Highlights from the weekend

The weather has been so nice recently, so we took Hadley to the park in the morning on Saturday. The park we took her to is called "Adventure Park" which is a park that Hadley will definitely grow into. There are a lot of things she can do now, but as she gets older she'll have better access to the "big kid" stuff.

Entering the park with Daddy:

Playing the enormous xylophone:

Jumping on the bouncy swing:

And Hadley's favorite, driving the big bulldozer. Anytime Hadley has a chance to "drive" something, she is a happy camper.

On Sunday we didn't go to church because we all have colds, and Hadley loves the nursery these days so it would've been torture keeping her in church with us when she knows where the room is. We tried a couple of weeks ago to keep her in the service with us and after the singing was over, Hadley announced rather loudly, "I'm done." Then she jumped off her chair and began walking for the door. So Sunday we stayed home. Hadley and Jesse have colds worse than I do (probably because I'm taking super prenatal vitamins that have turned me into a disease fighting machine), so they were a little more tired on Sunday than normal. Here they are right before naptime:

Hadley wanted to make sure Bear got in the picture, so here's a close up of him:

Ahh Bear, what will we do without you? I thought we were going to have to face that reality last night as I was putting Hadley to bed and I couldn't find Bear. I looked everywhere for him. At one point I said, "Hadley, do you know where Bear is?" She said, "Yea!" I said, "Where is he?" She said, "Bear's in the car." Sure enough, Bear had been left in the car. Phew!

Exercise Class

Today was Hadley's first day at "Funfit," a class we signed her up for through the county. It never ceases to amaze me how comfortable the child is trying new things, and this class was no exception. As it is in just about everything we go to, all the other kids stick by their moms, but Hadley is either in the center of the circle, or across the room from me. Remember this picture?

Nothing's changed except that she is more mobile and can now push me away as well as run so she can do everything by herself. "Do it self" as she says.

We started the class with a hello song where you sing and wave to each other. Hadley wasn't interested in that, and kept swatting my hands to stop me from singing and doing the motions. Her embarrassment of me has apparently started early. But after we sang, we started running around, playing with a huge parachute, and lots of bouncy balls. Hadley loved that. She was very attentive to what the teacher was telling her to do and did a good job of making sure all the other kids had enough balls to play with. We also played with hoola hoops, and marched with musical instruments although Hadley was annoyed that there was not a violin in the box to play. (Last week, Elmo played the violin on Sesame Street so Hadley thinks that is the best instrument around.) At the end of the class, the teacher asked if the kids wanted to get their hand stamped, and Hadley bolted to the front of the gym waiting to get a bunny stamp on her hand. She was very proud of that stamp, and it was hard not to wash it off everytime we washed our hands today.

The pictures I took are during the "free play" part of the class. I wish I could have taken pictures of the more organized activities, but it was a little difficult to watch Hadley and take a picture at the same time. Plus, I'm a little more self-conscious then my daughter and didn't want to make a spectacle of myself. I'll try and take better pictures at the next classes.

One of Hadley's favorite phrases is, "It's good to share." Here she is doing just that.

Of course, right after she gave some of the balls away, she picked up three more and proudly showed me.

Hadley hadn't played with a hoola hoop yet, but had a great time today figuring it out. She used it as a steering wheel, an airplane, and a big tire

After the class, it was such a nice day out that we sat outside on the benches and had a little snack.

Off the Hook

I realize it's been awhile since my last update but I will assure all 5 readers of this blog that I have not had the baby yet, and I am not on bedrest (as I was with Hadley)....yet. We took a last minute trip to Michigan to visit family, and then Uncle Geoff came to visit us. And once he left I got bit in the butt by the nesting bug and decided that I need to get ready for Baby #2, who is supposed to be here on Election Day. So last week I was going through all of the baby clothes, turning our sunroom into a playroom, and beginning to make Hadley's room into a two person room. As Hadley goes around saying all the time, "It's good to share." Hopefully she'll feel that way come November.

But really, how interesting is all this baby talk when you have Hadley to think about? Sure, the baby kicks me so hard sometimes I get the wind knocked out of me, and I'm the size of a small boat, but what is that compared to listening to Hadley sing along to her mobile this morning after turning it to the loudest it can get? I walked in her room today to find her "la la la-ing", laying on her back kicking her feet up while moving Bear from side to side as if he was dancing. I said, "Isn't this music loud?" She said, "No, no, no. Bear dancing." I understand the need for loud music, so at least she got that trait from me.

And as great as my anecdotes are, it's the pictures you come here for, so here we go. While we were in Michigan, we stayed with my cousin Tara and Hadley had a very fun time with her sons, Cole and Chase. Every morning they watched Sesame Street with her despite the fact that they grew out of Big Bird and Co. awhile ago. Here they are on the couch hanging out.

I think that the highlight for Hadley was playing in Aunt "Whoosies" (Lucy's) pool. A year ago Hadley was terrified of water but she loves it now. I think next summer we'll need to think about swimming lessons. Here she is with Jesse having loads of fun (I didn't go swimming because they don't make bathing suits for people my size. And also, I believe my stomach has the potential to pull me to the bottom of the pool.)

And here is one of Hadley and Chase in Hadley's pack-n-play. I love this picture.But wait! There's more! After we got home from our trip, we had another fun weekend ahead of us because Geoff came to visit. Hadley was very excited to see him, and is still wondering when he will come back. Every time she hears a plane go by, she says, "Uncle Geoff. Chicago." Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Here we are outside of the Bombay Club, probably the best restaurant in Washington DC if you were to get Geoff and Jesse's opinion. If it were the year 2002, I think they'd say it's, "Off the hook." We went there for the Champagne brunch they have on Sundays. This was Hadley's first time in a restaurant without a highchair. She did a good job. (Yes, I know I look swollen. There's no need to comment.)

The Bombay Club is across the street from the White House, and since it was a nice day we walked over there to check it out.

So that's the news for now. Next week Hadley starts music and dance classes, and we start up Bible study again so I'll make sure I take the camera along.

Facing Our Fears

Last week we bought Hadley some Playdoh and at first Hadley was terrified of it. She kept saying, "Hurt you! Hurt you!" despite our efforts to convince her that Playdoh would not hurt her.

The first day she just watched Jesse play with it, but she didn't want to touch it. On the second day, after her nap, she asked me for "Pwaydoh." I said, "Are you sure you want to play with it?" Yes, she told me and grabbed it off the shelf. So I set it up at the table, put her in her booster seat and the first thing she said was, "Hurt you." I told her it wouldn't hurt her, and I began to play with it. After awhile she began to tentatively touch it, but we played with it for an hour.

The rest of the week Hadley warmed up to it, and it is now the number one toy she asks for. It's a nice activity to do in the afternoon when it can be a little too hot to go outside. She can play with it by herself for the most part, except if she is playing with the blue Playdoh. She makes "blue-bare-bares" (blueberries) with it and attempts to eat it. So I stick by her side to make sure nothing gets in her mouth. Here are a few pictures. Note that Bear is sitting close by. He must be in the same place as Hadley now.

The funny thing about all this is that even though Hadley was scared of it, she couldn't stop looking at it or wanting to get it out to play with. It reminded me of my fear of all bugs; especially bees, wasps, hornets, or anything in the bee family. I'm terrified of them, but I'm also fascinated by them as well. I probably know more about Carpenter bees than an encyclopedia, and last week when I was walking to the car, I saw the largest hornet and spider I have ever seen in my life. The spider was the size of tumbleweed, and I swear the hornet asked me if I'd get out of the way so it could continue dragging the spider to wherever it was going.

But nothing compares to the experience I had this afternoon. On the living room window, were not one, but TWO. HUGE. WASPS. I froze for about five minutes in a cold sweat, and then I did what any rational person would do - I called Jesse at work. For about half an hour Jesse went over ways I could kill the wasps while I hyperventilated on the phone. I could use a large shoe, or rolled up newspaper.

"Why can't I tape a sheet to the window and trap them in until you get home?"

"I don't think that is going to work so well." he told me.

"What if I put my cell phone up real close to them. I read somewhere that cell phones are killing 'em off."

To this, Jesse made no response.

"I knew this day was going to come." I cried into the phone. "OK. I guess I have to do this. Stay on the phone, OK?"

I went to go get a boot that my mom got me from Nordstroms (Sorry mom, but they have killer heels. I'll still wear them, they're my favorite boots!) and very slowly, and quietly I walked towards the wasps, took a deep breath and smooshed them. I'm still shaking just reliving it. But I did it. Hadley will one day be so proud to know that her mother protected her from wasps. If it were just me in the house, I would've left until Jesse came home.

Goodbye, Friend

Hadley's first (and right now only) girlfriend is moving away. While Hadley doesn't understand that she won't get to see her buddy "Emson" anymore, she is still in her daily thoughts. Whenever we talk about the zoo, Hadley will talk about Emerson. Or if I take out goldfish crackers, or Hadley sees Abby on Sesame Street, Emerson's name comes up. Emerson has an Abby doll, and apparently likes goldfish crackers, though I hadn't noticed.

On our last visit together, we met at the zoo. Emerson is turning two in a few days so Hadley gave her some sidewalk chalk and an Elmo Sticker book. She also said, "Happy Birthday, Emson!" They spent the morning together holding hands, running around in their matching backpack "leashes" and looking at the animals.

Here they are looking at the turtles swimming in the water:

Up close with the gorillas. Or maybe they're chimpanzees. Is it surprising that I'm not sure? Hadley was quite concerned that this guy (you can see him in the second picture) was a little too close. Right after I took these pictures, she began telling the group of people who were admiring the chimp that he's "too big." This is her phrase for something that she doesn't like or is uncomfortable with.

I think running around the zoo was their favorite activity. (Don't worry, the cars in the picture were the staff's cars. We weren't letting them run around Connecticut Avenue.)

It is hard to say goodbye to people you've grown close to, and I'm sure this won't be the last person Hadley will bid adieu to. Maybe she'll have a friend on her high school dance team that will tell her the most animated stories and make practicing a routine over and over again not so monotonous. Or maybe she'll have the chance to have a best friend for several years who will know by the way she walks what kind of mood she's in. I hope she'll have college buddies who she laughs hard with and help her grow into a thoughtful young lady. And I hope she finds a friend or two in her job that she can spend hours "talking shop" with in a coffeeshop. Well, maybe it'll be a bar, but then she shouldn't be there for hours.

Whoever she meets down the road, Emerson will be her first girlfriend, and that is a special memory for me to help keep for Hadley. We will miss her and her mom.

Hard at Work

Hadley has decided that she is "too big" for her high chair (she has also told us that she is "too big" for her carseat), so we purchased a "big girl chair" much to her delight. Last night, after she was finished eating dinner, we gave her some markers to play with so we could finish eating our dinner. Here are some pictures of her hard at work.

And here is a short video:

A Fun Friday Morning

This is Hadley and her friend Emerson who she calls "Emson." This picture was taken a couple of months ago, but it was taken on my phone and I had no clue how to get it on the computer. We now have new phones so Jesse took all the pictures I've taken and transferred them on to our computer (he's so smart).



Last Friday, we met Emerson and her mom for a donut and then the girls ran around Rockville Town Center Square while we talked a bit. At 10am in the middle of the square, water shoots out of several holes in the ground for the kids to play in. I forgot to pack a bathing suit for Hadley, so I just let her play in her diaper. She had so much fun splashing around in the "wader" as she calls it. Here are a couple of pictures:

For the record, Huggies are incredibly absorbent.