Opening Her First Present...

Thank you Aunt April and Uncle Brian for the beautiful Christmas tree ornament...the start of a great tradition!

Christmas Dress

Today Hayden wore the beautiful Christmas dress Grammy bought her to church. She was beautiful!

Thank you Grammy!

Good enough to eat

I've been making Hayden's baby food for about a month. I started doing this to try and save some dough and to avoid other household responsibilities (obviously the baby food MUST be made, therefore the dusting, mopping, and laundry can wait...you get the idea). So far, so good.

It is surprisingly easy and doesn't seem to take much time. I use the fabulous food processor that my sweetie got me last Christmas and some silicone ice cube trays borrowed from a friend. Cook the raw veggies and soften the hard fruit in the oven or on the stove top, puree, scoop into the ice cube trays, freeze and then place in a ziplock freezer bag. The cubes are approximately 1 ounce each. I didn't personally do the math but I found on the Internet (which is never wrong) that any produce you can purchase for less than 1.83 a pound saves you money over buying the jarred food. We haven't tried to travel with the homemade stuff yet, but the Christmas trip is coming up so we'll see how that goes!

I must admit to a great sense of satisfaction when I open the freezer and see the bags filled with the colorful cubes of food. Bryan is also pleased that the taste is tolerable since he is the food-eater-demonstrator. (It really does help to have Hayden see Bryan eating...something about always wanting what someone else has...hmm.)

So far Hayden has liked sweet potatoes, acorn squash, pears, bananas, avocado, and asparagus. She hasn't enjoyed peas, green beans or apples. I think the only adult complaint comes from the dishwasher who has to clean the food processor regularly...but I believe it is a small price for him to pay.

Pre Christmas Cuteness (to get you in the spirit)

This photo op just happened by chance this morning... I was torturing her with this leftover ribbon and at some point tied it around her noggin (I'm sure that this is totally safe). So fun to tease your kid, especially at this age when they don't really mind. (or know any better)

Rabbit ears baby

Bow head baby

Rambo baby

Really cute baby by the Christmas tree.

Thanks to our sweet neighbors, the Burrs, for the Christmas pj's and the Santa hat!

(No babies were harmed during this production.)

All Wrapped Up!

I hosted my first ever wrapping party yesterday. I tried to talk Bryan into a couples holiday party, but he wasn't interested and honestly there are so many other parties going on that it was probably best to do a smaller, "girls" only time. So the evites were sent out and four of my sweet friends came over (with tons of fun gifts) and we commenced to wrapping, laughing, snacking and enjoying the time together. A great excuse to spend time with friends...and actually get something done!

Sarah brought sweet baby Jacob over to visit. Hayden was quite impressed with him. She crawled right over and then proceeded to pat and poke him. He was very tolerant of her.

Big thanks to Bryan who took Hayden and evacuated the house while we partied. I'm pretty sure they may have done some Christmas shopping while they were gone...one present I won't have to wrap!

Sew Very Simple...

If you have been privileged or had no other choice but to stay in our guest accommodations you know that the guest bathroom hasn't had a curtain on the window since we moved in Dec. of 2006. The window is higher and doesn't show more than from your chest up as you step from the shower. Our neighbors haven't complained and since Bryan and I used that bath for the first few months while waiting for flooring and paint in our own bathroom and we didn't mind, I couldn't imagine why our guests would have a problem with the view of our neighbors' wall or the occasional landscaper walking past while mowing the lawn. Apparently the guests had resorted to propping a towel over the window in order to minimize exposure (sorry Mom!).

I finally did something about it! I've had this material for years and this wonderful sewing machine that my sweetie bought me in two thousand something, so I whipped up a curtain for the bathroom and one for the laundry room. Now I'm not a great seamstress. I did some sewing in jr. high and high school with Mom's close supervision and I've made a surgical cap and a ring bearer's pillow for friends, but that was about the extent. But curtains, the kind I make, are four straight seams. Really folks, let's start simple and work up.

The project didn't take much time and the toughest challenge was cutting the fabric straight and threading the machine...oh, and I may have singed the fabric just a tad with the iron, but who will notice right? They turned out just fine if you don't examine every detail with your magnifying glass.

So for those of you who have already scheduled a visit or those of you who wish to, please know that your bathroom privacy has been taken care of.

Shower in peace.

Christmas Comes Early!

So we have these fabulous friends who have this fabulous daughter who is now two and can no longer wear her fabulous baby clothes...so now Hayden has this fabulous new wardrobe for winter! It is FABULOUS!

The real blessing is that we were just discussing Hayden's clothing needs: warmer church clothes and some sweaters for layering (we live in Texas so layering is a must), and then these big bags of those things showed up. It is like God knew what we needed before we had even asked...

Thank you to Pery, Tommy and Angelica for letting Hayden borrow these precious things. We are thrilled that you have such fabulous taste in clothing...

She Crawls! (on her own terms)

Hayden has been getting all geared up to crawl. She has been rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, belly wiggling, soldier scootching, and inch worming toward things. Bryan and I have been waiting with great excitement and trepidation. (You have to agree that while crawling signals greater independence, it also brings more work for Mom and Dad!) Bryan has gotten all the plugs covered and is preparing to put baby locks on some of the cabinets. We are as prepared as we can get.

So it has happened gradually over several days. I thought she would discover this faster mode of travel and take off like a rocket thus forcing me to constantly chase after her, but alas how foolish of me. She has proven that the apple falls as close to the tree as possible...she currently adheres to the crawling philosophy that the effort must be greatly rewarded and will only be attempted if all other whining and cajoling has failed. I can't imaging where she learned this.

The remote control, telephone and camera will all get her crawling. What things are off limits at our house? The remote control, telephone and camera. Of course. Have I shamelessly used these things as "bait" to try to get video of her crawling? Of course. Is she now completely confused and our discipline plan in shambles? Probably.

As for the whining and cajoling...you will see for yourself on the video. It often plays like this: gaze at the bait, gaze at Mom; whine; gaze back at Mom to see if she has gone to get the bait, Mom hasn't moved so Hayden crawls a few inches; stops, acts exhausted, whines, gazes back at Mom to see if she has gotten on the ball and gone to get the bait, no luck; resigned, Hayden crawls just far enough to lay down on her stomach, stretch out and grab the bait with the tips of her fingers. Whew, she is now exhausted!

I realize that all this will soon change as she gets stronger and learns to enjoy the independence more. The chasing her around the whole house will soon be a reality and I will have to be even more on gaurd. You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I can probably put away the electronic bait. Soon there will be a Christmas tree, lights, presents, tissue paper, bows, ribbon...

Get that baby a steak!

Though it would take a crowbar and possibly some sort of tranquilizing agent for you to see, Hayden has gotten her first little toothy! We know because we can feel it with our finger...and as I am still her main milk supply you can trust me that things have done some changin'. She refuses to be still, open her mouth, and hold her tongue up long enough for us to get a good visual much less a picture, but I will continue to try!

It is the bottom right one and I'm pretty sure the bottom left one isn't far behind. Teething hasn't been much fun...for any of us. Hayden has been clingy, whiny (if a 6 month old can be truly whiny, which we think she can), putting her fingers in her mouth, and doing some extra slobbering. Poor baby! My current prayer is that these first few are rough, but then she will magically adjust and embrace the discomfort and the other 20+ teeth will be a breeze. Please Lord!

Our pediatrician told us that most babies get their front four teeth first though there are those who get the bicuspids (also known as fang teeth) first...I am thankful that we have escaped having vampire baby thus far. (This is me trying to find the silver lining.)

Okay, so she isn't ready to chomp on an apple or chow down on a medium rare sirloin, but our little girl sure is growing up quickly! Tooth Fairy, you are officially on notice.