7 Months Old - Fun Photo Shoot

Greetings!

Today our little Miss turns 7 months old.  It's hard to believe that she's more than half way to one year old!  She makes us laugh every day with her silly sounds and faces and is just such a joy in our lives!  The newest thing she has been doing is babbling more and more.  She had added "dadadadada" and "gagagaga" to her vocabulary this month!  And she is always making noises and little screams when she plays with her toys.  She is just too precious!!

The other new thing that has sprouted up in the past 2-3 weeks is a pretty bad case of separation anxiety and "stranger danger".  I'm sure it's because I'm the one with her 24 hours a day, but whenever I step out of her sight for even 5 seconds, she is whining and crying until I come back in the room.  It's the craziest thing.  She is usually ok when Rian has her, but she still always needs to just see my face in order to calm down.  Her "stranger danger" comes and goes depending on what mood she is in, but it can be pretty bad at times!  So far she isn't too keen on Grandpa Buckner or Uncle Tony :)  Don't worry guys, I'm sure it's just a phase!!

Have I mentioned how amazing it is to be a stay at home mom?  I think its the best gift I can give her at this point in her life.  And it has allowed me to do so many things for her that would be much harder to accomplish if I was working - such as cloth diapering (washing, drying, and folding them takes a whole day in itself!), making her baby food, and most importantly, the fact that I'm still nursing.  When she was born, I certainly didn't think I'd still be nursing at 7 months old, but now it's so easy, convenient, and free!  Plus I love playing with her and snuggling with her all day long - I mean look at that face - who wouldn't!?  Not working means some sacrifices on my part (like going to Target and only coming out of the store with the things I went in there for...) but it is all so worth it to be able to see Hailey's shining face each moment of the day :) Big shout out to my incredible, amazing husband Rian for giving me this opportunity to raise our baby girl.  I love you!

OK - so another fun part of staying at home means I get to do fun photo shoots like this!!  Please enjoy what I call just another Thursday afternoon ;)

6 (and 3/4) Months Old

Hello there happy readers! 

On December 9, Hailey turned 6 months old!  I just can't believe it.  Half a year has already passed, and another half a year from now we'll have a walking, talking 1 year old!  Is it too soon to start planning her first birthday party?  :)

She is growing like a weed!!  At her 6 month check up, she measured 28 inches long, which is in the 99th percentile!!  On the doctor's computer screen the little "x" for her height was literally off the chart!  No idea where the height comes from.. because neither Rian nor I are tall people, and neither is anyone in our families.  She is 17 pounds, 11 ounces, which is in the 80th percentile.  She's moved into size 6-9 months for most clothing to accommodate those long legs! 

In the past month since I've posted, Hailey has had lots of fun and exciting milestones.  She has become a lot more vocal, saying things like babababa and wawawawa.  It's so adorable.  She also does this really cute thing where she opens her mouth as if a really high pitched squeal is going to come out but then its this high pitched whisper instead............. hard to describe, but so cute to witness. 

She has also become very interested in faces.  She just stares at Rian and I and loves to reach out and touch our faces.  It is so sweet...... except for when she goes in for my hair! 


Just lovin' on grandma!

She has taken a big interest in Bucky in the past few weeks, too.  She loves pulling his ears and tail and then laughing at him when he tries to get away.  She thinks he is just the funniest thing!  And he still enjoys pulling the socks off her feet and licking food off her hands!  Strangely though, she doesn't go for his toys too much and he rarely goes after hers.  Must be a smell thing.  It's really cool to see her interact with him, and he's really protective of her, too, snuggling near her when she naps in the living room, and always coming to sniff her hello when we get home!

A big milestone that she reached about a month ago was sitting up all on her own.  Its really opened up a door to a whole new way of playing!  She's pretty steady, too, and good at catching herself whenever she starts to fall.  And it made her 6 month pictures so much easier!

A few weeks ago Hailey started waking up in the middle of the night again because she was trying to turn herself from back to tummy in the middle of the night.  Neither Rian nor I like the thought of her sleeping on her tummy, so we kept turning her back to her back and that just made her more angry!  We consulted the doctor and she said to just let her go and let her sleep on her tummy............. so that is what we are doing (sense the anxiousness in my voice/words...)!  Crazily enough, it works!  We stopped using the fleece sleep sack and switched to fleece jammies instead so she can have access to her full range of movement when and if she wants to turn over in the middle of the night.  Rian and I often go in there to make sure her little head is turned to the side and that she is breathing :) 

Her sleeping pattern is still a little crazy right now - but NOW its because she is teething!  The most adorable little tooth just popped through on the bottom left side, which is causing her lots of pain these days.  She LOVES when I give her a "pop-pop" which is a piece of ice inside a popsicle-looking mesh bag thing - it must feel so good on her gums.  She is a happy girl when she is chewing on anything soft, especially wet wash cloths... weird!  We also received some Hyland's teething tablets for Christmas and those work like a charm!

Hailey's first Christmas was a few days ago and it was a great day!  Hailey was lucky enough to receive lots of toys, books, and clothes!  And, she wore the same dress I wore on my first Christmas back in 1983 :)  Even though she's only 6 months old, it was so sweet to see Christmas through a child's eyes.  It's been so special to experience all of Hailey's "firsts" this holiday season - visiting Santa, seeing a Christmas tree and Christmas lights, and of course opening presents!  Being a mother is just the most amazing experience in the world.  I love that little girl more than words can say :)



I can get a better look at my new clothes this way!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

5 Months Old & Homemade Baby Food

Yesterday, Hailey turned 5 months old.  I say this every month, but I really just can't believe how fast time is flying by.  It seems like every day she is doing something new!  She doesn't go back to the pediatrician until she is 6 months, but I'm sure her height and weight are still right on track.  She fills out most of her 3-6 month clothing, thanks to that adorably round tummy of hers!  She still has her gorgeous bright blue eyes, and her hair is coming in blonde... which is so strange to me since almost every person in my immediate and extended family has brown hair.  But Rian did have white blonde hair until he was about 4 years old so I'm sure that's where she gets it!

We started putting her in the Johnny Jumper and the Excersaucer, and they are really helping to strengthen her legs.  She reaches for all the toys attached to them and jumps up and down squealing with excitement!  When we lay her on the ground, she just rolls and rolls across the room!  Also when she is on her tummy, she can push herself up with her arms straight.  Then she raises her butt up and pushes her feet off the ground, trying to propel herself forward, but hasn't quite grasped that she needs to get her belly off the ground if she wants to go somewhere!  I'm sure she'll be up on all 4s in no time ;)  We are also working on sitting up.  She can do it if she supports herself with her hands in front of her, but once she moves those hands, her body slides forward - belly on the ground (flexible like mama!)! 

As for her language development, she makes all sorts of sounds with her mouth (ooohs, ohhhs, aaahs, and high pitched squeals.  She also makes the fffff sound a lot).  But her favorite is still blowing raspberries and making spitty, drooly noises!  So cute!  She smiles all the time, and has even given us a few belly laughs!  The first time she laughed I completely melted.  It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard! 

She is such a daddy's girl, too.  She gets a huge grin on her face when he gets home from work and loves it when he sings her silly songs and plays with her.  He also has a knack for calming her down when she is upset.  He just scoops her up and walks around with her singing her the ABCs and she is quiet in no time.  I am so grateful for all he does to provide for our family, and Hailey and I (and Bucky) just love him so much!

The most fun part of this past month for me has been Hailey eating solid foods.  The first couple weeks we did cereal only, and then I started phasing in simple fruits and vegetables.  I'm starting with the milder yellow/orange fruits & veggies first: apples, pears, bananas, yellow squash, sweet potato, and carrots. The next phase will be adding in green veggies (peas, green beans, avacado, etc).   I am making the baby food myself, so it makes me feel good to know that she is getting wholesome, organic fruits and vegetables with no extra ingredients or fillers.  Plus it is so easy, fun, and cheap to make the food myself!  I use the Baby Brezza baby food maker, which is essentially a food processor with a steaming component built right in, so I just peel and chop the veggies/fruit, throw them in the bowl of the machine, and hit go!  It steams and purees the food, so then I just dish the puree out into individual 1oz or 2oz cubes and throw 'em in the freezer! 

Yummy sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, pears, and squash!

Mommy's little helper!

Stand back!  Or I'll poke you with this carrot!

Ta-Da!

I can't forget another big happening this past month - the Cardinals won the world series!!!  Hailey is a huge Cardinals fan :)  She sported her Cardinals tee for each game of the series (even while she was sleeping!).  We went downtown for the championship parade and even though she slept through it, I know she had a great time ;)

For Hailey's first Halloween, she was the cutest little lady bug you've ever seen! 

I have a feeling Hailey is going to have lots of milestones in the coming month, plus her first Turkey Day!  Stay Tuned!