My sweet Hiley Lou is now a 1 year old. This post is coming to you a few days after her birthday, which was August 26th.

Weight: 23 pounds 10 oz putting her in the 75%

Height:  29 inches putting her in the 50%

Eating:  She is and always has been a very good eater.  She is not picky about anything and will eat anything I give her.  In the morning she will have oatmeal and some fruit and usually a few bites of whatever I’m having.  That is a new thing, anything I’m eating, she has to have.  I feel like this Hiley diet may work out well for me  She has 12 oz of soy milk a day.  We tried whole milk a few months back, and she threw up everywhere.  Since giving her soy she hasn’t had a problem.  I do give her some cheese here and there and she seems to tolerate that just fine.

Sleeping:  Still sleeping through the night and still on our same schedule of down by 7 and up at 8 the next morning.  The last couple of weeks she has started playing, rather than sleeping, at one of her naps.  If she has a good nap in the morning, she will just play in her bed when I put her down for her 2nd nap and will sometimes decide to fall asleep or just take a power nap for 15 minutes.  She is perfectly happy in there hanging out and playing, so for now, I’m going to stick to our schedule and keep doing our thing.

Clothing:  12 months and up, nothing smaller than that.  We were so blessed to get lots of new clothes for her birthday which were MUCH needed!  I really had hardly anything for this stage and above so it was a blessing to get all that we did.

Likes:  To climb on boxes, to play hide and seek with us, to hug, this kid seriously loves to give hugs and it is the most adorable thing ever!  Loves water, such a little water baby, this pointing game we play with her, little people, she enjoys being around other kids and loves to be social, to be outside, her toys, still obsessed with the cats.

Dislikes:  For whatever reason this kid has turned into a pain in the butt when I change her.  It’s like the worst thing ever, she hates it now.  She has never liked the word no and has really started to test her boundaries with it lately, when I won’t give her my phone while I’m on it.  Wearing shoes.  I can’t get this girl to wear shoes.  Which is why every picture I have of her, she is bare foot

Firsts/New Things:  She started giving us kisses!  It’s the cutest thing ever!  We have a walker, she doesn’t walk everywhere, but she does walk around.  She has 4 upper teeth coming in all at once, yep, 4.

Random:  So I said above she has 4 teeth coming in, we can see the whites, one of the tips has finally popped through but last week she was a little fussy butt.  She had her 2nd ear infection, which was horrible.  I was worried she was going to be a complete mess for her birthday party, and I’m happy to say she was the very opposite and was an angel the entire day!  We had her 1st birthday over the weekend before her actual birthday.  It was Hiley Lou’s Pink and Orange BBQ and after all the planning, prep work and stress that went into it, I can honestly say that it turned out even better than I had imagined.  Our family and closest friends were there and they blessed us with so many wonderful things.  Hiley had no problem going to anyone and everyone.  When it came time to dive into her cake, she didn’t let us down, she dove RIGHT in there and it was a perfect mess, just as I hoped it would be  I am so grateful for my Mom!  She offered last minute to come down just to watch Hiley for me so I could actually put everything together.  It was a huge help to me!  On a funny note, I actually completely bombed the first cake I made.  I didn’t add water . . .  I had a special moment.  When I was mixing it, it was SOOO thick and I thought that was weird, but it was the first time I was making this particular cake.  My Mom was watching me as I was making a 2nd batch for the cup cakes and asked when I was going to add water . . . I said, it didn’t call for water?  I looked at the box and felt like a total dummy.  Thank goodness she caught it!  Also thankful for an amazing hubby who was willing to run to the store and by me another box  Just a little note that, things do happen, no one is perfect.

Thank you to our families and our dear friends  that came to the party and loved on our sweet girl!  We also want to say thank you to all of you who called, messaged, and Facebooked us on her actual birthday.  Your thoughts of us are so appreciated and we are so thankful for the Family and Friends we have.  We cherish you.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art . . . it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”  C.S. Lewis

Over the weekend my beauty hit 11 months.  It is hard to believe that my sweet girl is almost a year old.

Weight:  Still at a healthy 23 pounds so far

Height:  Not sure, gonna have to wait for her well check to find that one out

Eating:  Breakfast, she has oatmeal and some fruit.  Lunch and dinner she is pretty much eating what we eat now.  She is still having 3 bottles a day, but we are slowly starting to ween her off.  She loves her sippy cup, so I feel like the transition is going to be really easy on her and hard on me because I love giving her a bottle at night while reading to her.

Sleeping:  Oh my, I’ve been so blessed to have such a good sleeper!  We had a few hard nights at the cabin, I was not able to get in the room quiet enough and it woke her up and took her an hour each time to go back to sleep.  Other than that, she has still be sleeping through the night and still takes 2 naps a day.

Clothing:  As I’ve said all along, it really just depends on the brand.  Carters always seems to run smaller.  So 12 month clothing, but really we put her in 18 monthers because they seem more roomy.  When I buy clothing now I ALWAY’s buy it big.  Id rather her grow into it than out of it in a week lol.  I try putting shoes on her, as you might have noticed she is always barefoot.  Oh well, haha.  Can’t keep them on her.

Likes:  To climb on anything and everything!  I’ve moved glass shelves in my house, I have a baby gate up at the stairs . . . She is always putting her leg up trying to climb.  Craziness!  As you see in the last picture I took, she was upset because I was making her hold still and I wasn’t allowing her to climb up on the chair.  Still loves her baths, loves food, playing with Jay’s facial hair, feeding the dogs, clapping her hands, our phones, music, dancing, playing hid and seek with us, crawling, chasing the cats, mostly our fat one Sedona, screaming not in a bad way but just screaming to hear herself scream in our super echoey house.

Dislikes:  Being told No, when Mom makes her hold still, when Mom walks out of the room, and getting new teeth

Firsts/New Things:  She has actually taken a few steps on her own.  She isn’t walking yet, but Jay and I have been witness to her testing out steps.  She is close and I know it will be like when she started standing up, once she gets it, she is just going to get it.  Just the other day, she stood up on her own in the middle of the floor without holding onto anything.  She just popped up like it was nothing.  It’s amazing how fast she changes.  One morning it was like we woke up and she was just constantly babbling and since that morning she hasn’t stopped since.  It’s probably the cutest thing in the world listening to her sit and talk to herself, or talk to us.  She does say words to.  She has said uh oh, Mamma, Dadda, Dog, Cat, I swear I’ve heard her say Gamma and it also sounds like she has said Nanna.  It’s hard to understand her, but being around her 24/7 I get it haha.  Cuddles.  It’s the best thing EVER!  She started giving cuddles while I was up away at the cabin.  She has always cuddled, but this is different, she is doing it intentfully.  We say, “Give cuddles,” and she will hug us or the cat haha.  It’s the cutest thing ever!

Me, Jay and Randomness:  We had a hectic 8 days away from one another.  Jay had 3 weddings, all out of state, all in one week!  During that week, my parents decided to have a little vacation away just the 2 of them.  Since Jay was going to be gone anyways, I skipped town and got out of the heat early and went to spend a few days with them before they had to leave.  While they were gone Hiley and I had some really great one on one time with Grandad; and enjoyed the peacefulness of the forest.  They adore one another.  Oh, and I have to tell you, it was so cute, when my Mom came home Hiley actually crawled to her and started climbing up her leg so she would pick her up!  She was excited to see my Mom!  She has only done this with me and Jay, so it melted my heart, and my Mom’s, when she did this.

After a very long busy week being away from each other my Sister was nice enough to come over and watch Hiley so we could go on a date night.  Such a blessing!  It was so much fun and so needed to get out and spend time with just each other.  For the first time in a really long time, Jay and I had an entire weekend together and we spent it being totally lazy haha!  It was perfect and much needed.  I love doing life with him!  Raising a family with him, is seriously the best thing <3

We hope you all enjoy your week

My doll is 10 months old today and seriously every month with her gets better and better!

Weight:  23 pounds, weighed at the doctor

Height:  Not sure this month.  I tried to measure her myself.  That was IMPOSSIBLE.  This wiggle worm cannot hold still

Eating:  She eats 3 times a day with some snacks in between.  I’ve managed to NOT have to buy baby food, minus her snacks.  It is SO much cheaper making it myself or just giving her some of my food.

Sleeping:  Still sleeping like a champ.  Even with teething, she has just been the best sleeper and I am so thankful for that.  She sleeps through the night, takes about a one our nap in the morning now and has a good two our nap in the afternoon.

Clothing:  It really depends on the brand, Carters clothes have always seemed so much smaller than other brands.  With the onsie’s I’ve bought at Walmart she is still able to wear 9 monthers.  Pretty much anything else is 18 months and up.  I would rather buy it bigger and have her grow into it, than buy it and have her grow out of it in a week.  Gamma has helped keep us stocked up.  She, like me, cannot go shopping without buying this kid something.

Likes:  the pool, floating, her bath, playing on the floor with Dad, standing up, climbing the stairs (heart attack), getting into anything and everything that she can, FaceTiming with Gamma, Grandpap and Great-Grandad is still a big favorite, cats, pulling Jay’s hair and his beard, she loves my Dad’s nose haha and also his beard as well, lights, New York lights to be exact, people, other little people

Dislikes:  Getting her diaper changed, being told no, when I walk away, and getting out of the bath

Firsts/New:  We have had a LOT of big firsts this month.  Hiley went on her first BIG trip with us and we had our first experience with her on an airplane.  We had a lot of anxiety leading up to the trip, but she did soooo good.  The trip there was a direct flight, 6 hours.  She was even good when we arrived and were trying to figure everything out.  Everyone was so impressed with how well she really did.  We went to NYC.  Jay and I had a wedding to film in Rhinebeck on Saturday so Hiley stayed with my parents in Queens.  They had a blast with her.  She was an amazing baby the entire time.  She loved the city and the city loved her.  Seriously, every where we went people were obsessed with her!  People are like that here to, but not like they were in NY.  We would even be walking on the streets and people would tell us how beautiful she was.  They were so nice.  Hiley climbed the stairs, all the way up, for the first time.  I blame Jay, haha.  We have a gate at the bottom of the stairs now.  She lets go and balances for a while, we feel walking is in the very near future.  Jay and I started going to the gym together, so we put Hiley in the daycare at the gym while we work out.  This was a first and she LOVES it.  I was nervous at first, but Hiley didn’t even cry when I handed her to the lady.  We walk in and the lady is always so excited to see Hiley and so are all the little kids.  We also tried out a new church and the daycare there was amazing!  Tons of babies for her to play with and she had a blast.

Nicknames:  No new ones this month  I still call her pretty much the same ones.

Random:  Jay got to celebrate his very first Father’s Day.  He was more excited about getting to celebrate that than he was for his birthday.  Hiley and I got him a pocket watch, because he has ALWAYS wanted it.  I had it engraved with, “It’s Time With You That Matters Most.”  To remind him how important he is to us and the time he spends with us.  I’m slowly baby proofing the house.  I have moved glass shelves, we have a gate up now for the stairs, all the plugs are taken care of, for down stairs anyways, and now I need to do the cabinets.  We are making Hiley a play room upstairs in our loft.  We are pretty excited about working on that together.  Giving her a safe, fun place to play and have freedom.  In 2 short months we will be celebrating her birthday!  We are so stinking excited about it  Okay, I’m more excited than Jay, but I’m excited about the ideas I have.

Welp!  That is all for now.  Miss Hiley is calling me  Thanks for reading and loving us!  Love you all <3

My sweetness is 9 months old!  She is growing and changing everyday and it is such a blessing being a part of every minute of it!

Height:  27 1/2 inches long

Weight:  22 pounds

Eating:  Eating 3 times a day and I’m trying to figure out some new ideas to make it more exciting for her and she still has 3 bottles a day.  She loves puffs and yogurt melts.  Feeding herself is a favorite as well.

Sleeping:  2 naps a day and sleeping through the night still.

Clothing:  She wears 9 months and up.  When I buy her clothing now I always buy big sizes, they may be a little baggy, but I would rather her grow into them then her grow out of them so quickly.  I feel like I’m always buying PJ’s.  I’m also very lucky to have a Mom who LOVES to spoil her Granddaughter, she can’t go to the store without buying her something haha!  Oh and her Daddy is the same way.  I sent him to the store for a few things and he came back with several adorable outfits for his little Princess.

Likes:  Her walker, she actually loves it!  Standing up on her own, water which includes her baths and the swimming pool, cats, she seriously loves our cats more than she loves the dogs, she loves to be outside and if she isn’t outside she loves to look outside, people watching, being held

Dislikes:  Getting out of the bath, cold water, and being told no

Firsts/New Things:  Standing up, she did it for the first time the first day we left for vacation and now she does it ALL the time.  We put her in her crib and it’s the first thing she is doing.  She gets pretty proud of herself.  She does this thing, we call it her piss shiver haha, it is so adorable she does just that, think of a piss shiver and that is what she does.  Her entire body quivers for a quick second when she gets a chill.  Hiley got her first cold, also right before we left for vacation, she has had a stuffy/runny nose and it is horrible seeing her sick.

Nicknames:  BoBo or baby bobo haha, squish, squish butt, lovey, monkey, love bug, Hi Lou, my Dad calls her Peaches, booger

Mamma:  I love being a Mom so much!  I have always wanted to be a Mom and always wanted to be able to have the opportunity to be the one at home raising my kids and I’m so blessed we are able to do that.  I love getting to watch every milestone, have every cuddle and see all the smiles my sweet girl has to offer.  Everyday brings on something new and I just can’t say enough how much I love being a part of the day to day.

Daddy:  Loving every minute of being a Daddy!

Random:  I celebrated my first Mother’s day and Jay made me the most priceless video.  I love it so much, it makes me cry every time I watch it.  It is something I will cherish always.  Hiley also got me this adorable necklace that say’s “Mom” with a cute card  Jay and I left little miss for 6 days!  Yep, we did, we went on our yearly trip to Huntington Beach and had an amazing time.  We missed our baby everyday, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to just have some “us” time.  No baby, no family, just Us.  It was very much needed and I think it is so important for couples to still take time away with just each other.  Hiley did just fine staying at home with her Gamma and Great Aunt.  The spoiled the crap out of her!  I came home to little miss having several new toys that she picked out at the store along with a brand new walker that has easily become her new favorite toy.  She hauls BUTT in that thing!

Things We Are Excited About Coming Up:  Jay will get to celebrate his very first Father’s day!  We are both pretty excited about it.  He is such a proud Daddy and I know he is more excited about that day than anything.  We leave for New York in 9 days!  Holy cow!  I’m excited and extremely nervous about taking my antsy 9 month old on an airplane.  Seriously I have kind of been having a little bit of anxiety about it.  Other than that I’m totally excited about the trip!  Jay and I are filming a wedding and decided to make a vacation out of it.  My parents will be coming with and I’m so stoked to experience New York with them, especially My Mom, it’s her very first trip there!  It is going to be so fun!  We are also excited for our summer lake trips we always take.  It’s going to be exciting doing all this fun summery stuff with Hiley.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of Hi Lou’s updates!

Weight:  23 pounds.  Done at home on our scale, so not sure how accurate this is compared to the Dr.s office.

Height: 27 inches long, also done at home

Eating:  She is eating 3 balanced meals a day and having 3 bottles a day.  She loves finger foods and drinking water from her cup.

Sleeping:  Still takes 2 naps a day.  Goes down at 10 and sleeps anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours.  Her morning naps are usually her short naps.  Then at 2pm she goes down for another nap.  These ones are almost always her best and result in me waking her up at 4.  Then she goes down for the night around 7 and is asleep between 7:30 and 8.  Waking up in the morning differs, though lately I feel like she has been waking up earlier and earlier.  I won’t go in and get her till 7:30 and she is perfectly content with that.

Clothing:  I sent through all of her winter clothes this week and boxed them up.  This left her closet very scarce.  We are just about out of 6 monthers and I know I need to buy some PJ’s and summer clothes the next time we go to the store this week.

Likes:  Baths, swinging, talking, screaming, pulling my hair, petting Dad’s beard or Pap’s beard, eating food, being outside (she was amazing at the lake I think it was mostly because we were outside all the time.)  Getting into anything and everything she can, her form of crawling, siting up, the cats; she actually grabbed hold of Trinity last week, haha, poor cat.

Dislikes:  Cold water, not getting her way

Firsts/New Things This Month:  Saying Dada, it is her favorite word to say, she says it ALL the time  She just started saying Mamma and only says it when she is calling me.  I love hearing it.  One morning after I yelled at Bella she started saying Buba so we are convinced that is her word for Bella.  She started sitting up on her own from a laying down position last Sunday and hasn’t slowed down doing it since.  I lay her down for a nap and I’m not even out the door before she is sitting up.  When we go in there in the morning she is sitting up.  She has started waiving.  She will waive Hello.

Nicknames:  Squish, we have been calling her this since before we knew what she was in my tummy, little squish, squish butt, Hi Lou, Turkey, Booger, Monster haha, Lovey, Love Bug, chunky monkey.

Mamma:  I’m doing wonderful  Loving every minute of watching Hiley grow and become a little person.  I’ve been making it to the gym 5 days a week and I seriously can’t get enough of it.  I leave the house while Hiley is taking her morning nap and when I come home she is just waking up or me coming home wakes her up.  I just started back up with Hot Yoga, I love that to.  I’ve been trying really hard to be comfortable with myself and not be so hard on myself lately.  It is something I always struggle with.  But now that I have Hiley, I want her to know that beauty is not defined by the way you look or the number on the scale.  It is so much more than that, and I want to teach her that.  I’m grateful for my family and I’m looking forward to hopefully making some new friends here in the future.

Daddy:  I’m really proud of how hard he has been working.  It is a major struggle working from home at times, one that not many understand, but Jay has been fortunate enough to make some new friends that have really been there encouraging him.  I am so grateful for that.  I’m so grateful for a husband that works as hard as he does.  I’m also so fortunate to have someone here helping me raise Hiley.  She adores her Daddy.  It was so funny, this morning Jay told her “no” and she just started at him, like, you can’t tell me that word Dad.  It was adorable.  I love the way the look at each other and the special bond they share and always will share.

Things We Are Excited About For Next Month:  I am SOOOOO excited to celebrate my very first Mothers Day <3  Being a Mom is the best thing in the entire world and I’m just excited to celebrate it.  I’m not super stoked to be turning 27, but I am excited to celebrate.  Jay and I will be celebrating 6 years of marriage and that is pretty stinking amazing.  We will be taking our first vacation together, without Hiley.  It is going to be very hard, but I feel very important at the sometime.

6 Months Old!  In 6 more short  months she will be a year and with how fast these months went I know they are going to fly by.

Weight & Height:  We will find out tomorrow at her 6 month check up

Eating:  She still loves getting to eat real food and I’ve noticed she hasn’t been as interested in having such big bottles anymore.  She loves her oatmeal and all the fruit we give her.  Tomorrow at the doctor we get to talk about meat and veggies Our doctor advised us only to do fruit and oatmeal starting out.

Sleeping:  She is my daughter, she loves her sleep!  Still sleeping through the night going down at 7 and up at 8 the next day.  Still takes two naps during the day.  Sometimes they are short, but she pretty consistently goes down at 10 and 2 for naps.

Clothing:  She is wearing 6 month clothing already and it is fitting pretty good.  So far she doesn’t seem to be growing out of her clothes as fast, but I’m sure this will change  I feel like we are always needing PJ’s.  We are going to have to start buying more clothes for her soon to, most everyone buys clothes up to 6 months.  We have a limited about of clothes above this stage.

Likes:  Honestly, this baby “likes” just about anything and everything.  She is such a happy baby, always smiling.  She still loves her baths and the older she gets only seems to love them more because she gets to splash around.  Loves to roll, and I mean roll ALL over the place.  I put her down and two seconds later she is at the other end of the room.  Loves to bounce in her bouncy seat.  Still loves her mobile, she lights up when we wind it up at night.  Enjoys being outside.  Loves the dogs  Adores her Great Grandad, they light up for each other and it is the sweetest thing <3  Pulling my hair  I like to wear pony tails a lot these days haha

Dislikes:  Sun in her eyes, me not feeding her fast enough and getting cloths put on

Firsts/New Things:  Making a “skunch” face, it’s adorable and so funny!  Dancing  She will move her body forward and back and dance.  We have video of me doing this when I was a baby.  Hitting, she will hit her hands on her high chair or on my body lol.  Her hair is getting SOOOO long!  I can’t even believe it.  She can sit up on her own.  She is so excited she can reach Nemo on her floor mat, it’s adorable!  She has been trying for a very long time.

Nicknames: Hi Lou is the one we use the most, chunky monkey, princess, booger, monkey, lovey

Mamma:  I thank God everyday for the gift of being Hiley Lou’s Mommy!  It really is a gift.  I love my little monkey SOOO much!  I was talking to one of my friends and she said, “Chels, you are always glowing.”  I said, that is because of Hiley, she makes me so happy everyday, all day.  I wake up to her smile everyday.  I will say the not being able to breast feed thing still kicks me in the butt at times.  I see some of my other friends that have had babies and all they have done is breast feed and they all look amazing.  Meanwhile I’m kicking my booty in the gym and watching everything I eat . . .  I’ve been trying to focus on this verse lately because of that.  “Let everyone be sure to do his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work done well and won’t need to compare himself with someone else.” Galatians 6:4 Just trying to focus on that.  

Daddy:  What can I say, he is an amazing Dad.  Simply amazing.  The love he has for his daughter just fills me with so much joy.  The looks they give each other, the way she makes him smile, it is so special.  Figuring out work stuff and time management has still been a challenge and I feel like it always might be, but we are working on it.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Psalm 127:3

Here are a few pictures from her last month

5 months old, already, it’s going so fast!!!

Weight:  We won’t know until her next well visit which is next month.  She is very healthy though

Height:  Same, but I can tell she is getting SOOOO long!

Eating:  We started her on real food after her last well visit.  We decided to go with Oatmeal cereal vs the Rice.  Our doctor said there had been something going around about the ingredients in the rice cereal, so we just played it safe.  She LOVES getting to eat food!  Our doctor advised us to start with fruit and at our 6 months visit we will talk about veggies and meat.  Her favorite is prunes with apples   Jay said that is probably because I did have some doctor pepper while being pregnant with her, haha!

Sleeping:  Still amazing!  Still sleeping through the night, she is down around 7 and stays in bed until 8 the next day.  This morning she actually slept till 9, crazy!

Clothing:  Well, we are already in 6 month clothing and it’s not going to last long.  Some of the clothes are already very snug.  I put her in a 12 month out fit yesterday and today.  I feel like I’m always having to buy jammies or pajamer pants as we call them haha

Likes:  Oh my, we have such a happy baby!  Still loves her bath, to bounce in her bouncy, smiling, eating food, trying new food, sleeping, rolling all over the ground, the dogs, screaming, laughing, music, car rides, people, her pink blanket is still a favorite, her teddy bear, her mobile over her bed, going on walks

Dislikes:  When I put her bib on haha, getting off her routine which messes with her sleep

Nicknames:  Chunky Monkey, Booger, Princess, Hi Lou, Monkey, Lovey

Mamma:  I love every minute of being a Mom to my little miss.  Everyday there is something new and even when she is fussy I just love every minute of it.  I see all these ladies getting pregnant and think back about the time I was pregnant with Hiley and I’m so thankful I’m not “waiting” for her anymore.  I love having her here and spending all my time with her.

Jay:  Watching him being a Dad has made me fall even more in love with him.  He is such an amazing Daddy and I love how Hiley lights up for him.

Random:  Hiley’s favorite thing to do this month is to roll from one end of the room to the other.  I will go upstairs and put her down on our bedroom floor and she is gone haha.  It’s so cute to watch her.  She has been “teething” since she was 3 months old.  I’m just waiting for a tooth to pop through.  She blows bubbles, gets fussy, and drools a ton.  This month we had the opportunity to spend some one on one time with Grandad and he LOVED it.  While we were up there Hiley figured out how to really bounce in her bouncy and he really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.

We feel so blessed that God choose us to be parents.  It has been an amazing adventure and the best part is it’s just beginning!

This post is a little late, Hiley was officially 4 months old last week, but better late than never

Weight:  A very healthy 16 pounds, she is in the 80th percentile

Height:  23 1/2 inches putting her in the 20th percentile

Eating Habits:  She eats 8 ounces every 4 hours for the most part.  We just started baby cereal and fruit this week

Sleeping:  My sweet baby girl still sleeps through the night.  She is down no later than 8pm every night and is up at 7:30 or 8am the next morning and she will take either 2 small naps a day or one long one.

Clothing:  It is crazy how one day an outfit will fit and the next it’s not even close to fitting!  I pretty much have her in 6 month clothes at this point.

Likes:  Mornings, her swing, being tickled, still loves her baths, pulling Mamma’s hair, grabbing Daddy’s beard, screaming happily, talking, sleeping, loves the new activity bouncy Jay and I got her for Christmas, Bella and Bella loves her, still lights up every time she sees the pink blanket Gamma got her, naps, loves it when I sing to her or Jay makes funny noises.

Dislikes:  Not getting her food quick enough, getting off her routine.

Random:  Celebrating her firsts with her is so special, Jay and I have just loved every minute of it.  She is such a happy baby!  We just love every minute we get to spend with her.  We love that everyday brings on something new and exciting with her.  It really is amazing just how quickly time goes by and how quickly she is already growing up before our eyes.  She is so smart and already has so much personality.

Miss Hiley Lou, we love you so much and that love continues to grow everyday as you do <3

December is such a special month to me and Jay.  It was when we had our first date 8 years ago, the month we “officially” became boyfriend and girlfriend, the month Jay proposed to me now 6 years ago (crazy) and the month we found out we were pregnant.

Reminiscing . . .

Time flies by so quickly and I’m so thankful Jay and I found each other when we did.  I started dating him when I was 18 . . .  That feels so long ago now.  We have been through good times and bad.  Sometimes we were completely alone, but always completely together in our ups and downs.  In the end we have always had each other and I pray that we always will.

Our first date we went out and had hamburgers and then Jay took me to my very first Sun’s Game.  It was so exciting, not just the game, but falling in love.  It is such a fun experience, falling in love.

Weeks after our first date he “officially” made me his girl friend  So cute!  He was always full of surprises and romance.  Picnic’s by our favorite lake, driving to look at Christmas lights, surprising me with messages (that I screw up and end up costing him more money because I go to the wrong place) and even making out to Christmas music haha!

On the anniversary 2 years after becoming his girl friend he surprised me with a trip to New York!  He had arranged it so I already had the time off work and had everything all planned out!  I had always wanted to go to New York around Christmas to see all the fun festivities and most of all to see the HUGE Christmas tree!  Our trip was literally right before Christmas Eve, my Mother and Grandmother threatened to hurt him if he didn’t have me home in time for Christmas haha!!!  He surprised me and proposed to me right under New Yorks HUGE Christmas tree, almost 6 years ago.  Craziness!!!  What a special moment it was.  I remember after he finally put the ring on my finger, he couldn’t stop staring at it.  He was so excited and so was I.

Then, a year ago today, we found out we were pregnant . . . After our first experience we were completely terrified, but totally ecstatic at the same tim, but mostly terrified.  We remember as Christmas approached how blessed we were and how we already had the best Christmas present ever.  Not only that, but that time next year we would have a little baby to love on!  The moment and experience is better than I could have even tried to imagine.

Now, here we are, one year later getting ready to celebrate Hiley’s First Christmas <3  We are so excited!  I told Jay as I was putting up our Christmas tree that I felt like a kid again.  I felt like I was getting to experience the magic of Christmas the way a kid does, just because of Hiley.  It is pretty amazing what kids do to your life.  How they change it in ways you could never even imagine.  I can’t even explain it, it just happens to you once you become a parent.  It’s that, “Light bulb ” moment.

We are so excited to start sharing traditions with her and start our very own Christmas Traditions for our family of three.

Hiley is now 2 months old  We had her 2 month check up today.

Weight:  A very healthy 12.7 pounds which puts her in the 75 percentile

Height:  22inches which puts her below average

Eating Habbits:  She eats 8 ounces every 4 hours

Sleeping:  Sleeps 10 to 12 hours every single night.  We haven’t woken up in the middle of the night since before we left for the lake.  She will take small naps during the day here and there.

Diapers:  She is in #1′s and I love the Pamper’s swaddlers the best.  We were worried she would have rashes all the time, the opposite, havn’t had any problems thus far.

Clothing:  Almost completely outgrown newborn clothes, but believe it or not can still ware some.  We are going to have to get some winter clothes so we can bundle her up for cabin trips.

Likes:  Mornings are her favorite time of day she is all smiles, baths, she has always just loved her baths, her play mat, her new bouncer that Aunt Debbie found, tranquil turtle, music, car rides, the pink blanket Gamma gave her, a new like is her swing.  She loves it!

Dislikes:  When we take her bottle away to burp her

Mamma:  Feeling great!  I was able to water ski at the lake.  It took me 3 times to get up and it was a little bit painful, but it felt so good to do it and to say I was able to do it.  I’m slowly working back into the gym.  When I can’t go to the gym I take Hiley for a walk and sometimes I just prefer to walk because it is so beautiful outside right now.  Last weekend I went to work with Jay at a wedding.  It felt good to be back, but I sure did miss my baby.

Daddy:  Watching him with Hiley never gets old.  Daddy looks very good on Jay.  Watching him talk to Hiley or come up with silly songs to make her smile simply melts my heart.  He is still working really hard, I know some people assume because we work from home we do not do anything, but it is quite the opposite.  We have a fairly good routine right now.

Random:  Our dogs are great with Hiley, even Bella, I was concerned before she was born.  Bella will come up and lick her hands, feet and sometimes her face.  We don’t push it though  Noah simply pretends she doesn’t exist and Carly has been very good with her as well!  Our cats ignore her to for the most part.  Hiley went on her first lake trip at almost 6 weeks old.  It was better than I could have even imagined.  She was so good and it was nice to have family there to help and just be a part of her daily fun from sun up to sun down.  While we were at the lake Hiley started sleeping all night.  By the end of our lake trip she had pulled a few 12 hour nights.  I know, we are lucky  When we came home we started putting Hiley in her own room in her own bed and she loves it.  The twins and I have always had the tradition of carving pumpkins together, it is a tradition that started at our parents house.  We were excited to have Hiley with us this year.  My parents were able to come down this year and be a part of it with us and it was a lot of fun carving pumpkins, having pizza and watching scary movies.  The newest thing with Hiley is she has started talking, and by that I mean sqeeling and cooing.  It is the BEST sound in the entire world.  We have fun conversations first thing in the morning.  She had to get shots at her appointment today  Never fun for any parent, but she did amazing!

Here’s just a handful of pictures from our month . . .

The dogs in the backseat with Hiley on the way to the lake, they did good