03-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

In the past couple of weeks, Hayley took more steps (hehe) toward physical freedom: she can now walk around on her knees. This is both encouraging and discouraging. It's nice to see her actually making some kind of progress. For a while it seemed like she would just crawl for the rest of her life. On the other hand, the general rule is that kids who figure out knee-walking tend to wait longer before walking on their feet.

It's not like we're really all that concerned. She is only 13 months; plenty of kids don't start to walk until 14 months and later. However, she's almost 27 pounds. My arms would like a break from carrying her weight (even if it means that walking to the car takes 10 minutes). Of course, it's tough to get frustrated when she is clearly enjoying herself so much:

Baby teeth

2010-03-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's no secret: I don't like the dentist. I don't like teeth, mine especially. I avoided the dentist for over 10 years at one point. It took quite a bit of self determination and support from Miranda to finally go back. I still don't really know how or why I developed this irrational fear. I continue to loathe every visit and I doubt that will ever change. As you might guess, this is not something I want to pass on to my daughter.

When Hayley got her first tooth, Miranda and I were both very excited; we celebrate each new tooth that successfully "erupts" (yes, that is the technical term). Right now, she's got two on the bottom and nearly four on the top. Her first tooth erupted over 4 months ago. Unfortunately, it's only recently that we've been brushing her teeth regularly. I'm not sure exactly why we dropped the ball on that, but it probably has something to do with my phobia/attitude toward dental hygiene.

Luckily, Hayley is responding very well to the whole thing. Maybe a little too well. We bought her a special pink baby toothbrush; the first time we used it, she giggled and happily let us brush her teeth. Since then, it's been all smiles (pun intended). The funniest part is that lately, she actually gets upset when it's done and we put away her toothbrush! I don't think I've ever heard of a kid who cried because she wanted to keep brushing her teeth. This gives me great hope about her dental future. All I can say is that she should probably go with mommy for her first visit to the dentist.

Change is good

2010-03-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

As promised, a new look for the blog! It's been a long time coming; our little family blog is almost 2 years old. We hope you like it. If not, let us know in the comments! In fact, if there's anything that any of you would like to see changed, or maybe you feel something is missing from the blog, please tell us.

In case you didn't notice, the biggest change we made is the addition of a header image. This is actually a very special image: based on a photograph I took at Hayley's first birthday party, our wonderful friend Daiva (of Diaper Monologues fame) designed and created it just for our little blog. Thank you so much Daiva!

Spring is here

2010-03-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I only have myself to blame for that.

The past few weeks have been good. We are basking in the glow of having a 1 year old. Hayley's trend of seeming to get older and cuter every day continues. To commemorate the start of her second year of life, winter has begrudgingly given way to spring. This week especially, the weather is becoming very nice. As a result, we're all going outside more often. A number of trips to various parks have been very fruitful. Hayley can be reluctant about playing outdoors, but she's getting better.

Today, I realized that the nicely manicured areas of grass right in front of our apartment could provide a quick, easy way to get in some quality outdoor playtime. However, Hayley absolutely refused to move once I set her down. She sat there pulling out the grass and watching one of the neighbors' cats walk around. There's nothing necessarily wrong with just chilling on a beautiful California day, but since when do 1-year-olds just chill? She needs to explore her surroundings. Unfortunately it was about naptime, so we headed inside.

Later in the day, I brought her back out to the grass, but she still wouldn't crawl. I don't really understand why; she was perfectly willing to touch the ground, since she enjoyed pulling out the grass and playing with sticks. I decided the only way to get her moving was bribery. I crawled away from her and took out a toy that she typically cannot resist. Immediately, you could see a battle raging inside Hayley's mind: do I dare overcome my irrational fear in order to obtain the glorious prize? This inner battle quickly manifested as a slow, stuttering knee-walk toward me, accompanied by lots of whining and gesturing. She advanced about two feet over the course of at least two minutes of this, at which point I switched the camera to video mode to capture the silliness. Naturally, as soon as I hit record, she got down and crawled right to the toy!

Anyway, spring usually means it's time for some spring cleaning. In accordance, we'll be making a few small changes to the blog to spruce it up. So don't be surprised if things look a bit different in the coming weeks.

Bright Eyes and Piggy Tails

2010-03-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

As beautiful as I think Hayley is on an hourly basis, I just wasn't ready for this whole new level of cuteness.

Congratulations, Hayley!

2010-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

You made it through your first year. We couldn't be more proud of you!

This past year, I attempted to take at least one picture of my daughter every single day. We ended up with over 4,000 shots in total. The ironic thing is that we don't actually have a picture of her from each day. There are 5 or 6 missing days; about 20 are missing from the 'daily portait' style that you see in the video above. Still, we have almost 9GB worth of Hayley pictures and we're not stopping there. I won't be doing any more of the dailies, but that doesn't mean we won't try to digitally capture our daughter as much as possible (which is probably more than necessary, but I don't care).

Here's to another amazing year!

Happy 1st Birthday, Love

2010-02-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Hayley,

Today is your first birthday. Today we're going to celebrate our first year as a family. The first year I've had the honor and privilege of calling you my daughter. We're going to celebrate the joy you've added to all our lives, the hard work it has taken to get us here and most of all we're going to celebrate the wonder of you.

A year and a few days ago I went to the hospital knowing I'd soon meet my daughter. I was terrified and excited, but mostly terrified. I wanted so badly to hold you in my arms but I was unsure I'd be the kind of mom I desperately wanted you to have. I wasn't sure I either knew or had what it takes to raise a healthy and happy child. What if my "motherly instincts" never kicked in?

Then they placed you in my arms and I knew. I knew you were my daughter, my heart, my love. I knew that you were the daughter I was meant to have- the daughter of my dreams- and that I'd be the mother you needed to thrive. I looked at you and felt such relief that we found each other.

Hayley, this year has been difficult- some days more than others. Daddy and I haven't always known what to do and sometimes we've disagreed. Sleep deprivation took its toll during those first few months and my worry about your safety has also kept me up more nights than I can count. But everything daddy and I do is out of our love for you and the family you gave us. The road can be rocky at times, but we're in this together.

Over the past year you've been the most special baby I've ever known- and not just because you are mine (though I'm sure that helps). You were pretty much always a good eater and an excellent sleeper. You didn't cry unless you needed something. You smiled early and often. You found everything fascinating and wore a curious expression most of the time. As you got older, mobile and more independent your curiosity grew but we were happy to learn that you're also a good listener. Your laughter is contagious and we come down with a case of the giggles all too often around here. You have an excellent sense of humor and showed us your first joke when you were just a few months old and purposefully pretended to sneeze (a joke you still do and find just as hilarious). You've been gracious and patient with your daddy and me as we've sometimes fumbled as new parents often do. You've become a loving little person and anyone can tell, just by looking at you, that you are a genuinely happy child who is very, very loved.

Over the last few months as I've planned your birthday party (yes, it's been a few months in the making) I've had quite a few people tell me to relax- you're not going to remember it anyway so why make it a big deal? Each time I heard this I took great offense- for you, for me and for everyone that wanted to gather and celebrate the beginning of your life. If this first year of Hayley Olivia, my first year as mommy, our first year as a family isn't cause for celebration then I sure as hell don't know what is.

Happy 1st birthday, cupcake. I love you to the stars and back.

Love,
Mama

There's a whole world out there. I can't wait for it to meet you.

First birthday eve

2010-02-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, our daughter turns one. The reality of this has slowly become apparent as we've prepared for her birthday party, but I'm not sure when it's really going to sink in. Honestly, we're still getting over the fact that we got our Hayley at all. So it is with heavy emotion that I write this post (and tomorrow's, which will include a very special video).

It's hard to imagine a time without Hayley, yet I can remember her birth like it was yesterday. This past year has been the most amazing, scary, fulfilling, tiring, joyous year of our lives. So much happened but it's gone by so much faster than we were expecting. We watched our beautiful baby progress from little more than a tube into a (dare I say) toddler! We experienced all of those big and small moments as new parents that you hear about, and now we have the wonderful little family we always wanted.

One of the things we keep in mind as we develop our family is the idea of tradition. This not only means maintaining the most important traditions that each of us grew up with; we also want to start new ones for our new family. For Hayley's birthday weekend we started two new traditions.

You may recall that Miranda and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory (one of our favorite restaurants) for our final meal before heading to the hospital to induce labor. If not, feel free to refresh your memory here. That was two days before Hayley was born, so we thought it would be fun to have a meal there exactly a year later:

Sorry for the background noise, the place was packed as usual.

Today, we started something that we hope to continue throughout the years for each of Hayley's birthdays. This is probably a tradition you've heard of; you might even have done this yourself as a kid. We took Hayley to Toys"R"Us so she could pick out a toy for herself. These days, when you bring your kid to Toys"R"Us on their birthday, they get a balloon and a crown; one of the employees also announces over the store intercom that it's their birthday.

Since Hayley is still a little too young to really get what was going on, we picked out some toys for her, then let her decide among them. Of course, with this being her first birthday and her being the cutest child ever, Hayley got to take home two toys:

Not surprisingly, she liked the toy cellphone and the toy laptop more than anything. Someday, she'll graduate to the real versions of those things, but for now I'm glad she plays with baby toys. I'm not ready for my girl to grow up.

And I Love Her

2010-02-14T23:47:00.000-08:00

This is the first Valentine's Day I've spent with my Hayley and I have a feeling this is going to be one of our favorite holidays in the years to come. Hayley is turning into such a sweet and caring little girl that this annual outpouring of love really seems to suit her budding personality. These last few days she's taken to carrying her first doll, Olivia, around with her and routinely stopping whatever she's doing to hug and kiss her. It's such a pure and simple gesture; it melts our hearts each and every time. This morning when Geoff gave her a valentine she gave it the same little seal of approval.

We had a low key day that included visits by family and friends- which is exactly how the holiday should be spent. We all sported our Valentine's best but somehow Hayley's cuteness stole the show. Again.

When we went out to lunch Hayley took Olivia along and held her close the whole ride. She looked out the window as the world went by, all the while holding her precious doll tight and showering her with kisses. When I looked to the back seat to see the little love of my life so peaceful and content, I couldn't help but think that this had to be the sweetest Valentine's yet.

Recent videos

2010-02-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Lately it seems like we never get the video camera out in time for the good stuff, but here's a few clips from the past couple weeks.

Hayley gets more and more vocal everyday; she says basic words all the time (she's a big fan of 'look!' and 'yeah'). Now and then she just makes noise for its own sake. Sometimes very loudly:

Starting out with 'ah' sounds, she eventually moved on to 'bah'. We're not sure exactly what she was trying to tell us (and why she sounded so urgent), but it was clearly of great importance. I guess we'll never know.

Later that evening Hayley showed us precisely when something amusing becomes annoying:

Luckily, being her parents, we're able to detect and react to that precise moment very quickly, thus averting a possible meltdown.

Here we have a quick example of how technologically attuned kids are these days:

Miranda uses her iPhone quite a bit, so naturally Hayley has taken a liking to it. Being the most adorable child ever, mommy has a hard time saying no when Hayley wants to play with it, so she also spends a fair amount of time with the phone. As a result, Hayley can now unlock it and even use a few apps (sort of). I'm not sure whether that's an indication of her intelligence or the user-friendliness of the iPhone. Maybe both.

Groovin'

2010-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Miranda and I are exposing Hayley to music everyday. We take her to music class; we play music in the car; we watch musical programs at home; we even play Rock Band with her. We're not quite sure yet about her musical tastes, but we do know one thing: she loves a song with a good beat. Whether it's the Beatles (original or kid versions), some upbeat Beethoven, or any of the stuff you hear on shows like The Wiggles, our daughter pays attention. And you can be sure she's enjoying it because she likes to move it, move it!

As you can see, she mostly bounces up and down, but sometimes she likes to slap her knees, clap, or stand up and shake her little tushy. All I can say is that I hope she never stops dancing to the music she likes.

Hayley Baby

2010-01-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hayley's 11 month birthday came and went with no fanfare here on the blog, largely due to the fact that I'm in utter denial about my little baby growing up.

Every single day I am amazed by some new advancement Hayley has made. I'm overwhelmed as I watch her baby fat slip away, exposing her features a little more and revealing this new kid before me. I stare at Geoff in disbelief and ask, "Did she really just say [insert "cat", "kitty cat", "that", "bottle", etc. here]?!?" I wake up every hour to check the baby monitor since she hasn't made a peep all night. I secretly relish the fact that Hayley has no interest in walking and will remain in my arms a little longer. I absolutely live for her spontaneous bouts of laughter and wet little kisses.

I know I have quite a bit more time to get to know my little girl, and I fully intend to savor every single second, but I am going to miss the Hayley Baby days when they're gone.

Self-feeding, ball mania, and music

2010-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

The first week (or so) of the new year and we've already got some milestones to report. Only one of which is an actual milestone, but hey.

During lunch on Wednesday, mommy and grandma tried to get Hayley to feed herself for the first time, but were unsuccessful. So daddy took a crack at it during breakfast the next day. I handed her a spoon with food on it (apples and oatmeal) and she immediately put it in her mouth as if she had been doing this for years. I busted out my phone to take a picture for Miranda, hoping she would perform the feat again. She obliged, so I ran and grabbed the actual camera, for which Hayley again fed herself. At this point I was thinking wow, my baby is awesome and I didn't even have to do anything! Apparently I jinxed it, because after that she stopped putting the spoon in her mouth. And now she refuses to even hold the spoon. Ah well, at least we have proof that she did it.

On Saturday we picked up a new toy for Hayley at the mall. Normally I am not an impulse buyer, but we saw a ball pit for what seemed like a good price, and in my head I imagined my daughter having the time of her life in it (much like the little photoshopped girl on the box). We set it up after she went to bed so she could play with it first thing in the morning. Sadly, she did not have "ball mania".

We had to put other toys that she likes in the ball pit just to get her to go in and she was clearly not pleased with the situation. She humored us for about 10 minutes. We tried it again later on in the day but she couldn't wait to get out of it. And today? She full on cries if we put her OR her favorite toys in it. Now we have this huge useless thing in our living room.

Today I took Hayley to a Music Together class. We've been to a few demo classes before, but now we're actually enrolled in a full semester (go to www.musictogether.com if you don't know what I'm talking about). Like any baby, Hayley has really shown appreciation for music, mostly at a rhythmic level at this stage. She loves to drum on things and play with her various percussion instruments. She certainly hears music a lot in her daily life. Considering how important music is for a person's development (and lifelong happiness in my opinion), we really want to encourage Hayley's interest. Of course she is still a little young to fully participate in a Music Together class, but that doesn't mean it won't benefit her to be there. She definitely enjoys it, though for her, today was more about the novelty of the other kids and parents. After a few weeks, I hope she'll get over that and start clapping along with the songs and shaking her butt like she does at home!

Holiday 2009 mega-post

2010-01-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

The first week of the new year. A time for resolutions, fresh starts and really long holiday blog posts. The past few weeks have been pretty eventful for us, so let's get right to it.

Miranda took an extra week off before Christmas, so there was plenty of room to fit in all the stuff we wanted to do as well as lots of downtime. Our 3 week vacation actually started with Kati's birthday, followed the next day by a Metallica concert. No, I did not bring Hayley (she stayed home with mommy). Monday morning we took Hayley to the mall for her very first picture with Santa Claus. As you can see in the previous post, she did not smile, but most importantly, she did not freak out either. That was really all I was hoping for, so I came away satisfied.

The next day, Miranda, Kati and I went on a roadtrip to Lucille's BBQ, north of Sacramento (yes that is a long way to go for BBQ, but it was worth it). Hayley hung out with grandma instead of being subjected to 5 hours in the car. That night, we all visited Christmas in the Park. This is a tradition in downtown SJ that involves a mini-carnival, a sizable collection of decorated xmas trees and a whole bunch of weird, creepy holiday displays. Also, funnel cake.

We also celebrated Miranda's birthday as usual, this time with an adorable baby. Among other things, Miranda got some beautiful jewelry featuring Hayley's birthstone (amethyst) as well as a foot massager that Hayley is most definitely NOT a fan of. We all went to lunch at the Fish Market, which took forever due to terribly slow service. Hayley, who should have been napping, stayed awake until the very end, just in time for the very loud singing of the waitresses. She was not happy.

The day after mommy's birthday, we brought Hayley to Marsha's annual xmas party in RWC. We couldn't stay long, but we managed to enjoy some delicious food, meet another cute baby, and watch Hayley's reaction to our friend Tim (always amusing). A couple days later we were visited by Roberta, one of Hayley's favorite people (and Miranda's former boss). Although she didn't quite remember her, Hayley did warm up to her in the short time she was here.

The day before Christmas Eve, we started preparing for the festivities and my parents started their long drive from Arizona. This was probably the best part of the holidays this year: my parents finally getting some quality time with Hayley. They hadn't seen her in person since the week after she was born. The fun began during the day on xmas eve when my parents (AKA papa and naini) came over to spend some time before heading to Nancy's house. Hayley got off to a pretty good start with them, considering they were essentially strangers. After a while, Hayley put on her special new red dress and we left for grandma's.

As I've said before, the best thing about the holidays is family getting together. This was the first time in almost a year that both my family and Miranda's family were together, and the first time ever being together for Christmas Eve. I had been waiting for this for a while and I was not disappointed. The house was filled with love and it was a great thing. After having a wonderful dinner, everyone opened their xmas pajamas and got comfortable. Normally we would have stayed to watch a movie or something, but we had to get Hayley to bed, so we left early.

And then it was Christmas morning. Hayley and her cousin Dylan, being the only kids, got to open all of their gifts first. Hayley was still too young to really appreciate what was going on, but she certainly enjoyed herself. Like the rest of us, Hayley was still in jammies for the morning, but eventually we changed her into her adorable Christmas outfit. (I, on the other hand, stayed in pajamas the whole day.) After the kids were done with their gifts, we all kind of just opened ours at our own pace. My mom took about an hour for some reason. Miranda, Hayley and I each received some really great stuff (thank you all, you know who you are). The rest of Christmas was a blur of baked goods, more and more family, and some mild tantrums (myself included). Overall pretty successful first xmas with our baby girl.

The next few days were focused on spending time with my parents before they headed back home. This included taking my dad to a Sharks game, listening to a lot of music and playing Beatles: Rock Band, swapping family histories and crazy stories, going out to dinner, and watching a movie while mommy and baby took a nap. They also got to meet my step-brother-in-law, Gabe, who was visiting for the holidays as well. It was really nice having my parents here, we miss them so much and wish they lived a lot closer. Saying goodbye after less than a week was hard, but hopefully they'll be back to visit again soon. Hayley was just getting to know her papa and naini...

Our time between that and New Year's Eve was mostly downtime. Hayley had a couple playdates with her friend Leila, the highlight of which was eating puffs off the floor.

On New Year's Eve we took Hayley to a special event at the Children's Discovery Museum downtown called Noon Year's Eve. They have stations for making party hats, noise makers and such. Then at noon everyone gathers together at the intersection area for a ball drop countdown. It's a great way to celebrate New Year's Eve without letting your kids stay up til midnight (or waking them up for it).

Nancy, Matt, Kati and Gabe came over to our place for some football and chinese food, but left a couple hours before midnight. Miranda could have gone to bed, but she graciously stayed awake for the countdown. We pretended to drink champagne on Miranda's iPhone, then watched zombie Dick Clark and his soon-to-be replacement Ryan Seacrest ring in the new year. At this point we snuck into Hayley's room for her first picture of 2010.

The first weekend of the year was filled with new things. We watched the Winter Classic together, which was held at Fenway Park this year. Hayley got her first ever sink bath, which she enjoyed immensely. We also bought a new umbrella style Maclaren stroller, which we got a really good deal on.

The final day of Miranda's time off was great. The weather was beautiful so we all headed down to Monterey. Hayley slept pretty much the whole way there. We joined up with family at the Fisherman's Wharf where we enjoyed a delicious lunch, followed by a nice leisurely stroll. A fun, relaxing day to end a very memorable vacation.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

"Look! It's SANTA behind me!!"

So much to be thankful for!

2009-11-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

Less than a week after our little girl turned 9 months old, we gathered for our first Thanksgiving as a family. We've had a lot of family firsts over these 9 months, and there are plenty more to come, but this one was pretty special. Although Christmas will surely be the most noteworthy holiday for us, I like to think that Thanksgiving is the most family-focused. No gifts, no decorations, no nauseating songs, just good food and lots of relatives. And pumpkin roll.

Miranda started her vacation the previous Thursday, so we'd had lots of great time together by Thanksgiving, which was very nice. When the day came, we got up early, as usual. After a delicious homemade apple tart breakfast, Miranda and I decided to try starting a new family tradition: watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I've seen parts of it, but never watched the whole thing. That didn't change. Turns out, the broadcast of the parade contains very little actual parade footage. Maybe they show more later in the broadcast, but we didn't stick around to find out. We were so bored with the filler "entertainment" that we all decided to take a nap.

Then, of course, we skipped lunch to prepare for the coming feast. Once we were all packed up and ready to go, we headed down to Morgan Hill for the annual gathering at Uncle Danny and Aunt Patty's house. It was a classic scene: relatives that hardly ever see each other, football on TV, and a turkey in the oven. After a couple hours of talking and drinking, dinner began around 4. Nothing says Thanksgiving like 2 dozen people sitting at a table (or in our case, 3 tables) to share an amazing meal. This year, we got to bring a new addition to the group!

Now that Hayley is 9 months old, she can have meat, so she got her first taste of turkey. Turns out she would rather just eat the sweet potato pie:

Much like many of the adults, she enjoyed an after-dinner drink, then passed out:

In all seriousness, I think our first Thanksgiving with our baby girl was a great success. We had a wonderful time, and there really is so much to be thankful for: a loving family (immediate and extended), good friends, a safe home, nice weather and a big TV. What I am most thankful for is this: not only is Hayley alive and thriving, she seems to be a genuinely happy baby. As Miranda said, that's what we wanted most for her.

You'll always be my baby, right?

2009-11-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant I spent 9 months envisioning a life I'd share with my child. I day dreamed for hours about what my little girl would look like, about starting our own traditions and about seeing my husband become a father.

Then my little Hayley joined the world and all of my hopes came to life. I thought that once she was here my day dreaming would end but I continue to look towards the future and have spent the last 9 months still excited about what that future may hold.

Last Saturday Hayley turned 9 months old and I just can't believe how much she's grown in such a short amount of time. We took her in for a check up and found out that at 22lbs 9oz and 28 1/4", Hayley has grown into a perfectly healthy little girl. Her development is right on track and she continues to learn something new everyday. For example, on her 9 month b-day she waved bye-bye to grandma for the first time!

I'm so proud of my little munchkin. She's smart, beautiful and funny. But most importantly, she's happy. And with all that day dreaming I've ever done for her, that's all I've ever wanted.

Hayleyween

2009-10-31T23:28:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated our first Halloween together as a family. We did so by dressing up as another family: the infamous Three Bears. You can probably guess which of us was Papa Bear, Mama Bear, or Baby Bear:

Of course, the classic story isn't complete without the home-invading, porridge-eating miscreant Goldilocks:

Hayley was feeling a little under the weather, so we started our day of festivities later than originally planned. Once we picked up Aunt Kati in the afternoon, we piled into the car in full costume and headed out. First stop: Starbucks! The cashier got into the Halloween spirit and labeled our drinks with our character names:

Sufficiently energized, we arrived at a pumpkin-carving party hosted by Miranda's boss. Miranda encouraged me to join in the fun, despite the fact that I can't even remember the last time I carved a pumpkin. So I gutted a small one and drew on my design, a common one among gamers: Pac-Man chasing some ghosts. However, my skills being nonexistent, Miranda took over the actual carving. Turns out she is pretty darn good!

Afterward we headed back to Grandma's house where Hayley took a nap and had a bottle:

At this point, we sent Goldilocks on her way (the punk sat in our chairs and slept in our beds!) and went to our usual final destination of the evening, the annual Haunted Holiday in Redwood City. Fun and treats were had. We called it a night and brought Hayley home for her bedtime. Apparently, she saved a trick for Papa Bear:

By the way, if you ever want to be a bear for Halloween, but you don't want to buy a whole bear suit, all I can say is good luck. For some strange reason, simple bear ears are extremely hard to find. We ended up with some cat/mouse ears from the internet that we passed off as bear ears. Who knew such an item would be so rare?

The sweetest sound

2009-10-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we got Hayley laughing on camera. She gets into a giggly mood so randomly, but when she does, she doesn't hold back. Tonight, Miranda took off her leg warmers and she thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. So I grabbed the camera:

I love that sound!

New videos

2009-10-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

To start, allow me to introduce Hayley Houdini:

The first time she did this, before I got the camera going, we really couldn't find the pacifier for a little while. Turns out she had hidden it under her so she was basically sitting on it. Sneaky baby.

Next we have some quick cuteness. Hayley's mobility has been increasing substantially, and before she started crawling, she was rolling everywhere. But sometimes she is too lazy to roll:

And now we come to Hayley's first moments of crawling. For a couple months she's been doing everything (rolling side to side, backing up, rocking back and forth in place) except for crawling. She finally got her first taste of forward motion and she hasn't looked back. Technically, it's still a sort of dead man's crawl since her tummy touches the floor while she moves, but that doesn't change the fact that we officially NEED baby gates. Look out, here comes Hayley:

Our final video features a time-honored tradition, the inaugural tasting of lemon:

As you can see, instead of making hilariously disgusted faces, throwing the lemon away and giving her parents dirty looks, Hayley acts like it's a wondrous new flavor of which she can't get enough. She does seem confused through most of it, but hardly disgusted. Maybe this is a good thing.

7 months

2009-09-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hayley turned 7 months old on Monday. Geoff and I agree that 7 months is starting to sound like "kid" (rather than "baby") and we just can't believe it.

Hayley still isn't crawling but she's very clever, using a series of turns between her belly and back or scootching backwards to get where she wants to go. She's remained very curious and wants to play with everything which has Geoff and I very concerned for when she's truly mobile.

This past week was rough for me, for all of us, as work was very demanding of my time. There were a few days where the only times I was home was while she was asleep and I ached to hold my little girl in my arms. Geoff was so amazing during all that, holding down the fort beautifully.

The past few days when I come home from work Hayley is so excited to see me she makes these hilarious grunt/yell noises and tenses up her body so much she starts to shake. I try to spend time with her the rest of the evening and I continue to be impressed each day by that kid. Not only is she a genius, she just might be the funniest person I know. Every night as I hold her, asleep in my arms, I turn to Geoff in total amazement that we made this precious little life.

No matter how big a kid you become, Hayley, you're always going to be my baby.

09/09/09

2009-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrated a special day. A day I will only see once in my life: September 9th, 2009. This day wasn't only special because of the date. The Beatles: Rock Band came out today (along with the CD remasters). I took Hayley to a nearby Gamestop to pick up my reserved copy, then headed to Best Buy to get the replica of John Lennon's Rickenbacker 325.

Hayley got to see a damn good re-creation of the Beatles (with daddy on guitar) playing some classics at the Cavern Club and the Ed Sullivan Show. When mommy got home, she took over guitar while daddy sang. We're going to play through the entire saga of the Beatles, and hopefully one day Hayley will be able to join us. It is my sincere hope that this game will help my daughter, and a whole new generation, fall in love with the Beatles the same way I did.

And what a great beginning it has been

2009-08-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

People always warn you when you're expecting your first child that it will be the end of your social life once the little one arrives. I was under the impression that we'd never again get to have a Game Night with friends, go to the movies, go out to dinner or do any of the other things we enjoyed doing when it was just the 2 of us. Well, as of last night I think we've done everything on that list- and more.

Last night Geoff and I took Hayley to her first movie. Out local theater chain offers a Date Night once a week where they play a recent movie with lowered volume and dimmed lighting specifically for parents and their children. Last night's movie selection was The Time Traveler's Wife. Hayley was pretty good during the movie, about as good as you'd expect a 6 month old to be.

I think all those people offering advice on life with a new child have it really wrong. Hayley has added so much to our lives that I feel that we do even MORE now that she's along for the ride. Now we go to the park in the evenings and enjoy the evening as a family while Hayley giggles on the swings. Now we wake up early on Sunday mornings and stroll along the local farmer's market. Now we plan play dates and meet new people, make new friends based on our common bond: our intense love and pride for our newest additions. Now we go to music class demos and Gymboree class demos and try something new all to Hayley's delight.

I argue that, in our case, our lives together certainly didn't end but rather truly began with the birth of our little love bug.

Another progress report

2009-08-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today was Hayley's 6 month check up with our pediatrician. Geoff and I were anxious to see how much our girl has grown and we were happy to hear Hayley weighed in at 19lbs. 2oz (a 2lbs. 10oz. gain from 2 months ago) and is 27 inches long. This means she only has a few more pounds and/or inches before we are forced to move her into her larger car seat- wow!

Hayley had 3 shots this visit and I must say, she took them like a champ. There were a few seconds of crying after each shot but that's it. Last time she had shots it took her a few days to be back to her regular self so I decided it was best for me to take the entire day off of work to be with her but aside from a long nap this morning Hayley's showed no difference in her demeanor. This kid never ceases to amaze me.

The pediatrician said she looks absolutely perfect so whatever we're doing seems to be working.

I can't believe how fast she's growing and developing!

Halfway there...

2009-08-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

Happy 6 month birthday, Hayley! Daddy loves you!

Major (minor) milestones

2009-08-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

On the verge of turning 6 months old, our little girl has experienced some more firsts. Last week, Hayley ate her first fruit in the form of applesauce and the week before that, she had her first carrots. As you can see in the video she was not a big fan of carrots, but subsequent feedings changed that. Hayley's repertoire of solids now includes three different foods!

Last night, we tried putting Hayley in a real high chair for the first time. We went out to Chili's for dinner and brought along her chair/shopping cart cover. I was a little nervous about doing this, but it turned out to be a rousing success. She was happy and well-behaved for the whole meal and she never even came close to falling out.

Here's a first I am a bit sad to mention, as it represents a lost parenting battle. Miranda convinced me that it was okay to paint Hayley's toenails. I am generally of the opinion that things like nail polish and ear piercings are not appropriate for babies, but apparently Hayley has been staring quite enviously at mommy's and gramma's painted toenails, so here we are:

For those keeping score, this does NOT mean she gets to have her ears pierced any time soon. Anyway, something else happened recently that isn't really a milestone, but is nonetheless interesting and fun to see. She's had some toys that hang over her bouncy seat for a long time now, the middle one being the only one that is held up by velcro. I guess Hayley has been lifting weights in her crib, because the velcro is no longer sufficient to prevent her from yanking the toy right off the loop.

And finally, a milestone that is of great importance to me personally. Last week, we realized that Hayley can't be swaddled any more at night, since her rolling skills have blossomed. This has been quite a challenge, since the swaddling was so instrumental in helping her sleep through the night. The first 3 nights, we had to bring her into bed with us about halfway through in order for Hayley to continue sleeping. Then last night, the impossible happened. Not only did she sleep by herself in the crib with no swaddle until morning, she slept longer than me! I have never once gotten up without being awakened by a murmuring or crying baby. And it wasn't like I got up early. It was so refreshing to wake up of my volition and start my day on my own. Of course, it only lasted about a half hour, but it was still amazing. Enough so that I felt it deserved a picture:

Side note: it seems Hayley is taking after her mommy and actually prefers to sleep on her side/tummy. Perhaps this will be the key to consistently longer, more sustained sleep.

No words, really...

2009-07-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

Monkeying Around

2009-07-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-31T20:52:00.001-07:00

Like I need jammies to tell me that.

Picking up steam

2009-07-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

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!

Once upon a time...

2009-07-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

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

Good Morning Sunshine!

2009-07-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

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

Happy Birthday America

2009-07-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy First Father's Day!

2009-06-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Hayley,

Today is Father's Day which means we're going to make sure your daddy knows just how fantastic he is and how much we love him. To get you in the spirit of things I've made a handy little list of just a few of the reasons you're going to be the luckiest girl on the block:

Your father is NEVER going to say no when you ask him to play with you. Even if you invite him to your tea party with Love Bug during the final game of the World Series.
Daddy's already writing you a song. How cool is that??
He likes to fly you around as Super Baby while you go around saving the world. I'm pretty sure he'll always be willing to be your sidekick.
He CAN NOT WAIT to help you discover the world as you grow. And homework? He's all over it.
The guy can change a diaper like an absolute champ.
He's the most patient person I know.
You'll never have to ask him twice when you want to play a video game. Ditto for when you want Panda Express for dinner.
He ALREADY gets up to watch Saturday morning cartoons with you.
Above all, he just wants you to be happy and he'll do whatever it takes to keep that big goofy smile of yours on your face.

And just so Daddy doesn't get all the attention around here I'm throwing in one reason you're going to think I'm pretty cool, too:

I chose him for us.

And it was the best thing I ever did.

Love,
Mama

xoxoxox

Geoff, thank you for being all I ever dreamed of.

Probably the best baby in the universe

2009-06-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

This Sunday our baby girl turns 4 months old. I can barely remember a time when she wasn't a part of our family, yet the idea of her already celebrating another milestone astounds me. This morning she had her 4 month check up and I'm happy to report that Hayley is growing and developing perfectly (not to mention rapidly!). She now weighs 16.5 lbs and is 25" long. She's over 2 feet tall, can you believe it??

Look at the difference 4 months makes!

This past month Hayley has been very social. She's had a few play dates with her new friends Logan and Leila, as well as her old friend Caiden.

Hayley also got to visit with Grandpa David and Grandma Tina. They couldn't believe how much she'd grown since they'd seen her last!

One thing I hope to never forget about this month is that this is the month that Hayley really started giggling. Geoff and I agree, there is nothing we wouldn't do to hear that beautiful sound. We were lucky enough to get her first real giggles on video, which you've all seen below, but since then there have been many random events that have elicited a chorus of giggles from our little one. One such event was a mini hat fashion show Hayley did over at Leila's house.

I think we have a budding fashionista on our hands!

Hayley's started holding her own bottle from time to time and she's even managed to roll over on to her side to better reach her toys which she's also showing increasing interest in.

Our little turtle continues to love the bath, only now she invites some friends in to splash around with her.

Hayley has also recently discovered the great art of playing. Whether she's playing dress up with Grandma's jewelry, having some tummy time or playing with her new activity center while watching Baby Einstein movies, Hayley is having a blast!

June was a big month for Hayley's Aunt Kati. She went to prom and graduated from high school and we were all lucky to be involved in both.
Geoff and I take a lot of pride in what a great daughter we have and I just can't express how it feels to be blessed with such a happy little girl.

I can't wait to see what her 5th month brings!

Playing video catch-up

2009-05-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Prepare for a long post. Despite the pain in my butt that is video editing, rendering, and uploading, we will now be all caught up on the past 3 months of Hayley's life. Unfortunately, we weren't actually recording for those 3 months. You may notice a significant age gap between the first 4 videos and the rest. Miranda and I were too busy taking pictures. Silly mommy and daddy. We are doing are best to bust out the video camera as often as the regular camera now, so hopefully I'll get to post even more as time rolls on. Anyway, let's get started.

Still in the hospital, this was our first video update since the night of Hayley's birth. Our lives had drastically changed in just 2 days. Each of us was both overjoyed and exhausted.

2 more days later and it was time to go home. This video is actually multiple clips put together, much like the birth videos in the previous post. I was able to just get it within the YouTube time limit, so I didn't have to split it into 2 parts. I think my favorite part of this is the ceremonial placing of the Baby On Board sign.

Here we are 3 days after going home from the hospital, celebrating Hayley's 1 week of age. The highlight was capturing her smile on camera for the first time.

I think this is the next day. Hayley is enjoying her inaugural time in the bouncy chair. This kid knows how to relax. We get the first on-camera yawns. This video would have been much more entertaining if she had still been hiccupping by the time I was recording. Oh well.

So here is the big gap I mentioned. Hayley is about 11 weeks older than in the last video and it shows. Not only is she much bigger and more developed, she's talking! No, not really talking, just baby babble, but it's still awesome. Luckily she hasn't outgrown that bouncy chair yet.

Here we finally got Hayley snoring on camera. This is something we've been delighted by for weeks. You might have to turn up the volume for this one. I like to call it "sawing twigs".

Something else we have been loving for a while, now digitally immortalized: Hayley waking up and stretching in the morning. Over the last month, Miranda and I have managed to settle Hayley into a bedtime routine. Now that she has grasped the day/night cycle, Hayley is sleeping for at least 8 hours a night without waking up. Not only is this a HUGE help for everyone's health and sanity, but it means we all get to happily wake up together on weekends. The best part is watching Hayley stretch her little limbs after being swaddled all night.

Another video from that morning. Cuteness all around. That day (May 25th) marked 3 months since bringing our beautiful daughter home from the hospital.

Lastly, here we have the latest Hayley development: true giggling. She had actually been giggling for about a minute before the video starts. We weren't expecting it and the camera was not close at hand. Still, we caught some, and it's the greatest sound I have ever heard.

It seems like each day, week, and month that comes brings new and better things. Parenthood is quite the undertaking, but the rewards are priceless. I can't wait to see what my baby girl does next. Hopefully, the camera will be nearby.

Videos! (yes, really)

2009-05-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hayley turned 3 months old yesterday. To celebrate, I finally got off my lazy butt and edited the videos we took of her birth (and the 2 days leading up to it). I put the 10 videos together into one big movie, but the total running time of 16 minutes is too long for YouTube, so I had to split it up. Here they are, parts 1 and 2 of our beautiful daughter's entry into this world:

We've got plenty more videos to post, so hopefully I can start cranking them out.

And I love every little inch of you

2009-05-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Geoff took Hayley to the doctor's office for a weight check. She seemed to be putting on weight at a healthy rate and her clothes have been getting tighter and tighter so I've been really curious to see how much she's grown in the last 4 weeks since we took her in for her 2 month check up. At that time she weighed 11lbs 4oz.

Today, she's a whopping 14lbs 4oz! That's 3 whole pounds in just 4 weeks!

Slow down, baby girl. Mama's not quite ready for you to grow up.

My First Mother's Day

2009-05-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

All I wanted for Mother's Day was to spend a nice day with my family. Lucky for me, Geoff is a great husband so I got that and more.

The day started with Hayley letting us all sleep in until about 9a.m. One thing I love about the weekends is how we all wake up in our bed together. Within a few minutes of Hayley stirring (she's the dictator in this household) all 3 of us are stretching and yawning in sync. I love looking over to see this beautiful little girl between me and my husband.

Once Hayley was fed we all got up and ready to go the farmer's market. Before we left, Hayley and Geoff gave me a few cards and gifts. There may have been some tears due to the cards. Hayley got me some chocolates and Geoff remembered that there was this scarf at Nordstrom that I really liked because it was pink and green and reminded me of Hayley.

After changing into something that matched my new scarf better we stopped at Starbucks before heading to the market. We've been spending our Sunday mornings like this for a few weeks now and I must say it's quickly become one of my favorite parts of the week. We take some time to just relax and stroll around while looking at new, fresh and interesting foods and crafts. There is also a baby store that we visit each time that is owned by a former San Jose Sharks player and his wife. They have a one year old daughter who sometimes runs the shop with her mommy while her daddy, who is also a musician, plays his guitar outside. This Sunday seemed to be Hayley's day because she ended up leaving the market with 2 books about a turtle named Zonk by a local artist, a headband and a pink sun hat.

Doesn't she look like she's about to tell you your fortune? And you may not be able to see, but her shirt says "I'm Mommy's Dream Come True". Indeed.

Afterwards we went to my mom's house to wish her a happy Mother's Day and give her a present. The gift was appreciated, sure, but she really felt much like I did on that day: Hayley is by far the best gift we could have ever been given.

Eventually Margaret and Kelley came over and we all headed to the mall with Kati with a mission: find Kati a prom dress! I love looking at special occasion dressed and it was extra special to get to see my little sister look so beautiful in all of the dresses she tried on. We only had to go to 2 stores before finding THE dress. Kati's boyfriend, Matt, is going to be one lucky guy to have her on his arm that evening.

We had a bite to eat before leaving the mall and then called it a night. Once home, I gave Hayley a bath (which is the highlight of most of my days).

While I gave her her bedtime bottle Geoff went to pick us up some ice cream. Once Hayley fell asleep we moved her into our bed where I lay down beside her to go to sleep while Geoff rubbed my feet. To top it off, Hayley didn't wake up until I woke her at 6:15 Monday morning!

I just want to thank Geoff and Hayley for making me a mother and for making my first Mother's Day special. You both are my everything. I love you.

She just gets cuter with age

2009-04-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hayley turns 2 months old tomorrow. I'm still blown away by the fact that we even have a baby, and now it's been 2 months. Everyone who said "it goes by fast" weren't kidding.

We brought Hayley to her latest check-up on Friday. She's doing great! She now weighs 11 pounds 4 ounces, which means she gained 2 pounds in the past month. This puts her right in the 50th percentile for baby weight gain, according to the pediatrician. She is noticeably bigger. In fact, we've had to retire a couple outfits, including the pajamas she wore the day we brought Hayley home from the hospital. Here she is, not fitting into it:

In other news, Miranda went back to work today. I am officially a stay-at-home dad. This is both exciting and scary (which seems to be the theme of my life over the past year). It's going to be a big adjustment, but hopefully we'll figure it out. Aside from the logistics of it all, I need to get over how guilty I feel. No, taking care of a baby by yourself is not easy, but I'd rather be spending my days with my daughter than going to work, and I know Miranda would trade places with me in a second. It's times like these that I really wish we were filthy rich.

Anyway, plenty has happened in the past couple weeks. First off, as you can see from the header pic, Hayley is enjoying bath time much more now. Hopefully that will continue.

Next, we have Hayley getting to know mommy's new "diaper bag".

Here she is sleeping in her new co-sleeper. This is the first step toward weaning her off us. Eventually we'll start putting her down in her crib.

Hayley went on a big sports kick, attending her first Sharks game and her first Red Sox game. She did really well at both, sleeping through most of them.

She also celebrated her first Easter. Here she is with the basket she got from the Easter bunny (aka mommy).

I'm so cute! Love me!

Busy baby

2009-04-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Life as a 6-week-old must be very tiring. Just look at all she's done:

Hayley visited her first beach, the San Gregorio state beach on Highway 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. She wasn't quite ready to play in the sand, of course, but she got a whiff of the sea air. That day, she also saw downtown Half Moon Bay (which apparently is a ghost town on Tuesdays) and then hung out at the best ice cream joint in the bay area, Marianne's in Santa Cruz.

Hayley met her cousin Caiden James Gilbrecht (born March 4th, a mere 11 days after her). They sat together for a little bit, wondering why the adults were making so much noise at them. Afterward, she was all smiles. Hayley made her first friend!

She also took her first full bath. Up until then, we were just wiping her down and washing her hair over the sink. She usually enjoys that, so we were hoping she would like the bath. As you can see, she was not thrilled. Maybe next time.

Hayley even went to her first sporting event to cheer on Dylan, who was playing in his first t-ball game (yes, he's only 3 years old). It was a beautiful Saturday morning in sunny California and the crowd was excited. Naturally, Hayley slept through it all.

Other highlights: we've started supplementing her diet with formula, she's wearing more of her cute outfits, we took her to the Sharks store at HP Pavilion, aka the Shark Tank (where the San Jose Sharks play and where she'll go to her first hockey game next week), she's cooing and playing more, still sleeping a lot, and adding tummy time to her day. We also got some good news at the pediatrician's office when we brought Hayley for an impromptu weigh-in. Our baby is officially in the double digits! She tipped the scale at exactly 10 pounds. This means she is gaining weight properly.

Woo! I'm growing!

Wednesday One-Liners

2009-03-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, give momma's nose back!

Costco was having a great sale on babies.

Hmm, looks like we missed a spot with the sunscreen.

Ah-choo!

(By the way, the concept for this post was inspired by/shamelessly stolen from overheardinnewyork.com)

Life with a baby

2009-03-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

A lot can happen in a month. You can find yourself doing things and feeling emotions you never thought possible. Especially when the source of this change is the cutest, sweetest little baby girl ever. In fact, so much has happened, I honestly don't know where to begin. All the more reason to blog frequently rather than rarely, I suppose.

The hospital stay was a crash course in early parenthood. We dove into breastfeeding, diaper changing, umbilical cord stump cleaning, swaddling and more, all while learning to function on very little rest. I'm not good at sleeping in small doses, so that was quite a struggle for me. It was worse for Miranda since she was also recovering from major surgery. Not surprisingly, she did an amazing job despite the setback of a c-section. I think we both stepped up to the plate and did what we had to do. We were just so happy to finally have our Hayley, nothing else really mattered. We were parents now.

We came home after spending about a week at the hospital. Even though we were now fully on our own with a newborn baby, just being home made a big difference. Now, 4 weeks later, we've mostly adjusted to life at home with a baby. In that time, Hayley has experienced countless firsts. Sleeping in her crib, sleeping on mommy or daddy, sleeping with mommy and daddy in our bed, sleeping in her car seat, sleeping in the carrier. Babies sleep a lot.

When not sleeping, Hayley went on her first walk around the neighborhood in her cool stroller, had her first visit to the pediatrician, sat and played in her bouncy chair, watched TV (including Sharks games), watched daddy play video games, took more walks, entertained many visitors to the apartment, and went on lots of car rides to grandma's house, restaurants, the mall, Steph's house, the grocery store, and even Stanford. She also celebrated her first holiday, St. Patrick's Day (appropriate, considering her parents got engaged in Ireland). Some firsts were of the sad variety, unfortunately. These included saying goodbye to papa and naini when they returned to Arizona, spitting up, losing the only evidence of her life in the womb when her umbilical cord stump fell off, and switching to bottled breast milk when the pain of breastfeeding became too much for mommy (Miranda can elaborate on the feeding issue if she wants to).

So far, this has been both the most challenging and most rewarding endeavour of my life. I'm still getting used to the lack of sleep, although Miranda has been letting me get a good 6 hours in a row each night, for which I am HUGELY grateful. There are times when I feel useless and frustrated, like whenever Miranda has to pump milk or when Hayley screams for an hour and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to comfort her. But there's so much more time when I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I mean, I already did when I married Miranda, but now I've got two perfect girls in my life. Holding Hayley as she falls asleep, just watching her sleep, seeing her smile involuntarily, listening to her tiny baby snores, watching her stretch and yawn as she wakes up, staring into her beautiful little eyes while she examines her strange new world - these are the things I live for now. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. She's only a month old!

1 Month

2009-03-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I think back to just 4 weeks ago and then look at Hayley and can't fully make the connection that this little girl was once in my belly. She was quite comfortable in there, I might add. When we decided to induce I was so relieved to have a plan in place. Then as we drove to the hospital I was extremely nervous. I'd changed my mind. I wasn't ready. What were my other options? Luckily we had some really great nurses that put me at ease and got me all set up. Then began the waiting game. I was so frustrated that things were progressing so slowly and I was so sick of being hooked up to a million machines but then I'd hear Hayley's steady heartbeat and I'd settle back in for the next wave of contractions.

Hearing that I was going to have a c-section was somewhat devastating. I wasn't prepared for surgery and I wasn't prepared for the feelings that would come up when told I wasn't physically able to birth my child with out an intervention. I'm still not sure what those feelings were completely about, but I do know that I felt like my body had failed me. Like I was failing my daughter. I didn't have much time to dwell on these insecurities as 20 minutes after hearing the prognosis I was holding my beautiful Hayley.

And in that moment I fell in love.

That love has grown and matured over the last 4 weeks into something more beautiful than I could have never imagined. I'm exhausted each and every day but I'd happily stay awake forever if she'd just continue to dream in my arms.

I love you, baby girl.

Regarding updates

2009-03-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

To anyone who has been checking our blog since Hayley was born, I apologize for the complete lack of updates. Who knew a baby could be so distracting? It was my intention from the beginning to post often once Hayley was here, but sadly the blog dropped low on the priority list. However, that's going to change starting tomorrow.

You may or may not have noticed that we actually have been updating our Picasa web albums every week, so there's that. We've also got a simple slideshow going in the sidebar here. In case you hadn't figured it out, clicking on that will take you to our Picasa page, so you can check out all of our pictures any time.

Aside from updates and pics, I will eventually get around to posting videos from labor/delivery and going home. I know, it's already a month late, but what are ya gonna do?

Introducing: Hayley Olivia Tuttle

2009-02-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

Born at 6:04 PM on Saturday, the 21st of February, 2009. Hayley weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces and she was 20.5 inches long.

As you can probably imagine, the past 5 days have been, umm... Actually, there aren't enough adjectives in the English language. As of midnight Saturday, Miranda had truly begun labor and Hayley's arrival was imminent. 16 hours later, the doctor informed us that normal delivery looked unlikely. She made her final decision about an hour after that, diagnosing cephalopelvic disproportion. Basically, Hayley's head was a little too big to fit through Miranda's pelvis. The cervix had only dilated to about 5cm and it wasn't going to get any bigger. Sadly, the only option remaining was a cesarean section.

After spending 48 slow and agonizing hours in the hospital, the next few simply flew by. Miranda was prepped for the c-section while I engaged in my own frantic preparation. Then the moment we had been waiting for finally arrived. Our daughter was born. All the cliches you hear about this are completely true. There really are no words to describe it. Even in the surgical situation of a c-section, the event was beyond anything I could have imagined. I nearly fell over when they first showed Hayley to me. How I managed to hold up a video camera, I will never know.

Between then and now, more has happened than I could possibly cover in one post, so I will leave that for later. We've got plenty of pictures up, so click here.

Or maybe she won't...

2009-02-21T00:06:00.001-08:00

February 20th is officially over and we remain babyless. Turns out Miranda didn't get to start on the Pitocin until about 10pm, rather than the 10am or earlier that we were hoping for. The first 12 hour dose of Cervidil failed to soften the cervix, so another 12 hour dose was administered.

Despite the longer than expected time spent in the hospital, the lack of sleep and the extreme frustration of the past 24+ hours, I'm feeling pretty excited. The Pitocin is in and the contractions are ramping up. Of course, this means Miranda is not feeling so much excitement as she is feeling pain.

Luckily, this means there is little possibility that we'll be waiting another day. Hayley should arrive exactly on her due date. Go Hayley! It's your birthday!

She's going to be a day early

2009-02-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

With the due date looming only a few days away, we've decided to induce. We are so ready for Hayley to finally be born and we no longer need a medical reason to induce. The doctor wasn't going to let us go more than a couple days past the due date anyway, so here we are. On Thursday at 5pm, we'll arrive at the hospital and get to work!

The first order of business will be the application of Cervidil, a cervical softener. Then, at some point (depending on how well Miranda responds to the Cervidil), they'll break her waters and give her Pitocin to start labor. We're hoping for labor to begin Friday morning and Hayley to be born later that day!

Parenthood officially begins this weekend. It's been quite a journey up to this point. It seems like we've been waiting for this forever, but now that it's really about to happen, I'm not sure how to feel. I'm almost relaxed. We've done so much preparation, the last couple weeks have basically just been killing time. But shouldn't I be freaking out? I guess we'll see how things go at the hospital. One thing I am sure of: Friday is going to be the best day of our lives.

"We carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. "

2009-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hayley,

A few months ago, on November 4, your parents voted for your future. We were tired of feeling like we didn't have a voice, tired of the direction our country was going and tired of feeling like there was no hope. Turns out, the rest of the country was pretty tired, too.

This past Tuesday, January 20, our country's 44th President, Barack Obama, was sworn into office. On a very cold winter morning, over a million people crowded the mall in front of the U.S. Capitol Building to watch as Obama took his oath, becoming the first African American to ever do so. It was a moment I'll truly never forget.

President Obama represents something different to everyone. To me he represents hope. He represents change. He represents character. He represents fathers and husbands. But maybe most of all, he represents my absolute greatest wish for you, Hayley: to live in a world of peace, opportunity, pride and tolerance.

When you are older you'll learn about January 20, 2009 in school. I hope that you'll bring the discussion home with you so your father and I can tell you all about the day our country began to change.

Love,
Mama

Just about the best day ever.

2009-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was my baby shower and I really can't express what a wonderful day it was. I was really excited about it in the days leading up, but it was many times better than I ever imagined. I need to give a HUGE thank you to Kelley and Steph for putting it together, as well as to Mom, Kati and Margaret for helping them out. Here are some pics to take you through the day:

First, I walked in and the entire house was decorated. It was the cutest thing ever. What I loved was that so much of the decoration was functional, we got to take it all home!
Even the computer was all decked out!
Then I noticed the table covered in yummy food, catered by Steph's mom, Marsha. They obviously know how to keep a pregnant woman happy! Also, all those flower arrangements were done by my Aunt Margaret. The one on the food table was especially thoughtful because she made sure to include white lilies and heather, just like my wedding bouquet (which she also put together for me!). Once the boys departed we started on some games. Now, most shower games are fairly lame but all 3 of the games we played were great! The standout was a game of memory where you had to match baby/birth words together and each time you did you won a corresponding candy bar. For instance, match "Baby Giggles" and you received a Snickers bar. "Daddy"? A Big Hunk bar. "Conception"? A Skor bar. "Epidural"? Life Savers. It went on and on and it was really fun to see which each match would bring.After games we called Geoff back to the house and started on the gifts. This portion of the shower took the longest, by far, as Geoff and I are blessed to have a truly generous family and group of friends. Here are a few pics of us ooh-ing and aww-ing over a few items and then a final shot of what her room looked like once all the gifts were brought in that night:
My uncle Dan even made sure to send over a gift just for Geoff:
After gifts I was bullied into cutting the most adorable cake I'd ever seen. My mom had taken my shower invite to Icing on the Cake (who made our wedding cake and all of the video game cakes I've given to Geoff over the years) and had them put a design together. It was white cake with lemon filling and a butter cream frosting. The cake was decorated with pink polka dots all over, the stroller from the invite on top and the words "Welcome to the world Hayley!" around the side. If I'd had my way we never would have eaten it and I'd find some way to preserve it forever. It was just beautiful.
I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone that made the day possible, everyone who came to celebrate with us and everyone who couldn't make it but sent us good thoughts that day. I will truly never forget Hayley's shower and I can't wait to introduce her to all of you!

As usual, click here to see our Picasa photo albums.

Holiday 2008 wrap-up

2009-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

She may not be born yet, but Hayley's presence was certainly felt all throughout this holiday season. From the baby gifts, to the feasting, to the realization that Thanksgiving and Christmas will never be the same (they'll be better), Hayley has become an integral part of our lives. Of course, family has always been the focus this time of year. I don't think she knows what's coming, though. Let's just hope Hayley gets into the holiday spirit as much as the rest of us!

Thanksgiving at Danny and Patti's house

We tend to eat well for the holidays. This is but a modest sampling. Unfortunately, Hayley didn't appreciate the loss of space whenever Mommy had her share of the feast. Pretty soon, Mommy will be able to eat and breathe like a normal person! Woo!

Xmas at Nancy and Matt's house

This picture only represents about 20% of all the gifts opened that day in that house. I'm not even kidding.

Hayley's own adorable little mouse ornament.

Mommy and Grandma trying not to cry (but failing) while reading Hayley's gift from Grandpa. (On the Night You Were Born)

Daddy getting the best baby gift ever (zip-up Maggie Simpson star outfit).

Daddy loves you!

Another insanely cute ornament, which is now hanging in the nursery.

We are the Tuttles. Welcome.

New Year's Eve at Steph's house

Here we are toasting the new year, 2009, the year of our beautiful daughter's birth! We couldn't be happier! We are so excited for the coming whirlwind and for the joy of the next holiday season in Hayley's company.

Click here to view our Picasa web album, with all of the pics from the holidays.

It's ok; we can laugh about it now.

2009-01-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Hayley,

I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you, once again, how awesome your father is. You see, a few weeks ago your mama turned 25. Now, before we go too far in this story I should tell you I'm pretty awesome, too. Your father turned 25 a few years ago and I surprised him by waking him very early in the morning, telling him to pack a bag for the weekend, and walking him outside to a van full of our friends. We then drove to Disneyland and had a great time. If you ever ask your dad someday in the future about his 25th birthday, do mama a favor and be sure not to ask him about his feet, ok?

Anyway, back to MY 25th. I knew your father had something planned, but I had no clue as to what it was. In fact, your dad wanted to keep this a surprise so bad he didn't tell a single person for fear I'd figure it out. I slowly started learning some details as the date neared: we were going somewhere cold and we had to wake up REALLY early to catch our flight. Once we arrived at the airport I was told we weren't flying direct, so I wouldn't know where we were truly going for another few hours. We boarded our flight to Phoenix and started our trip.Once in Phoenix we rushed to our next flight and that's when I found out: we were headed to Detroit! As soon as I found this out, I knew what the plan was. Your dad was apparently paying excellent attention all of these years when I talked about wanting to see the Sharks play in other arenas as well as wishing he would plan a trip since I love to travel so much. When we landed in Detroit I looked out the window and was delighted to see a bunch of beautiful snow all over the place. In fact, this might just be the first time I'd been in snow since I visited your dad in Boston many years ago.

We made our way to our hotel and this is when I learned that Detroit is REALLY stinkin' close to Canada. Your mama's never been too great with geography. We could see Canada from out our window, just across the river, and based on how much you were moving around I think you were waving to our friends up north right along with me!
After a quick lunch and rest, we bundled up and took Detroit's monorail, called the People Mover, to the Joe Louis Arena. "The Joe" is the home of the Detroit Red Wings.It was amazing to walk around the arena and look at all of the memorabilia.
I can't help but hope that one day you'll be grown up and walk into the Shark Tank and see a few of these banners in the rafters.
However, with the way the game ended up I'm not so sure. The Sharks lost 6-0 and I could do nothing but laugh. You see, a few years ago we went and watched the Sharks play the Phoenix Coyotes and it was an absolute massacre. They lost 8-0 that time. I'm starting to think maybe we shouldn't go see the Sharks play out of town anymore.

That night we went back to our hotel room and started to watch the Weather Channel. You see, a rather large snow storm was headed our way and we had plans to head home the next morning, on my actual birthday. When we woke up on December 19 we looked out the window and all we could see was a blanket of white. Our flight wasn't cancelled, or even delayed, so we packed up and went to meet a taxi for the drive to the airport. I'm not going to lie, it was by far the worst car ride I've ever been on. I mean, we had to take an on ramp and were delayed because a big rig was stuck in the snow. If they were stuck, how were WE going to make it?? There may have been a few scared tears, I really can't say for sure.

By 9 a.m. there had been 6 inches of snowfall. Our flight was at 11something so we crossed our fingers.
We got to the airport and they were doing their best to keep flights moving. We boarded on time and were only delayed because they had to de-ice the plane. Between the delay and the terrible nose wind, we missed our connecting flight in Phoenix but were able to get seats on a flight to San Francisco.You father felt really bad, thinking he'd ruined my birthday considering the horrible loss at the hockey game and the terrible travel day we had, but you know what? It was still pretty much the coolest birthday gift I've ever received. Your dad put a lot of effort into this trip and it still amazes me that he took the time to do so. He's a great man, that father of yours. I can't wait for you to meet him.

Love,
Mama

I'm going to brag here for a second.

2009-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

So, last night I was thinking that I needed to post about how I totally deserve a cookie for the fact that I actually shaved my legs while 33 weeks pregnant. Trust me, it was no small feat.

BUT THEN, I went to the doctor for a check up* and had my dreaded weigh in. This weigh in is the first since my last appointment 3 weeks ago, which means it was before my birthday, Christmas and New Years. I was not looking forward to it. I stepped on the scale, ready to cry, to learn I only gained THREE measly pounds! I almost kissed the nurse.

So, I think I'll have a side of french fries with my cookie, if you don't mind.
----------------------------

*The check up went well. Hayley is measuring 34-35 weeks which may mean she'll be here sooner than we thought, though they haven't officially moved up my EDD. I had a feeling they were more on track with my original EDD (2/13) so we'll see how it goes. Hayley is positioned head down which is good news. My total weight gain is 23 pounds, my blood pressure still looks good and there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. I took another blood test to check on my thyroid and iron levels and we'll find out in a few weeks how I'm responding to those treatments. Pretty much, I'm lucky to be having an easy pregnancy and Hayley continues to be the epitome of little fetus perfection! :)

It's beginning to look like a baby lives here

2008-12-26T10:16:00.001-08:00

Hayley's nursery is complete! At least, the parts that can be seen. We're still missing a few things, but it's basically done. And boy (or should I say girl?) is it cute. We've got lots of great decorations on the walls and shelves, her crib is ready to go, and even the bed for sleepy parents is looking nice. Note the many international touches throughout (namely of French and Irish origin). Also, bonus points if you can spot the mistake in the room.

(The above picture is from before Xmas, the below picture shows the most recent additions.)

(Again, above picture is from before Xmas, below is after.)

Did you see that?!?

2008-11-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

Hayley has been very active lately and she's starting to form a fairly reliable schedule. She gets active around 5:30 every morning and doesn't settle down until I eat breakfast. The longer I wait to eat, the more she kicks. She's maybe, just a tad, impatient. I haven't a clue who she could have gotten that from. She acts up again around lunch time and again calms down once I eat. In the evening she's all over the place from about 5 on. Geoff reads to her every night around 9 or 9:30. If he's much later than 9:30, she has a little fit and kicks A LOT until he starts. It's the sweetest little temper tantrum I've ever seen.

Yes, SEEN. Hayley has grown so much that she's strong enough for it to be visible when she moves/kicks/punches inside my tummy. Most of the time it feels sort of like an involuntary movement, like a muscle spasm, but sometimes she'll do a little belly flop which can be really uncomfortable for a moment. Just recently I've been able to feel her drag a foot or hand along my stomach, which is a very odd feeling.

I can't help but love this new development. Often times I break out into giggles over it, as if she's tickling me, and I feel like such a proud mama. I love that Geoff can feel/see her movements consistently. I like to sort of show her off; I'm so proud of her. She has a little personality and attitude that is becoming apparent and it's so amazing to finally grasp that there is a real, live, little human in their. A little human that happens to be our beautiful daughter.

Most of all, I just love the constant reminder that I'm carrying my little buddy around with me.

Hayley's first (in utero) Halloween

2008-11-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

Friday night we celebrated Halloween at Marsha's house, as usual. Stephen's "haunted house" (it's really just A Nightmare Before Christmas come to life now) was his best yet. I had lots of candy but Miranda limited herself to some mini M&Ms (for Hayley, of course). Aunt Kati was there, too, with her BF and another friend. There were some good costumes, but I have to say ours were the best. Check us out:

Yes, we're a baker and the devil. In case you're not quite sure why I went as a baker, perhaps my bakery logo (made by none other than the devil you see above) will explain it:

See, cuz I've got a bun. In the oven. Right now. Get it?

Miranda's pregnant.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to next year when we actually get to dress up our little girl. It will be hard to settle on a costume though. Maybe we'll just get a bunch and keep changing her costume throughout the night.

I hope everyone else had a fun Halloween this year! Here's another pic, just for giggles:

Hayley's ultrasound video

2008-10-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hayley is now on YouTube! I've embedded the video above. If for some reason it doesn't work, click here.

As you watch, look for the following: a big healthy brain; no cleft lip; a healthy, beating, 4-chamber heart; girl parts; a whole lot of bones; Hayley saying hello by waving a little and opening and closing her mouth.

Yes, she does look a bit scary at times. That's just how the ultrasound was set up. As Miranda is fond of saying recently, Hayley is going as a skeleton for Halloween this year.

Lookin' good at 22 weeks

2008-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

In case you couldn't tell already, we're having a girl! Confirmed by ultrasound, Squirtle is now officially known to all as Hayley Olivia Tuttle. I don't think I could possibly be more excited. We're really having our little dream girl!

Now the real fun begins. We're going to make your room perfect for you and get all kinds of cute clothes to fill your closet. In fact, we celebrated the day of the ultrasound by buying several adorable outfits and ordering your crib and dresser. Also, now that you can actually hear us in there, we're starting to read to you and play music. I hope you like what you hear.

We love you so much, Hayley!

My little dream come true

2008-10-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Hayley,

Yesterday your mama and daddy got to see you for the first time in over 14 weeks and all I can say is you're beautiful. Absolutely beautiful and perfect. You're developing into a healthy little baby girl and we couldn't be more proud. It was especially charming when you waved at us. You might not have been able to see it, but both your father and I instinctually waved back.

I just want to tell you how incredibly wanted and loved you were long before you were conceived. Before your father and I were even married, I had a dream about you. That's where you get your name, Hayley. Since that night we've talked about you countless times and imagined you in our life. I never suspected I'd be so lucky as to have it all come true. Yet, when the doctor told us you were you, I did not cry or do anything outrageous. I just felt a calm come over me. This was supposed to be. You picked us as your parents long ago, and I can't thank you enough for that.

I love you, sweet daughter of mine.

Love,
Mama

Celebrate good times, come on!

2008-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes good things come in pairs. Last night, our beloved Boston Red Sox beat the LA Angels to win the ALDS and advance to the next round of playoffs (ALCS). Squirtle, being the Sox fan that s/he is (naturally), joined in the celebration with mommy and daddy. As we jumped around the room in excitement, Squirtle also started moving quite a bit in Miranda's uterus. Although this was nothing new for Miranda, Squirtle's little flips and rolls were so exaggerated that, for the first time, I was able to feel them with my hands.

Oh my goodness, there's a baby in there!

We're half way there!

2008-10-06T10:22:00.001-07:00

This past Friday we had our 20 week (which is the midway point) check up and everything seems on track for a healthy baby. I've gained 5 pounds in the last 4 weeks, which brings my total weight gain to a whopping 6 pounds. I have a feeling this number is going to rise sharply fairly soon as my appetite is back and I've begun my ravenous-all-the-time portion of this pregnancy.

The next good news we received was that the blood tests I took around 16 weeks all game back with good results. This was my AFP screening which tells us if the baby is at increased risk of being born with open neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), down syndrome, chromosomal abnormalities (such as trisomy 18) or abdominal wall defects. Had the test results caused any alarm I would have had to have an amniocentesis to gather more information. I'm very happy to not have to have an amnio as the procedure requires me to be poked in the stomach with a VERY long and fairly large needle and carries a few scary risks.

We had the opportunity to hear Squirtle's little heartbeat again, which took some time to find as s/he was moving around quite a bit. Once the heartbeat was located I was once again overwhelmed by the fact that I love this little baby inside of me so much I can't even stand it. It's also such a proud mama moment for me. It's like, "WE made that. Furthermore, MY body is doing all it needs to to sustain that little life. Wow." It's just incredible.

Our next appointment is 2 weeks from today, October 20. That afternoon we'll go in for another ultrasound and as long as Squirtle cooperates we'll get to find out the gender! This is the day we've all been anticipating for months now and it's hard to not get too excited about it. Besides potentially finding out the gender, I'm really just excited to get another little sneak peek at this little being inside of me. Squirtle has grown so much since our last ultrasound and this will be our first opportunity to see him/her look like an actual baby. Like I said, it's really hard not to get too excited; I can't wait!

Another little update is that I'm feeling the baby move a lot now. It's an incredible sensation that I first felt almost a month ago, but it was subtle and infrequent. The movements are growing stronger and I feel Squirtle daily with some chunks of time where s/he's moving constantly for a prolonged period. The movements aren't quite strong enough for anyone other than me to feel, but I think that's getting close. Sometimes I like to have a little fun with it and I'll poke my belly and wait for the response. Other times I'll lay down and switch from side to side because each time I switch I can feel Squirtle move around to get resettled. After about my 6th time tossing around Geoff usually tells me to knock it off and let the baby be already. I can't help it. Plus, I figure I'm in for plenty of sleepless nights and it's the least Squirtle can do.

Pretty much, I just adore this tiny baby.

Baby mecca and a perk of pregnancy

2008-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, something to do! As evidenced by the lack of posts on our family blog, the last month or so has been relatively uneventful, at least on the baby front. We went in for another checkup (Squirtle's heartbeat is still the most wonderful sound in the world) and Miranda's morning, noon and night sickness has begun to subside (a huge relief, as you might imagine).

This weekend, Miranda and I decided to start our baby registry. So, we ventured to the land of baby stuff, Babies "R" Us. Two separate in-store trips and several hours of online research later, Squirtle's registry had nearly 90 items. And that doesn't even include everything we plan to get. Who knew that a kid needed so much stuff? Surprisingly, when you add up the cost of it all, it actually doesn't come out to that much. Thank goodness for small miracles.

If you'd like to check out the registry, click here.

During our trips to Babies "R" Us, as well as the mall across the street, we got to experience one of the few perks of pregnancy (which I will sorely miss after Squirtle graces us with his presence): Expectant Mother Parking.

These spaces are like Handicap parking, except you feel proud and excited as you walk away from your car. The expectant mother parking at Babies "R" Us is especially fun, as it is plentiful and adorably marked.

Remember when Squirtle was just the size of a little blueberry?!?

2008-08-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Geoff and I went in for my 12 week check up. As a side note, can I just mention how much I adore that my husband is as excited as I am about this pregnancy and how he insists on going to all of the appointments with me? I'm sure I'll have a long mushy post soon all about how amazing he is in general and how he's so beautifully stepped up to the plate as the father-to-be/husband of a crazy pregnant lady.

Anyway, the checkup. First came my oh so favorite part: the weigh in. Now, I know the number on the scale is going to sore fairly soon, but I was fairly worried about gaining too much in the first trimester. Everything I've read said that most women gain from 2-5 lbs. At my last appointment, at 8 weeks, I had gained 2 lbs. So for a month I kept telling myself I could only afford to gain 3 lbs, max. However, a lot of the fruit and other healthy food I had been craving early on had lost its appeal due to my morning/afternoon/night sickness. I felt I was eating a lot of bready foods and starchy potatoes so I was slightly uneasy when I stepped on the scale. However, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I had lost 3 lbs. The nurse assured me that this was very common and that I was still right on track. Yay!

We then went into our exam room, which was inexplicably decorated with beach decor, and perused some pamphlets while waiting for the doctor. By the way, my actual doctor is named Nadine Gravens. She's been my OB-GYN for about 8 years and was the surgeon for my laporoscopy a few years ago. She, or course, is extremely busy and while we were supposed to meet with her this visit she was called to the hospital for a surgery. Instead, we met with Erica Brown, a PA-C, whom we've seen at each of our previous appointments. Erica came in with a little Doppler device and proceeded to prod my belly searching for Squirtle. It's a little unnerving those first few minutes when you don't hear anything, or you do but she tells you it's my heartbeat. But THEN there it was: the most precious little sound I've ever heard. The sound of the littlest member of the Tuttle family's heart happily beating away.

Squirtle was moving around a lot that morning, causing the Doppler to emit an odd sound every so often. Erica told us that everything sounded perfect and that s/he sounded pretty happy in there. When she was done she asked if we had any questions. The only thing we weren't sure about was when we could find out the gender. Erica told us at about 22 weeks. We'll most likely continue to have an appointment every 4 weeks, so we'll probably find out at our 24 week appointment which just so happens to fall on Halloween. This seems like forever from now as we're fairly anxious to find out, but we'll just try to enjoy the speculation until then. With that our appointment was over. Our next doctors visit will be September 4 and I'll be just under 16 weeks.

Just like that we had passed our first big milestone: the first trimester. Wow.

Ah, the power of eBay

2008-07-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Direct from Hong Kong, Squirtle has arrived! No, we didn't adopt a Chinese baby. We acquired a plush toy (no longer available in the states at retail) of our actual baby's current namesake. It's the turtle Pokemon from the original game. He's cute, he has a funny voice, and his toy form is now officially our kid's first stuffed animal. Or, it will be once they're born. Hopefully, by renaming our baby before he/she meets the "real" Squirtle, we can avoid a cataclysmic explosion due to some sort of space-time anomaly as worlds collide. Uh... right.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

2008-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a still shot from today's ultrasound. Sorry for the quality, it's from my cell phone camera. Note that Squirtle's head is on the left.

According to the doctor's measurement during the ultrasound, Miranda is currently 7 weeks, 6 days pregnant. That puts the official EDD at February 21st, 2009.

Kinda looks like a spaceship, right? No? Maybe it's just me.

Like a Deer in Headlights

2008-07-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

The waiting game just got a little more bearable.

Today, we went in for the second doctor's appointment, the main purpose of which was to get an ultrasound that would hopefully reveal Squirtle in all his/her glory. And glorious it was. Not only could we actually see our blueberry-sized embryo, we also saw AND heard its heartbeat! The effect this had on me (and Miranda, I'm sure) is indescribable. I didn't know what to do or say. I could only stand there and stare at the monitor, mouth agape, periodically mumbling pathetic understatements like "cool" and "awesome". I vaguely remember squeezing Miranda's hand really really hard.

So it's confirmed: Squirtle is alive and kicking.

Are We There Yet?

2008-07-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be honest: this first month kinda sucks.

We have yet to break the news to most of our friends (we'll do that at the end of July). However, we do still see our friends, and Miranda IS pregnant. This leads to situations like the following: yesterday Noah and Stephanie (not our roommate) got married. When the subject of the cake came up during the reception, Stephanie told us there was chocolate mousse in it, at which point I exclaimed "Awww" while looking at Miranda. (She can't have mousse due to the possibility of foodborne illness from raw eggs.) Everyone looked at me, wondering what that meant, and I immediately realized my error. After an awkward silence, I just shrugged my shoulders. Luckily, Tim proceeded to make a joke about me, which I gratefully latched onto in order to distract everyone from questioning the real reason for my "disappointment" regarding the mousse.

Basically, I just want to tell everyone I know, but it's better to wait, so I have to constantly bite my tongue around certain people. Thank goodness our families know!

And then there's the nausea. No, I'm just fine. Miranda, not so much. Obviously, it's never enjoyable to see your wife sick or in pain, but this is especially tough to witness. I do what I can to help, but in the end I do not have any miracle healing powers. That is frustrating. Hopefully we'll be picking up the anti-nausea medicine soon, because it's really getting bad. Also, in theory, the nausea relents by the second trimester, so my fingers are crossed for that.

To make matters worse, as Miranda said, it's hard to see what all this pain and frustration is for at this stage. We don't even have a decent ultrasound. Yolk sacs are all well and good, but I want to see Squirtle! I want to confirm the heartbeat. I want something substantial. For Miranda's sake as well as mine.

Our excitement is being tempered in the wake of the initial discovery. Now we play the waiting game. The waiting game sucks.

I was so wrong. Morning sickness is so much worse.

2008-06-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

When I first read about the early signs of pregnancy I felt like I would never be able to differentiate between the signs and how I normally feel. Nausea? Yeah, that's pretty regular for me. Fatigue? Man, I love my sleep. Heightened sense of smell? I already hold my breath the entire walk from when I get off my train until I get to my bus on my way to work each morning. Frequent urination? I can't imagine how it could get more frequent.

Up until the last week or so my nausea hadn't been terrible. It was brief and manageable and I thought it wouldn't be much different than how I sometimes don't feel well. This weekend, however, was my first glimpse of what is surely to come. I felt just horrible. I was in and out of the bathroom all Friday night, well into Saturday morning. When I finally got up I just felt exhausted and weak. As the day progressed, I steadily got stronger and felt better. I slept through the night Saturday but woke up feeling just as ill as before. Geoff and I did absolutely nothing yesterday. Heck, I was only up for a totally of 8 and 1/2 hours the entire day. He was such a trooper. He spent his Sunday lounging around with me, forcing me to eat (which helped enormously!) and being super supportive. I'm a lucky girl to have a husband like him around.

I think one of the hardest parts for me is I feel like I feel lousy for nothing. I noticed when we were watching "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" (Anyone else watch this? It's sort of like watching a really incredible train wreck.) that I started to feel better. Watching all those kids reminded me there is a reason for this nausea. I don't feel pregnant, yet. Truth be told, I think I've been holding myself and my emotions back so far. I'm not sure at what point this will begin to feel real to me. I suppose when we get to see a little heartbeat on the ultrasound I'll allow this all to sink in. Maybe then I'll really realize I'm growing a little, beautiful life inside me.

Until then I'm feeling very cautious. This is something I've waited my whole life for. I was the little girl who just wanted to be a mom when she grew up. I'm still that little girl. I still can't believe this is happening for us; I most definitely didn't think it would happen so quick. If I have to deal with a few months of nausea and some quality time in my bathroom so be it.

It's going to be SO worth it.

The First Sighting of Squirtle

2008-06-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

This morning was our first visit to the doctor. When we arrived they gave me a stack of forms to fill out as well as a beautiful rose to say "Congratulations"; we thought this was a sweet gesture. Once we went to the exam room it became obvious that we were going to get an ultrasound- I wasn't expecting that! The doctor came in, did an exam and determined an estimated due date (EDD) of February 11. This would mean I was about 7 weeks along already. We then began the ultrasound.

During the ultrasound the doctor was able to see that I wasn't as far along as we'd originally thought. Apparently my cycle is longer than "normal" therefore I ovulate later. It's estimated that I'm only about 5 weeks along (Mom, that means Squirtle's the size of a sesame seed!) and it was too early to have a heartbeat. This was a bit disappointing to us. We have a follow up ultrasound scheduled for the morning of July 11.

That tiny white spec in the middle? That's the cutest little yolk sac we've ever seen!

The rest of the appointment consisted of me giving a urine and blood sample. The tech at the blood center wasn't very friendly and she had a hard time finding a vein to use. When she finally settled on one and began filling the vials my blood was coming very slowly. After a few minutes of watching my blood trickle into the 7th vial I started feeling queasy and light headed. I rushed into the bathroom just in time for my first "fruitful" bout of morning sickness. It was kinda awful.

Geoff and I headed home and he ran upstairs to put our rose in some water. He came back down to the car and said some of the petals had fallen off. By then I was in a bit of a *ahem* mood and didn't feel well so I was a little upset to hear this. When I came home this was the state of the rose:

That about sums up how I felt about the day.

My Boys Can Swim!

2008-06-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's official: I do not have lazy sperm. Which is odd, considering how lazy I am.

As Miranda said, she took the test at about 5:30 in the morning. I was very much asleep. This quickly changed, as she burst out of the bathroom and put the test right in my face. My first reaction was "mm-hmm". My half-asleep state revealed my immediate feelings: with confirmation of my recent suspicion, all was right with the world. As I gained full consciousness, reality started to hit me. The ultimate goal had been achieved! Continuation of the species. In other words, an adorable little Miranda/Geoff amalgam was beginning its journey of life in my wife's uterus.

The ensuing 16 hours were a surreal blur. I barely remember being at work. My coworkers must have thought I was crazy, with the stupid grin plastered across my face all day. The evening consisted of being nearly squeezed to death by Kati, receiving baby clothes from Nancy (already), seeing more of our future when we visited Kelley and Dylan to impart the good news, and making the "best phone call we've ever had" to my parents. All in all, not a bad day. Not bad at all.

And thus begins our family blog, and our family. I couldn't be more excited, or more nervous.

Best 6 Month Birthday Present Ever

2008-06-24T15:24:00.001-07:00

June 19th was my 1/2 year birthday (Yeah, we pay attention to those kinds of things. What of it?). I hadn't been feeling well for a few weeks. I worried that something was wrong, that I'd have to go to the doctor and run some tests, that my Endo was causing problems. Geoff, on the other hand, showed some "Daddy's Intuition" and felt strongly that I was pregnant and asked me to take a home pregnancy test. I relented, expecting a negative test just like in May. Last month I remember checking that little piece of plastic a dozen times, hoping that something would change and the second line would appear. Alas, no little line ever showed up and it was fairly heartbreaking for us. We decided then that this was going to be a long process and we just need to go with the flow and see what happens. Which is why I was just positive we'd get another negative test result. I resisted taking the test for a few days, thinking that if I just held out I'd start my period and avoid the whole ordeal.

Well, June 19th was different. I woke up at 5:30 and went to take the test as Geoff and I had agreed the night before. It was immediately positive, unlike the last month where I kept telling myself that it would take 5 minutes for us to be able to read the results. I swear I touched the thing and 2 pink lines appeared. They weren't faint, either. Heck, I think they were red. Go on, see for yourself!