Sittin' Pretty

This week Hadley began sitting up on her own. This new development has allowed us to try a bunch of new activities!

She can sit in the kitchen and bang on pots and pans while mommy cleans. 

And sit in her portable high chair at restaurants. 

She can play in her baby pool and cool off in the afternoons. 

And now that she can sit unsupported, she takes a bath in her rubber ducky tub instead of the tub she used as a newborn. She splashes up a storm and then leans back and relaxes. 

She also loves to type on the computer. For a special treat we open our laptops and let her "type" in a word document. She pushes the keys and looks up at the screen to see what happens. 

Today she even got a game going on Brett's computer by randomly hitting buttons. 

 

Right now we're enjoying the short time we have left before Hadley starts crawling. We know it will be a whole new adventure when she does. Stay tuned! 

Hadley is Six Months Old!

I cannot believe half a year has gone by already! I wish I could freeze time and keep Hadley this age! She's really turning into a little girl with her own personality. She's outgoing and tenacious and loves to try new things!

Hadley likes to keep very busy, and works on crawling for a few hours every day. Even when she's in her crib at naptime, she'll often spend the time practicing her crawling. I get to watch her on the monitor, rocking on all fours, then lunging and face-planting into the mattress.

When she's not training for the crawling Olympics, Hadley enjoys sitting in her high chair and feeding herself. She doesn't want to be spoon fed, and will grab the spoon out of mommy and daddy's hands and try to do it herself. We've started giving her tiny pieces of what we eat so that she can self-feed. It makes a huge mess, but she loves being part of family meal time, and the dogs are happy to clean the floors afterwards.

Hadley's 6 Month Stats:

New Developments: Sitting all by herself, starting to use her pincer grasp, sleeping through the night 

Height: About 26 inches...we'll know for sure at her 6 month appointment later this week.
Weight: 15.9 pounds
Sleeps: 8:00pm-6:30am with a night feeding at 4:30am about every other day.
Naps: A long 1-2 hour nap every morning, a medium 1 hour nap in the early afternoon and again in the late afternoon.
Nicknames: Hads, Baby T-Rex, Munchkin, Mary Sunshine

Likes:

Playing with paper, napkins, and tags
Sucking on her toes
Touching the dogs' ears and paws
Bouncing like a maniac in her Jumperoo
Banging toys and throwing them
Playing in the sand
Walks in the stroller
Watching Daddy grill
Watching older babies and kids play
Independent playtime with her toys in her pack 'n' play

Dislikes:

Diaper and clothing changes
Long car rides

Here are some pictures of our girl over the last month!

Sucking on those yummy toes!

 

I'll feed myself, Mom!

Playing with her partner in crime, Bode.

Practicing crawling during nap time. 

Napping with Daddy and Bode on the couch.

Showing off her two bottom teeth!

And of course, her month by month gallery. Happy half birthday, Hadley!

  

  

Fourth of July

We had an eventful weekend with Hurricane Arthur and the Fourth of July. Here's how we spent our long weekend:

Tropical Storm Arthur was due to hit Wilmington head-on on Thursday, so we spent Wednesday evening at the park trying to get as much time as possible outside before we were cooped up for the storm. 

Hadley didn't appreciate the slide, but she loved the swings!

On Thursday we sat on the porch and watched the beginning of the storm roll in. Our family is not very good at staying indoors!

When we were finally stuck inside we kept busy by making our summer bucket list.

By the next morning, the weather was gorgeous again and we spent Fourth of July at the beach with friends. 

Daddy did some surfing...

While Mommy and Hadley played in the sand.

That evening we grilled out and watched as our neighborhood set off an amazing fireworks display. Hadley loved the fireworks and didn't seem scared. The loud noise bothered me more than her!

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and cleaning up all the fallen branches and debris in our yard.

Happy Independence Day!

Sleepy Girl

After months of exclusive cat napping, Hadley is finally taking long naps in her crib. Since she spends most of her waking hours rolling around on the floor and crawling backwards, she is worn out and ready for some sleep. This allows mommy to catch up on blog entries, clean the house, and give the dogs some much-needed attention.

Hadley also slept through the entire night two nights in a row this week. In honor of mommy getting two whole nights of uninterrupted sleep, here are some favorite pictures of Hadley sleeping:

Time to invest in some crib bumpers!

And just for fun, a few of her trying her best NOT to sleep: 

Trying to pick the polka dots off of her sheet: 

Beach Babe

Brett and I were a little worried that our beach days would be over after having a baby. Fortunately, Hadley loves the beach and we've been able to enjoy our favorite summer activity almost every weekend.

We start off each day slathering on sunscreen. Hadley HATES this part, but I tell her she'll thank me when she's 40! We recently got Hadley a swim shirt that protects against the sun, so with that, her tent, and her big floppy sun hat, she's well protected!

She loves to be dipped in the water and feel the waves crash over her feet. She takes this very seriously and gasps when the waves come. She also loves to sit in the sand and grab handfuls of it.

After she has a little bit of time in the sun, it's time to relax in the shade. Hadley discovered that the salt and sand on her feet make a delicious snack!

 

Nap time has been a struggle lately, but Hadley sleeps so well in her stroller. The breeze keeps her cool and she listens to the waves and naps for hours.

On the way home, her hair is sticky from the salt and sunscreen, so we get to try out some new hairstyles!

Hadley is Five Months Old!

Hadley's 5 Month Stats:

Hadley has had a busy month! She went on two trips to Pennsylvania, rode on planes, got her first two teeth, and tried solid food for the first time. She's trying her best to move around: rolling, scooting and attempting to crawl. She is so much fun to be around, though keeping up with her can be tiring!

Eyes: Still bright blue..hopefully they'll stay this way. 

Hair: Dark blonde and straight

Height: 25 inches...67% (As of two weeks ago)

Weight: 14 pounds...49% (As of two weeks ago)

Likes:

Babbling and shrieking. She likes to say, "Hey!"

Eating sweet potato puree

Bouncing in her jumperoo

Being bounced by Daddy on the couch

Sleeping on her belly or side

Going outside 

Her paci

Tummy time

Dislikes:

Car rides

Having a shirt pulled over her head

Sweet pea puree 

Sun in her eyes

Hadley still loves the beach, especially eating playing in the sand.

She loves to be on her tummy during playtime. 

Here she is eating her favorite solid food, sweet potatoes.

And her least favorite, sweet peas:

No matter what she's eating, she generously shares it with the dogs by throwing it off the high chair!

Here are her 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 month pictures!