13 months!

I am SO behind on this...as Hadley is actually almost 14 months, but oh well better late than never!

Hadley here is what you are up to at 13 months:

- You weigh approx 24 lbs and are 30 inches tall

- Wearing all 18 month clothing and a size 3-4 shoe

- Walking full time and boy are you FAST!

- You are a GREAT eater! You amaze me with the amount of food you can put down!

- You talk all day everyday! Words you are saying are: mama, dada, bye bye, brother, bow, shoes, juice, light, yum yum, no, daddy, and Gigi ( my mom).

- You know where your belly button, nose, eyes, and toes are and will point to them when we ask. You also know what a dog says " Woof Woof"- so cute!

- You have a video that has the song "If your Happy and you know it" and you LOVE it! You know how to clap when it says clap and stomp your feet when it says to! It so cute!

- You are understanding what we say so much more! I can tell you to go get your juice and you actually do it! AMAZING!

- You LOVE to be outside! You bring your shoes to me for me to put them on you and then you run to the door and try to open it! You would stay outside all day everyday if I let you!

- You have 8 teeth. Four on top and four on bottom. You have a tiny gap in between your two front teeth that I just love.

- You have started giving us kisses when we ask for them as well as kissing all your babies. After you kiss you say "MWAH". Its so sweet!

- You walk around all day holding everything resembling a phone up to your ear and "talk" on it. So dang cute.

Hadley you are such a sweet and fun baby! It is a JOY to be your mom! I love you!!!

12 Months!

Hadley you are ONE years old! AHHH How did that even happen?! My baby is now a toddler! Here is what you are up to at 12 months old...

- You weigh 23 lbs (80th %) and are 30 inches tall (75th%)!

- You wear some 12 months clothes but mostly 18 months!

- You wear size 4 diaper

- You are a GREAT eater! We call you the bottomless pit. Seriously you would sit in your highchair and eat all day and all night if we let you! You are doing great with all table foods. So far you love just about everything. We are so thankful!

- You are talking ALL the time! You say: bye bye, dada, mama, brother (what we call Bear), yum yum, baby, no no, light, daddy, and lots of other non intelligible words!

- You sleep great- morning nap of about 1.5 hours, afternoon nap of 2.5-3 hrs, and 12 hrs at night

- You have six teeth and your 7th and 8th are working their way through

- You have started hugging all your baby dolls and stuffed animals. Its so cute!

- You LOVE Barney! If you hear him on tv you will stop whatever you are doing and crawl as fast as you can to the television!

- This month you moved to a big girl car seat! You are finally facing forwards and you LOVE it!

-You love books! You turn the pages and babble like you are reading them. Its hilarious.

- You are walking great! You could walk full time if you wanted but, you still revert to crawling because it gets you where you want to go faster. Everyday you are walking more and more.

- You LOVE to be outside. Sometimes you go to the door and try to turn the handle and get out! You get so frustrated when you can't!

Hadley you are the easiest and most fun baby! You always have a smile on your face and you love to make us laugh! You are an absolute JOY and I am so blessed to be your mom!

What a Difference a Year Makes...

2010: 2011:


How did this happen?

Dear Hadley, PLEASE stop it! Love, Mom

11 months

11 months old! Just typing that makes me want to cry! How is it possible that you are almost ONE Hadley? I feel like we just brought you home from the hospital!

Here is what you are up to at 11 months...

-You weigh 22 pounds and are 29 inches long. I am pretty sure you are going through a growth spurt because clothes are getting tighter and you have been sleeping ALOT more lately.

- You are still in size 3 diaper, but that is only because we have them! As soon as we are out you are movin on up to a 4!

- You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes but a few 18 month bottoms ( thanks to your chunky thighs!)

- You have 5 teeth and are working on another!

-Still nursing 4 times per day and eating 3 meals plus a snack! You are eating alot more table foods which is SO nice!

- You are SO happy and laugh and smile all day long.

- You love to make people laugh. When you realize people are laughing at whatever you are doing you keep doing it over and over and over and over and laughing. Its hilarious!

- You can say several words including: bye-bye, yum-yum, hey, baby, mama, dada, and what sounds like 'brother' (what we call Bear).

- You love to clap your hands, point,wave, and dance! When we are listening to Kids Praise music you raise your hands like you are worshiping! Its is the SWEETEST thing ever! You also like to sing at the top of your lungs!

- You have stood on your own several times this past month for a minute or more but as soon as you realize you are doing it, or if you see us watching you, you slowly sit down. You are cruising around furniture and moving easily between things, so I know you will be walking in no time.

- You LOVE the bath and cry when we get you out.

- You love to go outside and you crawl over to the front door and bang on it like you are saying "take me outside!!!"

- You love to point at everything and you can point to the light and the fan whenever we ask you where it is.

- You LOVE your dada! When he comes home in the afternoons and you hear the door open, you stop whatever you are doing and crawl as fast as you can to the door saying, "dadadadadada". Its so sweet!

I don't think we could love you any more Hadley! You are a JOY and we are so grateful you are in our family! You have made these past 11 months the best months of my life! I love you with all of my heart!

10 months!

Double digits! You are growing up WAY too fast Hadley! Here is what you are up to at 10 months:

-You weigh 21 lbs (approx) and are 28 1/2" long (approx)
- You finally have enough hair to clip a small bow in! WOO HOO!
- You are still in size 3 diaper and wear 12 month clothing
- You are still nursing 4 times per day and eating 3 meals!
- This month you have been able to feed your self soft foods like watermelon ( you LOVE it), blueberries, grapes, cooked peas and carrots, cooked beans, and rice. It makes life so much easier now that you can eat off my plate!
- You have five teeth! Two on bottom and three on top!
- You still nap twice a day for about 1.5-2 hours each.
- You are trying to mimic everything we say. You talk ALL day long!
- You are very ticklish and laugh so hard when we tickle you.
- You have started pointing at everything.
- You can stand on your own for a few seconds but when you realize you are doing it you sit down.
- You are SOOO happy all the time!
- This month you have found the toilet and played in it with my hairbrush ( oh joy!), and eaten a stink bug (EWWW!). Never a dull moment with you!
- You say "bye bye" and wave. It is so cute!

We love you so much Hadley and can't believe you have been in our family for almost a year!!!

9 Months!

How is it even possible that you are 9 months old Hadley???!!! Its going WAY too fast! You are becoming more and more fun everyday! As sad as I am to see the months pass by so quickly, this is definitely my favorite age thus far!

Here is what you are up to at 9 months old....

- You weigh 20.3 pounds (75th%) and are 28 1/2 inches tall (75th%)

- You wear size 3 diaper and 9-12 month clothes

- You have two bottom teeth and your two top teeth look like they are coming in any day now

- You talk ALL day long! You say "Da Da" the most but you also say "Ma Ma". "Yum Yum" and what sounds like "hey"

- You are crawling faster than I can catch you and pulling up on everything! You are so brave and will let go and only hold on with one hand while standing!

- You found the Tupperware drawer in the kitchen and love to pull everything out of it a million times a day!

- You are sleeping great! A morning and afternoon nap, and then 11-12 hrs at night

- You are a great eater! This month you have tired: Pineapple, Pureed Spaghetti, prunes, chicken, shredded cheese, zucchini, and Greek yogurt.

- You are getting good at picking up little bits of food and feeding yourself!

- Just recently you have started waving! Its so cute!

- You dance on cue! when we say "Dance Hadley Dance" or if you hear music you will start swaying back and forth. Love it!

- You LOVE the bath and would play in there for hours if I would let you! Your favorite thing to do is drink the bath water. Yummy! :)

- It is apparent you are understanding more and more of what we say to you and you know when you are not supposed to do something. For example, we tell you "No" when you try to pull off your bib. You now try to grab your bib to pull it off and then give us this look like you know exactly what your doing and you are going to see if you can get away with it! Stinker!

- You are SUCH a happy baby! We are SOOOOO thankful! You are easy to take places and just go with the flow really well!

We love you SOOOO much Hadley Grace!!

8 Months!

Hadley you are 8 months old!! Time is flying!!! People have started asking me about your first birthday and its so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that in four short months you will be ONE! This past month has been so fun and you have changed SO much!

Here is what you are up to at 8 months old:

- You weigh 20 pounds (approx.) and are 28 inches long (approx.)

- You are wearing 9-12 month clothes and Size 3 Diaper.

- You are nursing 4 times per day and eating 3 meals per day.

- This month you have tried green beans, pears, peaches, blueberries, and even pureed pot roast! You are a great eater!!

- You are scooting all over the place and are on the verge of crawling. You get up on all fours but instead of going forwards you go backwards! I find you scooted under your bookshelf and your crib all the time!!

- This month you got BOTH of your bottom teeth at the same time. The past week you have been chewing alot, so I think you are working on a top tooth as well.

- You love to hold on to something and stand up. Your legs are so strong and I think it won't be long till you can stand unassisted.

- We had to lower your crib this month because you started pulling yourself up on the side!

- You are sleeping wonderfully! 3 naps per day and 11-12 hours at night.

- You LOVE Bear more than anything else! You think everything he does is hilarious.

- This month you met your cousins from Morocco for the first time! It was so fun to watch you play with Salma and Josue!

- You say "Da Da" ALL day long! We are working on 'Ma Ma'....

- You are such a happy, content baby! You love to play on the floor in your room with toys. I am so glad you play by yourself well! It allows me to get stuff done during the day!

- You finally have enough hair to hold and TINY bow! Big milestone for me!

We love you SOOOOO much Hadley and love watching you grow!!!

Happy Easter!

7 months!

Hadley, it is hard to believe that you are closer to being one years old than you are to being a newborn! It is going by way too fast! :(

You are SEVEN months old!! Here is what you are up to at 7 months...

- You weigh 19 pounds and are 28 inches tall. (Approx.)

- You sre still wearing size 3 diaper, and 6-9 month clothes.

- You still are a great sleeper...7:30-8PM until 6:30-7:30AM. You still nap 3 times per day, but I have a feeling the mid afternoon nap is about to go.

- You are sitting up great and only fall over every now and then. You also have started to scoot when you are on your stomach. Things are about to change around here!

- You love your johnny jump up that hangs in the doorway and the jumperoo that is on the floor. Instad of jumping up in down you like to sway side to side. HA!

- You are eating 3 meals per day of baby food and nursing 4-5 times per day. This month you have tired squash, banana, and oatmeal. You like all of them!

- I know I have been saying this for like 3 months now but I really think you are about to get a tooth. For the last 2 weeks you have been cranky, had a runny nose, and been chewing insesently...all saigns of teething...or so they say.

- You LOVE Bear. You squeal every morning when you see him for the first time. He makes you laugh like no one else can!

- This month we have tired to introduce a sippy cup to you. You spill 95% of it, and mostly just suck on it, but little by little you will get the hang of it!

- Since you have transitioned to eating more and more food...your diapers have changed quite a bit! :) STINKY! Your daddy uses lots of baby powder when he chnages your diaper to mask the smell HAHA!

- Your legs are starting to get a little too chunky for the bumbo seat...we have to squish them down in there and then when we try to get you out, you usually get stuck haha!

- You have started saying 'BA' alot. Its fun to hear you starting to form syllables.

You are more fun every single day and we couldn't love you more! Its bittersweet watching you grow. There are so many things I can't wait to do with you when you get bigger, but at the same time I miss rocking you when you were so tiny and new.....

6 months old!

I know I say this every month but HOW can you already be 6 months old?! Half a year?!!!! It is hard to believe you have been here for that long I feel like we just came home from the hospital, but at the same time I can't remember my life without you Hadley! You are getting more fun every month!!!

Here is what you are up to at 6 months old:

- You weigh 18.5 pounds (90th percentile) and are 26 1/4" long (75th percentile).

- You started eating baby food and rice cereal this month! So far you have had sweet potatoes, spinach, peas, applesauce, yogurt, and carrots. You love all of it! The peas are your least favorite but you tolerate them.

- You are still nursing 5 times per day.

- You are wearing size 3 diaper

- You are wearing 6-9 month clothes

- Your legs get chunkier by the day. I LOVE it.

- You are rolling over with ease, and can just about sit up. You fall over every know and then, but you can hold yourself in a sitting position for at least 5 minutes usually.

- You are sleeping and napping wonderfully (most days). You go to bed between 7:30-8PM and wake up between 6:30-7AM. You take 3 naps per day usually.

- You still love your swing, johnny jump up, and bumbo. You also like to roll around on the floor and play with your toys.

- You LOVE your bother Bear. He makes you laugh more than anyone else.

- You are happy and smiling 98% of the time. We are so thankful.

- You have the sweetest voice and you are talking ALL the time. Such a girl. I wake up to you 'singing' in the monitor every morning. LOVE it.

- Still no teeth, but hopefully they will come soon. You are chewing on everything in sight and drooling lots.

- You have figured out how to pull your bow off your headband and your headband off your head. You then like to eat both of them. We have some 'bow training' to do. :)

- You have a bunny rabbit that you love to snuggle with when you go to sleep. Sweetest thing ever.

- Still a thumb sucker. I know that when your thumb goes in your mouth you are tired.

- You still love your bath and have started wiggling all around in the tub. I have to keep my eyes on you constantly, you little wiggle worm!

Hadley, I go to bed every night about to burst with how much I love you, and then the next morning I am filled with even MORE love for you. You bring so much joy into our lives. We are so thankful God gave you to us! We love you!!!

5 months!

Hadley how is it even possible that you are 5 months old?! Time is FLYING by! I feel like we just came home from the hospital with you a few weeks ago! You are growing and changing so fast!

Here is what you are up to at 5 months old:

- You sleep consistently from 8PM-7AM on the dot. Not a minute past or a minute before 7AM. Its hilarious. No need for me to set an alarm clock anymore!

- You weigh 17 pounds!!! You don't miss a meal.

- You are wearing 6 month clothes.

- You wear size 2-3 diapers.

- You are still nursing exclusively 5 times per day, but this month we will start you on some rice cereal! Can't wait to see what your reaction is the first time you taste that!

- You still have not cut your first tooth!!! Its been a LONG month of chewing, drooling, and fussing. I am SO ready for you to be out of pain!

- You have started to notice Bear, and you always smile when you see him. He makes you laugh when you watch him play with his toys.

- You still love your swing, and bumbo seat. You like your Johnny Jumper but have not quite figured out how to jump in it yet. I don't think it will be long though before you figure it out.

- You take 3 naps during the day from about 1-1.5 hours each.

- You like your car seat a whole lot better recently than you have in the past. It makes riding in the car so much more enjoyable!

- You have started 'singing'. Its HILARIOUS. You have this HIGH pitch squeal/scream that you do about 1000 times a day. I laugh every time. You especially like to do it when you are watching TV. I wake up to you singing through the monitor every morning. I love it.

- You can sit up alone for bout 30 seconds. Your a little hunched forward but still your muscles are getting so strong!!!

- You have rolled over once or twice but not consistently. You are not a huge fan of being on your tummy.

- You are such a happy, easy baby! We are so thankful! You are such a joy to be around! Everyone comments on how good you are!

We love you SO much Hadley and can't wait to see what the Lord does with you!

Life

"Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."

Psalm 39:5-16 The Message

January is National Sanctity of Life month. Every year in America 1.3 MILLION babies are aborted. That is unbelievable. There is no doubt in my mind that abortion is murder. There is also no doubt that life begins at the moment of conception. Unborn fetus' are humans just like you and I. I saw this video here on abortion. The video is really graphic, but really important to see. It shook me to my core to see the reality of what abortion really is.

A fetus has a heartbeat at just 18 days after conception. So before a woman even knows she is pregnant, the fetus has a beating heart.

I know this is a really heavy subject matter, but I just feel obligated to share. Abortion is a heinous and evil thing that is sweeping our world. It is so easy to turn a blind eye to it and not think about the 3,562 babies being aborted EVERY single day in our country. After seeing this video, my eyes have been opened. I can no longer turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn't really happen. Every single child, born and unborn, are precious gifts from God.

I know women get pregnant in non-ideal situations-rape, incest, young girls, etc. BUT that is no excuse to have an abortion. There are thousands of people that would LOVE to have a baby of thier own and would be overjoyed to adopt a precious baby from a woman who couldn't care for it.

I am praying that in my lifetime I will see the END of abortions.

"If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from thier wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV