growing up already!

We've had a busy week here at the Moore house. A high school friend of mine, Miss Laura, was dying to meet Hartley. Oh and have lots of girl talk with me. She came this week and stayed a few days. It was fun, but I'm definitely looking forward to some rest.

Oh, wait. Just kidding. We have more guests coming tomorrow! My mother and her friend, another Mrs. Laura, are going to stop by. Grandmommie will spend the night and head home on Sunday.

We would like to send a shout out to Mrs. Erika for the above leggings. Umm.. cute!! They are very stylish, not to mention easier to change diapers while keeping little legs warm. So cute I'm wanting to get more for my sweet potato. (yes, I give my babies vegetable names)

Ahh, I can't stand how wonderful this little girl is! She loves sticking out her tongue these days (even more) so it's hard to get smiling pictures in.

She looks so cute in her little bows. And yes, that's a bunny bib. After Easter. Is this okay?? I think it's still Springish.

We found a new game that Hartley loves! Marshall blew on her face, making her hair fly up. She absolutely loves it! We're not sure about that noise she was making.. and that outfit.. 3-6months (hand-me-down and washed a lot). I can't believe it. Every morning she feels heavier and looks bigger. And I'm totally sure she laughed at Maddie the other morning and reached towards me today.

three months!

You are three months old today, Hartley!!

What in the world are you up to??

You are growing like a weed, that's for sure! While you still fit in your 0-3 months clothes, you are outgrowing them in length. Your sleep-n-plays are quite snug now.

You went for a few nights sleeping ~10 hours straight. What happened to that? You usually go to sleep between 8:30-9:30 and sleep until 4-5am. We nurse for about 20 minutes and put you back to sleep. Some nights you fuss, others you are out! And Daddy usually rocks you before bed.

You've started waking up around 7am, which is a little too early for me, but at least you get to see Daddy before he leaves for work.

I would love for you to be on a 3-hour schedule, but you're still not there. You prefer 2.5 hours. And you would much rather take catnaps during the day than solid 1.5 hour naps. This makes housework and gallivanting a challenge.

Your favorite things to do are standing up, kicking, squealing, watching the dogs, and smacking on your fists.

Somehow you learned to pout. You do this especially when you want to eat and someone else is holding you. And you've already learned to cry when you want attention. For instance- you were just'a fussin' this afternoon. I picked you up while you were still crying and you started smiling.. while crying. You are so silly.

one-month

two-months

three-months today!

• Daddy and I have been working really hard getting you to sleep in your crib and not your swing. You've done very well since Saturday! We are very proud of you! I'm only concerned with how you scoot around in there. I know we place you right in the middle, but you scoot your way down into a corner.
• While you hate tummy time, your neck muscles have gotten so strong! You hold up your head very well. And you are trying to kick yourself off your back already. It's pretty soon to be rolling over, but you seem like you really want to.
• You absolutely love talking to your Momma. You have a favorite spot though- your changing pad. If you're ever fussy, I know you'll get happy there. I don't even have to change your diaper!

You learn something new everyday it seems, which makes being your mommy so much fun. Although you wear me out, I love being with you all day. These days get a little difficult, especially when you don't take a nap or don't nap very long, but I enjoy them. All your smiles and coos. And squeals. You've been crying for the past 5 minutes, so I'll feed you. :)

oh, Dad..

It was getting close to 45 minutes into Hartley's first afternoon nap. She has a lot of difficulty with sleep transitions. Each sleep cycle is about 45 minutes.. so we have to be careful around that time not to wake her.

Marshall got home around that time, so I was telling him he needed to be quiet for the next 10 minutes.

"Because of the 45-minute demon?" he asks.

What??

"The 45-minute dragon??"

At this point I'm losing it...

"What is it!?!?"

It's the 45-minute INTRUDER. (this is a real term from the Babywise series)

We had a good laugh.. and of course, Hartley cried a little shortly after. On and off for a few minutes, but she fell back asleep. We're nearing the next nursing time, so I'm really proud she made it through her nap. Oh.. in her CRIB!!

Brag note: Hartley has been sleeping about 10 hours straight for the past few nights. She's still in the swing at night.. but I get a good 6-7 hours for myself!

a post by Hartley

Hello White Box!!

Momma walked away so I crawled up on the desk to see what the big deal is with this computer. Now I see why my parents spend a lot of time here.. there's so many colors and pictures!

Everyone says I'm growing and changing each day. Of course I am. Have you seen my poopie diapers?!

Momma wanted to weigh me at Daddy's office yesterday, but Daddy didn't want me laying where cats have been. But I'm at least 10lbs! Hey, I could even be 11. We don't have an official weigh-in until June 2, at my 4-month check up.

For the past 2 months of my life, wait.. all my life!.. I've been sleeping in a swing. I keep trying to tell my parents that I don't want to sleep in that cage! Oh excuse me, the crib.

So, Momma tried putting me in the "crib" the other day and this is what happened!

I put my right leg out.. I put my right leg in.. I put my right leg out and I shook it all about! And I did the same with my left arm. And I fussed and fell asleep. BUT! When I woke up, someone had shoved me back in my snuggie! I don't know how that happened..

I visit my family a lot! I have so many cousins.. they are sooo loud and never let me talk. But they all love me and like to talk to me.

I've recently started bearing weight on my chunking-up legs. I like to stand and squat. And I love watching the other baby in the mirror do it too! That guy in the picture is funny looking. Tehe.

I went to a birthday party for my cousin Caleb recently. There was a babaloo.. or baloo.. hold on let me ask Momma... a BALLOON. You can see me holding the ribbon in the picture above. I held on tight and when I moved my arm it moved too! I liked following it as it bounced in the air.

And I can't go take my nap without telling you about these hairy creatures that walk around the house on four legs. AND! They have a fifth leg that just waves around in the air. They don't walk on that one. These beasts kinda smell and love to lick me. I touched the white one the other day. And the black one can do this thing called "tricks."

Wanna know what my new "trick" is?? I pulled a rattle toward me. I wasn't sure what to do when I got it, but Momma and Daddy were proud. Uh-oh, speaking of the woman with the milk.. she caught me!! Bye White Box!

Hartley's New Friend

"I love you, Sassy!"

"I love you, too, Hartley!"

nuzzle, nuzzle

kiss, kiss

"We're going to be best friends forever."

[no animals or babies were harmed in the making of this post]

friendly visits

We had the best weekend with our Athenian friends, the Gurleys! Although we are all exhausted and in need of naps, especially the little ones, we enjoyed the stuffing of faces, game playing, and parenthood.

It was also time for Hartley to meet her future hubby Hudson. This has been in the works for about a year now. Progress has been made. Now we just have to wait about 20 years for the wedding.

And I think someone needs to slow down with the weight gain... 21 pounds at 6 months?!?! Hartley is half the size of Hudson!

Mollyanne is always encouraging. Our parenting philosophies are very similar, so any ideas she has are pretty sound. And having timelines are helpful. Knowing that Hartley may grow out of some of her quirks in the next few weeks is something I look forward to. Plus, she will be getting into the "fun" months soon!

We had a pretty successful weekend. Both babies did pretty well sleeping during the night. Church was a different story.. we won't go there! At least they let us eat OUT in a RESTAURANT! For the ENTIRE meal. That doesn't happen often for us. It was nice to eat with other couples with babies too.

After a weekend full of food (always a must), it's time to relax with my 2liter Diet Coke. If only weekends were 4 days long...

wacky wednesdays

Help me come up with an alliterative phrase for Wednesdays, my seemingly busy day of the week. It never fails that I go grocery shopping and errand running on Wednesday. And I think I bite off more than I can chew.

Yesterday was no exception. We were slipping out the door when Hartley points out there's a box with her name on it. A surprising gift from some sweet girls in Kentucky- Aunt Laurie, Katie and Ally.

They did a great job picking out some flirty summer apparel! I love greens and teals.. and Hartley didn't have any of those colors yet!

Marshall thinks baby shoes are ridiculous. I think they're super cute!! Don't you love 'em!

Back to my workin' it Wednesday. Hartley woke up early from her nap, setting me an hour early from dropping her off with Marshall to do my own thing. I decided to try something new- bring Hartley with me to get my haircut. We nursed before we left and Hartley fell asleep in the car, only to wake up when we got to the salon. She fussed briefly twice- once because she wanted someone to talk to her (and those gossipy ladies at the salon didn't wanna miss out) and when she was getting tired. So- it worked out. I finally got my haircut, and Hartley behaved.

We made a pit stop at Aunt Bec's to nurse again (yes..) and do a nappy change. Then on to more errand running! Hartley always wakes up in the middle of grocery shopping. So I usually have to boogie out, likely forgetting something. Yesterday was tomatoes.

We also needed to run by Josephine's, the fancy baby store in town. We received some gifts that could be monogramed. And they could only be picked on Wednesday after 4:00pm. Meaning we needed to stay in town a little longer.

We passed some time by going to the local new and only strip mall. They've got TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, and Books-a-Million. Pretty good choices.. about the only ones!

And finally on to Josephine's we went. I think I'm becoming monogram happy, or at least somewhat happy. Believe me, I don't go all out and have every piece of clothing (or towel) monogrammed.. but secretly I want more.

We finally got home and had a fussy evening. Hartley nursed for the last time around 7pm and after crying with Daddy she fell asleep. I didn't wake her up to nurse either. She finally decided to eat at 3:30am. About 20 minutes.. and was ready to begin her day at 7:30 this morning. I can handle that! I should have gone to sleep when she did last night!

We are loving our new camera! Diamonds are definitely a girl's best friend. And so are handbags and sandals. Hartley may very well be a girly girl after all. Marshall is going to do his best and get her interested in tools and landscaping. Good luck, Buddy.

Now- on to cleaning our house for the Gurley's!

kiss my grass!!

Our neighborhood, in all its non-hospitality glory, has the sandiest soil ever! Or so we've been told. Since we've lived in our house.. whoa almost a year.. we've had zero success with growing grass. All we can grow are weeds and various shrubs/flowers.. but grass.. no. Big no.

Marshall and I decided a while back that we should just sod the yard. With two dogs that love to dig and kick around dust, it would be safer and easier to lay sod rather than grow grass.

It took 1.5 days to lay the sod.. a few days to prep (I wouldn't know about that part..) but it went pretty easily. Lots of sweat and ants and nursing breaks for me, but it got accomplished.

And.. PRESTO! Instant lawn. We're still waiting for it turn pretty green. Most of it is still brown right now. Boo.

Did I mention Marshall built a brick paver walkway a few weekends ago? He's pretty much amazing. And handsome. And losing his hearing..

Now we just need to put up a hammock, find a good area for a kiddie pool and sandbox, purchase a fire pit or brick pizza oven (whichever one is on sale), and get a cool patio set. We'll be all set for the summer!

Don't you want to come visit us?? Oh yeah, we have a cute baby too!

And.. lots of wildlife. We found out Marshall's bluebirds have made some babies. They look like candy!!

AND!!! A new Canon Rebel.. so expect lots of really nice pictures. For the record: I let Hartley know that I love her more than the camera. She was a little concerned..

discovering herself

After changing Hartley we usually spend a few moments staring at our beauties in the mirror.

She's too cute!

patterns vs. schedules

I opted not to blog about our recent good night, in hopes that a trend would continue. It didn't last, so I'll tell you about it anyway!

Amazingly, Hartley slept from 10pm Saturday night until 7am Sunday morning. No crying, no nursing, nothing! Just sleep! I awoke from a deep sleep around 5:30am stressing out. She hadn't made a peep, something must have been wrong. Mind you, she's been in her nursery the past few nights, so I was extra concerned. So I walked across the house (yes, all the way across the house) and could hear her breathing so deeply from the hallway. She was out!

I went back to bed, relieved. But also excited. So I couldn't go back to sleep for awhile. Argh.

And yesterday she behaved so well! Surely she would have a good night again. Wrong! We got her into her swing around 9pm. Around 11:30, I decided I would give her a dreamfeed (nurse without waking her) to tide her over a few extra hours.

Hartley managed to stay asleep the whole nursing, so I decided to put her in her crib rather than the swing. And she slept.. until 1:30am. And then 4:30am.. and argh.

Rule #14 of being a mom: change one variable at a time.

I changed TWO routines in one night..

1. Dreamfeed. I normally don't do that. I've learned to let her wake me up in the night. I have tried a few dreamfeeds in the past weeks and have realized she doesn't do as well. So, remind me.. no more!!

2. Crib. Yeah, we have the baby that will probably sleep in a swing until she can crawl. It works though. We may run through a bazillion D-cell batteries.. but if it gets her through the night (and us!) then okay!

I have noticed a pattern, though. Instead of Hartley sticking to a 3-hour schedule, she tends to have multiple 2 to 2.5 hours between feedings, then a long 3.5 hour one.. back to cluster feeding.. and then a good night with 1 feeding. I wish it were simpler.

But I'm so glad I have a happy baby that is taking in so much right now! She's practicing her "motorboating" for Hudson so they can have something to talk about when he visits this weekend! And she loves to look at herself in the mirror. I know she doesn't realize it's her yet, but she's so interested in herself. And she loves to stand and bounce! I can't believe how much she is changing!

Now, we just have to figure out to get rid of the lingering cradle cap and dry skin.. and the hair on her ears and back..

quirky quirkster

Hello, Troublemaker..

A few months back I started reading Babywise. For some reason a particular point stuck with me.. and now I know why.

Apparently at 2 months, some babies go through a little phase. Note: some. And our child would be part of that some.

Miss Hartley decides around 5am she wants to play. Forget the usual nursing time.. she decides to be fussy until her diaper is changed, she's unswaddled, and she's laying down in our bed. Then, the fun starts.

Smiling, cooing, eeking, kicking. The other night (or morning) Marshall started talking back to her. "Don't talk to her!" I said with a harsh whisper. We don't want her to make this her wakeup time.

While it's really cute, she stayed up for almost an hour. Just talking. Looking around like she had never seen our bedroom before. And this trend has been continuing into other nursing times. She'll nurse for a few minutes before drawing back with a huge grin. And if I try to make her nurse more she gets so upset! All she wants to do is talk. And kick. And stretch. (I'm 50! 50 years old!)

I put her down for a nap a little bit ago.. and of course.. I hear her talking. [oh, her version of talking is just making noises.. she's not that advanced]

Is she just going through a phase right now? Like she's discovered what's really going on around her? She can't get enough of us and the sights and sounds, I guess. I love it that she's a happy baby.. but this whole playing before nursing thing must stop!

hoppy Easter

My life never goes as planned! I lay/lie awake at night anticipating the next day and how cute Hartley will look in her Easter dress and the adorable pictures we'll take.

She'll behave in church and not choke on mommy's milk or spit up all over Marshall. We'll have a wonderful dinner with family and Hartley will sleep through it all, waiting until we finish to wake up. And when it's time to take those pictures, she'll still be wearing the same outfit and not have changed due to said spit up and she'll be smiling.. not crying..

Can you tell how our Easter went?

Quit smiling.. it's not funny.

We actually got a decent family picture in.. with the beautiful wisteria in the background. I know, everyone is so jealous. It took a few shots. The others include Hartley crying, me looking at her, Marshall looking somewhere, etc. And I did not get a picture with us in front of Hartley's magnolia tree.

I thought this was a sweet picture, though. Hartley with her Mema.

We love it when Daddy gets home (he takes over so I can use the bathroom or eat). Hartley loves talking to him so much. She thought it was hilarious when he faked sneeze for her. Ok.. maybe not hilarious.. but she smiled a lot! She doesn't laugh yet.

Her newest face.. she gets really cross-eyed. It scares me. And she loves sticking out her tongue, especially when we give her kisses. Mmm.

We worked on the yard this past weekend putting down sod. It's not finished, so I can't post any pictures. It looks like a completely different yard already! The dogs love it, too! Stay tuned for the reveal!