9 months: little love letters

My sweet love, 

You poor neglected second child. I haven't blogged a single post or love letter to you. I've written down your weight, height, stats, etc. But I haven't blogged about them. But that's because YOU KEEP ME TOO BUSY!! You're so nosy and into everything!! 

This is at your 6 month check up. 

May 25, 2015:
Taking "selfies" on Mommy's phone

May 29, 2015:
Check up for you ears. You've been having a problem with ear infections. You even currently have an ear infection (7/20/15). Hopefully, we can get this resolved quickly. 

June 6, 2015:
You enjoy sitting in the front seat "driving."

Aunt Cindy took this picture and asked if this is your "old man face" like sister used to make. 

Arm propped up. Trying to be like Daddy. Always. 

Talking with Papa Wayne. 

Relaxing with Punkin. 

June 21, 2015:
Uncle Dan gave you your own Oreo. You loved it. And you're now OBSESSED with Uncle Dan. Anytime you see him you want to be right with him. 

First Popsicle. You loved it. It was very cold so it didn't last much longer than this picture. 

June 30, 2015:
Superman outfit. Even comes with a cape!

July 2, 2015:
This was the evening of your 9 month check up. Notice we are BACK in the doctor's office. You were perfection fine for your check up that morning. Then you woke up from nap unusually fussy. For the next couple hours, you moaned and groaned. Refused to eat. Didn't want to be held, but didn't want down either. You're NOT a fussy baby. Ever. We knew something was wrong. Then I touched your ear and you came unglued. I rushed you to the urgent care because it was after office hours. There you have it - a double ear infection (mostly the right ear). We've been battling this infection since then. 

July 3, 2015:
This was the first time you pulled up to something to stand. Next thing you know, you did it twice in one day! You were so proud of yourself. You kept laughing. 

It's true... #2!!

You may or may not have heard by now but....

How I told Lee

Baby's first ultra sound

Nammy's reaction to grandbaby #4 on the way

Playing the game to tell everyone

17 weeks and 4 days (4/30/14)

Baby Brother is due October 4, 2014. Hadley has decided that she will name him "Pickle." She refers to him, daily, as either brother or pickle. Or even Brother Pickle. Whatever...

She took some convincing because she wanted a sister. But I think she has come around to the idea of a brother. She is already obsessed with him. She pretends she can just take him out and tote him around with her. They always play together. Take naps together. Which leads to fighting because "Mommy, pickle is taking my blankets!!!" They even take baths together. That can be problematic because Mommy forgets and leaves brother in the tub. Oops... She'll take care of him I'm sure.

Pinterest

The above picture is how I feel every single time I get a little motivation to tackle a Pinterest project. 

Well, the picture shown above ALSO lead to the picture shown below. 

PINTEREST SUCCESS, PEOPLE! 

Success at its finest, I think ;)

I've been eyeing one of these cloth high chairs on Etsy for awhile now. 

From what I've seen, they run between $60-$70!! 

No Thanks.

Then I stumbled upon these plans to sew one yourself.

Thank you, Pinterest!

My friend, Sarah, was in town this past week. 

It was for unfortunate circumstances, that she was here. 

But I tried to make good use of her time! 

;)

After two days nights of work, I LOVE the finished product.

It has already come in handy a handful of times. 

Hallelujah!

Friday Favorites: Baby Edition

***These reviews are not paid or sponsored! Just some of my favs.***

This Friday Favorites is all about baby! Being a first time mother, I was given lots of advice. Some good, some pointless, and some just plain annoying - but that's ok :) I'm getting better about taking to heart advice that matters and not getting so frustrated when people get annoying with their unsolicited advice. Anyway...

Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe

I attribute this product to the reason Hadley began sleeping through the night around five / six weeks and has been sleeping great since then. It is always suggested that swaddling a newborn / infant makes them feel safer because they are so used to be all snug in the womb. I'm, personally, not the best "swaddler with a blanket." The Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe is a lifesaver and so easy to use! SIDS research has shown that swaddling an infant also aides in prevents SIDS because it immobilizes the infant so they cannot roll over. Obviously, as the baby grows they are able to "bust out" of the swaddle and move their arms freely. Hadley is now 7 months old and I still use the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe with her every night. I wasn't sure how long you are supposed to swaddle a baby. I asked her Pediatrician about it. He said there is no real time to stop. If it makes them feel safer and easier for them to sleep then do it as long as you want. Of course, as soon as I lay Hadley down she busts her arms out and as she wakes in the morning she busts her legs out. I guess, since she knows how to get out, I will swaddle her until she grows out of it :)

Playtex VentAire Bottles

Love love love these bottles! The Playtex VentAire is designed to suck the air out of the bottle to simulate "burping" a drop in bag. These bottles eliminates having to buy bags and having to "burp" the bag. Genius, I tell you! This is the first and only bottles we tried with Hadley. She did well with them so we still use them.

Formula "to-go" divider

This little contraption is a must have item for mommie's on the go! This holds and divides 3 servings of formula for a bottle. Then you just turn the lid to what ever serving you need and pour it directly into a bottle and it's ready to go.

Pacifier Wipes

These pacifier wipes are so handy. The ingredients include Arm & Hammer Baking soda and water. These are useful for those little babies and their little games they like to play such as "Oops I purposely accidentally dropped my binkie, pick it up!" Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Sometimes you aren't really at a place or in a situation to run to the bathroom to wash the binkie. These are great for those situations. Wipe it off and you go. Oh, and!!!!! I event tasted one, one day, to see if they left a funny taste on the binkie - they don't. That's always a plus! :)

Beaba Cook babyfood maker

This is a babyfood maker. This is the exact babyfood maker that I use.  This runs for about $130 - $150. Luckily, I was able to borrow it from a friend. With the Beaba Cook, you're able to steam the veggies/fruits and puree the food all in the same bowl. I love that it's an "all in one" machine because that means less to clean up! As your baby gets older you can just steam food in there for bit size pieces and not have to puree them. You can also use this setting to just warm food up. Even though the Beaba Cook is pricey you make up the price for how much money you save in just a few months time. For example: 1 sweet potato costs between $0.60 - $0.90. That 1 sweet potato makes about 12 servings of baby food. To buy 1 jar of pre-processed babyfood costs about $0.90. Need I say more? It's worth the money. Plus, you know exactly what's going into your baby's food. I'm not bashing store bought baby food at all! I feel my baby store bought food. You can buy some really great organic foods. I'm just saying it is a real money saver to make your own.

Whether you're pregnant, buying gifts for a baby shower, or hope to be a parent one day - hopefully you found this post useful. What are your favorite baby items?

6 months: little love letters

I'm so behind on your 6 month letter, but that's a pretty good indication of how life has been. I feel like from Thanksgiving to Christmas time has flown by so quickly. You are changing so much every day. Learning new things every day. I feel like I can't keep up with it all.

-Growth: You had your 6 month well-child check up this month.
*You are weighing 15 lbs. 9 oz.
*You are 28 inches long.
*You are in the 100 percentile for height and 38 percentile for weight. The doctor said you "couldn't be more perfectly on the curve of development." Go baby, Go!
*You are wearing a size 3 diaper now.
*You are wearing mostly 3-6 mo size clothes. You wear the occasional 6 mo size.

-Eating:
*You are really starting to enjoy food. Actually, for a few days you refused to take a bottle. I guess you think you're too big for a bottle now? You got over that, thank goodness.
*Foods you eat regularly are: Peas, Broccoli, Carrots, and your absolute favorite - Sweet Potatoes!!
*You take a 6 oz bottle between "meals."
*We introduced you to your sippy cup. You aren't really into it. You would rather drink out of a regular cup. You do pretty well out of a big girl cup so I don't mind letting you drink from one - with assistance of course!

-Sleeping:
*You're still all night long :)
*You take a nap in the afternoon for about 2-3 hours, usually. There isn't a specific time of day you take a nap, though.

-Developments: I feel this this past month you've developed so much.
*You are starting to sit up better. Your little back is getting stronger everyday.
*You sat in a high chair at a restaurant today for the first time. You had some assistance with a coat wrapped around you for a little more support since your little body was so tiny in the chair.
*Just yesterday (12/22/2011) you started crawling. Well, your version of crawling. You get up on your hands and your knees. Then you push off with your feet. You are still a little bit wobbly. But it definitely gets you where you want to go.

-Play Time:
*Now that you are moving you biggest "interest" is exploring the entire house.
*You also enjoy just laying in bed with a few toys - mostly teething toys.
*Your absolute, most favorite "toy" is our dog, Copper. He is big so you can see him at your eye level. You think he is the greatest! When he walks by, or gets close to you, you giggle and kick with excitement!

-Events: Within the past month you've experienced your first Thanksgiving and your first Gibson Christmas.
*This past month we celebrated Thanksgiving with Mommy's side of the family. We were most thankful for you this year, baby girl!
*Thanksgiving was the first time you ate sweet potatoes.

*You're grandparents on Daddy's side has Christmas the weekend before Christmas. We celebrated that this past weekend (12/17/2011). You thought wrapping paper was the greatest thing ever! Since Daddy couldn't be there Saturday we celebrated there again on Monday (12/19/2011). You loved opening all your presents. You get so excited that your little body and hands shake!
*You met Santa Clause for the first time! You weren't too sure about that man. You didn't cry, but you didn't really smile either. Maybe next year?

-Funny/Cute Moments: This past month you've developed quite the little personality.
*You have started playing "Where'd Hadley Go?" (Peek 'a' boo) by yourself. When someone is changing your diaper you always grab a wipe and play while they change your diaper.
*When I carry you in your car seat you have started holding on to your diaper bag or the lanyard on my keys. It's like you're holding on for dear life!
*This month you discovered that people sit in the front seat and you sit in the back. Meaning: You've always heard people talk to you, but you would always just smile and look around. It was like you could hear us, but had no idea where we were. One day you turned around and saw me!
*One day you were playing with my keys. You became interested in the lanyard. Then you started to try and put it around your neck like a necklace to wear around. I don't know where you learned that, but it's pretty cute!
*You do this thing where you lean into someone slowly and touch them forehead to forehead. You do this with everyone, BUT me! Daddy thought it was because I was holding you. He picked you up, then you would lean into me, but then you would pull away really quick and start laughing! You little stinker!
*You saw me blow my nose so you picked up a wipe and tried to blow into it! I about died laughing! You're too smart!
*Since we've had our Christmas tree up you like to spend most of your days hiding playing underneath the tree!

Hadley girl, we have got our hands full with you...especially since you're moving all around now! But you're such a joy and we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

I'll love you forever and ever. I promise, sweet girl.

Love,

Mommy

do-over.

I like pictures. Actually, I love pictures. The last few nights I've had a hard time falling asleep at night. At night I've been laying in bed looking at pictures on my phone, over and over. I find myself looking at these pictures and trying to remember the emotions of that day. I try and replay what all happened over and over. I find myself wanting a "do-over." Not a redo, but a do-over. Redo implies I want to change the way it happened the first time and that is not the case. I literally want to do certain days over. And over and over and over. I want to live certain days for more than the 24 hours they were allotted.

I would love to do this day over:

I love weddings. I loved our wedding. I want to get married every day over and over again. Obviously, to Lee ;) To me, it was so fun. Everything about it. Planning it. Buying stuff for it. Seeing your vision all come together is just exciting!! Lee on the other hand...well he is a typical boy. He hates weddings. He is just ever so disappointed  (complete sarcasm here!) when he has to miss a wedding because of work. I guess our wedding was alright, to him, but he definitely wouldn't do it over and over.

But our wedding was a day that our lives began. We had our lives together. From that moment on it was about us. It was about us and us as a family. Our own family. It was the most magical day of my life.

Then our family turned into this:  

My heart nearly explodes every time I look at these pictures. I will never forget how I felt the moment I laid eyes on this little girl. I want relive that moment over and over again. Even though, it was the most miserable, painful, and longest day of my life -- that face, with her every smile and giggle, was worth all eleven and a half hours! Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not convinced that I will ever have another baby. Those eleven and a half hours were horrifying. But what I am saying is that if I never have another baby, Hadley will be enough. She will always be enough. She has exceeded my every hope, dream, and expectation. I can't imagine my life any differently.



Teddy Bear Growth Chart

I stole this idea from Erin and I'm so glad I did. I'm sure I will be so happy to watch her really change throughout these pictures.

8 weeks

12 weeks

3 months: little love letters

Oh my dear little Hadgey Padgey,

You are getting so big!! You are, also, developing quite a little personality. It has been so fun watching you change and grow. I can't imagine doing anything else in my life. Today you are 12 weeks old. You don't go to the doctor today, but I'm still going to attempt to write for you 12 week letter.

-Growth: Since you don't have a doctor's appointment today I don't know your current, exact, weight or length. But what I do know is that you have gotten longer. And chunkier! :) We have had to lengthen the belts in your car seat 2 different times now. Once we had to lengthen it for an actual length purpose. Then I swear it was the next day we had to make the belts bigger again because they were a little tight around your chunky belly :)

-Eating: You are now taking 5 oz every 3 hours during the day. Right before bed time you take 6 oz. This past month we have had a hard time getting you figured out in the eating department. One day we decided to let you try some rice cereal. You do not eat this on a regular basis. Actually, you haven't had it since the "taste-testing" day.  I think you hit a growth spurt because you were wanting to eat all the time. Instead of deciding to permanently introduce cereal, we opted to bump you up to 5 oz of formula. This has done the trick...for now. Here are a few pictures of the "cereal taste testing" day:

You were really excited to try the rice cereal

....then you weren't so sure about this stuff

-Sleeping: You have been sleeping pretty well. During that growth spurt, you kept waking up at 3 am every night. That was miserable for everyone, but you seem to be doing really well again. Also, you have started taking naps. For the past 3 weeks, I've been laying you down for an afternoon nap about 1:30 pm/ 2 pm. You will usually sleep until 5 or 6 if I let you. This past week, though, I've started noticing you don't sleep in as late as you usually do (until 10:30 am). You have been waking up around 8:30 am or 9 am. Then you will take a bottle and play for a little while and then you want to take a nap around 10 am or 11 am. Today you got up and ate around 9:30 am and stayed awake and watched tv with Daddy. Then you played for a little while and about 11:30 am I noticed you would not stop crying for anything, so I decided to lay you down. That did the trick. You were sleepy! I think you're starting to develop and work into your own little schedule.

You still wake up all smiles and as happy as ever! :)

-Play time: Now that you are getting bigger and staying awake more you are really starting to enjoy toys/playing. We were giving a wonderful exercise play mat that has a jungle (literally) of toys that dangled and make noise. Your favorite part is the lights on top that flash different colors. You weren't too sure about the play mat at first, but you love it now! You have never been much of a "hold me all the time" baby. In fact, you don't like to be held too often at all. So now that you are bigger you really enjoy laying on the mat and looking at the toys/lights and looking all around the room. You have even been able to accomplish grabbing the toys hanging about your head. You get really excited when you get one! It's cute!

Playing on your jungle mat

This is your laying on your mat, but trying to roll over to watch tv! And Copper wasn't too sure about this contraption either. He doesn't seem to mind it now.

-Strength/Movement/ Tummy time: You are getting very strong. Your "new thing" is that you like to be held up to you can stand on things. This is good, as your legs are getting stronger every day! We bought you a tummy time mat that came with a pillow with attached toys. I thought this was going to be a great thing because the pillow keeps your face propped up so you don't lay right down on it. Then with the toys attached to the pillow they will give you something to reach for and play with while laying there. Well, I was wrong! I wouldn't have been wrong except you figured out how to push up on your toes and push forward (like crawling, but instead on your knees you use your toes) and push yourself head-first over the pillow. Bummer! This makes you super angry, which I can understand because it does not look comfortable at all. In fact, you hate tummy time in general. But you've got to keep trying to you can figure out how to roll and crawl one day. But at the rate you're going you may figure it all out sooner than later!

Laying on the tummy time mat and pillow

Pushing up on your toes and rolling over head-first. Oopsie!

You figured our how to get off that pillow and wiggle off the mat. There she goes!!!!

-Events: Two weeks ago you went shopping with me and Nammy at JBF. I wanted to go buy you some pants and a coat for the winter. We were in and out in an hour and a half, which I thought was good. Come to find out, you hate shopping! You whinned and some what cried the whole time we were there. We will have to work on this later. We can't be having this "shopping-hating" attitude! But your biggest experience was your first road trip this past weekend. We (just me and you!) traveled to OKC. We traveled during your afternoon nap time so luckily you slept the whole way to OKC and the whole way home! You did so well.

-Funny/Cute Moments: The absolute cutest thing that you've started doing is that while we are traveling in the car somewhere, you have started talking to the elephant on the top of the mirror you look at. You talk and laugh at the elephant the entire time we are in the car. I'm so glad that you are happy in the car and don't cry the whole time. You only start crying if we stop at a stop sign or light. Or you start crying if you can't hear the music...OR if you don't like the song! Oh geez. You already have very strong options. Another thing I never want to forget is how you first started laughing when Daddy would hold you and kiss on your feet. You thought this was hilarious. When he would stop you would extend and hold out your legs as far as you could to put them on his mouth. You loved it! Here is a little video of me kissing your feet and you laughing out loud. We love your little laugh! It is the sweetest sound I've ever heard!

I'll love you forever and ever. I promise!

Love,
Mommy

Sleeping Beauty

I finally feel like I'm really starting to figure my baby girl out. I'm starting to just naturally know what each of her different cries mean. For awhile, about once every day, I would get to a point that I would feel so overwhelmed because she would cry for what seemed like no reason. She wasn't hungry. She wasn't dirty/wet. She wasn't too cold or too hot. Sleepy? I always thought that was not the case because you see, my baby girl wasn't really too much of a napper. Even from her earliest days she never napped. Ever!
I don't know what made me think to try and get her to nap one day, but that was the problem. Go figure, right? Now thinking back on it, the random crying for no apparent reason, was at the same time every day. 1:30/2pm. About that time every day Hadley girl needs her one and ONLY nappy!

One nap a day, for a 11 week old, is the craziest thing ever!! I've worked in daycares and was even a Nanny to a precious, wonderful little boy for the last 2 years before I had Hadley. I've never seen a baby this young not take 2 naps a day! BUT I guess, there is a small explanation for it.

You see, my little miss has been sleeping through the night since she was about 5/6 weeks old. She will sleep until about 6 am and get up to eat. Then she will lay back down and usually sleep until about 10:30 am. Most little babies (that I've been around, at least) wake up really early and stay awake then take a morning nap about 9 or 10 am. So I guess Hadley would take 2 naps, if she didn't sleep in all morning. But I'm NOT complaining. She likes to sleep in...just like Mommy! :)

Now that I have my little love figured out she usually takes her bottle about 1:30 pm and is laying down by 2 pm. She will usually sleep for a few hours. Like right now for example: I laid her down at 2 pm and it is now 4:43 pm and she is still sleeping away. This makes for a Happy Hadley.

Last week, I think she was going through a growth spurt because my little lady kept waking up at 3 am every night!! This was so unlike her that I knew something was up. She always was eating more than normal so growth spurt had to be the answer. Luckily, that only lasted a few days and my little sleeping beauty is back to her normal sleep patterns.

This weekend me and Hadley will experience our first road trip. And this trip will also be just the 2 of us. No daddy! I'm realllllllly nervous. I worry she will cry the whole way there because she hates sitting in her car seat. She hates it because it makes her so hot and sweaty. She is naturally so hot natured that sitting in her seat for too long makes her extra hot :-/ Poor baby. But I pray she just sleeps the whole way there. OR I would be ok if she talked to and laughed at her Elephant mirror because that's pretty cute too :) Wish us luck...

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Hadley sleeping throughout her days:

sleeping at Nanny's about 2 weeks old

First picture I got of her smiling...and it was while she was dreaming

Snug-bug cuddlin' with Mommy

She can't sleep without wearing her "Swaddle Me," but while she is sleeping she somehow manages to get her arms out.