Bloopers – Our little reminders that she’s not perfect…

Just a short post of some of the pictures that we’ve almost deleted and probably should have, but somehow, even if her face is really, umm, wonky or maybe a little scary, she’s still adorable. You know those kind of pictures you pretend you don’t ever want a boyfriend/girlfriend to see because you’d be mortified, but secretly you think they’re kind of funny and don’t really mind? These are those. Most of these made us laugh and/or say “Whoa!” and I (Dad) think they’re worth sharing.

Sorry if any of these are repeats of previous posts. And yes, I’ve saved the best for last.

Got to love a face like that, right? : )  I actually made this pic our desktop background for a little while.  It worked nicely because it would pop up with the Windows welcome box blocking Halley.  We’d enter our password and the box would go away and we’d sometimes go “Whoa!” because we’d forgotten about whatever face this is she’s making.  How ‘bout a close-up?

I know what you’re thinking – why didn’t we use this for our official birth announcement?  I suppose we can plan ahead for our Christmas card…

August: Goalie Camp, 7 Bridges & Toilet Paper

 

Summer in Colorado is absolutely wonderful.  We have a great shade tree in our front yard and HJ and I (Dad) spend a lot of time hanging out there.  The only trick is keeping her from eating grass, dead leaves & ladybugs.  She also has a habit of pulling on those little white things – our flower bed would be demolished if I just let her run amok.

 

 

 

We’ve also started a mini-goalie camp in the backyard.  It runs about 3 times a week for 5 minutes at a time.  Nothing too rigorous just yet.  It has to be a goalie camp since she’s not walking yet.  Apparently, it’s hard to kick a ball when when you can’t walk.  That being said, her ball-handling skills are coming along quite nicely.  My fellow soccer coaches would be quite proud.  She goes to ground (an asset in a goalie) with ease, probably because she’s already on the ground.

I have switched her to size 1 training ball since the regulation size 5 is 1/2 her size.  You never think of a soccer ball as gigantic until it’s in the hands of a 9 month old.

 

 

 

 

This day’s camp ended a bit early because Chico started wrestling with a stick a little too close to our star athlete.

 

 

 

 

 

Halley is not a big fan of socks on her feet.  As a chew toy, though, they’re one of her favorites:

Along with the not-liking-socks thing, she’s becoming a big fan of my flip-flops.  As an avid fan myself, I’m so proud.

 

We took Halley to Cheyenne Canon to hike the 7 Bridges Trail.  Becky tried out a real ponytail in the back (instead of the top of her head like a Dr. Seuss character) and it was pretty darn cute.

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of both of my girls.  Aren’t they beautiful?

 

 

 

 

HJ’s not actually brushing her teeth, but her goal was to keep all 3 toothbrushes in her hands at all times:

 

 

This was just an adorable outfit on our our adorable girl.  Sorry the pic is so grainy.

 

 

 

 

Our Aunt Debbie in Atlanta told us that it’s great when she’s able to play by herself because she doesn’t have to depend on us for entertainment and we now see the value in that little lesson.  As a parent, it’s tempting to want to be with her all the time, but if we do that, then we get our wish and no time to sit down, eat, etc.  This is HJ playing by herself while we were getting ready for a walk.  Did we mention that she really loves tearing paper apart?  In this case, it’s toilet paper so it makes for really good shredding.  She wants to be a paper shredder when she grows up (if the goalie thing doesn’t work out).  Becky and I don’t have the heart to tell her they already have machines that do that.  I suppose we’ll have to take her to Office Depot one day and introduce her to her competition.

This video probably works best if you turn your computer on its side.  Sorry if you’re watching on a desktop – those monitors can be heavy.  It’s nothing amazing but she was cracking us up…  Enjoy!

Bath time with Halley!

Stats & Pics

While Randy is still procrastinating, I mean, contemplating his next post, I am going to update on HJ’s latest appointment—nine months!  These are the latest: 

Height:  27 1/2”

Weight:  15 pounds 10 oz

Head size: 45 cm

Halley is on the same path as she has been…50-75% for height, 5% for weight, and 50-75% for head.  Dr. B did say her head grew the most from her 6 mo. checkup so maybe she’s getting smarter everyday.  Could it be all the educational TV (aka Jeopardy)?  :)  Because this stage in life is so active (particulary for squirmy-wormy HJ), the doc said she wouldn’t be surprised if Halley was in the 3rd% for weight at her next checkup!  For all of you tempted to say “Do you ever feed her enough?!?!”, Dr. B is not worried. 

Here is what Halley’s typical day looks like at this point in life.

7 or 7:30  wake up and breakfast (4 oz bottle, fruit or cereal).  She’s usually standing up in her crib and starts beaming as soon as one of us walks in.  It’s the best part of the day.

7:30 - 9:30  play time, walk (if Mommy’s home), run (if Daddy’s home), maybe some Little Einstein’s, etc.

9:30 - 11:30  Nap # 1

11:30 - 12noon  lunch (4oz bottle, fruit or veggies)

12 - 3  Helping Daddy in the yard (by that I mean eating dirt and grass), miscellaneous errands, playing, etc

3 - 4:30  Nap # 2

4:30 - 5  pre-dinner (4oz bottle, yogurt or jar of baby food)

5 - 7  Mommy’s home (!!), walk with the fam, and more playtime

7:30 - 8  bath time, 6 oz bottle.  Our bedtime routine consists of book, bottle, a few rounds of “Jesus Loves Me” or “He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands”--with all bajillion members of our family inserted into the chorus, prayers and bed. It's a close second--best part of the day.   Daddy likes to sing “Stand by Me” or the “Mr. Blue” song (the one that Clark Griswold falls asleep to while driving the family wagon to Wally World).

A few more insights into Halley’s daily life…

Table food she is eating:  bread, cheese, yogurt (LOVES vanilla yogurt), non-pureed fruits (bananas, pears) and veggies (she’s a big fan of sweet potatoes), pancakes, fish (she likes it more than Mommy & Daddy), mac & cheese.

Funny things she does: sticks her bottom lip out like she’s pouty but she’s secretly very happy; crawls so fast with her head tucked down (like a swimmer) until she bumps into something

Is into:  everything!  DVDs, the dishwasher, the toilet if we forget to close the lid, the shoes in the closet, tupperware, books on bottom shelves, laundry

Sweet things she does:  when you’re putting her to sleep for a nap or the night, she gently rubs the back of your arm…I guess because she likes the skin-to-skin contact?

This was me at this time last year—28 weeks pregnant with our baby of unknown-gender. 

 

 

Oh how much life has changed in a year….and how sweet it is!

 

 

 

 

Glory to God for a happy, healthy family! 

Sleigh Bells

 

The latest thing HJ has shoved in her mouth.  Completely. 

Halley Days - What a Great July!

 

Halley got to take a grown-up bath!  Man, that girl can splash…

Apparently, it made it her angry:

 

 

I think this was oatmeal.  It was actually messier than it looks.

This is apparently HJ doing her impression of how Swamp Thing might smile.

 

 

 

 

 

Halley’s moving up in the food world!  Genuine buttermilk pancakes!

She was clapping a lot for more (meaning she got syrup all over both hands).

 

 

 

So we also decided to see if she’d be interested in healthier foods.  She (mostly) loved the lettuce.  Ok, the texture more than the taste, which apparently hit her taste buds in that 3rd photo.

Halley’s been running 3-5 miles at a time with me.  See if you can guess which photo is the “before” and one is the “after.”

On Sunday, we went over to Garden of the Gods to find some less beaten trails and expose HJ to some beautiful Colorado.  I’m still not sure if she likes the backpack or not, but it sure is fun finding out!

We’ve spent a good bit of money on fancy shmancy toys and she’s already enjoying playing with the box more than the toys.

A couple of parting shots of Halley helping out around the house: