Hello from Hadley

Hello, all! Sorry for the lack of posts....having a toddler is WAY more work than having a baby. I cannot find time to shower, let alone blog!

Here are some photos of Hurricane Hadley over the past few weeks:

Playing football with our neighbor, Sammy:

Drinking some milk and enjoying the sunshine in our backyard:

Double fisting veggies, chips, and hummus:

Sleeping with a cute fishy face:

Out to lunch with mommy:

Having fun at gymnastics with Aunt Jess:

Drinking water from the dog dish...she LOVES the reaction she gets from mommy and daddy when she does this:

Visiting Papa Don...

And her Aunts, Uncles, and cousins...

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

Hadley's 12 Month Stats

Did you know our daughter turned ONE???? Hehe ;)

I apologize for the bombardment of posts....but I had to finish out my year of stats and fun facts. Thank goodness this is my last time trying to photograph her on this chair. She thinks its hilarious to jump off the chair when I try to take her picture, so this is the best I could do!

Hadley's 12 Month Stats:

Height: 29.75 inches...in the 71%

Weight: 19.5 pounds....in the 21%

Favorite foods: cheese, beans, yogurt, salmon, ravioli, sweet potato

Favorite song: Wheels on the Bus

Sleeps: 7pm-6:30am, plus two 1-hour naps

New skills: running, walking while clapping her hands, kicking balls, high fiving, giving hugs, helping while getting dressed 

Words: daddy, baby, gat (cat)

Likes:

baby dolls

stuff animals

baths

the dogs' water bowl

emptying cabinets and drawers

riding her tricycle

chasing the dogs

grabbing strangers' hands and motioning for them to pick her up

running around outside

playing peek-a-boo

climbing stairs

saying, "Daddy!" when Brett gets home from work

finding Bode under the covers in our bed every morning

coloring with pens and markers

Dislikes:

having her hair combed

diaper changes

sleeping in

cuddling

being still for any reason

Hadley's Winter Onederland

On Saturday, we celebrated Hadley's birthday at our house with a Winter Onederland themed party. We had about forty friends over, and it was a blast.

I've been planning this party for a few months, and poor Brett has spent many a night trying to make my ideas into reality. When I told him I'd like a giant, sparkly, gold number one, that's just what I got!

The thing I was most excited for was having a hot cocoa bar. We had hot cocoa and apple cider with plenty of fixings like cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and so we could have a little bit of Uncle Adam at our party....peppermint M&Ms.

We had a tray of cheerios, puffs and crackers for our youngest guests.

And cakepops, cupcakes and finger foods for the older kids.

Another idea I was excited about was freezing balloons full of water to use instead of ice in a beverage bucket. This idea worked out awesome! I can't wait to do it again in appropriately-themed colors for holidays and parties!

For favors we gave out hot cocoa and marshmallows.

The kids enjoyed running through the tassels hanging in the doorway.Thankfully, I had the foresight to attach it to the walls with rubber bands, so when the kids inevitably pulled on it it wouldn't fall down. 

The babies, or I guess I should say, TODDLERS had a fun time playing with toys and eating snacks in the living room.

We had pink and white layered cake, and Hadley had a gigantic piece for herself. I spent about three hours baking the cake that morning...I wish it had turned out a little more professional-looking. Perhaps next year I will make sure MomMom or Aunt Erin are in town to help make my cake look amazing!

Hadley seemed to enjoy the cake...she put her whole face into it and gobbled it right up!

Sadie got into a festive spirit wearing a party hat. Bode spent the afternoon upstairs in our bedroom, watching the news and eating a gigantic bone that I bought especially for him to enjoy.

After the party, Hadley had some downtime.....

And then opened her presents with help from Daddy. 

Happy birthday to our sweet one year old! Now mommy must go write a big stack of thank you cards! :)

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!