Kristy's Last Fling!

AK and I planned Kristy's bachelorette party for Saturday 8.20.11 - we had so much fun getting all the girls together for some fun before Kristy ties the knot!  We rented a minibus for everyone, so we had a DD to all 3 (yes, three!) wineries :)

 Our first stop was James River Cellars.  They have some great wines, including one of my favorites, Chambourcin.  While we were there Rvabuzz was filming, so we were mini celebrities for the day. No. Big. Deal. After James River, we headed to our next winery.  It was a little longer of a drive, so we decided to shower Kristy with gifts!

Next stop: New Kent Winery.  It was beautiful, but a lot of us weren't as impressed with their wine tasting.  I'm sure they have other wines they offer, which are really good.  But the wines they have you taste, aren't the greatest.  We did snap a few pictures though!

Our last stop on the tour was Saude Creek.  We all had so much fun here!  It was the last stop, so needless to say we were a bit rowdy :)  They had a great selection of wine, so I can't wait to head back!

We all relaxed a bit back at my house before leaving to go to dinner.  Kristy picked Buzz & Ned's (we tried to talk her into something else, but it didn't work!). 

We all had so much fun celebrating with Kristy! I cannot wait until her big day in September!

xoxo

Lewis Ginter Play Date 8.12.11

I ended up meeting 3 of my girlfriends at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, so we could all catch up and so that all of our kids could enjoy each others company.  All together it was Hadleigh and I, Kristy & Lily, Jess, Irelyn, Evan, & Griffin, and then Jen, Kara, & Easton.  I never realized how many activities they had for kids.  All of the kids really enjoyed the water play area, well except for Hadleigh. I think that's because Hadleigh is crawling and all of the water shoots up from the ground. After we let the kids play around in the water, we all sat down for a picnic.  It was so nice to have the kids pretty much occupy themselves while us 4 moms got to chit-chat and catch up.  I can't wait to do it again!

Hadleigh for little bit she was in the water!

Irelyn

Lily

Evan

Kara

Griffin

Easton

Griff & Hadleigh

Irelyn, Evan, and Kara!

Lazy Much?!

Dinner was going normal - Hadleigh was feeding herself...Then all of a sudden she does this::

 Really? Anything to save some energy and effort...

Mmmmm Pudding!

I've been trying to find/think of different activities Hadleigh can do to keep her busy and mind stimulated (she is such a busybody!) and I came across this.  Pudding art! It's such a simple but amazing idea :)  Everything still goes in Hadleigh's mouth these days, so I definitely wanted something safe.  Well, it was a success! It was messy, but I have a beautiful piece of art now.  It's funny cause Nana told me she actually didn't even like the chocolate pudding, so none even made it in her mouth! Crazy huh?!

Lily's 1st Birthday Party!

Lily is ONE as of 7/28/11! It's so hard to believe!  It's been so fun watching her grow with Hadleigh this past year.  We all had a blast at her birthday party - lots of kids playing, swimming, and eating.  Hadleigh had a lot of fun around all the kids because she doesn't get to do that often.  She was definitely tired at the end of the day.  Lily got lots of great gifts she will surely enjoy - she is one lucky little girl :)

Keeping Score

Well...Sleep is still pretty good, but we're trying to make it GREAT (doesn't everyone?).  Anyways, Hadleigh does sleep well.  I rock her to sleep at night and then lay her in her crib.  She will usually wake up whining, and Daniel or I will pick her up and just bring her into our bed.  Now that she's getting closer to 1, I figure we should probably break the habit.....

Hadleigh - 3             Daniel and I - 1

But who's keeping score right? (ha).  We started this last Friday 7/29 and it started out good, she whined for about 40 minutes and then put herself to sleep.  She woke back up 2 more times and we stuck to our ground.  The 3rd time she woke up Daniel caved and brought her in bed with us.  He mentioned that as long as he could sleep he was fine and that truthfully, he really liked cuddling with her in bed.  Of course I melted, and just went along with it (yes...I'm a sucker.)  

The past few days have been tough.  She falls asleep (and I mean to the point where her bippy falls out of her mouth asleep) and I go to lay her in her crib and she wakes right back up.  So for 2 nights I fought with that same routine over and over for about 2-3 hours.  Which ended with Hadleigh being in bed with us cause I was tired.

Wednesday night I decided to jump back on the horse! She whined for 20 minutes, and then literally sat in her crib, in the dark for another 20 minutes very quiet.  No problem. I got this!  She ended up falling asleep in a really weird position, so I went in to move her and BAM! That's when this horrid smell hits me.  Great.  No wonder why she was quiet for 20 minutes... So needless to say we lost this night because I had to change her and give her another bath...Which woke her right up.

Thursday night was a success!  She whined for a little bit, but then fell asleep on her own.  She woke up twice and whined, but we both stuck to it and both times she put herself right back to sleep :) Let's hope Daniel and I get a few more wins on our side...but who's counting? ;)

Hadleigh with her na-night

11 months 7.29.11

One more month until Hadleigh is ONE! Whew! They don't lie when they tell you time flies when you have children!

The Sleep routine deserves it's own post - so stay tuned :)

This past month has been a big tooth month! She's cut 2 more teeth on the bottom, so she now has 4 in a row on bottom and her 2 front teeth.  I also think some more are coming in, cause she's been a little clingy, drooling, and chewing hard on things still.  it's so cute, but it makes her look more toddler-like instead of baby-like (bittersweet huh?)

We think Hadleigh could totally walk if she wanted to.  She's crawling so fast these days, and pulling herself up on everything.  She's now walking behind a little walker car toy a lot.  And it's super cute - she pushes the walker car and the entire time, she's waving at you! Future Miss America I tell ya! Her personality is amazing.  I know more trouble is coming when she starts to walk, but I seriously cannot wait!

Food isn't as stressful as it was. If I can get fruits and veggies into her from baby food, I use it.  She does however, eat a lot of table food - it's just she doesn't get a lot of fruits and veggies when she's eating table food.  Not because we don't offer, but she must not like the feel or texture in her mouth.  She still likes most carbs, but who doesn't?

Vocabulary

Mama
Dada
Nana
Red
Baby
Ball (more like "bahhh")

More things to add to her list of things she does we love! (See here for the beginning of the list)

• Plays with my eyelashes when I'm rocking her to sleep. (Which sometimes turns into her pinching my eye OUCH!)
• The waving as she's walking/pushing her walker around the living room
• The way she screams and squeals when she thinks Daniel or I are chasing her
• Her fake chuckle - and she will do this all day long!
• We baby-proofed our kitchen cabinets, and she will go to pull on them and get so mad cause she cannot open them! Cruel maybe, but so funny at the same time!
• How she gives out kisses with her mouth entirely open.  But all you have to do is lean in with your mouth open, and she'll reciprocate :)
• She stretches soo much when she wakes up.  I would say she spends a good 5 minutes stretching over and over.  She did this even as a newborn!
  

Hadleigh's Daily Routine

6-6:30am - wake up for the day & drink a bottle (8 ounces)

Takes a little cat-nap usually before Nana comes

Nana comes at 7:30 - Daniel and I leave at 7:45ish

Eats breakfast at 9-9:30am (if she feels like eating)

She will play and take a nap if it's a good day

Drinks a bottle (6 ounces) 11am

Playing (Friday's she goes to Rompnroll @ 12:30pm)

Eats lunch - 1pm
Takes her main afternoon nap / outside play / toys

Drinks a bottle (6 ounces) - 3pm

Eats dinner - 5:30-6:30ish

We will play and/or take a walk

Bath (every other night)

Change into pajamas, read a book, drink a bottle (8 ounces)

Daniel and I rock her to sleep or lay in our bed til she falls asleep 

cutie

She loved Keydon's doggy door :)

hehehe