Eleven Months Old

Haley is eleven months old! She has certainly changed a lot in the past month. She is mobile, and also fearless, goofy, and outspoken. We weighed her at JT’s three year checkup, and she hasn’t cracked the fifteen pound mark quite yet. Our little peanut is, however, eating lots of food. She ate one quarter of my grilled cheese sandwich the other day. Her motto at the table is “I want what you have. And a cracker.” Now that I’ve switched to store bought, organic, expensive baby food, she’s eating it up and started signing “more.” I guess the girl knows what she wants.

Her new interest is putting things in and out. Nesting boxes and shape sorters are perfect for this stage, and she’s been enjoying both. This also means she can be involved in clean up time. Tonight she put all of the farm set toys in the bin by herself. “Nice job, Haley!” exclaimed JT. Here is a little clip of this new skill.


I really need to get a picture of her with her toy phone. Everytime she hears a phone ring, she holds her hand up to her ear and says “Ay-ya.” She has also started trying to comb her own hair, put barrettes in, and point to what she wants. Here she is snuggled with Dad watching a little bit of Toy Story 2 before nap. It’s the first time she’s really noticed a movie and we thought the snuggling was very cute.
She is eating cheese now like a professional: string and grated cheddar. My mom stuck her in the kitchen sink the other day while she was making dinner and had to keep the cheddar coming pretty quickly!

Haley sleeps almost exclusively on her tummy now. When I lay her in her crib, she rolls immediately. Sometimes she sleeps as though she was sitting and then just fell flat on her face. She is very flexible, so I imagine it’s pretty comfy. Usually, she ends up with red spots on her forehead from where she was jammed into the crib slats because she sleeps so close to the edge of the bed.

Haley continues to be a cheerful, funny little girl. She thinks things are soooo funny. We have noticed that, where JT has always been pretty mellow, she is more highs and lows. When she is happy, everyone knows it. And when she is not, well, everyone knows that too.
We recently discovered pigtails. Haley’s had these little duck curls on the back of her hair for awhile and the unevenness is bugging me. I saw little hair bands at the store while I was buying her new barrettes and I thought, that’s what I’ll do with that hair! I can’t even tell you how adorable she looks. I love it!

Meanwhile, here she is coloring with JT. Literally. She picked up a crayon and scribbled. JT was generous enough to let her color in his Cars book with him. He really is so sweet to her. They are spending a lot more time “playing” together and it makes me sigh with happiness. See? This is why we prayed to have two! They have lots of sharing practice to do, and Haley only wants whatever JT has, so it’s keeping me on my toes. She is downright goofy at times and is not at all afraid to wrestle with JT. The other night he was trying to watch a little bit of Up and she kept head-butting him and laughing so hard she could barely stay on her hands and knees. It was hilarious! 
We had a break in the ugly weather today and I got a couple pictures outside.
Then JT let Haley build towers with him today in his room before dinner. I love how she is staring at him thinking, “How do you do that?” She tried to stack a few herself, with little success. 🙂
Crash!
A secret…
Last but not least, tonight they were crazy in the tub. Haley has been getting bolder in the water and splashing like crazy. Sometimes she gets so worked up she tips over, which is always scary for me for the split second she’s under the water. She recovers quickly so it must not be too frightening for her (again, fearless).

At the Dentist

JT had his three-year-old dentist check-up this week. He did an outstanding job! He let them inspect, brush, floss, polish, scrape, and flouride paste his teeth without complaint. He loved being in charge of the suction device and enjoyed watching Tom & Jerry on the TV above his head. 🙂 I realized while we were there that I was going to have to come back in a month for Haley, so I asked if they could squeeze her in. After watching her brother, she knew just what to do! The hygenist was cracking up at little Haley in the big chair. Everyone got a good report, and JT picked a car for his prize on the way out. Big shock.

Party On!

JT had a fabulous birthday. We kicked off his birthday a little early by giving him his new bike and helmet the Monday before so he could enjoy it with Jim before the work week began. We took the pedals off so he could ride it like a scoot bike until he gets used to balancing. Unfortunately, that didn’t impress JT. 🙂

After “riding” it with Jim, he decided he wanted the pedals back off. So off they came. And then he went for a little test ride.

His new bike is maybe one inch too tall… sad. He needs just a bit more leg before he can balance and scoot well. Meanwhile, he loves his new helmet with the Harley flames (“It’s just like Dad’s!”).

Then the real deal – his birthday began with the traditional birthday song at wake-up time. I mentioned awhile ago that JT sleeps like a hiberating bear, and wakes up just as grumpy if it’s not spring yet. This is a great example… this is the kid who sleeps in on Christmas!

Once he woke up all the way, things moved right along. He got to open presents before breakfast because Jim had to rush off to work.

Then we tried out some of his gifts… finger paints and a new puzzle.

After lunch, he got to Skype and open presents with Grandma and Grandpa Keene. He loves his new backpack (and knew how to put it on all by himself). He practically came out of the chair with excitement when he opened his new Mack from Cars!

After nap, he Skyped with Aunt Gena, Preston, Madi, and Ali. Then for dinner, Grandpa and Grandma Cole came over. JT got to open more presents: lots of cars and trucks! JT commented to me later, “I like things with trailers.” 🙂

During dinner, JT got a special phone call from his friend Asher wishing him a happy birthday. He was so excited. (Aunt Jennifer called too!)

Haley had fun rolling JT’s new ball with Grandpa Cole.

We had yummy ice cream sundaes for dessert. What a wonderful birthday!

The next day, JT had his party. It was a little rainy but we had a good time anyway. Haley was pretty tired for the time we spent at the Kids’ Festival in the park.


Elisa and Gracelyn


World Cup-style kicking!


Swing, batter girl!


The Kraft family working on model airplanes


Dad and JT making their airplane


JT trying out his plane


So fun!

We went back to our house for a birthday lunch. Haley was happy to get some food!

We were supposed to eat at the park, but the rain had other plans. So we had a pizza picnic on the floor instead.

When I told JT about the kids singing him happy birthday, he said, “And will they be wearing hats?” 🙂 Yes, of course. Haley didn’t mind wearing her hat at all.

The kids got to each pick a cupcake with a Hot Wheels car on top. JT got to pick first!


Yum!
After the party, JT opened a few presents from friends. He got some cool police gear (check out the giant revolver in his pocket).

After dinner, he opened a couple more from friends… a new construction set, a Cars 2 jet launcher, and a remote control Mater. He played with one thing at a time until bed time.


Pajama play time with Mater

I think part of what made his birthday(s) so fun and relaxing is that nothing was overwhelming for him. He got to play with everything he opened for a while before it was time to open something else. We had a great time watching JT turn three. The best part of all was at bedtime after his party, when I asked JT what he wanted to be thankful for in his prayer. I expected him to say one of his new toys or his party, but he said he was most thankful for Grandma and Grandpa Keene – who weren’t even here. What a sweetheart. 🙂

Brotherly Love

Since Haley started crawling, things have really changed around our house. (Translation: every two seconds, I am checking on someone.) Haley is constantly on the move, and JT has forgotten she is a baby. Most of the time, this works out okay. Haley thinks JT is sooooo funny, and she puts up with a lot. JT is careful, about half the time, to not completely bowl her over. I’ve even seen him help ease her to the floor as he playfully knocks her over from sitting. It’s tough to enforce the “gentle” rule while Haley is laughing. Yesterday I caught him pulling her down the hallway by her hands as she slid along on her tummy. This doesn’t seem like a good idea. But then again, she was giggling, so when I said, “JT, stop, you could hurt her,” he responded with, “But she likes it!” Hmph.

The upside is that things are really getting fun around here. The kids are playing and laughing like they haven’t before. I compiled a train of pictures into a quick video clip. At the beginning is also a clip of Haley pressing buttons on a toy, a recent new skill for her.

Plum Easy

Has any of the following happened to you?

1. Your child wants to self-feed but doesn’t have the ability to eat a lot of different foods yet.
2. You are out somewhere and your baby needs to eat. And you didn’t pack a bib, a bowl, a spoon, a high chair, wipes, and – that’s right – baby food.
3. Your child doesn’t finish the whole jar of baby food, and now you have to either a) feel guilty about tossing it, or b) feel guilty about keeping it with, supposedly, all its scary bacteria blooming.
4. You are tired of carrying clunky bowls or jars of baby food with you.
5. All of the above.

Thank you Elisa, for introducing me to a grand solution. I had bought baby food for Haley for our recent camping trip because it’s nearly impossible to pack homemade baby food camping, and, after all, it’s my vacation too. I was squirting this little packets of food into bowls and feeding them to Haley. As you may have read, Haley really wants to be in charge of her own meals. But she can’t spoon feed herself, and she can’t eat that many chunky foods yet (although the list is growing rapidly).

My friend Elisa saw our little battle and casually mentioned that sometimes when she is out and about and running behind schedule, she just hands an open pack to her one-year-old son and he sucks it down himself. No mess, no spoon, fed baby. Done. I thought, “Oh no, this sounds very easy.” So I handed it to Haley, and on her first attempt, she sucked down an entire packet of food plus another half. This is more solid food than she has ever eaten in a sitting. And I didn’t have to do a thing.

There’s the oh no – it’s too easy. Don’t forget to actually interact with your child, teach good eating habits, show them how to eat off a spoon, and spend quality time together as you hand your child a packet they can suck down while you’re grocery shopping. 🙂

Anyway, this is my new favorite trick. I now keep a packet in my diaper bag for crisis-type occassions and, if she’s already eaten most of her food from the spoon, I let Haley finish off the bag on her own. Dare I try to squeeze the remnants north for her like a toothpaste tube – that would mean taking the packet away, and that is met with staunch opposition.

p.s. I really like Plum Organics combinations. I tried Happy Baby and they’ve upset Haley’s tummy twice!

Banks Lake – First Trip

We had such a great time at our first Banks Lake trip of the summer. When we arrived, JT asked, “Where are Preston, Madi, and Ali?” We assured him they would be there for our second trip in August. 🙂 For now, he was busy with his friends Asher, Gracelyn, Abby, and Tyson, along with his very busy sister.

We arrived Sunday and spent most of the time getting organized. It was a zoo to have six adults and six kids ages three and under. Thank goodness the ladies organized meals ahead of time so each of us only had to cook dinner once – such a time saver! The 4th of July celebration at Grand Coulee Dam was just okay, but I’ve always wanted to go so now I can scratch it off my bucket list. Our site was perfect and the water was great.

Highlights:

  • JT skiied. That’s right, he did it. Behind the boat, for real. There aren’t any pictures, so you’ll have to take our word for it. But we do have witnesses!
  • JT and Asher tubed behind the boat – regular speed, no adults. I think this is very brave!
  • Jim and our friend Elisa ran to the top of Steamboat Rock. For fun.
  • The adults sat around making smores, eating ice cream, drinking fun concoctions, and talking until 1 AM – then our kids woke up at 6 AM. Oops.

I took almost 300 pictures in four days and posted my favorite eight here. If you’d like to see the top 30 on Facebook, click here.


The girls on the beach


My beautiful baby girl


Happy Fourth of July!


Ladies’ boat time while the men took the kids – loved it!


This can’t be comfortable.


Haley’s first tube ride!


JT’s first solo – age 2


So. Much. Fun.

Skiing, 5-and-under style

We had a marvelous time hanging out at the Hagermans’ lake cabin last weekend. JT thinks Eli is so cool (and he is).

We brought our boat and the trainer ski, and look what happened next…


Eli, age 4


Skiing in open water!


Not to be outdone, Sadie, age 3

Sadie snuggles with her Papa later on

It was so fun to watch! JT was uninspired. Sadie fell and now JT keeps saying that he doesn’t want to ski and fall in the lake. Hmph. Eli and Sadie will be with us at Banks Lake in August, so maybe he’ll get inspired then.

Haley was certainly not out of the action. All four Hagerman kids were completely enamored with her and she certainly got her share of attention. 🙂

Outdoor Play

With the weather improving the kids are having fun outside together, which I love. Haley thought sitting in the grass was weird until she got used to it, but she didn’t want to crawl anywhere. She’s been sitting on blankets her whole life but finally the grass is dry enough to sit in without one!


Headed for the bubbles!

The other thing JT is learning is how to avoid making Haley scream. This series of pictures cracks me up.

1. You might see the problem coming here, as JT prepares to do a test swing…

2. After knocking Haley over on the deck, JT scrambles to recover… “I’m sorry, Haley!”(I hear that a lot.)

3. JT decides to maybe put the bat away for awhile. His face is classic. It’s like he’s thinking, “Oh heavens, I didn’t mean to, so make her stop.”

Haley’s Dedication

We had the opportunity to have Haley dedicated at our church’s annual barbecue this past week. It is a time for us to commit that we will do everything we can to raise Haley in a Christian home and give her every opportunity to choose to walk with the Lord in her life. We invited the grandparents and local aunt and uncle and we had a wonderful time. She is such a little blessing in our lives!


Grandma Keene, happy as can be


JT laughing at Jim’s jokes


Haley eyed Pastor Mark suspiciously


We are all praying… look what JT is doing!


Ready for cupcakes!


Blowing raspberries


Love the hairclip, Michelle. 🙂