rough days

We're having a rough day over here. Hartley's idea of a nap is only 40 minutes. Reminds me of her newborn days- and I thought they were over! I blame teething. And a little cold.

I thought I'd post some sweet videos of Hartley to make me feel better and not be so aggravated. Yes, I can be a mean mommy sometimes...

She likes barking these days.

We had snow over the weekend (and today it's 61 degrees). Hartley wasn't too sure about it.

See, Amanda. It's just an off day. Tomorrow will be better. Hey, it could be worse!

11 months

Hartley Caroline!

You are eleven months old!

I don't think we need to be excited about this- you're almost ONE!

• Each month flies by faster than the previous and you can change by the week. It's bittersweet watching you grow up. You've become such a silly little girl! You are also turning into a little cuddle bug.

• You wake up between 8-8:30am most days. Take 2 naps a day (finally!), one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They usually lasts 1.5-2 hours, mostly the shorter end. You still nurse 4 times a day, but we will begin weaning soon (note: we offered formula yesterday and you did not enjoy it!). I originally wanted you weaned by your birthday, but with teething, congestion and the shots you'll receive at your 1 year well-check, I decided to hold off a few weeks. You go to bed between 8-8:30pm. Any later and you do not sleep as well and wake up earlier than normal. We've learned!
• Your Grandaddy comments on how much you eat and eat all the time. It's true. You love your food! We've added chicken and rice to your menu. You had some ground beef but I'm not sure if it was that or teething that upset your tummy. You accept any and all food- which makes Momma and Daddy happy.

• You got TWO new teeth and one should be in any day now. You managed them fairly well! We've have heard you grinding them though. And your biting has increased.
• You started standing up on your own (without holding on to anything). You didn't show any interests in walking, though, until Grandmommie got you a walk-n-ride for Christmas and you quickly learned how to walk with it! 

• I've already mentioned how silly you are, but I must reiterate! You are so silly! Ridiculously silly. You've started doing funny things because you enjoy our reactions. We find you very funny. :) And you think we're really funny when we pretend cry.
• You point. And point. And point some more. You really like pointing at the ceiling fan.
• There have been a few times where I wasn't eliciting an action, but you heard me say something and responded. A few times we've said "good job" (not specifically to you) and you've clapped. I was getting off the phone another time and said "bye" and you did your waving and bahbah. Guess we should be watching what we say now!

• One day you decided to start barking. Mema and I heard it the first time, so I knew I wasn't going crazy and hearing things. You usually say woof in a cute little whisper when you hear dogs barking. You do this, but you don't consistently say mama. I don't get it! Dada is the most common word and bahbah and buhbuhbuhbuh can mean "bye bye," "bellybutton," and regular "button." Isn't it crazy we can already distinguish which words are which. The joys of being with you all day!
• Daddy got us a diaper sprayer for Christmas since you're wearing cloth diapers. Yay! Now he just needs to hook it to the toilet and not get frustrated. :) You wear disposable diapers at night and when we go to town. Right now you're in size 2 because you're still tiny (~16lb) but we'll move up to size 3 soon. You wear mostly 9-12 month clothes. Very cute clothes I might add.

• You enjoyed your first Christmas. You got many big girl toys- baby dolls, puzzles, books, and a walk-n-ride. Just another reminder of how quickly you're growing up.
• We've been working on signing with you. It's taken a few months (and some help from your buddy Hudson) but you started signing "more" for food! Amazing!
• You will be one before we know it! We're beginning to plan your birthday party- a small, family party. Grandmommie found you the perfect birthday outfit and I made a matching bow.

We really enjoy watching you develop and learn, Hartley. We love how much personality you have! You've been a little sweetie lately. Stopping whatever you're doing and coming to us for cuddle time. You love giving and getting kisses- and we're happy to give and receive! It's amazing to see how much love we've poured into you and how you've learned to love us back. A blessing and reward!

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!

from our little family of 3

our middle sized family of 10

and our big family of 14 (and none on the way)

We headed to Arabi Thursday morning to spend Christmas with Marshall's grandmother and family. As usual, there were lots of kids, food, presents, and crying. :)

I love how close all the grandkids are, in age and friendships. They get along so well!

I also love how we, the parents/aunts/uncles, love on the other kids just as much as our own. The Moore's are a close knit family and I'm very blessed to have been accepted. :)

Hartley had a fun time opening presents and playing with everyone's toys. She did get fussy, but of course it was past her naptime. She took a really good nap amidst all the loud kids noises.

We went to visit the goats. But it was really cold, so we didn't stay long.

We left for Columbus later that afternoon to see my family. On Friday my brother's twins, Jayden and Emma, came over for a photo shoot! Momma insisted since we didn't have any pictures of the 3 grandkids since Hartley was 2 months old. (And she's 11 months today!)

 Hartley clapped the majority of the shoot. It was really cute.

I love this picture of Emma. I made her some hairbows and she enjoyed them so much!

We opened presents with the grandkids on Christmas Eve.

Emma wearing two of the bows I made her. :)

Hartley got a jack-in-the-box from her cousins and she loved it! Jayden also liked it, too.

Marshall and I opened our presents with my mom and Jim on Christmas morning. Then we went over to my dad's that afternoon to visit him. He got a little trampoline for the grandkids and Hartley really enjoyed bouncing on it. She's been practicing on our bed and on Mema's trampoline, so she was a pro!

We headed home Saturday evening, right as it was beginning to snow. We made it home safely and Hartley slept most of the way.

And it started snowing Sunday morning at our house! Marshall let me sleep in until 10am!

We planned on not buying gifts for each other this year, since we just got the couch and Marshall got a bike. We didn't even get anything for Hartley; we knew she would get plenty from family (plus her birthday is in a month!). I secretly got Marshall a little gift- pliers. But, he surprised me! Wednesday night I was making a batch of apple sauce and had already stabbed myself once with the paring knife. Marshall then walked out of the house and came back with my first gift- an apple corer/slicer.

As we were getting everything together Thursday morning, I was emptying Hartley's humidifier. Marshall told me we didn't need it. I was aggravated with him at the moment, so I just dumped it in the sink and stormed off, uttering something about him having to "deal with Hartley and her naps" because it also doubles as white noise. When we arrived to my Momma's and was putting Hartley to bed, I noticed a little noise machine by the packnplay. Gasp! Momma got it for the grandkids! Wrong. Marshall got it for us! My second gift.

My third gift was also a wonderful surprise! A "multi-use sprayer!" It can be my personal bidet.. or a diaper sprayer. Mainly the latter. But I will probably appreciate it with the next baby (after delivery.. no one warns you about that).

So, we had a wonderful Christmas with family! We'll be welcoming the New Year with Marshall on call.. and eating Krystals of course!!

introducing.. Mr. & Mrs...

We have really high hopes of Hartley marrying Hudson. The Gurleys came to visit us this weekend and the kiddos had a lot of fun together!

H & H are 4 months apart and it seems like we see each other every 4 months. I enjoy the glimpses of what Hartley may be doing in the following months. The next time they see each other, Hartley will be walking and talking/signing. And acting even sillier. If that's possible.

The future couple enjoyed banging on the coffee table and windows.. and practically anything else that would make noise.

Hudson entertained us with some hymns.

Hartley did a very good job sharing her toys..

Or making Hudson work really hard to get them. :)

It's so funny to see them grow up. Their first visit was when Hudson was 6 months and Hartley was 2 months. Hartley just laid there and Hudson might have rolled over. The next visit was when Hartley was 6 months and Hudson 10 months. Hudson was beginning to cruise and crawling everywhere. Hartley was rolling over and beginning to sit up.

Now, Hartley is 10 months and crawling everything and starting to cruise. Hudson is on the verge of running!! He's such a good walker! He even said a few new words while he was here- Sassy! It seems like all kids love Sassy.. poor thing.

They really stuck together and played nicely. And got into lots of mischief together. :)

Mollyanne and Jonathon went to a wedding Saturday night and left us with TWO kids! They were great though! Except a certain somebody did not want to eat dinner...

Hartley seeing how many teeth Hudson has.

Hudson helped Marshall give Hartley a bath. He also helped decorate our house with magnetic letters, that I'm still finding.

"Hartley, do you see my Dasha?"

They really had a wonderful time together! And so did the parents! I was gathering lots of advice on signing and weaning. Our next visit will definitely be in less than 4 months, we hope!

The Christmas Story

My husband is going to hurt me for this...

Hartley at 10.5 months

We can't get over how much Hartley is changing. Each week. Each day. I'm pretty sure she just went through a wonder week (cognitive development = fussy/clingy).

She is loving Christmas decorations! She plays with the bows and decorative boxes a lot. We'll catch her playing with real gifts sometimes and get on to her- she quickly crawls away, knowing she got caught. It's pretty cute!

She started pointing last week and now she does it all the time! She likes pointing to whatever is over her head mostly. She also points at people in pictures now, instead of smacking them!

Yesterday she was having her afternoon snack- yogurt (which she loves). There's a baby on the container- and we talk about the "baby" in the mirror and point out other babies. So, she obviously knows what a baby looks like. Well, she pointed to the baby on the yogurt container and made a bahbah sound. She did the same thing today!

We also talk about bellybuttons and regular buttons. She makes a good effort with bellybutton (behbeh buhbuh). Today we were at Hobby Lobby and I was holding some buttons. She pointed at them and made a similar bahbah sound.

You probably think I'm making all this up and exaggerating. Sometimes I feel like it's impossible for her to do these things- but I really do think she's beginning to understand and form words. Her waving and byebye is very good, too!

All this makes me wonder why she doesn't show any interest in signing. We work mainly on "more." She's pretty good at letting us know she's "all done" by not eating anymore or throwing her arms up in the air to motion she's ready to get out of the high chair. Who knows. Maybe she wants to skip signing and go straight to telling me how it is! What are we gonna do when she really starts talking!? And doesn't stop!??!

She continues to crawl faster and faster, climbing higher. She's daring and will crawl into a dark room. She loves being thrown on to the bed or couch. She especially enjoys Daddy throwing her around.

Hartley is a silly girl with a lot of personality. She loves music! She is always dancing and clapping. She even "sings." I'll try to get video one day. But it's hard because as soon as she sees the camera, this is what happens...

We love our Hartley Caroline so much!