Oh Hailey...

Does anyone else's kid...

take off their shoes every time they're in the car?

or get Grams to share her Tootsie Pop?

or love to feed herself mashed potatoes?

or how about like to help Mommy unload the groceries?

or fold clothes?

Anyone?...or are these just sweet Hailey quirks?

Working Hard

My mom and dad came up to Raleigh this weekend to help with the new house. We (well really, "they", because I was with Hailey most of the time) got SO much done! They pretty much painted our entire house!

They painted the master bedroom gray

And the living room, foyer, stairs and upstairs hallway a taupe color.

Mom painting...she wasn't too happy that I took this picture, but she painted a LOT

They hung light fixtures and fans,

and we all cleaned up plaster and popcorn ceiling.

(This is how Hailey and I do a lot of things...attached at the hip, literally. Dad thought it was funny, but I'm just used to it now.)

We started painting the kitchen but didn't quite finish it. I was excited because I actually got to help paint, and with a cute "mini" roller!

We also started to pack up the apartment, although packing with a toddler isn't the most productive thing I've ever done...

It was a great, productive weekend! I can't believe we finally move into our house in a week!

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day from my little valentine! (who is trying to open a bag of cookies in this picture...I guess she knows that Valentines Day is about sweets)

It took quite a lot of work to get this one picture. Hailey never stops moving now and it's almost impossible to get a non-blurry, smiling picture. Because I think they are funny and they show my little stinker's personality here are a few of the out-takes...

Smelling flowers

not too bad...with cookie in her mouth

running away from me laughing and taking her bow out

Ryan taught her out to "hike" a football and now she does this all the time

She's too cute! And just a fun update, she now claps her hands to "If You're Happy and You Know It", can give kisses and tell you what a sheep, lion and lizard say. (I forgot to add those to her 11 month post) This is such a fun age and I'm loving every minute of it!

Random Sunday Pictures

Here are a few random pictures from yesterday.

After our Life Class is over on Sundays, I pick Hailey up from the nursery and take her upstairs to say hi to everyone and so Ryan and I can talk to people. She is fascinated by Jared and his guitar every week, so yesterday he played her a little song. Isn't this cute?!

Last night I decided to try to put Hailey's hair in pigtails because it's getting so long (we like to call it her baby mullet style). So ignore the mismatched bows and the fact that they aren't quite even because I think she is just precious in her first pigtails!

My baby is growing up!

House Progress

So I know everyone's been waiting on pins and needles for an update on the new house. Ha! Yeah right!

But things are coming along with it. All of the ceilings have been scraped free of popcorn. Ryan has had a lot of help from great friends to get it done. Here are a few pictures of the action.

First you spray the ceiling with water...in your hazmat suit :)

 

Then you scrape the popcorn off

Little by little

If you're lucky if comes off in a huge sheet!

Pretty, smooth ceiling

Then you have to prime and paint it

And if you're really lucky, you get a cute little helper!

Hailey's room is the only room that's totally done; ceilings, walls and all. It makes me so excited to finally see her room with paint on the walls.

Before

Just a peek at the color...it's a light purple

It's exciting to see the house become what we want it to be. We still have a long ways to go, but we are making progress. We have had so much help from friends and family to get us to this point and we are so thankful. We've hit a small snag in the progress because most of the ceilings are having to have at least 2 coats of paint on them, so it's taking longer than we anticipated. We (well, mostly me I think) are ready to get it all finished and finally get in the house.

 

Most of the time when the house is being worked on, Hailey and I are at the apartment, away from the flying dust and plaster. But in case you're wondering how Hailey entertains herself during our trips to the house to say hello...

11 months!

My baby is only 1 month away from turning 1 year old! I can't believe how fast this year has gone.

Hailey weighs just over 20 pounds and wears 12 months clothes. She wears a size 3 1/2 wide shoe. (As the lady at Stride Rite put it, her foot is "fluffy") She is still in size 3 diapers. She still sleeps from about 8 pm- 6:30 am on a good night. The last week or so we haven't had a lot of good nights thanks to a cold and teething. Grrrr. She now has 7 teeth and I'm hoping that 8th one pops thru soon.

Hailey nurses about 4-5 times a day and eats 3 meals of table food. No more baby food for this kid! She loves grilled cheese and mixed diced veggies the best (peas being her favorite!). She also loves mandarin oranges and pears. She's still not a big meat eater except for chicken nuggets but we still try lots of meats. Hailey is so funny; if you give her something she doesn't like she'll put it in her mouth to taste it but then open her mouth and just let it fall off of her tongue.

Hailey still loves to be read to and we do it often throughout the day. She is playing more and more independently and with her toys. She's to the point now that she knows she doesn't have to be in the same room with us and will often just take off walking around the apartment until she finds something to get into. Most of the time, she carries something with her as she walks. Usually it's Bobo (the stuffed dog) or her new love "Bear" (one of the little blankets that has an animal head attached to the middle of it). It's so cute to see her walking around with a "friend"!

Exploring Daddy's work

We've gone to the park a few times and Hailey loves it! She likes to swing and we've tried the little slide a few times too. She likes just walking around outside as much as actually swinging or sliding though. Hailey just likes to walk...she's always moving! We went to the church to see Ryan one day this week and Hailey just walked out the door of his office and down the hall, and then into someone else's office and said "hi". My little social butterfly! She always says hi to people if we're out shopping too.

Hailey can wave bye-bye and say "bye, hi, mama, dada, Bobo, and Bear" (which sounds more like "be-ah") Her favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes home from work. She always walks as fast as she can over to the door and raises her arms for him to pick her up. I love that she loves her Daddy!

I can't believe that at this time next month she will be 1! We love you Hailey!




Just for laughs, this is one of the pictures I got while trying to take them for her 11 month shot

Weekend Review

Hailey and I traveled to Charlotte for a few days this weekend. We had a wedding shower for Mary Katherine on Saturday so we made an extended weekend out of it. Did I take any pictures of the shower, you know the reason we went in the first place? Nope. But I did get some cute ones of my girl.

Playing at Grams and Gramps' house

Hailey discovered the stairs while we were gone. She's never noticed them before and since we don't have any in our apartment has never tried to climb them. I blocked her out for the first few days, mostly because we were busy getting things ready for the shower and I knew she would sneak over when I wasn't looking.

Well we didn't have her blocked out today before we left and she gave climbing a try. She loved it and was so proud of herself!

Here she is at the top! The hallway upstairs overlooks the living room and Hailey had a blast looking at everyone below and waving and telling them "hi".

I have to share this picture I took of Hailey this morning at church. Doesn't her look just say teenager attitude? Is this a glimpse of what I'm in for?

Here she is after church. Wiped out!

See! No pictures of a wedding shower or Mary Katherine at all! I wasn't too good this weekend; was I? The only other picture I took was of Tucker going into the pantry to eat his snack so that Hailey wouldn't take any from him. Ha!

While we were gone, Ryan and a bunch of guys were working on our house! They got so much done! I was so excited and amazed to see all that they had done when we got back. I am so thankful for friends that are willing to give up their Saturday to help us. I can't wait to show you all pictures as rooms get finished and we move in!

Oh well. Maybe I'll do better with pictures next trip.