Hadley is Four Months Old!

Today our little girl is four months old! She has changed so much over the past month. She can now roll both ways, sit by herself for a few seconds, and accurately grab her toys. She's more interested in the world around her than ever, and has recently become very interested in interacting with the dogs. She screeches to get their attention, then tries to pet them. Bode is always a willing participant, though Sadie keeps her distance.

Now that Hadley's a little older, we've been venturing out of the house more. We go to baby story hour at the library once a week. Babies sit in their mother's laps while the teacher, Mr. Scooter, teaches them sign language, sings songs, and reads to them. At the end he turns on a bubble machine and the babies get to pop bubbles. Learning sign language during story hour has inspired us to use it with Hadley at home. It allows babies to communicate before they have developed the ability to speak. 

Hadley's also been enjoying going to the beach with us. Even though the water is really cold, she didn't mind putting her feet in it. She was a real trooper, standing in the waves and getting sandy. When she's had enough of the water, she takes a nap in her tent while mommy and daddy get some sun.

Hadley's 4 Month Stats:

Eyes: Blue
Hair: Getting longer and lighter by the day...looking strawberry blonde lately
Height: 24.5 inches
Weight: 13.6 pounds

Likes:
Playing with toys that make noise and light up
Any type of screen she can find (TV, computer, etc) We try to discourage this as much as possible!
Kisses from Bode
Her paci
Sleeping on her side
Books...especially The Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon
Her peacock toy
Playing with the remote control

 

Dislikes:
Getting her nails clipped.
Being kissed on the cheek
Napping in her crib

Here's a lineup of her monthly pictures!

    

Huggies and Chuggies!

Back when I was pregnant with Hadley, our neighbors threw us a beautiful baby shower, and I have been waiting eagerly to return the favor! Will and Claire's baby, Grace, is due this June. Since Claire already had two baby showers, we thought a co-ed beer and diaper shower would be fun. I hosted the shower with two other girls. It was yellow & purple themed in honor of Will and Claire's Alma mater.

Brett created the chalkboard art for the occasion:

We had a "Diaper Thoughts" activity for guests to write funny notes for Will and Claire to read during late-night diaper changes:

Some koozies for favors:

And lots of yard games.

 After eating some burgers and hot dogs, the boys had a contest to see who could drink a baby bottle of beer the fastest. The guys were all surprised by how difficult it was!

The guest of honor, Will, won the contest!

His prize was a beer cake.

Congrats to Will and Claire! We can't wait to meet baby Grace!

FAN-TASTIC!

Since the day she came home from the hospital, Hadley has loved to stare at the ceiling fan in our living room. The contrast of the dark fan against the white ceiling, and the movement of the blades provides hours of entertainment.

Today I had to stop by Home Depot for a few things, so I took Hadley through the fan section where hundreds of fans are on display. She was mesmerized!

Someday we'll have to pay for tickets to Disney World for this kind of entertainment!

Happy Easter!

Yesterday was our first Easter as a family of three! We woke up early, and Brett and Hadley came downstairs to find that the Easter Bunny had brought them Easter baskets full of goodies!

Daddy's basket was full of treats that we normally don't have in the house like Slim Jims, Pop Tarts, and candy. He also got some fun socks! Hadley's basket had some toys and pacifiers.

After that we went to church. Hadley was excellent through the entire service! This was especially impressive because mommy insisted we get to church 45 minutes early, so she sat in the pew for almost two hours without crying!

When we got home, we all changed into our comfy clothes. Mommy cooked dinner while Hadley and Daddy played and watched hockey. It was a relaxing day!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

A Visit From Adam, Erin, Avery and Grayson

This past weekend Adam, Erin, Avery and Grayson came to Wilmington! It was Hadley's first time meeting her cousins. The kids had lots of fun going to the beach, playing hide and seek, reading stories and playing in our sandy backyard. Avery and Grayson were great with Hadley...and were good sports about having our dogs all over them the entire weekend. I can't wait to watch these cousins grow and play together over the years!

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!