9 Months

Christmas

Four generations! Mom, Grandma, myself and Hailey

We all sqeezed into this picture, only some of the family was there but it was nice nice to see everyone. This is my moms side of the family

Cuddle time with Granny (she asked that Hailey calls her Granny and we call her Grandma)

She's mastered the sippy cup

Playing with Great Aunt Della (she's way to young to be a great aunt!)

Just ignore the crazy look I have in my eye...this is a cute one of Grandma and Hailey

My dad's parents. They are so amazing, they play cards every night and constantly raise money for work.

Hanging out at Uncle Randy's place.

Grandma McLaughlin made her this mittens - they are so cute! I was hoping she would make her a pair since but didn't want to ask. She made me half a dozen pairs that I wore all through college.

Wearing her new snow suit - well not sure if it's a snow suit but its really fuzzy and adorable! (thanks Nana and Papa Mac)

Had lots of cuddles and kisses from Nana

Our daughter already giving her dad a look...

Hailey's cousin Tasia got her Tigger (Uncle Matt and Aunt Voula) and Uncle Adam bought her Mini Mouse. She LOVES them booth! She wrestles with them all the time.

Uncle Matt and cousin Tasia.

Probably our favourite part of the holidays, all of us gathered around the table. There was 11 of us. Dad just made us the traditional BIG breakfast.....so yummy.

Tasia helping Hailey open her gifts

Beautiful Aunt Voula

Aunt Siona and her boyfriend Sheldon.

Reading with Nana Mac

Another Christmas has come and gone so quickly, seems that time passes by much faster when you have a kid. This Christmas we drove up to Ontario to see my family. We left at 8:30pm and arrived around 6:00am on the 24th. It was such a long night but I believe if we travelled during the day it would have been a much longer trip. We had yet to attempt a day trip with Hailey, but I am doing my best to avoid it. I know we will have to eventually but it is so much easier have her sleep through the night.

I was so stressed out before we left about the travelling, how she would do sleeping at my parents place now that she was much more aware, napping, eating....so much to worry about and so little time! All my worries were pointless as I learned. She slept great, we fought with her for some naps - which is to be expected. She ate like a champ and was friendly with everyone who approached her. She even let my family hold her with me in the room. This was so amazing. It is such a huge step for Hailey, normally if I'm going to be in the room I have to hide or not talk. This is an on going battle for Brad but she is making improvements.

It was so nice to be around family again, and as always I shed a tear or two while leaving. Now that we have Hailey we find it some much harder to be away from family but we believe 100% that God has brought us here and we have peace this is where we are to be.

Acceptance...

So I like many other new mothers I'm sure was concerned that Hailey wasn't crawling yet. I know I shouldn't be comparing her to other kids but my friends kid was 6 months and already starting to crawl. Granted it's probably because I haven't been as vigilant with getting Hailey her tummy time. She would just cry and scream and some days I just couldn't mentally take it.

But since we are finding her on her tummy in her crib I decided to try and really make an effort to get her time on her tummy.

Today she was on her belly and I was able to read a few stories to her without her crying or rolling over. I consider that a success! She is trying to move her arms and legs a little bit and I know she'll get there at her own pace. So she may crawl...or army crawl or just skip it all and just start walking. I've accepted that and am thrilled with the progress we're making on her belly. I can tell she's wanting to move but she just hasn't figured out how to make it happen yet; I have a feeling I'll be running around all over trying to keep up with her once she starts moving. She is standing really well, at times she can hold onto her table without help, she even pulled herself up to her table with very little assistance from me yesterday....we're getting close!

Hailey spends most of her time sitting up and very little time on her back. I was thinking back the other day to when she would spend most of the day on her back. It's so much easier now!

I was actually able to get stuff down today and Hailey was content to sit on the floor, watching and playing with what ever objects I gave her. Her recent favorite is a book with pages she can try to suck on or rip or any light switch. She gets so excited she nearly jumps out of my arms to touch the thermostat each time.

So another day goes by and I've once again cherished all my time with her...yes I'm tired and ready for her to go to bed :) but she's so much fun. The highlight of my day was we were laying on the ground side by side and she was just looking up at me smiling while I was rubbing her big cheeks. That smile was enough to make my day.

Christmas

So we decided kinda last minute to do a Christmas card this year with Hailey. I attempted to do a photo shoot as Brad calls it, with her in front of the tree but she wasn't as excited as I was to take her picture. I was lucky I even got one good picture. I think next year I'll actually plan ahead and be more creative :)

She got her 6 months shots on this past Monday. I know we're a little behind...but she had to get three shots and drink something. I am too big of a wimp to be in the room with her when she's getting it done so Brad bravely substitutes in for me. I could hear her crying out in the waiting room. I felt so bad. The tears were still sitting on her chubby cheeks when she came out of the room.

All this week she was not sleeping very well. Which was very discouraging since she was consistently taking a morning and afternoon nap each 1-2 hours long. I felt awesome, I was getting to work so much more. Then this week she decided she'd only sleep 30-40 minutes at a time. Some times she'd only get 1 1/2 hours all day. I KNOW she needs way more then that. So I seemed to spend all day each day trying to coax her to have a nap. It took me 5 tries one day! I had to pray for an extra serving of patience that day. I just wish she'd trust me that I know what's best for her - lots of sleeping! I think she is sick too, just not sure if it's from her shots or not. I feel so bad for her when he nose is running and she's coughing plus she's in the mommy mood more often then not.

She's still eating really well, enjoying everyone kind of food we give her. With every first bite of each meal being the same, tongue comes out and she purses her lips, testing to see what it is. It was so cute yesterday, I was feeding her peaches which she's had many times and each time she took a bit she'd shake her head.

Bath Time

I feel that we are so lucky that Hailey loves her bath time. I remember being so scared the first few times when I bathed her on my own. I was so nervous, I didn't know how to hold her or comfort her if she started to cry. Now I look forward to bath time, she loves being in the water (must be from her daddy) and loves to play with her letters. I attempted the big tub a while ago but she's a slippery wet noodle so I figured I'd go back to my safe, sink tub. I'm sure she's ready to be in the big one but mommy can only transition so fast.

So I was doing my best not to stress about something but I feel one of my gifts is stressing out :) I thought I was going to have to wean her off nursing soon and I was dreading it. The past month I have been reading up on how to do it and each time I read about it I was praying I wouldn't have to. It's kinda funny because when I was pregnant I already committed to nursing not even knowing how challenging, painful, stressful, tiring...but amazing it was. I was so nervous, scared and a little weirded out by the whole thing to be honest. I was really struggling with the idea and felt foolish for it. So many people were telling me it was the most precious thing you could do with your child and it was so beautiful but I just wasn't on that same train of thought.

Once Hailey and I got the hang of it and the pain lessened and the feedings were more then 2 1/2 hours apart I actually found myself enjoying it. I started to look forward to our quiet time together when it was just us. It is such a precious time that we are able to share. I really feel that I have gotten to learn more about her personality more by nursing. I do consider myself blessed that I was able to nurse and that I still am. I do not take for granted this time or the fact that I'm able to continue to do so. When the time came to introduce solids I tried to put it off as long as possible...I kept telling myself she wasn't ready but the whole time it was me who wasn't ready.

So I have learned to enjoy our special time together, I am trying to soak in all her little smiles and sighs as much as I can.

Hailey is growing so fast and progressing faster then I'm emotionally ready at times but it's such a joy to see her grow, develop and just to watch her learn is incredible.

7 Months

I can not believe my little girl is 7 months already! She is growing so fast and we are enjoying every minute of it. She still hates being on her belly and immediately rolls over the instant you put her on her tummy. The only way I can get her to stay on her tummy is to prop her on the boppy pillow and even then she's trying so hard to roll. I've found her crying in the mornings on her belly in her crib. I'm hoping she'll learn how to roll back the other way soon.

As I was typing this blog I heard a thudding sound...it took me a minute to figure out what it was - Hailey was kicking the wall through her crib and was rattling the bathroom wall.

A few minutes later it got quiet and then she started crying...a muffled cry. She was on her belly again. So I went into her room and one sock was in the middle of the bed, by the wall, she was at the top of her crib face down almost out of her onesie. She looked like she was wearing an off the shoulder shirt :) I wish I could watch her get into that position but she is well aware of my presence in her room.

My favorite sound is still Brad making her laugh. I can not make Hailey laugh as loud and long as he does. She is daddy's little girl that's for sure. There is no better sound. I hope I never forget it.