Things heard around our house lately . . .

Hattie’s so so so so cute! She’s the cutest baby ever. “Why?” Because her eyes are so cute! And her wittle soft hands and wittle cute legs . . .

I’m going to do that (whatever "that" was) when I grow up. But I’m not going to leave the house, I want to live here.

Posters and Stuffed Animals

When Chase and Owen were the Special K at school they made a poster to tell about themselves.  Here they are with their posters.

Owen

Chase

One night Owen lined up his baby animals and his blankeys and wanted me to take his picture.  I didn't have my camera so we did a photo shoot the next day.  This is what he looked like the night before. So cute!

Chase also wanted to line up his animals.  Look how straight he is laying! :)

Sunshine Girl

We attended a first birthday party for a friend of ours and got some cool balloons.  Hattie was afraid of them at first, putting her fists in her mouth.  Now she loves them and likes to play with them.

Hey, where did my balloon go?

Hattie likes to clap

Grabbign her little bitty toes

Getting ready to move

A Funny Progression

A nice bath in the sink started off so lovely  . . . 

Hattie was warm, cozy and had something to chew on . . .

Suddenly . . .

Something went wrong . . . I don't know whose face is better, Jeff's or Hattie's!

Poor baby!

Gymnastics

Chase and Owen took gymnastics this winter.  They loved it and improved so much over last year.  They improved a lot from the time they started to the end.  They had a great male teacher who kept them in line and had some fun. 

Hattie and Jeff at gymnastics

Chase going over the pommel horse

Owen on the high bar

Chase on high bar

Chase on rings

Owen on parallel bars

Chase showing us his best moves

Owen getting his hands ready to hang

Chase

Owen

Funny At Dinner

Hattie has squash,

Owen has spaghetti and wears Hattie's bib so he doesn't get it on his white shirt

Little Miss Sunshine at 9 Months

Our Sweet Sunshine is 9 Months old today.  Chase and Owen were so excited and they wanted to know if she was 1.  :)  I can't not express how much I love Hattie and love having her in our family.  She has been the best thing for all of us.  Chase and Owen just love having a sister and talk about it all the time.  They are very very protective and really do listen to all we say regarding Hattie and how to keep her safe.  Jeff and I love having a baby in the house and it has been fun to see each other with a baby again.  She has really united us all and we feel so cohesive.  Not that we didn't feel that way before . . . it's just a different feel.

When I see Hattie I smile.  Her cheeks, her eyes, her little lips all pursed together make me smile.  I thank God that He gave her to us.  I can not imagine if she wasn't in our family.  I love to watch her enjoy new things, explore and get excited about the smallest of things.  I love the closeness she and I share and the fact she's a Mommy's Girl (for the time being at least).  I love to snuggle her as she nurses and falls asleep.  As I carry her to her crib, her head in the nook of my arm, her cheek smashes against my arm and looks so sweet.  Then I lay her down, she arches her back and rolls over, pulling her legs under her, bottom in the air and arms tucked under her.  Sweet sweet Hattie.

 Hattie and 5 of her 8 teeth

Daddy, Hattie and Mommy

Hattie is not crawling yet, but she sure wants to.  She can roll anywhere and pivot by using her legs.  She lays on her tummy and kicks and moves her arms.  She can get her legs under her and pulls forward with her arms a bit to reach things she really really wants (boys' toys and things she isn't supposed to have).  She can't get herself up on her hands and knees though.

Hattie is pointing at things, wanting to see them and know their names.

She gets mad if you take something from her

She "talks back".  We had a very good conversation the other night. She made a sound and I made it back.  She made a different sound and I made it back. This went on for about 6 exchanges.

She wants down to play and explore . . . sometimes.

She wants to be held and not put down . . . sometimes.

She yells out to others to let them know she's there or she wants to see them.

She loves her mommy.  She reaches for me, leans in to me if someone else is holding her, buries her head in my shoulder, wraps her arms around my neck and snuggles.  I just can't get enough of it!  She loves to snuggle.  If I'm holding her on my hip she will lean her head in on my shoulder/chest and just rest.

Hattie loves to stand and play by the boys, often reaching for whatever they have.

She wants to eat everything!  Hattie loves solids more so than mushy baby food.  She has had carrots, peas, green beans, broccoli, cantaloupe, apples, pears, peaches, prunes, corn, quinoa, chicken, turkey, beef, squash, avocado, spinach, banana and probably other things I can't think of. 

Hattie is getting a lot of hair in the back.  Of course she's pretty bald still on the sides and top.  Her hemangioma is still there. 

Sleep is difficult.  Hattie goes to bed around 7:00.  She gets 4-6 oz in a bottle and then nurses.  Most of the time she goes right to sleep.  Last week I had to let Hattie cry it out in the night for 3 nights.  Then we had a couple good nights and she was back wanting up again.  Currently, as of today, she gets up around 10:30 and I feed her. She goes back to sleep and sleeps until morning or gets up one time.  Two nights ago she cried and Jeff got her. She did NOT want him and screamed her head off until he brought her to me.  I fed her and she just wanted to snuggle forever.  That day she had not napped well at Kelly's at all.  Last night she ate for 10 minutes and I put her in her crib and she was so mad.  She really loves nursing more as a soother than anything else.  So, for 9 months now we have gotten to share time in the night. I am ready to only share time during the day! :)

Hattie takes 2 naps during the day.  The morning is typically 2 hours, afternoon 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Yesterday we made a rainbow cake to entice a leprechaun to come to our house to search for gold.  It was super fun and so easy! The boys were a great help and had fun dropping the batter into the pans.  They loved watching it bake and eating it was even better!

 Our yummy yummy rainbow cake.  It honestly tasted so much better than an acutal white cake.  Not sure why, but the rainbow just made it better!  It was fun to see what each person's piece looked like.

 Chase and Owen then built a leprechaun trap right in the middle of the house, thinking that would be where the leprechaun would be. 

 Under the box is a toy with money on it for the leprechaun.  If he took the money the box would fall on him.  We didn't catch him though and the shiny money was all gone! :(

Hattie Crawls!

She's a big girl!  Hattie is learning to crawl, she's not quite there yet, but she's moving with her legs and that counts!  Last night she was going for Jeff's ice cream stick.  It was more interesting than any of her toys apparently.  We all cheered and clapped for her. I've never seen the boys more excited!

Dinner Time

Dinner time at our house is finally a bit "normal".  At the beginning of the school year I was usually feeding Hattie while the family ate, then as she got older she would be playing or in her exersaucer while we ate and now she's eating with us!

 Chase entertains Hattie

 So big!

 Playing peek a boo