we saw santa!

we dressed haley up & took her to sit on santa's lap last week.  she did really well, but would not look at the camera, so we had to make the photographer move.  we got a few great photos of her with santa & of us as a family.  i will share them later, though.  ;-) 

we had a low key thanksgiving, here at the house.  our friend jeff came over and we ate steak rolls.  they were good, but i accidentally burned the tar out of them, so they were a little overdone.  so, just had to add more gravy!  and i also made trey's favorite pumpkin roll....mmmm... 

since thanksgiving we have been busy with car stuff.  we bought my former boss's car and put trey's car on craig's list.  so, we met with a potential buyer, made a deal and then had to sit at the DMV to transfer title, register, pay taxes, etc.  but, it's all taken care of, and he is now driving a fully loaded '07 suv instead of  his 1995 chevy blazer!

haley is getting better at bath time, and it always calms her down for several hours.  it's great do before bedtime & i got a cute pic of her all bundled up after a bath.

also, the temperature has dropped to 30-50 so we are using her big hat & mittens more often.  i think she looks like pippy longstocking with the hat on!

eating has been a challenge for her the past few weeks, and the last few days have gotten even worse.  but we are working thru it and i will talk to her pediatrician at her next appt on dec 1.

haley & i will fly to houston on dec 2 for a month to hang out with our families!  we are so excited to go but will miss daddy big time!  he will join us for christmas, so we'll be without him for 3 weeks!  but i'm sure the time will go quickly. 

all decked out in pink & ready to go out

content & bundled in towels after a warm bath. anyone else think she looks like an egyptian pharaoh?

playing by herself for a few minutes

this weekend, haley started to play by herself for a few minutes.  it's really cute to see, and it gives us a nice break every now and then!  it usually only lasts about 5 minutes, either on the activity gym, under the mobile in her pack & play, in her swing, or in the car seat with a toy hanging from the handle.  here are a few pics & videos.

underneath the activity gym, delighted by the flashing lights above her

i love this one - she looks confused & is even scratching her head as if she's saying "what's going on here?"

playing with her butterfly & kitty while sitting in the car seat

captivated by the 3 monkeys in her pack & play

all good things must come to an end!  after she entertained herself for a few minutes, she was ready for some company from mom & dad!

i also wanted to throw this picture in so you can see how long she's getting - almost fills up the pack & play!

Video of her playing by herself

she's 8 weeks old today!

haley is 8 weeks old today...how time flies!  for the last 5 days, we think haley has been growing!  she's been eating every 2.5 hrs and sleeping a lot too. oh and she cries like mad when she's put down!  ;-(  it's been pretty demanding on me, which is why i'm just making new blog entries today.  i hope that things go back to "normal" soon.  the only nice thing is that the last 2 days she has gone longer thru the night, so i've caught up on some sleep i was lacking at the beginning of the week.

we have been trying to take her places so she gets used to being around other people & so she can be exposed to different sights and sounds. last week, we went to lunch two times to meet with my coworkers, and she did great both times.  we also went to a baby shower for a good friend on saturday, and she did very well there too.   she's getting very curious - loves being upright & looking around .  we were walking thru the mall this weekend and she was wide awake, holding her head up and just looking at everything around her!  it was neat.

she still gets the hiccups every day but its about twice versus 4 or 5 times a day that she had them when she was younger.  the difference between then and now, is that when she gets them now, it's about a 98% chance she'll spit up with the first few hiccups.  so, as soon as i hear her start, gotta grab the burp cloth!  it's much easier to throw a burp cloth in the hamper vs. changing her outfit.  ;-)

there are still fall leaves on the trees, so we've gone on a few walks weather permitting.  usually she sleeps but she does look around for a while before sawing logs.  i tried out a 'bundle me' yesterday in the carseat...it's basically like a sleeping bag that zips up all around to keep the babies warm in the carseat or stroller.  that thing is MAGIC - she slept like a log both times i had her in it!  it's super warm and sooo soft.  i wish i had one! 

i put her hand in the ring so she could work on her grip, and she fell asleep holding it! 

sheepish grin!

this is the magic "bundle me" that i referred to earlier.  she is so cozy and slept away, even after we got back from our walk!  it zips up on the sides, so is like a sleeping bag.  and it has holes in the back so you can still strap her in.

a few videos: fake cry & "talking"

we got a few videos of all the noises haley is making.  the first one is her 'fake' cry - the one where she's not really hurting or mad, just wants attention.  ;-) 

the other two videos are of her 'talking' to us.  her face is dark because we are right under the recessed light.  we swear she said 'hi' in the last video! hahaha 

more smiles!

when it rains, it pours!  i was lucky enough to capture many more smiles!  she's half dressed in some of these, but hey, you gotta "seize the moment" when it presents itself! 

finally caught a smile!

i finally caught haley smiling when i had my camera handy!  here are a few pics of her grin, most of them wiht her tongue out.  ;-)  i was shooting so fast that i was off  focus a bit, so a few of them are a little fuzzy.

super girl !

haley has discovered her legs and loves boucing off of them when she's in an upright position.  she loves being up so she can see all around - even when we hold her.  i started out with her by just bouncing her on my lap, but trey decided to take it to the next level, lift her up and let her 'fly' like super girl.  it's really cute, but sometimes that's all she wants to do, so my arms get really tired!  (getting back in the gym will help that!)

oh the passie...

so the dilemma is the passie vs. the thumb....on one hand (hahaha) the thumb is always there and she can soothe herself...but on the other hand it's always there, so she might end up like me and suck her thumb for years! then there's the passie, which is temporary and she can eventually be 'weened' off of it.  but, when it falls out of her mouth, guess who has to put it back in?? 

but for now, we're sticking to the passie, but as you can see in the picture below, she gets really MAD when it falls out!

SOMEBODY GIVE ME MY #&#^#  PASSIE !!

pouty face

haley has started to make a pouty face & shed a few tears when she cries.  it's so cute!  i don't have a great picture, but here are a few that give you an idea of her pout.

play mat videos

here's a few videos of haley on her play mat.  she's making lots of noises, so volume would be great when you are watching these.  the videos look the same but they are different.  ;-)

she's growing up!

i was reading in a book from Marla that after 1 month, babies start to 'mirror' your expressions. the book   mentioned smiling & sticking out your tongue. so, trey has been sticking out his tongue at haley to see if she notices it. 

here's the "play by play":   sunday nite, trey was holding her on his shoulder, and he pulled his head back to look at her.  next, she pulled her head back/up and looked at him. he stuck his tongue out at her, and low and behold, she stuck hers out back at him!!  he got SO excited / tickled that it worked, and has been doing it a lot since then.  i have not had any luck, but saw her do it once with him.  it's so cute!  no pics of that, tho.

she's started making a pouty face before she cries & even generates little tears now!  i keep missing the photo opportunity for it, however.

she's also starting to really see things.  she loves lying on her play mat & staring at the little toys and kicking them.  she's batting at things with her hands too & her eyes light up when she hits them.  it's adorable.  her neck is getting even stronger and she's constantly picking up her head when we hold her and even when she's in the car seat & stroller.

she's trying to hold her passie in but often ends up knocking it out of her mouth. when it falls out she's starting to find her hands and managed to suck her thumb a few times.  she even held her bottle for a few seconds the other day.  little miss independent!

big yawn

my favorite things - passie, rattle, & my puppy dog, Spot

family hands

snuggled in the blankie from aunt kerrie

holding my bottle for a few seconds while daddy feeds me!

here's a video clip of haley looking for her thumb after she drops her passie:

1 month doc appt

haley's one month doc appt was nov 1 -- although she was really 5 wks and 4 days old at that time.  we wanted to see a specific doctor so delayed a week to get a slot with him.   everything is going well, but we wanted to get his opinion on the shaping of her head to be sure we don't need to do anything by a certain time.  the doc thinks things are perfectly normal and that there is nothing to do (consistent with the other doc we saw at her 1 month appt), so we were happy to hear that.  he said her hips are also looking good, but we will schedule an ultrasound in the coming weeks just to be sure everything is A-OK.  (breech baby girls have a high risk of hip dysplasia, but they think she'll be fine).  everything else was great.


she weighed 10 lbs 2 oz (50-75 percentile), and measured 23 inches long (95 percentile). she has a very long torso, so we have been wearing 3 month size outfits the past few weeks! 
she did have to get a shot, though.  i was not looking forward to that part, but she did excellent, all things considered.  she only cried for a few minutes and was calm once we loaded her in the car seat and daddy started 'swinging' her in the room.  then, just a few whimpers in the car and she was fast asleep after i started driving.  she even did well while i ran a few errands after the appt.  she's such a trooper!  


here's a pic of her battle wound...well, the band-aid on her thigh!

waving to the camera, and showing off her taz band aid from her shot

haley's first vineyard

trey was off on friday and it was a gorgeous fall day...so, after having a great lunch with my former boss and his wife, we headed to linden vineyards, about an hour west of our house.  they have a large enclosed deck, so we were protected from the wind, while still having a beautiful view of the fall colors and enjoying the day.  it was my first drink since new years, but i only had about a half a glass.  it was delicious and we had a really nice time.

view from the deck

either had gas or a good dream!