Happy First Birthday, Hadley!

Our little munchkin is officially a toddler! I won't send out my 'Hadley is 12 Months' post until after her doctor appointment on Tuesday, so I can update all her stats. We had a wonderful day celebrating Hadley's first birthday. I promised I wouldn't cry....but of course got teary eyed all day. How is it possible that my little baby is one year old?

To celebrate Hadley's birthday, Daddy took a vacation day off of work. We woke up bright and early, just like Hadley likes it. I made birthday funfetti pancakes with real pancake mix and whipped cream. For some reason, Hadley liked them way more than the Greek yogurt, whole-wheat pancakes I usually make!

We lit a number 1 candle in the pancakes so that Hadley would have practice with a candle. Basically Brett held her hands down and blew it out before she could burn herself.

Hadley took a few dainty bites, realized these pancakes were YUMMY, and stuffed her mouth full of pancake goodness.

After breakfast we went to gymnastics, and Daddy got to see Hadley in action! We met up with one of Hadley's good friends, and the girls had a great time!

After gymnastics, Hadley took a hard-earned nap. When she woke up we opened her birthday presents. She still doesn't understand unwrapping, but she had tons of fun playing with all her new toys!

After presents, we went to lunch and Hadley had her first kids meal. She had macaroni and cheese, and devoured it!

After one more nap, Hadley took her tricycle out for a spin. She had some new birthday present accessories including a horn, basket and tassels for the handlebars.

To finish off the day, Hadley's friend Grace came over and gave her a birthday present. The girls got to play until bedtime.

Happy first birthday, Hadley!

Just Like Mommy and Daddy

The other day I noticed Hadley grab a wipe out of her diaper wipe box, walk over to the sliding glass door, and wipe it down. It took me a minute to realize that she must see me do this ALL the time, because our dogs rub their noses on the door. Since noticing this, I've seen Hadley imitate us throughout her day, and it is hilarious! 

Hadley LOVES to take a paper and marker and make a grocery list, as I make mine. 

She also likes to take paper towels or wipes and clean the coffee table:

Hadley loves to lounge on the couch and watch TV with Daddy:

She also loves to sit in her new chair (a gift from Aunt Jess and Uncle Tyler) and use the remote to change channels.:

...and sit and cuddle her baby (a gift from Madi and Nonna):

Or....eat some cookies!

Mommy and Daddy are amazed every day at what we see Hadley do. How long until we can get her to help with some chores??  ;)

Our Christmas

Hadley had a wonderful first Christmas! We had lots of family come visit, but we of course missed all of the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents we didn't have with us!

On Christmas Eve, we went to church, and left milk and cookies out for Santa. Bode Santa ate the cookies shortly after we all went to bed.

We said goodbye to our Elf on the Shelf. Penn Charles. Hadley spent every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve excited to find him in his new hiding place. It was easy for us this year, but I know the pressure will be on next Christmas when we have to come up with lots of fun activities for Penn Charles to get into each night. I will be referring to Aunt Erin's recent blog post for some great ideas!

On Christmas morning Hadley was delighted to find a shiny bow sitting on a present. After awhile, she stopped playing with the bow and opened some gifts. She didn't understand the concept of unwrapping, so we mostly did it for her. 

Here she is riding on her new tricycle!

Getting cuddles from Aunt Emily.

Hanging out with Mema.

Sitting in her new chair watching Home Alone, mommy and daddy's favorite Christmas movie.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! 

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