She's been doing the downward facing dog forever, rolling over for at least a month and scooting backwards for a couple weeks. But now the big moment has finally arrived - she managed to coordinate all body parts to propel herself forward. Life as we know it, where we can plop Eliza down and know she'll still be there when we come back from grabbing the load of laundry from the dryer, is over. Break out the baby-proofing supplies, it's time to lock up the cabinets!
Hayden has no idea what this means for her toys and play.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Moments
Though I have many blogs sitting in my mental "to write" folder, I thought I'd just share a few photos that capture little moments from the past week or so. Soon I will try to get the big blogs - our trip to NC, Lori's wedding, apple blossom festival, etc - put together and posted but for now, just these little tidbits that make up our wonderful life.
Eliza and Blizzard share a moment. I will admit this is partially staged. They were sharing a moment for real, but then Eliza started scooting backwards as she's prone to do these days, and by the time I got my camera, she was out of the frame. But luckily she and Blizz still wanted to work on their staring contest skills when I moved her back.
Yesterday was a dreary day. And of course, right as we all get suited up and strapped in for a walk, it started to rain. But we didn't let that deter us. We walked - all of us - up a few houses, then came back and played outside for a bit. Hayden thought it was fun to try to taste the rain.
As the younger, defense-less, sister, Eliza was recently the recipient of two stickers after a trip to the doctor. Ironically, the trip was a 6 month check up for Eliza - but Hayden got the stickers, and decided Eliza's back was a good place to put them. Eliza didn't seem to mind.
A little play time for the girls. This usually devolves quickly into "gentle!", and "we don't bop our sister on the head" and "you can't roll over her!" But Eliza keeps laughing and Hayden keeps coming back.
And here's Jason attacking Hayden with belly zerberts. She thinks it's hilarious and often asks for more!
And now two of my favorite recent pictures of the girls. Eliza with a big laughing smile and little nose scrunch. Off centered because I was playing peek-a-boo behind the camera to get her to laugh.
And Hayden looking gorgeous in the sunshine as we were finishing up dinner. I love the different expressions I caught on her face.
Eliza and Blizzard share a moment. I will admit this is partially staged. They were sharing a moment for real, but then Eliza started scooting backwards as she's prone to do these days, and by the time I got my camera, she was out of the frame. But luckily she and Blizz still wanted to work on their staring contest skills when I moved her back.
Yesterday was a dreary day. And of course, right as we all get suited up and strapped in for a walk, it started to rain. But we didn't let that deter us. We walked - all of us - up a few houses, then came back and played outside for a bit. Hayden thought it was fun to try to taste the rain.
As the younger, defense-less, sister, Eliza was recently the recipient of two stickers after a trip to the doctor. Ironically, the trip was a 6 month check up for Eliza - but Hayden got the stickers, and decided Eliza's back was a good place to put them. Eliza didn't seem to mind.
A little play time for the girls. This usually devolves quickly into "gentle!", and "we don't bop our sister on the head" and "you can't roll over her!" But Eliza keeps laughing and Hayden keeps coming back.
And here's Jason attacking Hayden with belly zerberts. She thinks it's hilarious and often asks for more!
And now two of my favorite recent pictures of the girls. Eliza with a big laughing smile and little nose scrunch. Off centered because I was playing peek-a-boo behind the camera to get her to laugh.
And Hayden looking gorgeous in the sunshine as we were finishing up dinner. I love the different expressions I caught on her face.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Easter 2010
Now THIS will be the post about our Easter shenanigans. There might even be some more bunny ear pictures - if you're lucky!
Saturday we decorated eggs. This was my first time doing it with Hayden (at least where she participated) and she did great. I don't quite how the hard-boiling turned out, since we haven't eaten any yet, but we had lots of fun decorating them. Despite my cooking and food interests, I still have to look up directions for hard boiling eggs every Easter. Guess they aren't in my regular repertoire. Also, we were using a dye package that was 2 years old, from when M&D came up when Hayden was 8 months old - but it still worked great. Hayden especially liked labeling the eggs for people. We made ones for Hayden and Eliza (marked with an H and an E respectively) and one for Daddy, and one for Logan and one for Lachlan.
Hayden working hard
the finished products!
On Sunday, we had a GREAT Easter including (but not limited to) Easter baskets, buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, egg hunt in our front yard, the donning of Easter dresses without complaint, attendance at church including Hayden's first experience in the church toddler room during the service (these days, if there's baby dolls to play with, she's all good), an easy drive to Harrisburg and a wonderful time in Harrisburg with family on my dad's side. The only bad thing about the day was the drive home from Harrisburg where we had a little bit of a navigation issue AND Eliza decided that being in the car seat was last on her list of places she wanted to be. She expressed this by crying the whole way home. But even with that not-so-fun part of the day, I still say we had a fantastic Easter, complete with 75 degree sunny weather and family. What could be better?!!
Here are some pics...
Patiently waiting (mostly) to go outside for the hunt
Pretty smile in her Easter dress
Egg hunts are fun!
Jason's Easter bunnies before church 
In Harrisburg, Meredith and Hannah (my second cousins) organized an egg hunt for Hayden. She had a great time having another egg hunt but she was a bit particular. When she found hardboiled eggs, she refused to put them in her basket; at first she held them gingerly and then put them back in the grass. Then she willingly put them into the egg carton that Hannah provided, so as to keep them separate. She also refused to pick up the toys that were also hidden. Only plastic eggs were to go in the basket!
Notice the slinky in the grass that has been cast aside in favor of the egg.
Hayden also got mad when Meredith tried to get Eliza to participate in the hunt. Hayden promptly snagged the egg from Eliza and put it in the basket. I'm not condoning that behavior but I think next year she might be ready for a real competitive egg hunt like my sisters and I had growing up.
Hayden had a great time meeting all of my family over Easter. She was a tiny bit shy in the beginning but warmed up quick and settled right in. She helped Uncle Jay fill the bird feeder (just like she would help Pop-pop, his cousin). She met Meredith's dog, Juno. She played a bouncy ball game with Meredith and her husband Paul - and even told Paul "good shot!" during the game. AND she got both Aunt Joy and Aunt Jane to do sidewalk chalk with her.
I think Jason had a good time too - mainly because he got to eat the dessert we contributed to the buffet - pound cake doused in cool whip and homemade blueberry sauce.
And finally, we were lucky enough to get a family photo taken while we were there.
Aren't we cute? Happy Easter everyone!
Saturday we decorated eggs. This was my first time doing it with Hayden (at least where she participated) and she did great. I don't quite how the hard-boiling turned out, since we haven't eaten any yet, but we had lots of fun decorating them. Despite my cooking and food interests, I still have to look up directions for hard boiling eggs every Easter. Guess they aren't in my regular repertoire. Also, we were using a dye package that was 2 years old, from when M&D came up when Hayden was 8 months old - but it still worked great. Hayden especially liked labeling the eggs for people. We made ones for Hayden and Eliza (marked with an H and an E respectively) and one for Daddy, and one for Logan and one for Lachlan.
the dye cups
Hayden working hard
you mean, dye THIS egg?!
the finished products!
On Sunday, we had a GREAT Easter including (but not limited to) Easter baskets, buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, egg hunt in our front yard, the donning of Easter dresses without complaint, attendance at church including Hayden's first experience in the church toddler room during the service (these days, if there's baby dolls to play with, she's all good), an easy drive to Harrisburg and a wonderful time in Harrisburg with family on my dad's side. The only bad thing about the day was the drive home from Harrisburg where we had a little bit of a navigation issue AND Eliza decided that being in the car seat was last on her list of places she wanted to be. She expressed this by crying the whole way home. But even with that not-so-fun part of the day, I still say we had a fantastic Easter, complete with 75 degree sunny weather and family. What could be better?!!
Here are some pics...
Easter baskets! Yes, we might have 'reused' some items we already had in the house (i.e. the frog).
Patiently waiting (mostly) to go outside for the hunt
Pretty smile in her Easter dress
Eliza is wearing her Easter dress, but we wanted to make sure she wasn't cold. Jason is not yet in his Easter finery.
Egg hunts are fun!
Jason's Easter bunnies before church 
In Harrisburg, Meredith and Hannah (my second cousins) organized an egg hunt for Hayden. She had a great time having another egg hunt but she was a bit particular. When she found hardboiled eggs, she refused to put them in her basket; at first she held them gingerly and then put them back in the grass. Then she willingly put them into the egg carton that Hannah provided, so as to keep them separate. She also refused to pick up the toys that were also hidden. Only plastic eggs were to go in the basket!
Notice the slinky in the grass that has been cast aside in favor of the egg.
Hayden also got mad when Meredith tried to get Eliza to participate in the hunt. Hayden promptly snagged the egg from Eliza and put it in the basket. I'm not condoning that behavior but I think next year she might be ready for a real competitive egg hunt like my sisters and I had growing up.
Hayden had a great time meeting all of my family over Easter. She was a tiny bit shy in the beginning but warmed up quick and settled right in. She helped Uncle Jay fill the bird feeder (just like she would help Pop-pop, his cousin). She met Meredith's dog, Juno. She played a bouncy ball game with Meredith and her husband Paul - and even told Paul "good shot!" during the game. AND she got both Aunt Joy and Aunt Jane to do sidewalk chalk with her.
I think Jason had a good time too - mainly because he got to eat the dessert we contributed to the buffet - pound cake doused in cool whip and homemade blueberry sauce.
Eliza watching the sidewalk chart artistry.
I think Eliza had a good time too. I'm pretty sure that just about everyone there got to hold her and she tolerated it like a champ. She even managed to take a little bit of nap halfway through our time there. She woke up in a good mood and had fun showing off her love of screeching and bouncing. And she got Meredith making funny faces. Bunny ears can do that to you!
the screeching
the funny faces
(so technically E is crying in the picture but moments before she was laughing hilariously)
I even managed to get a photo with just about everyone who was there (we're missing my second Eric and his girlfriend Alexandra, and my great-uncle Harry and his wife Marsha)
from l to r: Meredith, Hayden, me, Doug, Joy, Jay holding Eliza, Jane and Hannah
(maybe next time we'll try to do a picture not squinting in the bright sunlight)
I think Eliza had a good time too. I'm pretty sure that just about everyone there got to hold her and she tolerated it like a champ. She even managed to take a little bit of nap halfway through our time there. She woke up in a good mood and had fun showing off her love of screeching and bouncing. And she got Meredith making funny faces. Bunny ears can do that to you!the screeching
the funny faces (so technically E is crying in the picture but moments before she was laughing hilariously)
I even managed to get a photo with just about everyone who was there (we're missing my second Eric and his girlfriend Alexandra, and my great-uncle Harry and his wife Marsha)
from l to r: Meredith, Hayden, me, Doug, Joy, Jay holding Eliza, Jane and Hannah
(maybe next time we'll try to do a picture not squinting in the bright sunlight)
And finally, we were lucky enough to get a family photo taken while we were there.Aren't we cute? Happy Easter everyone!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Hoppy Easter!
This is NOT going to be the post about our Easter shenanigans. I still have some resizing and thinking to do about that one - though we did have a splendid time. But I did want to send belated Easter wishes with the home "photo shoot" I did with Eliza for her 6 month birthday. This is reminiscent of Hayden's Santa baby shoot, but with much more pastel. :)
(This one's Hayden, in case you couldn't tell by the change of outfit...)
Can you believe our little Easter bunny is 6 months old?!!! And so freakin' cute!!! (I mean, I love bunny ears on just about anything, but Eliza really makes them adorable in my completely unbiased opinion.)
And like I said, bunny ears are just the greatest, whether on an extremely tolerant dog...
a smiling (or yawning or screeching) baby...
or homemade ones on a two year old. Who, by the way, has recently made a habit of donning these bunny ears and hopping around the house singing "here comes Peter cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail." Makes me laugh just to think of it.
(This one's Hayden, in case you couldn't tell by the change of outfit...)Can you believe our little Easter bunny is 6 months old?!!! And so freakin' cute!!! (I mean, I love bunny ears on just about anything, but Eliza really makes them adorable in my completely unbiased opinion.)
And like I said, bunny ears are just the greatest, whether on an extremely tolerant dog...
a smiling (or yawning or screeching) baby...
or homemade ones on a two year old. Who, by the way, has recently made a habit of donning these bunny ears and hopping around the house singing "here comes Peter cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail." Makes me laugh just to think of it.
April Heatwave
Sunny, high of 78 degrees - in State College PA in April. Sounds like an April Fool's Day joke right? But it wasn't! We have been having the most amazing spring weather. We took advantage of it by having a picnic outside in the new PSU arboretum with Brad, Sarah and Logan. Brad and Logan actually tried to meet us (me, H and E) at the park beforehand but baby naps and crowds of people kind of cut that part of the gorgeous day celebration short. Hayden was not quite sure how to deal with the hordes of kids and moms at one of our favorite local parks. We ended up walking away from the playground area (after a brief time on a swing) to let her climb on some boulders. But then Brad arrived and we headed into campus for lunch.
It was SO bright and sunny and wonderful. We had to break out the sunhats and sunscreen to protect delicate baby skin. I think this was the first time Eliza got to be outside without sleeves or socks! She seemed to like it but I was quite afraid of sunburn for her!
Hayden loved the picnic and was good to tolerate both sunglasses and a sunhat. I like how she looks so adult, lifting up her shades to grab some food!
I think Sarah, Brad and Logan had a good time - though Logan was at risk for baby sunburn with his fair skin too! Good thing they had a cute hat for him - and sunscreen that they let us borrow!
After the picnic, Hayden did some exploring of the arboretum - first with Daddy "I want to go walk on the walls!" and then with Sarah.
And of course after exploring, we had to head over to celebrate the sunshine with ice cream. We learned our lesson from our last visit and just got one cone (of cookie dough) that we split between the three of us. It was plenty! Hayden and Sarah had an ice cream 'Cheers!' And Eliza fell asleep at the creamery, and even stayed passed out when we transferred her to the car seat.
It was a glorious day. We finished the day with a party for Amy to celebrate her defense! We even got to have another 'picnic' on the deck outside for dinner. Brittany took a great picture of us eating. And after starting out shy, and bumping her nose, Hayden ended up having a blast, running around and making everyone smile. She even managed to congratulate "Dr. Amy!"
And to think this was only Friday of Easter Weekend. There was lots more fun and good weather to come!
It was SO bright and sunny and wonderful. We had to break out the sunhats and sunscreen to protect delicate baby skin. I think this was the first time Eliza got to be outside without sleeves or socks! She seemed to like it but I was quite afraid of sunburn for her!
Hayden loved the picnic and was good to tolerate both sunglasses and a sunhat. I like how she looks so adult, lifting up her shades to grab some food!
I think Sarah, Brad and Logan had a good time - though Logan was at risk for baby sunburn with his fair skin too! Good thing they had a cute hat for him - and sunscreen that they let us borrow!
After the picnic, Hayden did some exploring of the arboretum - first with Daddy "I want to go walk on the walls!" and then with Sarah.
And of course after exploring, we had to head over to celebrate the sunshine with ice cream. We learned our lesson from our last visit and just got one cone (of cookie dough) that we split between the three of us. It was plenty! Hayden and Sarah had an ice cream 'Cheers!' And Eliza fell asleep at the creamery, and even stayed passed out when we transferred her to the car seat.
It was a glorious day. We finished the day with a party for Amy to celebrate her defense! We even got to have another 'picnic' on the deck outside for dinner. Brittany took a great picture of us eating. And after starting out shy, and bumping her nose, Hayden ended up having a blast, running around and making everyone smile. She even managed to congratulate "Dr. Amy!"
And to think this was only Friday of Easter Weekend. There was lots more fun and good weather to come!
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