15 months

Hartley Caroline!

you are fifteen months old!

• You keep us so busy! You are incredibly silly, challenging, determined, and sweet. We've always said you're a good baby- and now you're a good toddler (so far). You stick to your schedule, you eat your food, and you listen to us. You definitely have your temper tantrums when you don't get your way, but that just means you're growing and changing like you should!

Temper Tantrum #74 (of the day)

• You've added a few more words to your vocabulary: fish (which can be aquarium fish or edible goldfish), tickle (you say it tickah and wiggle your fingers as you attack us. cute.), most of your cousins' names, go (you tell the dogs this and you say it as you dance), ball, bubble, and Abby (from Sesame Street).
• You walk every.where. And you're getting pretty quick! You love being chased and tickled! You really enjoy dancing and walking in circles.

I can't believe you're still taking pictures..

• You're down to one nap a day and usually you'll sleep 3-4 hours, from 1-5pm. You wake up 1-2 times during the nap, cry for a few seconds, but go back to sleep. This is the most amazing thing!
• I can tell you're really figuring out toys and how to properly play with them. With puzzles, you don't just throw the pieces. You gently try to put them back on the board, obviously not in the right place but close enough. You sit down with your books and flip the pages- all by yourself. It's funny to watch you climb into the infant seat, situate yourself and "read" a book.

• You're also deliberate with your cups and spoons. I've watched you drink out of your sippy cup, and instead of throwing it from your high chair, you place it on the tray very carefully. Food is another story. We're working on that. :) You also like to help hold your spoons and feed yourself. Getting food on the spoon is a challenge right now.
• You have successfully peepeed on the potty once. It was great. You haven't since. Instead you peed in front of the backdoor and Daddy thought one of the dogs did it. Haha.

• You love sitting at your table and playing with toys/reading books/looking at pictures. You test us a lot with standing in the chairs. You know you're not supposed to, but will stand in them until I notice and then smile at me and squat down really quick. And then pop right back up. We have to control our laughter while we discipline you a lot. :) You also ate at a little table for Easter dinner. We can't believe you sat there the entire time and ate your food. You're growing up so quickly!

Happy and Naked!

• One of my favorite things you've been doing lately is when we pray before dinner. When you started eating table food and sitting with us, Daddy would hold your hand while he prayed. Now- you offer both your hands to us. It's the sweetest thing! We're still working on "amen."
• I see your Daddy in you so much. Your expressions. Your features. Your interest in birds and flowers. Trucks. Tools. You love riding in your wagon and exploring in the yard. But then you are so girly and love jewelry, shoes, and purses!

Hartley. You make us laugh so much. You want to be so independent, but you have to be so close to us at the same time. I love helping you put on your shoes- I squat down and you hold onto my shoulders, lifting one foot at a time. I just don't know where you learned that so quickly!

We can't tell if you're a Daddy or Momma's girl yet. You definitely cling to me, especially when you're tired. But you love playing with Daddy and copying everything he says or does. You laugh a lot for him- and it's the cutest giggle!

This stage is exhausting (for us) and challenging, but so much fun! Will you please stop growing up? Please? (See how nicely I asked, you should try it..)

around the house

We've definitely been recovering from this weekend! So far this week, Hartley and I have slept in until.. 9:30am. I feel like such a horrible mom when I wake up and realize how late it is and that Hartley should have already eaten breakfast.

Apparently this sleepy thing doesn't mind. After her afternoon nap she wants to lay down again. Only this time in the dog bed. I'm wondering if she's ready to try out her toddler bed (it's the convertible crib kind). My only reservation is that she'll wake up and get out of her bed and find drawers to get into.

And this morning she found MY chocolate bunny. She even pulled it out of the package by herself! I figured why not. She already ate a good breakfast and we refused to give her any chocolate last night since she wouldn't say please.

 I'm just waiting to find chocolate hand prints somewhere. So far, so good.

She really liked it! And yesterday we played with homemade bubbles on the kitchen floor. This is a great  way to clean the floor and entertain a toddler.. who can say "bubbles!"

Wal-Mart has their Easter items 50% off so we got real bubbles today. And something sweet for Daddy. :)

silly rabbit, Easter is for Jesus

Happy Easter from Us!

We had a wonderfully busy and appetizing weekend with our families! My Momma and Jim came for a quick visit. See how Momma is so tan. And Hartley is so.. white.

Hartley is always a little shy at first with folks she doesn't see often. But it didn't take long for her to warm up. She was definitely her silly self by Sunday morning. For those wondering about the appetizing weekend- we dined on grilled pizza (yes, the homemade variety), ribs, and grilled chicken wings. And not to mention- sweet potato fries.

A few weeks ago I planned on actually buying an Easter dress for myself. I haven't specifically bought a dress for Easter since.. well since my parents bought my clothes. And I got Hartley's dress on clearance either last year or before she was even born. That's how I roll shop.

But then I realized- I can sew my own dress. So I did. I went the "cut a tank top in half and add fabric" route. I added a sash around the middle and topped it off with a cardigan.

Hartley went Egg Hunting many times this year, too. She doesn't exactly understand she's hunting for egss as much as she enjoys picking them up and putting them in a bag/basket. She does understand some eggs have prizes and especially liked a bracelet that she found.

She visited real bunnies with her cousins on Wednesday. Caleb was holding one of the bunnies by the ears at one point. It was pretty hilarious.

Anna Kate is such a sweetheart!

And Hartley kept calling the bunny a "baybee!!"

We can't get over how grown up she's looking! I keep correcting myself when I call her my baby. She's a toddler. :(

I made her pillowcase dress with the leftover fabric from another dress I made myself. Unfortunately her dress was washed accidentally with something red and I haven't been able to get the red out. :(

We've had a super busy Easter week. And I'm very ready to relax. At least for a few days!

what's going on

This whole toddlerhood and taking one nap a day is so exhausting! We've been keeping Hartley preoccupied in the morning by getting out- shopping, playdates, more shopping. And then by the time we get home, have lunch and put Hartley down for her nap- all I do is sew and rest. So, please don't come visit and complain about the dog hair everywhere.

Last week we went to visit Marshall's Grandmama in Arabi.

Hartley tried to eat bubbles.

She kinda got the blowing. Kinda not.

Caleb turned 2 this week! We'll be celebrating on Saturday!

We also got to visit with Bess and Isaiah this week since Mema is keeping them!

Hartley is getting amazing fast at walking! After she takes a ride in her wagon, she likes pushing it around. We have to help hold it so she doesn't push it too fast and fall.

Our church is having an Easter Egg hunt this Sunday, after church and lunch. It will be a long morning/early afternoon, so we'll see how Hartley is doing and then decide if she can participate.

And in addition to walking, Hartley has added numerous words/names to her vocabulary in the past week. She sees fish at Mema's and Aunt Rebecca's (as well as Wal-mart) and eats goldfish almost everyday, so her word for fish is "ish." And after spending so much time with her cousins she can them all (on Marshall's side). Nana for Anna. Buh for Bess. Kay-yah for Caleb. and I-ay-yah (or something) for Isaiah. And Mommie/Meme for Mema!

And.. we have entered into toddler temper tantrums. Kicking. Screaming. Hitting the floor. We're there.

tomboy to girly girl

I'm not gonna lie. Hartley isn't always dressed up. She usually runs (almost running..) around with mismatched clothes or no clothes, and definitely no hair bow. So, if you drop by on a whim.. this is what you'll most likely see.

Apparently we have a no shirt, no shoes, no popsicle policy around here.

But today I had the urge to sew. HobLob had patterns on sale for 99cents. Yes, please. I bought clearance fabric a few weeks ago and decided it would be perfect for a pillowcase dress.

And I have to say. It is perfect!

We spent a good 30 minutes walking up and down the driveway while we waited for Daddy to arrive home.

 

We did come inside for a few minutes to start dinner. Somebody wasn't happy about that. She found a purse, came up and was waving byebye.

So outside we went. Again.

Now. I'm thinking. Am I ambitious enough to start an etsy and sell my creations? Shoes, dresses, hairbows?? There are so many other people out there that do.. what's one more?? Whatcha think?

T@ste 0f @thens

We went to Athens over the weekend to visit this kid..

It had been almost four months since we had visited with the Gurleys.. and even longer since we saw the Bates.

The remainder of the post is dedicated to Erika, who either took the picture or made it into the picture.

She busted out the bubbles, which Hartley hasn't seen before.. and she loved them!

 

"Blowing" the bubbles, too.

Of course she had to find shoes throughout the weekend.

Mollyanne was a great hostess and put Marshall to work right away. When we visited them in August, Marshall was cutting the grass shortly after we arrived. This weekend he helped put their fence back up after a tree fell, and then he decided to chop down more trees due to an invasion of caterpillars.

After the kiddos went to bed we invented a new game- Truth or Dominoes. Maybe we need to change it to Truth or Dare-minoes. Just a thought. The night included wedgies.

Ice in your pants. Or shirt.

Pesto eating.

Thumb war and other friendliness.

And many wardrobe changes..

Hartley had a great time with Hudson- who named her Hotdog. She really enjoyed climbing up their stairs! Speaking of climbing- this is what she does all the time.

She's been scooting her chairs around and climbing on them. Yesterday I was sitting at the computer and turned around to find her peeking over the top of the couch- she pushed her chair behind it, crawled up, and was trying to get even higher. I panicked and got her, but I was so tempted to get a picture. It was the cutest thing.

Hartley got a new tooth over the weekend, without much trouble! She's consistently been taking 1 nap a day.. until yesterday. She made it 8 days. Around 5:30pm yesterday she was getting fussy and rather snuggly with me. I opted for a nap. Plus- I was able to get dinner ready. She's also taking a morning nap right now. Teething + snotty nose = fussy, clingy baby. And I have laundry to do!