A message to all my peeps

I'm supposed to be in bed for the night so don't tell my mom and dad that you read this. I just wanted to say how much I love them both. Daddy plays the guitar and sings to me all the time. I sit on the floor and look up at him and smile. Daddy is so entertaining and funny. He is always tickling me and making funny noises. Everyone says I look like him. Daddy plays fetch really well too. =o)

I love being with my mommy. I practically never cry when I'm in her arms. Sometimes I topple over when I'm sitting playing with my toys and it surprises me so I cry. She holds me and makes it all better. She knows exactly what I want. When I'm teething she gives me these nice cold rings to bite on. It feels so good but it makes my cheeks and hands cold too! Mommy loves to play peek-a-boo with me. She makes me laugh so hard I squeel. I also love to smile at mommy. When she smiles at me I can't help but smile back. Sometimes mommy rubs my face when I'm tired or not feeling well. I close my eyes and go to sleep.

The doctor says I didn't gain much weight the past couple months but that I look good and not to worry. He said this baby's got some back (like mother, like daughter).

Hey, can someone explain to me what these fuzzy creatures are crawling on my floor?! They run away and leave me with their fuzz puffs in my hand. It doesn't taste good either. Jacob, do you have any tips on how I can catch one of these things? If we catch my big black one, we could take a ride to Bruster's and you can buy me a sundae. :::wink:::

Great Grandpa Raymond

Hailey,

Today your Great Grandpa Raymond passed away. He loved you oh so much. He was so proud to be your Great Grandpa! A couple weeks before he passed, we went to visit him during dinner. He was up in the dining room and overjoyed to see you. He smiled ear to ear. Nana took pictures. He always wanted to know how you were if you weren't around. I'm sorry you will not remember him. But we will keep his memory alive. Know that he is proud of you!!

We're sitting up!

Yes, you read that right! Hailey is sitting up now! She can support herself well. She will sit for a few minutes unsupported. Eventually she topples over and then continues to play with her toys.

Last friday Hailey went to the park for the first time. We went with Carrie Schuessler & kids and Amanda Phillips and her little boy and 4 month old little girl. Hailey got in the swing! She sat in the swing with her legs coming straight out and stiff. lol. Luke Schuessler was in the swing beside her.








Hailey loves to sleep on her stomach. She sleeps with her butt in the air and her hands under her tummy. I just went to get her some more pj's the other day. I got her a couple 6 - 9 month sizes. They are a little big but that's good cause there is room to grow!

Hailey still hates baby food. I give her bananas and apples in a mesh ring and she loves to chew on it. But when I try to spoon feed her or even feed her with my finger, she makes an icky face and spits it out. But then she grabs for whatever Sean and I have!

A couple weeks ago I set Hailey in the bassinet part of her playpen, sitting in her bumbo and she was playing with some toys. From a distance, she looked like she was sitting up by herself. Sean walked in the room and freaked out screaming "Get the camera! Get the camera!" (this was before Hailey started sitting up unsupported) I just started laughing and then he realized she was in the bumbo. Poor guy! He was so excited!!

WORK:
A few weeks ago I was singing the song "God is bigger than the boogy man" I was just so scared about the way work was going. It's a family business. What would we do instead? It's so hard to find a job right now too! I just tried to have faith. Then suddenly we had a lot of people looking for estimates. Soon we should have more work to do!! Thank you God for your provision! I pray for favor on our estimates we are giving out.

FAMILY:
My pop (my mom's dad) is doing very bad healthwise. My family has started making arrangements because he could pass anyday now. My mom has been dealing with everything very well but I think it is starting to take a toll on her. Pop has been in and out of the hospital and hasn't eaten in weeks. He had a stroke last wednesday and now he can't talk at all. Jesus Christ is our savior and my pop has accepted Jesus so I know he is going to be eternally with God. That gives me such a great sense of peace even during a tough time.

5 months and counting!

Five months have passed since I had Hailey. Can't believe it!! Her developments are so fast and dramatic. The other day Sean and I were commenting on Hailey's social development. We have seen a huge difference in the past week. She is working on sitting up too. Haven't gotten it yet but soon!! I would love it if she would skip the crawling and go to walking. I want her to be able to crawl, of course, but Michael's (our huge black german shephard) hair is everywhere!! Once I vaccum or sweep, it's there 10 min. later so it's pretty much a neverending battle. I can just see it now... Hailey looks up at me and smiles with a mouth-full of black hair. Ah! Well, I guess it comes with the territory.

Hailey loves toys that have blinking lights and makes music. She also loves her Chewy... it's a zebra. For the most part she is sleeping well. Most nights she sleeps all the way through. Some nights she wakes up and I give in and feed her and she goes right back to sleep. Other nights, like last night, she woke up crying a couple times. She was laying on her back so I flipped her over and turned the mobile on which vibrates and she soon went back to sleep. She cried for not even 5 minutes. I don't let her cry steadily for more than 10 minutes.

Doc appointment

Hailey had a check-up doc appointment today. She weighs in at 13 lb. 7 oz. and 25 1/2" long. She got 3 shots today and was quite upset about it. I think that combined with being tired made her really fussy this morning. We started her on baby food today. (Here comes the nasty poo!) We are trying sweet peas first. She cried and cried but I think it was for other reasons. The doctor said she will start teething more soon and to watch out for ear infections.

Hailey began waking up during the night cause she is cold. I started putting a onesie underneath Hailey's pajamas and she is sleeping much better. We are on a schedule of waking up at 7 AM to eat, eating every four hours and going to bed around 8 PM or so. It's working really well. My only struggle is getting her to nap when we are out places. Sometimes she will act the cutest when she is really tire but then suddenly, like hitting a brick wall, she is exhausted and screaming! It's not fun!!

Hailey rolls over from stomach to back and back to stomach. She loves it when Sean and I clap and say "yay!!". She smiles and we have noticed she looks for our approval. I had to tell her "no" for the first time the other day. She was arching her back while sitting in the bumbo and I was feeding her cereal. The first time she smiled at me. When she noticed that I didn't smile back, then she just gave me a serious face (the same face I was giving her).

Christmas was a blast with Hailey. Her favorite present was a pinguin Aunt Stephanie got her that wobbles, plays music and has balls in it. She squeeled and grabbed it. With the money from her Great Grandpa and Great Uncle John, I bought Hailey an exersaucer. It should come in the mail any day now!! But where am I going to put it?! I'm so glad it colapses.

Hailey slept through her first new years. It would have been fun to keep her up but not good for her. We spent the night playing Rock Band with Stephanie and her boyfriend Patrick (Patti).

We got a new camera... a Nikon D60. We LOVE it! Sean and I had been saving for over a year. We had a ton of gift certificates from last Christmas we had saved. Speaking of saving, Sean and I decided we need to save and do something for our anniversary. This year it will be our five year anniversary. We are thinking maybe a 3 day cruise. Can I really leave Hailey for that long?! Ah! She will be a year old so maybe I can handle it by then.

Hailey is 4 months old today!

Four months ago today I gave birth (through c-section) to Hailey! I can't believe how much time has gone by. I know I say it over and over again but it's just unreal! I have three friends giving birth soon and am so excited for them.

Hailey is taking LONG naps. I was getting worried about it but my good friend Stacey, she's my personal baby expert, told me that she's just growing and to let her sleep. Growing? Growing more?! Ah!

Here's a list of recent changes

1. Hailey has found her feet and loves to play with them. Has not discovered that
she can put them in her month yet. =o)
2. She has started to wake up in the middle of the night some. (Especially since
I have put her in her crib)
3. I don't swaddle Hailey anymore at night. She was getting out of her swaddle and
instead the blanket would be on her face so I stopped that right away. Instead
I just dress her in the pj's with feet in them so she stays warm.
4. I have to put Hailey down for naps. It sounds like "duh" but when she was a
newborn she slept automatically.
5. Toys make her excited.
6. We are spoon feeding her cereal tonight! I will start giving her cereal at night
and probably in the morning as well.
7. Hailey scoots. She scoots down to the bottom of her crib. She also scooted
almost all the way off the couch!! I have to watch her more!
8. Hailey grabs things. She tried taking her dad's pizza from his plate last night.
She got the sauce all over her hand. She also knocked down a glass the other
day.
9. We love the bumbo! Hailey sits in her bumbo all the time. She holds her head up
so well I don't have to worry about it wobbling anymore!

Busy, busy

It's been busy around the house this weekend. Saturday morning Sean had a guitar lesson to give. While Hailey was down for a nap (in her very own crib in the nursery!!), I went to a couple parking lots to put flyers out for Kitchen & Bath Options. I made it back before Hailey woke up. Then did house work while Sean left to do a couple hours of work. Hailey and I then went jogging and got ready for the church wide progressive dinner.

The progressive dinner was so yummy! We went to three houses and then ended for desert at the church. The first house had southwestern chili... yummy! The second house had finger foods such as pizza rolls and spinach dip. The third house had chicken parmesan... delicioso! It was a fantastic time visiting with our friends. Thanks so much Carrie for putting it all together!!

Friday night we went to the Schuessler's for dinner. Carried made chili and it was so good! Adam put mashed potatoes in his chili, which I had never thought of before. I recommend it! I'm on a chili kick so I'm going to make some this coming week.