Hadley is Three Months Old!

Hadley is now three months old and is amazing us every day with all the new things she can do. A week ago she started grabbing objects, and every day her hand-eye coordination gets a little bit better. This morning she surprised me by rolling over during tummy time! She's very tenacious when she practices these new skills, and will scream in determination as she works. She's using her voice to make lots of sounds like coos and shrieks. Her favorite noise to use to get our attention is her owl noise: "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"


Likes:
Walks around the neighborhood...she smiles and flaps her arms when we put her in her stroller
Sitting in her high chair and playing with rattles
Watching the dogs play
Meeting new people
Baths


Dislikes:
Sunshine! She cringes and covers her face if light touches her
Shirts being pulled over her head
Getting out of the bath

Here are her one, two, and three month pictures!

Hadley's Baptism

This weekend Brett's family drove down from Pennsylvania for Hadley's baptism. On Saturday the weather was beautiful, so we had lunch on the pier. It was Hadley's third time at the beach, but the first time she was awake to see the ocean.

She really doesn't like when its bright outside, as you can tell by her facial expression below!

After lunch, Kerry made my dream of "A cross-shaped, homemade cake that looks professional" a reality. 

And BobBob and Nonna kept Hadley happily entertained while we cooked!

On Sunday, Hadley's baptism went perfectly. She was all smiles and sat through the whole service like a little lady! She wore the dress that I wore 26 years ago at my own Baptism. 

Thank you to all who sent Hadley beautiful gifts and cards and who came to see her baptism. We feel extremely blessed to have wonderful family and friends that love our daughter so much!

Lots of Firsts!

Hadley is officially out of the "newborn" phase and is eager to explore her world! There is nothing she loves more than going somewhere with lots of people and noises. When I go grocery shopping I wear Hadley in a wrap, and she spends the whole trip looking around at all the bright colors and smiling at the people who stop to say hi to her.

We recently started putting Hadley in her high chair which gives her a good vantage point to see everything going on around the house. She can watch mommy cook and see whatever nonsense the boxers are engaged in. She doesn't have the head control to sit up by herself yet, so I put her car seat head support cushion in her high chair.

And now that she can sit nicely in her high chair, we are back to having family dinners at the dining room table!

She sits nicely through the whole meal...and if she gets fussy, daddy is always ready to make her laugh. In a few months, she'll get to start eating food with us! 

Last week was also Hadley's first church service. We knew she'd love the music and all of the people. Before we left, we tanked her up with her breast milk/zantac colada, and she passed out for a little while.

She slept through the first half of the service, then spent the rest staring at the stained glass windows and loving life. Everyone around us commented on how good her behavior was!

We'll be taking Hadley back to church next Sunday for her baptism....we're all looking forward to MomMom, GrandBob, and Nonna's visit for the occasion!

Hadley is Two Months Old!

We just got back from our 2 month checkup with Hadley, and as she sleeps off those vaccines, I thought I'd take advantage of a chance to update everyone.

Hadley's Two Month Stats:

Sleeps: from 8pm-2am, then 2:30am-6am plus a few catnaps throughout the day. She sleeps very well at night, but fights naps like no other! Her pediatrician said when she starts crawling and walking she'll start taking longer naps.
Eats: About 8 times a day
Weight: 11 pounds, 13 oz...in the 77%
Height: 23 inches....in the 76%

Likes:

Studying faces
Looking in mirrors
Sticking out her tongue when someone sticks theirs out at her
Napping in her swing
Being "worn" by mommy or daddy in her carrier

Dislikes:

When the car stops at red lights
Tummy time

New Developments:

This age has been so much fun! Hadley loves to interact with people and insists on being entertained and stimulated whenever she's awake. When someone talks to her, her face lights up and she will imitate facial expressions and noises. She is starting to use her hands to bat at her toys. This is the first I've seen her intentionally use her hands to do something and she takes it very seriously! She is such a joy to be around!

  

And here she is in her one month picture on the left, and her two month picture on the right:

 

Our Busy Bee!

Our girl has been a busy bee these past few weeks! She's been on play dates with some other cool babies, gone to restaurants, coffee shops, the beach, and many long walks in the park. She loves going to noisy places with lots to see and coming home for a long nap after all the stimulation. Her personality is really starting to come out, as you can see in these photos!

     

And we can't forget about our other babies...who have no shortage of personality either!

The boppy pillow is a sought after item in our house! Mommy, Hadley and the dogs all love it!

I found Bode sleeping like this a few days ago. He knows he's not allowed to play with the toys on it (this takes MASSIVE restraint on his part), but I guess he thought it would be ok to nap here. 

One thing is for sure...this momma has her hands full!

Visitors from Afar!

We've been lucky to have TONS of family and friends come visit us and celebrate the birth of Hadley. Some of my friends set up a meal train and brought us homemade meals throughout the first weeks after Hadley was born. We have been well-fed thanks to friends, family and the huge amount of freezer meals I made in the days that I was awaiting miss Hadley's arrival.

Here are some of the visitors we've had make the long journey to Wilmington to meet Hadley!

My dad and his wife, Suzie, arrived in Wilmington on New Years Eve. They stayed a few days, then made their way to Myrtle Beach where they enjoyed some downtime while we all waited patiently eagerly for Hadley. They visited me while I was in labor, then came to the hospital to visit Hadley the morning after she was born. They also took care of the dogs while we were in the hospital so we could focus on our new baby, knowing our fur babies were in good hands. 

A few days later my mom visited and was so helpful to us! She helped Hadley get her days and nights sorted out (she'd had them reversed), which helped me get some much needed sleep! We gave Hadley her first bath, took her to the pediatrician, and took Bode to the vet. She took excellent care of both Hadley and me while I recovered.

Brett's mom, Kerry, visited next and was a huge help, cooking yummy meals, fixing the paint in Hadley's room and bathroom, cleaning, and giving our girl lots of attention. I'd been trying to get Hadley to take a pacifier since she was a week old, and Kerry was able to get her to use one! This has been great when Hadley gets fussy in the evenings!

Next, my best friend, Jess and her fiance, Tyler visited for the weekend. Jess is such a natural with babies! I don't know who enjoyed Jess' lullabies more, me or Hadley. During their visit we got to enjoy the gorgeous 75 degree February weather before they had to go back to a snowy NYC. We were sad to see them go!

Brett's dad, Larry, visited us this weekend from Florida. Hadley instantly loved him and gave him lots of smiles every time he held her. Larry was also a favorite of Bode who relentlessly tried to play with him all weekend! 

We're so grateful to everyone who made the long trip to see us and for all the help they gave us as we adjusted to parenthood! We're looking forward to visits from my mom and sister in March, and Hadley's Uncle Adam, Aunt Erin, and cousins Avery and Grayson this April!

Hadley is One Month Old!

Hadley has grown and changed so much over the past month! She's been interacting with us more, and has started to smile. I tear up every time she smiles at us...especially when she gives Brett a big grin when he gets home from work. 

She is still such a good baby and only cries a few times a day. She LOVES to eat and would do so all day if she could. At night she usually sleeps a 5 hour stretch followed by two 2-hour stretches. That means mommy goes to bed at 7pm with her every night in order to take advantage of the first long stretch. We are working on having her take naps in her crib, and are hoping to make the transition from bassinet in our room to the crib in her room within a month or two. She is one noisy sleeper, squeaking, yelling and cooing throughout the night. 

Hadley's One Month Stats:

Sleeps: about 16 hours a day
Eats: about 8 times a day
Weight: At her two week appointment she was up to 8 pounds 8 oz which is the 53rd percentile for weight. I tried weighing her on our bathroom scale a few days ago, first weighing myself with her, and then myself without her. According to that she's now  9 and a half pounds. 
Height: 21 inches...she is in the 74th percentile for height. I'm not sure where she got her tall genes. She is too tall for newborn clothes, but too skinny for 0-3 month clothes. 

Likes:

Snuggling with Daddy on the couch
Playing in her gym
Looking at picture frames and ceiling fans
"Standing" on her legs. She can support all her weight and just needs us for balance. 
Sticking out her tongue at us
Car rides

Dislikes:

Pacifiers...we're working on this one. Hopefully it will be in the "like" column soon!

When mommy puts lotion on her after her bath...she wants those warm clothes back on right away!

One month old!

Playing in her gym...and flashing one of her first smiles!

Love that profile!

She could sleep with Daddy on the couch all day!