Then dad and hyrum got their fishing poles. Sticks with string. They started throwing shiney things into the water that were attached to the string. Over and over, in and out, in and out. Mom and I just played on the shore. We did that for way too long because I got really hungry and tired. Plus, it was way past my nap time. Daddy put me back in the backpack because he said we were ready to leave, then he stopped and said There's a fish! and they threw the shiney things back into the water. We didn't come back with any "fish" but it was a good morning. I slept for 3 hours once we got home. So did Mommy and Daddy.
Loves and Learns: Hailey loves bobby pins. Random little girl. She will hang onto them or just stick them in her mouth like it's a wheat strand or toothpick. She also loves pulling out the dvds or books... we usually have to reshelve our whole collection each night. Hailey started taking her first steps the middle of last month. Since then she has mastered the skill and is working on going faster and farther. When she gets tired, she falls or loses her balance more. She's learning how to throw things. This will be fun. So far it's only been balls and small objects from around the house. No food yet.
Hailey's birthday was on Tuesday. We made confetti cupcakes on Wednesday. I've ben sick and super tired so I asked Joel to finish the cupcakes by making the cream cheese frosting. I woke up almost two hours later and Joel had tried but failed in the cream cheese frosting. And I had slept so long that Joel only had 15 minutes to get ready and go to work. We attempted the frosting the next day but it was unsalvagable. Hailey enjoyed the cupcake though even though it didn't have frosting. So the cake thing wasn't a huge success like you might see in other blogs or scrapbooks, but she did have fun unwrapping one gift each day that led up to her birthday. Now she gets to enjoy playing with new toys and wearing some fun new outfits.
Our tomato plants that we planted a month ago are starting to grow! The tomatoes have been up and down. The cherry plant has done well from the beginning. The Oregon tomato plant-more like a hamburger tomato- has struggled and struggled and I'd given up on it planning to rip it out and replace it, BUT it has continued to grow and is now starting to look alive and healthy. I don't know if it really made a difference, but I switched from watering the plants in the morning to watering them in the evening. I also trimmed back all the dead springs on the bottom since they weren't improving. The cherry tomato plant is definitely trying to produce already. We've picked off multiple sprigs of flowers. We want it to grow a little more before it produces fruit. The other one has a ways to go. I figure though that the summer is still young and we have plenty of time-3 months, maybe 4-for things to grow. I enjoy sitting out on the porch at night surrounded by green tomato plants, purples and red hanging flowers in their pots and a couple little herb plants. With the finishing touch of hailey's colorful foam mats as flooring, it completes the picture. Those small changes have completely changed the vibe from last year when it was just a chair and extra junk or trash boxes that we hadn't taken out yet. It's a cozy enjoyable little porch now. It's by far my favorite part of our apartment.
Hailey's looking more and more like a little girl instead of a baby. Maybe it's just that we have her in shorts and t-shirts instead of onsies. I can't describe it exactly, but it's happening. She knows how to open and close doors as long as they are't latched. She's chunked out a little bit more instead of being so stick skinny. She eats a lot. Did I mention that Sunday she ate a whole PBJ sandwich. It took her a while but she did it. Then it was play time. She gets bored with movies and would rather explore everywhere. She also has come to realize the fun a game of hide and seek/chase can be.
Don't you just Love her!
When Hailey was first born there were many people who asked, "Don't you just love her?!" "Are you excited to be a mom?" and many more questions along those same lines. To be honest I couldn't answer yes to most of their questions. I dodged them somehow. My love didn't come automatically. It wasn't just there! No, I wasn't excited to be a mom. Things had all gone so fast, Joel and I hadn't even been married a full 9 months since she came early, there had been so much drama, I was exhausted and life was hard and about to get even harder! Hailey had colic and would scream and cry after eating. She'd arch her back and you could tell she was in pain but we didn't know what to do. What did we do? We tried gripe water, probiotics, and a bunch of other things... We eventually figured out that dairy was causing much of the colic, so I cut out dairy in all forms from my diet. Did you know that even simple hard candies have a dairy byproduct in them. Salad dressings. Most restaurant menus, everything! Did this make me happy or love her? Not really. It made me hungry and cranky and many times I remember tearing up because I was so hungry because everything had dairy in it and I didn't know how to cook dairy free yet. Those first 12 weeks were a mess. I was a mess. Sure we had good moments but I still hadn't come to the "I love being a parent!" "I want more!" "Oh my goodness, life just can't get any better with a newborn."Time passed. We figured out the dairy thing and how to cook/eat but Hailey still struggled with her eating. She wasn't getting enough. We passed that hurdle. We didn't know that she was crying uncontrollably at night because she was tired and wanted to be put down instead of being held. We passed that hurdle. We learned a schedule that worked for her and managed our lives to work around that. As she grew we found the small things to enjoy. I would say that a major turning point in our love lives was when Joel was on medical leave for 6 months. It allowed him and her and all of us to learn to pay more attention to each other. It still takes effort for us to not get absorbed into the millions of worthless, consuming, pointless things vying for our attention but when we just sit and watch her we usually find something to laugh about or enjoy.
This past week and a half since Hailey has turned one, we've really seen a lot of developmental growths that make her tons of fun. She's learning to interact with the world and the people in it. Things, objects, people, kids, animals, everything! We've been fishing with Dad. We've been swimming. We've been on shopping excursions where she wondered around the isles and played hide and seek/peek a boo. We've played chase and I See You. We've been to the pound to look at dogs and hear her giggle. She's starting to recognize pictures of people and things that she likes.
What brought all of this out? It was well past 7, her normal bedtime, but I could tell that she wasn't quite tired. She had taken a late and long nap. She ate and then we played. I watched her find balls and toss them or chase after them. I watched her stack blocks, try to climb into her her crib, climb over me, get attacked and tickled and giggle uncontrollably, come running back to me with a golf ball and a drier wool ball just so I could throw them again, and then we played chase/peek-a-boo around the house and in the bedroom, on the bed and around it... I listened to her giggle with pure joy and run towards me with open arms and a happy face and fall into my arms. I found myself laughing with her. Sure I loved my little girl, but this is a whole different level. I think that is what people are asking about when we first had a baby. They knew something that we didn't and I'm finally catching on.
Now onto the other subject, the question, "Are you excited for another one?" "How are you feeling?" "Wow they are going to be close together!" I think the excitement will be delayed like it was with Hailey. I'm feeling fine other than being super susceptible to colds and flus. I usually do my best to make it to the gym most days and swim and do weights. I try to go about life as though pregnancy isn't something that's going to interfere or cause a major burden. Yes I get heartburn and reflux, which I've never had to deal with before, but I'm trying not to let that get me down. As for sleep, well Joel comes home right around potty break time so I would have been woken up for one reason or another. The last part... Yes they will be close together 14-15 months apart. I'm sure it will be a huge challenge but it will hopefully make for great friendships between Hailey and Emilee. Hailey loves playing with other kids and eventually she'll have a permanent one. She just has to wait a little while for Emilee to grow up some. Also I'd rather have two years where it's consistent that I'm just not going to get sleep or food or relaxation time or or or... But then we plan on having a 3-4 year break in between. Many times I've asked Joel, "Is it selfish of me to not want any more kids for a few years so that I can get healthy and put my body back in shape?" He responds, "Absolutely not!" Many women feel that that is their purpose to produce offspring and sometimes that seems like their only purpose. But at what cost? I have known relatives and friends who have large families or children all close together but it has come at the cost of bedrest and other health issues. My thought is that a healthy mom is a happy mom. And everyone loves a happy mom vs a grumpy one.
It has been a roller coaster year and I'm sure the next one won't be too much different. At least we have the idea of what to do and what to look forward to this time though. Don't forget the important things in life. As cliche as it is, they usually aren't things.
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