Visiting Santa

Today we took Hadley to visit Santa in downtown Wilmington. It was a rainy day so the wait to see him was only about 15 minutes.

As we waited in line we heard Santa talking to the other girls and boys. He spent a lot of each child's time interrogating them about their behavior. He told a little girl wearing reindeer antlers that she should be careful because it's hunting season and told a family of boys to do a better job putting their dirty clothes in the hamper. He certainly was a funny Santa! And very authentic looking! 

Waiting in line to meet the big guy! 

When it was our turn Hadley was much more interested in the Christmas tree next to Santa than Santa himself. 

When I asked Hadley, "It's Santa! What do you think?" Santa answered back, "She isn't thinking anything. She doesn't have the language to think. There is nothing going on in here" as he pointed to her head. 

We didn't get a smile out of Hadley for the picture, but it was still a fun experience. 

We're all looking forward to the fun that the next week will bring! Ho ho ho! 

Christmas Pictures

After a few failed attempts to get a nice Christmas picture of the three of us, we decided to enlist the help of our friend Lee Ann, who is also a mommy to one of Hadley's best baby friends. We met her at the arboretum and we were very impressed with how our pictures turned out. She was SO good with Hadley, and so patient with her runny nose, refusal to smile, and even photo shopped out the dirty knees on her stockings after she fell. 

Thank you, Lee Ann! www.leeannboltonphoto.com

Aquarium Fun

Today we took Hadley on her first trip to the Fort Fisher Aquarium. I knew she'd love it, but I was surprised by how excited she was the entire time. She loved looking at the fish, turtles, and sharks, and even touched a horse shoe crab.  A worker at the aquarium was impressed by how fearless she was. He said she would make a great marine biologist. Hadley really seems to love animals. Maybe someday she'll be a veterinarian!

NanaSue taking Hadley to see the freshwater fish and alligators. There was even a bald eagle.

These two alligators were cuddling and I thought it was so cute. I didn't know alligators could be cute!

Watching the fish swim. 

Touching the underside of  a horse shoe crab. 

After looking at all the fish, we played on the aquarium's playground. It was a fun day and Hadley took a long nap when we got home! 

Hadley is Eleven Months Old!

This little peanut has been keeping mommy and daddy on their toes! She's walking so fast she's almost running...we've had a lot of bumps and bruises as she works on her coordination. She is using her ability to get places quickly to getting into everything. She learned how to open containers with her teeth and will go into the cabinets, pull out containers of food, and dump them on the floor. She also loves walking around the house in search of tiny morsels of dog food or scraps of paper to eat. It's a full time job keeping things out of this girl's mouth! Although she's a handful at this age, we are having so much fun with her. She's starting to get a sense of humor, and loves doing silly or naughty things to get a reaction from people. She babbles all day as she moves from place to place. She occasionally says "dada" and "baby." Hadley is constantly on the move, and is only still when she's sleeping. She's like the energizer bunny! 

Hadley's 11 Month Stats:

Favorite foods: cheese, yogurt, ravioli, carrots, black beans

Likes:

Going to gymnastics

Playing with older kids

Sippy cups of water 

Pulling tissues out of the Kleenex box

Going through drawers and cabinets 

Books

Playing in the dogs' water bowl

Ripping up paper towels and napkins 

Cats and dogs 

Dislikes:

Diaper changes

Having her nose wiped 

Having her hair washed or water on her face