I can sit up... for a minute

Just wanted to document a few things Hailey has been up to lately. First off, had to catch a pic of her adorable feet and chubby legs. These feet get plenty of kisses when they're bare like this.

She had her first drink from a straw yesterday, unintentionally. Anything in range of her mouth or hands is fair game. Hope that little bit of chocolate shake was yummy! I don't think she actually got any of it anyways.

She can sit up now! If she wants to reach for something that's a little too far away she tips over though. She can't quite be trusted without some kind of support yet, but she's made some major progress!

Another view of her sitting up and playing

She loves to grab the spoon while I'm feeding her and tries to feed herself. She gets frustrated once she realizes she's already eaten the food off of it. But she also doesn't want to give it back to me for a refill.

Had to take a pic of her in this - throwback to the 70's maybe? All she needed was a pair of go-go boots and she would have been all set.

Here's some video I got of her talking... I have some great sound clips too but I can't get them uploaded here at the moment.

where Tyson came from

Tonight as Steve was taking Tyson upstairs to bed, the following conversation took place:

Steve: "Tyson, you know Mommy and I love you [and Hailey] more than anything in the whole world. We were soooo happy when we got you."

Tyson: "I came from Jammy and Papa's house!!!"

Steve: "No, you didn't...."

Tyson (cutting him off): "No, Mommy and Daddy got me from a box!"

Steve: "You came from Mommy and Daddy. We made you. You made us so happy, you were just what we wanted!"

Tyson: "Yeah, I was a BIG boy!"

Steve: "Well you were little like Hailey."

Tyson: "I was little like Hailey but now I'm a BIG BOY and I can talk!"

Steve: "Yeah, and you know your ABC's!"

Tyson: "And I can eat macaroni!"

etc, etc. I could hear bits and pieces from downstairs and he was hilarious. Steve was getting a huge kick out of him. What a funny guy.

6 months

Hailey, somehow you are half a year old now. You are growing so fast. You wear 6-9 month sized clothes and size 2 shoes. Here are your stats:

Height: 26.75 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs 7.5 oz (60th percentile)
Head: 17 (75th percentile)


You are teething - you stick everything in your mouth. And today you were drooling so much that you soaked the front of your dress while you were playing with your teething toy.

You turn around/ up and look at whoever is holding you. It's the most precious thing I think I've ever seen. You look right into my eyes with those baby blues and give me a huge, toothless grin. You adore your Daddy and your big brother too.

You started eating in a high chair last week. It was getting too hard to keep you clean in your bouncy seat. It's funny to see you in it because we're used to Tyson sitting in it. You eat cereal and baby food. So far you love everything you've tried. You were a little unsure about green beans at first but you've liked them since.

Dr. G says you need a lot more floor time because she'd like you to be sitting up by now. We're working on it and we're sure you will be doing it soon. You are getting stronger every day!

You smile at us all the time. You've been sleeping through the night since Thursday so we hope you're back on track with that. Everyone is much happier when you make it through the night! You are very picky about who you'd like to take care of you. You love Ms. Lucy at school but no one else there will do. So far you're not a huge fan of your extended family either, except maybe Aunt Shannon.

Your personality shows more every day and you're funny. You shriek and babble at us all the time. Tyson can make you laugh at almost any time. Here's to sleeping through the night!

new school

Hailey started at Primrose last Monday, so now she and Tyson are at the same place. That is so much nicer than going to two different places that were in opposite directions. Although the ladies spoiled her at Applegate, we feel this is the right move to make in the long run.

As expected, she spent a couple of days getting adjusted, but she immediately became attached to one of the teachers there, Ms. Lucy. She will only take bottles from Ms. Lucy and if she realizes she's not in the room, she gets upset. Hopefully she will start adjusting to the other teachers in there or we'll be in trouble if Ms. Lucy needs to take a day off!

By Friday, she was doing great and had a happy day all day long. They are helping us get her on a good eating and sleeping schedule. So far we're really happy with the staff and how they run the infant class!

LEED

Steve found out in November that he needed to take a huge exam on December 28th (we know... nice timing...) for work. It was to be certified as a LEED AP. I'm sure I would screw it up royally if I tried to explain what exactly that is, but basically it's an expensive, difficult two part test that has a 30-40% pass rate on the first part and a 20-30% pass rate on the second part. It really gives him an advantage in his career and the projects he can work on if he has this certification.

Since the day he found out, he has spent all of his free time, and then some, pouring over the material and studying his heart out to try to pass the test at the first attempt. They are [kind of] expected to fail the first time they attempt this test.

Well... all the hard work and sacrifice paid off because Steve KICKED THE TEST'S BUTT on both sections!!!! He scored very high on both. I am so proud of him!

Torno Christmas

We had round 2 of Christmas in Corpus last Tuesday. It was a quick but fun visit.

This was actually before we left. Hailey started out leaning against Steve's right arm, but she must have wanted to play with Tyson because she sat up and pulled herself over to him. She surprised us all.

Tyson and Benjamin getting buried in their presents...

Aunt Shannon, Christine and Hannah

Hailey wanted to eat the wrapping paper and bows again.

We enjoyed having a quick break from work to spend some time with both sides of the family.