Just Because...

... they are so dang cute!!

Loving Life

Let's face it, Hadley and I lead a very simple life and we have decided that we LOVE it! I had a hard time adjusting to this when I first stopped teaching. I was so used to going, going, going and now we really just stay at home alot and spend time together. But it gives us lots of time to be with family and friends. I subbed at Riverview on Monday and Tuesday this week and remembered what it was like to be so much more busy- not sure I'm ready for that again, which makes me question my plans for next year.

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Last week we got to see Jane and Cami again since they were in town for Thanksgiving. So Ily, Cami and I took the kids to the playroom at the Bean Museum at BYU (sadly we didn't get any pictures there) and then we went to lunch. It wasn't long enough but we love any time we get to spend with them!

Last week Hadley and I also did some Christmas shopping and of course played with cousins. Saturday night Steve and I had a little date night at home and watched...

...which of course I went to Walmart on Saturday morning at 7 am to get! We also made some amazing hot spinach/artichoke dip that we saw on Paula Deen's show. It was soooo good!

So the last week or two Hadley has been struggling with her morning naps. Even though she is so tired it is taking her forever to go to sleep. She eventually does but it takes her like an hour! She never cries, she just sits in there doing who knows what! When I went to check on her this morning this is what I found- so apparently this is what she did for the hour! Silly girl!

So Hadley's new favorite thing is the toilet! Oh the loves of little children, I'll never get them! She was "helping" me put laundry away in our room today and she would go into the bathroom and it would get really quiet. The first time I figured she was playing in the closet because that is what she is usually doing. Nope, every time she was looking in the toilet! Don't worry I just cleaned it this morning but still, I had to keep pulling her down only for her to do it again and again and again.

We have had a good day today and done lots of playing! And last night Hadley let go of the couch and took a step towards something she wanted! She did it three more times this morning, so maybe we are moving in the direction of walking?!

How we love our simple life!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, our weekend was a rather quiet and relaxing one. We originally were supposed to go to Colorado on Wednesday but plans changed due to bad weather and Hadley's croup. We just thought it would be better for everyone (mostly Hadley) if we stayed home and let her get better. Turned out to be a good idea since she still has shaken this thing completely and both Steve and I got sick over the weekend.

Wednesday was a low key day- Hadley and I did some cleaning and just did our normal thing. Steve got home early from work and we just enjoyed an evening as a family with nothing to do. We pulled our mattress out into our loft to watch our rented movie, 'Letters to Juliet'. We used to pull our mattress out all the time before Hadley was born but we thought she would enjoy playing on it and we would enjoy sleeping somewhere else.

Thursday was spent cooking- seriously the entire day! Steve did such an amazing job and did most of the work. I did the easy things... pies, stuffing, green bean casserole, frog eye salad. He used a recipe from Emeril for the turkey it was seriously the moistest and most flavorful turkey I can ever remember having!

Please excuse the runny nose, I feel like I can't keep up with it!

Hadley did an amazing job entertaining herself while we cooked!

Our amazing meal!

We were right! She loved the mattress!


Friday we had a lazy day and just hung out at home! I didn't do any Black Friday shopping aside from all the shopping I did from my couch. I just would rather buy it all online for the same prices than get up, be out in the cold, and fight lines and crowds! I got the rest of my gifts for Hadley, my nieces and nephews, and some of them for Steve! We also put up our tree and Christmas decorations and rented Toy Story 3...

Just staring...

Saturday we finally ventured out of the house to run some errands and have a movie night with Becca and Jesse.

Sunday Steve got really sick with this horrible cold and cough and so we all stayed home AGAIN!

It may sound like a boring weekend but we really just enjoyed all the precious family time we have. With Steve's busy schedule we just don't get that much so we loved it! It was definitely sad not to be with my family again but we enjoyed making our own traditions with our little family :)

Today

Today my baby girl isn't any better. I might actually say that she is worse. Her breathing is a little better but her cold and her cough are terrible!

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Today Hadley was laying on my chest coughing so hard that it made her gag and throw up all down (yes, down on the inside of my shirt). Poor thing!

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Today we both wore our 'cozies' all day. Which really just means sweats or comfy clothes. Ok, well let's be honest- this one is not actually that rare :)

Today we ate chicken noodle soup for lunch.

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Today we did a lot of cuddling (which I love because she is normally not a cuddler).

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Today we decided that we won't be going home to Colorado for Thanksgiving. The doctor said that Hadley's croup could take over a week to run its course and the weather for driving is supposed to be AWFUL. So we decided, sadly, that it would be best for everyone if we just stayed home and had a relaxing week.

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Today I wished that my parents lived somewhere warm so we could still visit and escape this nastly cold weather!

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Today we watched two Baby Einstein movies. Hadley's breating gets worse if she is busy crawling all over so I tried to keep her still and resting and those movies are the only things that will do it!

Today Hadley's Christmas dress/outfit came in the mail!

Today Hadley took 5 1/2 hours worth of naps as opposed to her normal 4ish.

Today I was supposed to sub in first grade, but obviously didn't!

Today I made oven fried chicken from Paula Deen's recipe- way good!

Today Steve and I watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and voted lots of times for Derek and Jennifer (I really just love Derek).

Today Steve and I made Mango-A-Go-Go smoothies from Jamba Juice. You can buy the mixes in the stores- they taste exactly the same!

Today we watched the Spurs win BIG over Magic! Their 11th straight win!

Today this is the face I saw most of the day. Heartbreaking!

Today I got a glimpse of what it would be like to have a fussy baby and I was soooooooo grateful that mine is ALWAYS happy (except when she is sick).

Today I loved taking care of my little one!

To the Doctor- Again...

So yes, little Hadley had to have another visit to the doctor today. Since about Thursday at 2am she has been totally off and not herself at all. She is crying all the time, won't eat, not sleeping well, low grade fever, runny nose, cough, and overall just not the bright cheery little girl we love! So I decided to be safe and take her to the doctor today (I really just didn't want to wait until Monday in case it was something bad) and yes the results are in...

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She has croup! Poor little thing is just miserable and there is nothing that can really be done since it's a virus. The doctor did give her a steriod shot that is supposed to help reduce the swelling in her throat (or whatever it is that is swollen). Sadly, he also said that there is a large chance it could turn into ear infections- great!!

The doctor did tell us some things we could do to help her symptoms. Like give her popsicles (which she loved!), take her on walks in the cold night air (weird, I know), and lots of tylenol. She has a hat on in the picture because we had just gotten back from our cold night air walk. We also have to watch her closely to see if her breathing gets worse and if it does we might have to take her to the hospital. Hopefully that doesn't happen!

We rested alot today! And watched movies in bed :)

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And for some pictures before she got sick!! Little cutie!

I have a feeling this is going to be a loooooooooooooooong winter stuck inside to keep her healthy!

9 Months

My baby girl is 9 months old (well, yesterday)! She is growing and changing everyday and we are thankful that we get to spend each day with such an angel!

We went the the doctor yesterday- we actually went to a new doctor (same practice) and we LOVED him! Hadley saw him when she was 9 days old and he was the one that diagnosed her acid reflux, so we decided to go back. I really do think that a good doctor is sooooo important!

She weighs 21 lb. 6 oz. and is 29 inches tall! So she is still as big as ever but very well proportioned. She's in the 92nd percentile for height and the 87th for weight and head. He said that another way to think about it is she is the average size (both weight and height) of a 14 1/2 month old. No wonder she wears such big clothes!!

Let's see, here are some new things that she can do now since 8 months:

- clap, this happened right after 8 months

- wave, but only to certain people

- cruise along furniture with complete control

- drink out of cup with little help (a regular cup)

- pick up tiny objects with thumb and forefinger, she's been able to do this for more than a month actually

- master at climbing up the stairs

She also has some interesting habits:

- she grinds her teeth (ewww, it's an AWFUL sound)

- she will sit and bang her head backwards on a wall, cabinet, crib, couch, highchair

This is her new camera face! Every time the camera goes up this is how she smiles! It's funny but sometimes I just want a picture that looks normal!

She has 4 teeth now! The other front tooth will probably break in the next few days! I feel like a horrible mom because I never know she is getting teeth, I just look one day and they are there! I guess that means she never shows any negative symptoms of teeth- yay!

She loves music and loves to dance! It is the cutest thing ever!

She is a social butterfly!! She gets so worn out at church because she is so busy entertaining people the ENTIRE 3 hours!

We love you Haddles!