9 months old

Hailey is 9 months old! I just cant believe it! I know I say that with every passing month, but my gosh time does fly.

3 weeks old












And today at 9 months old







At 9 months, Hailey weighs 19 1/2 pounds and is 28 1/2 inches tall. That puts her in the 50-75% range, so she is still a little taller than most kids her age, but like I've said before, I expect that. I can just see the elementary class pics now - Hailey will always be on the back row and towering over all the little boys. Ahh that brings back the memories!


Here's what Hailey is doing at 9 months:
Stands while using very little support. She has let go a few times, but usually falls after a couple seconds. It's just a matter of time before she figures it out.

She is into everything! Cabinets, drawers, purses, anything!

Can feed herself finger foods and use a sippy cup. While at school she's been eating real food like chicken nuggets, spaghetti o's, corn, peas, cookies, and crackers.

Hailey can say dada and bye, still cant get her to say momma - don't think I haven't tried every day since she was like 4 months old!

Waves bye and blows kisses occasionaly. However, she never fails to conveniently "forget" how to do these things when we are in front of people, making us look like total liars.

She's finally getting teeth! Her first tooth broke through on September 25th. She now has another that has almost made it.





This little girl has brought so much joy to our lives. I never before imagined the amount of love a parent feels for a child. And the awesome thing is that it continues to grow day after day. She never ceases to amaze us or make us laugh, and she's getting quite a personality.

We're enjoying this cooler fall weather and are looking forward to celebrating all her First Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holidays. If time keeps flying by, they will be here before we know it!

Girl in the Bubble

We just got back from our friend Autumn's 8th birthday party and boy did we have fun! It was at Eastside's Adventure Zone, which is basically a huge jungle gym play place. Even I grabbed some socks and took Hailey up in the maze. She loved it!





Up in the Bubble


She loved looking down at all the people!




This pic is a little blurry, but look at that smile!

Bye Bye Baby Room

Today was Hailey's first day in the toddler room at daycare. I must admit I have been so nervous about this, that a sense of dread came over me as I drove her to school this morning.

When they told me last week that Hailey would be moving rooms, I politely smiled but burst into tears as soon as I reached the car. She's only 8 months old! She can't walk! She still drinks her milk from a bottle! I felt like I was tossing a piece of steak into the lion's den. Those kids are much bigger than Hailey. They all walk, have teeth, and climb all over each other!

We all loved Ms. Judy and Ms. Cara in the baby room. Hailey has been with them since she was 6 weeks old. I am not familiar with the other ladies there. I am sure they are all nice and that they would not be working for Ms. Margaret if they were not good people, but those who know me, know that I do not like change.

I dropped her off this morning and they assured me that Hailey would be fine. In fact she seemed happy because she got to see all her buddies that had previously moved up. Her little friend squealed with delight and threw her arms out for hugs when she saw Hailey! How cute to have such a good buddy at only 8 months old!

Anyways, I survived the day, but could not wait to go pick up my Haileybug. She played so hard, she was one tired little girl. I now realize that I had nothing to worry about really and that most of these feelings were probably me being a little overprotective and the fact that I don't want my baby to grow up so fast, but I guess I will have to work on that.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Kevin celebrated his 30th Birthday last week. Although I haven't reached that point yet, haha (I just love to remind him of that) I think that turning 30 is a big deal, so I wanted to make it something special.

I planned a surprise party at the skating rink. I thought it would be fun to try our skating skills and listen to music from back in the day. We celebrated with family and friends and had a great time! The little kids were thrilled to have a chance to skate and us big kids had fun re-living the old days. Luckily no one got seriously injured, just a couple falls and some bad bruises. I must say I don't remember skating being such a workout when we were younger!

Hailey loved being pushed around the rink


Hailey and cousin Addison


Hailey helped join in the surprise by sporting a "Happy Birthday Daddy" "My Daddy is 30" onesie to the party. Mom and I made it using our computer and iron on transfer paper. I was surprised that it turned out so well, and Kevin was surprised to see Hailey wearing a special birthday greeting.

Special Birthday Wishes

Hailey Pics

So I'm ashamed to say that I'm just now getting around to posting Hailey's 6 month pictures. Yes, that was over a month ago...but better late than never!

Catching Up

Funny how this seems to be a very appropriate title!
Hailey is on the move and there is no stopping her now - She's all over the place, all the time! She's pulling up on things, opening cabinets, and emptying drawers. We find ourselves chasing after her constantly. Even though keeping up with her is hard work, its nice that she is able to get around and do what she wants - A busy baby is a happy baby!

Bath time has become so much fun now that Hailey can sit and splash in the regular tub. She absolutely loves it! I can't wait until she's old enough for bubble bath.

Hailey is also eating well these days. She has cereal and fruit for breakfast, veggies or fruit at lunch time, and usually veggies and juice at dinner. She ate her first solid food (Graduates puffs) last week. We were a little hesitant at first, but they pretty much melt in her mouth and she seems to do just fine with them. She can even pick them up and feed herself. That's our big girl!

We finally got her to eat meat this week. I've tried to give her chicken several times, but she would take a few bites, make an awful face, and scream. This is the first thing that I've found that she does not like, and of all things its Chicken. A child of mine has to like chicken, I live on chicken! Well, I finally got smart and mixed in a little rice cereal with it and now she gobbles it right up. Must have been a texture thing.

Perhaps the most exciting news from the past weeks is the beginning of Hailey's first words. She babbles alot and it sounds like she's trying real hard to make words! She actually said Da Da several times. I know she doesn't understand what DaDa means yet, but its so sweet to hear her say it!

Phew, that's alot of updates. She's growing so quickly and learning new stuff each day. We can't wait to see what she does next.

50's Party!

Today was 50's day at daycare and Hailey just had to join in the festivities!
Okay, so maybe it was more of momma wanting Hailey to look cute for the festivities.

The whole thing started last night when the daycare called to remind us about the 50's party. Of course, this was the first I had heard about the party and thus began our very first "last minute school project". Now, I must admit that a costume was not required, but the competitive mom came out it me and I just had to have my Haileybug all dolled up.

So now begins that rushed trip out to Hobby Lobby and a late night of attempting to make a poodle skirt. Kevin was sweet enough to take over when he could tell I was about to pull my hair out! Yes, I spent too much time and money on this outfit, but it was worth it. I was really pleased with the way it turned out, and Hailey looked adorable!






When we got to school this morning everyone was dressed for the fifties. They even had a jukebox, a classic motorcycle, and an old coke truck. The bigger kids were also going to have coke floats and a sock hop. Sounds like so much fun, wish I could have skipped work to party!

Going Mobile

She did it!!! Hailey crawled across her room last night,
July 24th 2009 (exactly 6 months and 2 weeks old)
She has been working on it for a few weeks now and
had begun to crawl 3 or 4 paces before falling down,
but last night she just took off! Time to babyproof!

A Girl and Her Dog

6 Months Old

Hailey turned six months old last Friday. We just can't believe it!
We celebrated with a "half birthday" cake. It was so cute and Hailey couldn't wait to get her fingers in it.




Monday was her 6 month checkup. She weighs 16lbs 15oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. She is still in the 75-90 percentile. She's gonna be a tall girl like her momma!

Milestones at 6 Months

• Hailey grabs objects and can hold a sippy cup
• Loves her baby food, so far we haven't found anything she doesn't like
• Can sit by herself
• Trying to crawl - she's up on all fours but can't quite get the arm movements down
• Recognizes familiar faces and is beginning to show preferences

In other Hailey news... our baby is a TV star!!!
I sent in one of her swimming pictures to 40/29 Summer Shots and they put her on the news!
Before Hailey was born, I kept saying that I wouldn't be one of those parents that entered their kids into contests and pageants, but I just couldn't help myself. She just has the cutest smile!

Fun in the Sun

The weather this past weekend was great, so we just had to get Hailey out for some fresh air.

Friday evening we sat outside while Kevin was mowing and I let Hailey feel the grass for the first time. It was so cute! She just kept wiggling her toes and then she had to bend down and grab a handful. I know its just grass to us, but she had never even noticed it until now. It was fun to watch her take it all in.

On Saturday, Hailey took her first swim! She loves the tub, so I figured it was time for a little swimming pool. Like most new moms, I probably went overboard- she just had to have a cute little hippo pool, a swimsuit, and sunglasses! It was so worth it, she absolutely loved it! I was a little worried that she might scream at first, but oh no- she wanted to do the backstroke! She did get a couple mouthfuls of water which were followed by some coughs and sputtering, but she was right back at it. ***Check out the video below***

Yummo!

Hailey has been eating from a spoon for almost a month now. So far she's had rice cereal with fruit, oatmeal, applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes, and carrots. She loved them all- she's like a baby bird begging for more. I have a feeling that may change when we try peas and green beans next week. Hopefully, I will be wrong and she will love her veggies, cause I sure as heck don't!

First Taste of Cereal

Hailey Likes It!!!