If you can walk you can dance

Everybody do the Frankenstein

This one's for you Pops.

fridays are my favorite

fridays are my favorite. by this time in the week, most of my to-do list has whittled away and i can really focus and enjoy playing. on monday, jon and i had the great blessing of being able to visit with old friends with new babies. it got me thinking though, of just how quickly time flies and blends together. i was trying to remember when haven hit milestones like sleeping longer through the night and beginning cereal, etc. and couldn't put my finger on when these occurred. so, in the spirit of enjoying the days before they too quickly blur, here's a snapshot of life as we know it. this will surely bore most, but will be my joy to look back on later. 

::haven slept in this morning until 8 (she goes to sleep at 9) and gave me a huge grin when she spotted me coming to get her out of the crib. she doesn't really cry when she wakes up, but like a recurring alarm, let's out a little noise every few minutes/seconds to let us know of her wakeful presence.

::i'm trying to be more conscientious of feeding her 'big kid food' and not just a taste of something or cheerios. she had a piece of homemade banana bread for breakfast with her bottle and leftover manicotti for lunch.

::hae played in the tub today, which was long overdue, but it's just so cold. she loves to 'drink' the washcloth and splash water all over her face.

::of course, because today was the day of her bath, she proceeded to smear tomato sauce and cheese from lunch all throughout her hair. beautiful. i still can't get it all out! :)

::she signs 'all done' and we're trying desperately to teach her 'please'. i think she's close, last night we made a game of it, but she still won't sign it on her own.  

::a switch went off on monday and we've gone from taking a few shaky steps, to all out walking! she's getting good and fast. jon was struck by her ability to walk to a toy in the middle of the room, pick it up, and keep going. 

::she's only taking one nap a day now (sigh) and just went down. before that though, she played for a good ten minutes at opening and shutting the tv cabinet doors. there's a little metal piece that causes them to stick once they've closed, so she really has to pull to get them open, walk around to the other side, push it shut and begin again. i waved at her from across the room while she was doing this and she waved back which made me laugh. she followed too.

::singing solves everything. patty cake is still our no. 1 hit, but zaccheus, old mac donald, the b-i-b-l-e, and itsy bisty spider are up there too.

::she doesn't seem to have a favorite toy, but is currently enamored by beau's tennis ball collection (gross!) he gets really excited when she finds one in a spot that beau couldn't reach (i.e.- under the tv) and waits for her to drop it to make off with the goods. then she crawls after him. it's sorta like fetch. sorta.

::we're trying to make reading a part of our daily routine and hae is great to sit still and listen to the story. she loves to turn the pages back and forth, back and forth.

::peek-a-boo is finally a fun game and doesn't scare haven to jump each time. she loves to play with a blanket or bib, holding it over her face and throwing it down. 

::she's beginning to understand the word 'no' and whines when she doesn't get her way.

::haven's got the best belly laugh (and deep voice) and loves to be tickled and kissed until she's rolling.

10 months!

so curious

 see my new top teeth?

 'kissing' her bear from pops

 we match!

hooray!

haven is keeping us on our toes! she loves to explore and study. her new thing is opening drawers and removing everything it contains. lovely. :) now, we just have to teach her how to put things away! her walking is getting better and better by the day-- she's still most secure in sliding her feet sideways; kinda surfing through the living room. she loves to eat everything! we've begun to share more of 'our' meals with her and she's quick to let us know when she needs more. she's also starting to mimic roles like brushing her hair, wiping her face or putting lotion on-- it's SO cute.

snowmen, gated communities, wonderchairs, and machine guns

it's snowing here at the gated community! no, we didn't move, but we are surrounded by gates and are learning to hurdle well. a certain two-footer (who shall remain nameless) has taken to climbing the stairs at lightening speed, eating toilet paper from the roll (tell me someone else's kid has a fancy for this delicacy!) and splashing in the dog's water-- so our fortress now is complete with gates! i'm watching her now as she tries to find a way around the one at the stairs...

last night jon took his two girls out or a date night. we had fun window shopping at the mall and trying to guess the ages of the middleschool/highschool scene (we're so old...). now, to many of you, this may appear as a lame date; however, with the chill keeping hae and i indoors most days, it was great to get out and walk. another bonus, you don't have to settle on a restaurant-- you can have italian for dinner and then chick-fil-a ice cream for dessert! but, the best part of the date was 10 minutes in the wonderchair. i have no idea what you really call it, but it's immortalized in my mind as the wonderchair. brookstone has this massage chair that costs as much as a new-to-us car would sitting in the back of the store. the ones in the front are just fine for those quickly passing by, but the ones in the back are reserved for the wives of whom's husbands know they exist, ask the sales staff to turn it on, and then take your child on a stroll while you melt into the leather. best. date. ever. (okay, so maybe not ever, but it certainly was great!)

haven has this little toy that was passed down from our neighbor. it's a little steering wheel/car toy with barney's voice telling you to buckle your belt, stop at red, and turn your blinker on-- you're turning left. anyways, there's a little key chain with an pretend keyless entry button. our sweet girl has figured out that if you hold down any said button, the noise will st-st-st-stutter. so this morning as we were all hanging out in bed, jon and i look over wondering how we provided our daughter with a machine gun baby toy. haven released the button on the car and looked up at us and laughed while barney finally anounced 'the doors are locked.'

have yourself a merry little christmas

we had a great time touring around ga for christmas. our flight was a few hours delayed, but we made it just in time to attend a christmas eve service at my parents church. speaking of delays, when traveling to the airport with a baby, make sure you pack more than one diaper. hypothetically speaking of course. surely this didn't happen to us. :)  late that night we made our annual trip to waffle house and got to visit with friends from high school until it was officially christmas. haven spent about 2 hours opening her gift from my parents the next morning. i thought she'd love ripping the paper off of things, but she was way more interested in my parents' plethora of remotes. jon and my dad won the 'best gift' award with tickets to see the Rutgers bowl game-- RU won and they had a blast. haven LOVED my sister (who wouldn't?!) and sought to play with her at every moment. we drove down the following day for haven to meet jon's mom for the first time. it was great. we even enjoyed walking the beach in tee's and dining outdoors. we then detoured albany and visiting my grandparents, sadly, to avoid the stomach bug epidemic. our last day was jammed pack with a tour of the 'world of coke' museum and a wonderful visit with h's firstmom/birthmom. we were pretty anxious leading up to seeing her again, but were soooo thankful for an amazing visit and a chance to tell her 'thank you' for her sacrifice and our joy. hae learned to blow kisses, say 'mama', and dance while in the south. 

we're in business!

while our family was in GA, we saw a little sign at a light declaring that said company would come and pick up your christmas tree for disposal charing $10. jon and i thought, 'what a great idea!'-- we could run around our little town and collect trees, but then to top the idea, we'd use a chipper and sell off the mulch from the gatherings. great idea, right? (except for the fact that we don't have a truck or a chipper...)

so, this morning, jon returns from walking beau, totally frostbitten and beaming. "we're in business!" what? someone *graciously* tossed their ex-christmas tree on our driveway. i was ticked. but, to make matters better, jon and beau found a $10 bill crumpled up on the sidewalk in front of the cemetery! at least they paid in full. :)

happy new year!