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!
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.
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.
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.
