11 Months

Hadley,

Today you are 11 months old! I cannot even begin to believe that you are almost a year old. These past 11 months have been absolutely amazing (and tiring), and so much fun! If it's possible, I think I love you more every single day. I can't wait to see your smiling face each morning, and I can't wait to get home every day and see your excited face as you crawl towards me. Your sweet toothy smile and your cute laugh light up a room. And your precious kisses (and "forehead kisses") melt my heart.


Every day you seem to be learning more new things these days. You are now standing on your own, without holding onto anything, and you are getting better and better every day at walking while holding onto things (the table, the wall, our hands, etc.). I am convinced that you will be walking any day now, and while that is exciting, it is also kind of scary at the same time. I guess mommy and daddy need to get busy Hadley-proofing more things in the house!


These days you have two great loves...Mickey Mouse and Murph. The Mickey Mouse thing is not new - you have been a big fan of his for a while now. But one of your new favorite things to do is "play" with Murph through the back door. You will stand there and look for him, and then when he comes, you just laugh and squeal with delight. Someday you two will be best buddies!


You are still a really good eater, and we are trying more and more finger foods in place of pureed foods. While that seems to make you happy, it also makes a huge mess!! But, everything is washable, right!?!

Recently you have discovered lots of things that have buttons for you to press, and you love that! Some of those discoveries include your books and toys, and some of them are things you don't need to be playing with (like the computer keyboard and the dvd player).

You were sick for a week this month with (another) ear infection and the flu. We kept you home for a week, and spent lots of time cuddling with you. Luckily, you got better quickly (your case of the flu was very mild) and returned to your happy self.


Oh, my sweet beetle bug, I love you so much. Thanks for making every day an adventure, and for keeping mommy and daddy on our toes. I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy

Update in pictures

I'm a little behind on here, so I thought pictures would be the best way to update (since that's what you all really want to see anyway!)

My brave little crawler...we find him in new spots every day!

Totally asleep - like a limp rag-doll

Pool time with daddy

Kisses from Murph (gross!)

Nap time (this is a typical position - face pressed up against the bumper)

Bath time in the big bathtub!

Cute little floating head!

Surprise!

So cute in Daddy's hat

Hi - Happy 4th of July!

All this holiday fun (and picture taking) has worn me out!

7 Months

My Hadley,

My, oh my! You are 7 months old today! And you are growing up and changing every day, it seems.

This past month was filled with new things for you - new tricks, new foods, new toys, new adventures.

The first big thing you started this month was eating solid foods! We waited as long as we could before we gave you anything but formula, but we finally decided (since you were grabbing at anything we put into our mouths) that you were ready for some food. And you love it! So far you have had rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, yogurt (Yo Baby), applesauce, peaches, carrots, and pears. So far your favorite seems to be the rice cereal. I have decided to make some of your baby food so it is healthier and cheaper, and so far I have made sweet potatoes, squash, and applesauce. This eating food thing has also helped us get on a really good schedule both at home and at daycare.

As of sometime during this past month you are now MOBILE!!! That's right - you are crawling (or rather scooting) everywhere these days. It kind of looks like a mix between an army crawl and an inch worm. Super cute!! You are beginning to get braver and more adventurous lately as well. At first you just stayed on the rug in one little area, but you have discovered the tile floor in the living room and I think you like it. It won't be long until you are following us all over the house.

You are also sitting up on your own (most of the time). Sometimes you get a little excited and topple over, but you are getting better and stronger every day!

This past week you got a new "toy"...a little swimming pool for the backyard. We have tried it out a couple times and will probably spend a lot of time there this summer. You're not quite sure what to think about it yet, but you definitely like being outside (no matter what you're doing), and you like watching (and trying to pet) Murph.

Earlier this week we took you to the park for the first time and you got to swing (which was lots of fun!) and slide with me. I'm sure in the years to come we will spend lots of time at the park as well.

The only negative thing about this past month is that you were sick (again) for a portion of it. Originally the doctor said you had allergies so he put you on Zyrtec. But after several days on that you were getting worse (stuffy nose, coughing, fever) so we went back to the doctor. That time he said you had some kind of bug (possibly brought on by the allergies) and he gave you an antibiotic (your third in four months) and some cough medicine. That was a couple weeks ago and you are still coughing some and your nose is still stuffy sometimes. Hopefully you will get completely over this stuff very soon.

I think the stage you are at right now might be my favorite so far. You are so much fun, you love to play with me and daddy, and you laugh and smile all the time. Your little personalitiy is starting to really show and it seems like you are a lot like daddy - laid back and pretty easy going.

I love, love, love being your mommy, Hadley! Thanks for being my sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy

5 Months

My sweet Hadley boy...

5 months!!! Has it really been that long?!? You are getting so big and changing so much every day. Daddy said just a few minutes ago, "he's growing up way too fast!" and I couldn't agree more. It seems like every day you do something new that we haven't seen before. Yesterday, for example, was a big day because you finally rolled over! Well, okay, you've actually been rolling over for a couple weeks, but no one ever actually witnessed it until yesterday when daddy and I both saw you do it. We were so excited!! And since then you have showed us your new trick over and over.

You talk all the time, but your favorite time to jabber seems to be when we are in a public place like a restaurant, or church, or some other place where your cute, but loud, voice is not necessarily appropriate. Oh well...we'll work on it.

We haven't started you on food yet because you seem to still be satisfied with just your formula. Maybe sometime in the next month we will start on some cereal. That should be fun, and will surely result in some cute pictures!

This past month we moved you into your own room to sleep in your crib. I don't really know why we waited so long, because (for the most part) it has gone really well. Some nights you wake up more than others, but you can usually put yourself back to sleep. We got you a cute mobile to look at while you lay in bed and I think you really like it.

You did get sick again this month with a slight ear infection and sinus infection, but I think they are just about cleared up thanks to our friend, amoxicillin. Other than a runny, snotty nose and a little cough you seem lots better.

Your favorite things to do include: playing "super baby" with daddy, playing in your exer-saucer, laying on your tummy and kicking your legs, looking in the mirror at yourself, and going outside with daddy to play with Murph. You are still full of smiles, and greet us with one almost every morning when we get you out of bed. What a great way to start the morning!

I can't believe how lucky daddy and I are to get to spend every day with you. We love you so very much sweet boy!

Mommy