A Day in the Life

Here's what Hadley did yesterday...

First he played in his jammies for a while

After breakfast he played in just his diaper

In the afternoon he crawled (scooted) everywhere playing

This table is in my way...maybe I can move it with my feet

I think I can fit under this couch Mommy, you need to clean under here!

Chillin' in my highchair...mmmm these fingers taste yummy!
...and soon after all this excitement it was time for bed.

Playing

Just for fun, here's a glimpse of what our lives sound like right now...

Food!

We finally decided to start Hadley on some solid food, and he LOVES it! So far we have just had rice cereal and bananas. Tomorrow we will try something new, probably avocados. Good stuff!

Full tummy = nap time!
Daddy's turn
Yummy!

Time for another nap!

Doctors, kittens, and grandmas

Doctors:

Yesterday was Hadley's 6 month visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, that meant more shots. He is very healthy, and is growing just like he should be. However, I think he remembered what happened last time we laid him down on the table with the crinkly paper, because he totally freaked out every time I laid him down on that yesterday. It was lots of fun (note the sarcasm). Here are his stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 6 ounces (about 50th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (about 50th percentile)

Head: 44.5 cm (about 75th percentile)

All of his measurements are pretty much right where they have been every time so far, so it appears as though he is growing very proportionately. And the best part of the visit...no more shots for six months!

Kittens:

This part of the post is very sad (just warning you). This morning when we were all leaving to head to work we had a little accident. When I started my car we all heard the most horrific noise (coming from my engine) so I quickly cut the engine back off. Eric was getting into his truck at the time and obviously heard the racket and came shooting around the front of his truck to see what happened. That's when he saw it and looked up at me with a pretty terrible look. One of our kittens (about 2 months old) was apparently in my engine when I started the car, resulting in the horrific noise mentioned above. At this point all we could hear was the poor kitten crying and meowing as loud as possible because she was in so much pain. Eric told me to go on because he was going to have to shoot her. I couldn't bear to watch, and he didn't want me to watch so I backed up and drove away, and as I did I heard two shots as he (mercifully) put her out of her misery. Although all of our cats are just barn cats, there to catch critters, it was still very sad to see, and I feel terrible about it. Not a good start to the day!

Grandmas:

I decided this post needed something happy to end on, so in honor of Mother's Day (yes, I know it was a week and a half ago) here's Hadley with his grandmas and great-grandmas who love him so much.

Nanny (Mandi's mom)

GiGi (Eric's mom)Mema (Mandi's grandma)
Grandma Molly (Eric's grandma)

6 Months

Hadley,

1/2 a year! Can you believe it?? It doesn't seem possible that you are already 6 months old. I know I say this every single month, but I just can't believe how quickly you are growing.

This past month, thanks to you, I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mommy. I couldn't ask for a better gift than being your mommy. I love being your mommy, and every day I am reminded how thankful I am that you are my baby.

"I'll love you forever; I'll like you for always; As long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

You are learning so many new things these days and you are so much fun. You have recently discovered what a great range your vocal chords have, and you love to demonstrate that to us. You squeal with delight, you shriek with both pleasure and disgust, and you blabber on and on sometimes telling us all about what's on your mind. The only (somewhat) word you seem to say right now is "baa", but I'm hopeful that very soon that might turn into "ma"...we'll see!

You still love playing "super baby" with daddy, but you seem to be quite a bit more attached to me these days than to daddy. You don't like for me to leave the room you are in and you usually would rather me hold you than daddy if you have the option. You have started reaching out for people (which I love!) to pick you up and it is super cute! You like to lay on the floor and play, but usually you prefer for someone to be down on the floor with you. We have learned, however, that it doesn't matter where we lay you on the floor, because you will always roll over/rotate/flip until you have half your body under the coffee table. Silly boy!

At night you usually sleep pretty well. You go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00, and you sleep until about 6:00. Most nights we don't hear you at all during the night, but sometimes (around 4:30) you wake up and need your paci. The funny thing is, all we do is pop that paci in your mouth and you are instantly asleep again. You usually sleep kind of on your side, but sometimes you roll over and sleep on your tummy. That's okay, except it tends to lead to diaper accidents resulting in wet jammies and sheet.

We still haven't started you on any food, and you seem pretty okay with that. However, lately you have become very interested in anything we put in our mouths, so I'm thinking we might be getting close to starting you on some food. In fact, we might try some this weekend. (Get ready for some messy pictures!)

Today you have your 6 month visit to the doctor, where you will get more shots (sorry!). I really don't look forward to these visits because I don't like watching you get poked. (I sure wish daddy would handle these sometimes!) But, on a happy note, we will get to find out how much you have grown!

These last six months have been absolutely amazing, tiring, fulfilling, frustrating, exciting, happy, exhausting, busy, fun, and the best six months ever. I love you, sweet boy, and I can't wait to see what you teach me next!

Love,

Mommy

Mother's Day 2009

So I'm a little late in posting about Mother's Day, but what's new!

My first Mother's Day as a mommy was wonderful. My boys made sure I felt special all week leading up to Sunday. They sent me some very pretty flowers at work, and then gave me several sweet gifts. They gave me a poster with pictures of Hadley, a Bible cover, a "mommy" book, a necklace with Hadley's picture on it, a day-by-day calendar, and a devotional book that Eric and I are doing together. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Quanah at GiGi and PaPa Max's house. Overall, a very nice Mother's Day. Thanks Eric and Hadley - I love you both very much!

Flat Stanley

I guess I should explain who Flat Stanley is, and why he is currently at our house...

A couple weeks ago Emma sent me a letter she had written at school along with Flat Stanley. Her 2nd grade class had just read a book about a boy named Stanley who was smashed flat when a bulletin board fell on him. Each student in Emma's class then made a Flat Stanley, wrote a letter, and sent their Flat Stanley to someone for a few weeks. While he is with us we are supposed to take pictures of him at our work, in our home, and places that we go. And in a couple weeks I will write a letter to Emma telling her about our adventures and send the letter, pictures from his visit, and Flat Stanley back to her.

So there you go - a brief explanation of Flat Stanley (or the "flat man" or "Flat Fred" as some refer to him).

Dallas

A week ago we went to Dallas to visit Eric's Aunt Sue. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

Flat Stanley went with us, of course.

Hangin' with daddy...has anyone seen my other sock?

Aunt Sue

Back at home

I love, love, love sleeping pictures...the positions crack me up!

Hadley's new friend

Getting ready to take a bath

My new hat
Flat Stanley is visiting us for a while. (Thanks, Emma!)
Hang on, Flat Stanley!

Flat Stanley's first night at our house