Six months old and happy as a clam

"Happpy Birthday to me, again!  I must say, it's pretty fun being six-months old.  Here's an update of what I've been up to the past month along with some photos..."

Eloise and George: May 18, 2015

"At my six month checkup today, the super nice doctor said I weighed 15 pounds 7 ounces (35th percentile) and measured 25.75 inches long/tall (45th percentile).  By comparison, Natalie measured in at 16 pounds 1.5 ounces and 26 inches.  I may have started off slow, but I am catching up to her.  He also told my mom not to be surprised to see my bottom teeth appear in the next week or so.

Mom lets me eat pretty much any baby food these days. I drink a bottle at breakfast with my cereal and a fruit, then I drink a bottle at lunch + vegetable + fruit, then for second lunch I drink a bottle and have cereal with a veggie. At the end of the day I have one last bottle before bed.  I think it works well for me because everyone always says how big I am getting and how chunky my arms are becoming.  I prefer to think of the chunks as baby muscles.

Now that the weather is heating up, my family has been spending more and more time outside.  Mom has done a lot of work in our garden and takes me outside every few days to pick jalapeno peppers to give to the neighbors (who in turn give us fresh jalapeno/cilantro hummus).  She is anxiously waiting for our tomatoes to turn red.

We have also spent more time out around the pool.  Our pool opened in early May but then we were all on vacation and then the weather cooled down for a few weeks and now the pool is chilly - but dad says not for long.  Mom found this cool box thing that I get to lay in after I'm done playing in the pool.  They put the little box in the shade an arms length away from the pool and I get to lay around naked and watch the tree blow in the breeze while listening to the birds sing and my family talk.  It is awesome. Mom thinks I'll spend a lot of time in here this summer.

A few weeks ago mom got me an exersaucer from the second-hand store.  I loved it as soon as I got to try it out.  I am just tall enough for my legs to reach the bottom and allow me to bounce myself a little.  Right now I kind of just flop to the front or the back of the seat - but I am pretty sure I'm sure I will love this even more as I start to build up some core and leg muscles."

"In an attempt to be as cool as the big kids, I stole mom's phone and took my first selfie. I think it came out pretty good.  Does it make my cheeks look chubby??"

"Mom says that every day I am getting a little better at sitting up on my own and not always slumping into things like a bag of potatoes.  I still hate tummy time so I don't roll from my back to my belly unless it's an accident.  And once I do, I roll back onto my back as fast as possible to avoid spending any time on my belly.  Needless to say, I am not mobile yet."

A link to Natalie's 6-month update:
http://suburbanhayes.blogspot.com/2011/10/half-year-birthday.html

Family Hike: First Water Trail

Saturday morning brought us cloudy skies, cool temperatures (mid-70's) and a reason to get out and hike.  So we headed out to the Superstition Mountains and ventured down the First Water Trail(ish).  The girls hiked for 3.9 miles and then we decided to explore the Goldfield Ghost Town to find the source of the train whistle that caught Natalie's attention throughout our hike.

Eloise started off bright-eyed and singing.

 

About halfway through the hike, Natalie mentioned she was chilly.  So Katie let her wear her vest.  And remarkably... it fit.

It wasn't until about 2/3 of the way through that Eloise finally gave in and fell asleep. She woke up when Natalie started to run, tripped and fell and began screaming.  But as usual, we were about 10 minutes away from the car when Nat wiped out.

Now the Goldfield Ghost Town has always seemed to me like a tourist trap.  And I am happy to report that it is exactly that.  However, the Miner's Grill and Ice Cream Parlor there right on the edge of the trap has great cheeseburgers and cold beer (watery domestic or local craft).  Oh, and it also has a dog-friendly patio for well behaved dogs. It was a pleasant discovery.

After asking the engineer if our dog could ride the train, we gave in and went for a ride.

http://goldfieldghosttown.com/

8th Grade Semi-Formal

Katie had her 8th Grade Semi-Formal dance to celebrate the beginning of the end of life at Santan Junior High.  Daddy and Natalie drove Katie and a few of her friends to the dance in the minivan.  :)

Fourth birthday chaos!

Natalie wanted to have a soccer party... so we did.  She invited a bunch of her neighbor friends, her friends from school and family friends.  Thankfully big sister Katie was super helpful with the kids and everyone was willing to keep and eye on Eloise while mommy and daddy ran all around. 

The result?  A ton of giggles and a few hours of mostly-controlled-chaotic fun.

Party lady teaching the kids the rules of the first game, which kind of evolved into dodgeball...

Game 2 was a freeze-tag type game...

 

And finally, a soccer scrimmage...

Just a few of the party kids, from left to right (mostly): 
Derek, Natalie, Camilla, Julia, Thatcher, Andrew, Siena (with someone hiding behind her...Piper maybe?), Brynlee, Elizabeth, Caleb, Maddie, Sawyer, Eva, Sofia and Miles
Not pictured: Katie, Ryland and Piper De Marr, Nick Bree, Ainsley, Edison, Jonathan, Andrew, Brynn and Chelsea

After games, time for pizza and cake...

Natalie and her best friend from school, Camilla.

What soccer party would be complete without a soccer cake??

Scott and a few of the dads.

Thanks so much to everyone for coming.  Natalie really had a blast!  And her parents are thankful and lucky to have such great friends with fun kids.

5 months old and growing fast

"I woke up this morning around 8am and laid around in my crib talking to myself for a while.  I think Natalie must have heard me though because she came in (after her stoplight turned green) and covered me all up with my pretty blankets to stay warm.  I was so warm and cozy that I fell right back asleep for another 30 minutes or so.  Daddy had to come wake me up to sing Happy Birthday."

Eloise and George: April 18, 2015

"These days I'm sleeping 10-12 hours a night (8pm-8am) and am almost always the last one awake in the morning.  Mommy tells me how awesome this is because it gives her and daddy a chance to get up and get breakfast started for the other kids before they have their hands full with me.  I think it's awesome because, well, I just like sleeping in my pretty bed that feels like I am swimming in the ocean or an aquarium.  I take a 1-2 hour nap every 2-3 hours during the day. After I wake up in the morning, I eat breakfast, play and then nap.  Eat, play, nap, eat, play, nap ... all day long.

I hate tummy time.  Like really hate it. But last week though I made a new friend during tummy time and I talk to her all the time.  Mom said she took a picture of me and my new friend and posted it below. Funny thing is, this new girl that I met doesn't seem to like tummy time either and she is always talking when I'm trying to tell her something.  Clearly she doesn't have very good manners."

"Although staring at the ceiling gets boring after a while, mommy thinks that this is secretly why I am not interested in learning to roll onto my belly -- because why would I want to?!?! So I'm not rolling around in circles yet, but I love to roll back and forth from side to side.  My new favorite thing to do is to sit in my baby throne/entertainment center/the pooper (see photo below) because it has all sorts of fun things to play with, listen to and see.  So far, my favorite thing on it is the bumble bee.  This is also where I prefer to do most of my pooping.  Mommy thinks this is great because it's a position similar to sitting on the potty."

"Over the past month, I've started eating more interesting stuff than ever before.  A month ago I started eating rice cereal once a day, then I worked my way up to eating cereal 3 times a day.  After I mastered cereal, mommy started to give me some orange mush that she kept calling Sweet Potatoes.  I LOVED them.  A few days later she switched from the orange mush to a green mush called Green Beans.  They're not as good as sweet potatoes, but they're pretty good too.  Then I tried some carrots and most recently, my sister fed me a new orange mush called Squash.  I still eat cereal two or three times a day but also eat my veggies at lunch time and sometimes at dinner too."

"When I lay down to sleep, I love to snuggle with my blanket.  It's really special because my Aunt Ponda made it JUST FOR ME when I was born.  It's small enough that mommy doesn't worry about me getting all tangled up in it, but it's also big enough that it can cover up my legs (before I roll over onto my side) and still gives me enough blanket to hug.  Plus, the pretty colors are awesome."

"This morning I discovered my toes.  Mommy laid me down on the changing table in my yellow room and was putting away my laundry and I was happy just laying around, naked.  Then suddenly I realized I could touch both of my feet.  And I could even get my toes into my mouth to chew on.  Boy is this fun!

Well, I think it's just about time for me to get some clothes on and take a nap.  After all, I have a very special 4-year-old birthday party to go to this afternoon!"

A link to Natalie's 5-month photo shoot with Measurement Marty:
http://suburbanhayes.blogspot.com/2011/09/5-months-and-15-lbs.html

Lunch with big sister

Another Furball Friday at home with mom, but this time, lunch was served by big sister...

Apparently it helps Eloise when the spoon operator opens their mouth too.

Saturday, in the park...

While daddy was out of town at the end of January, I successfully got the kids to smile for a few great pictures...

 

 

 

Special thanks to our neighbor for making this happen.  He always seems to have a magic wand to make them smile.

Side-by-side

Just when I have convinced myself that they do not look alike, I begin to think that they do...

Who feeds their kid rice cereal for the first time without a bib?
Only a first time mom.

Eloise's spot makes it hard to try to mix up pictures of baby Natalie and baby Eloise to try to fool anyone.  Lucky for me, someday it will help me keep all the photos sorted correctly.

...and then I think they don't. 

Hayes family Easter

Despite an uptick in temper tantrums, the Easter Bunny stopped at our house again this year.  He left lots of eggs full of "noisy money" and some chocolate. 

Grandpa Larry, Gramma Judy and the other Hayes family joined us for a lazy Easter morning brunch at our house.

Natalie (almost 4), Katie (13.5), Eloise (4  months), Andrew (15) and Allison (11)

Super awesome Aunt Wendy always comes prepared to do something fun with just Natalie.  This time she brought some blue sparkly nail polish and volunteered to paint Natalie's fingers and toes!! 

Gramma Judy was in the right place at the right time and got to feed Eloise some cereal and green beans for lunch.  

6 days later and she's off on TWO wheels!

The Training Wheel Fairy came and took Natalie's training wheels away so she had to learn to ride her bike. After a few weeks it was clear that Natalie had no interest in trying, learning or bikes in general anymore. Mommy and Daddy were stumped.  But the Training Wheel Fairy doesn't bring training wheels back so what to do?  After a week or so, Mommy showed Natalie the next bike (Katie's old bike) that is ready for her but not equipped with training wheels.  It is pink and white.  BINGO.  Alright, so now we have some motivation to learn.  Natalie and Mommy spent every day after school for four days working hard on learning to ride her bike. This is the story...

Days 1-4:  Most of the work was mental. It was a battle to even get her to try. I'm pretty sure that she could ride the bike on Day 1 with only a little help, but she was super stubborn. One of the days we didn't actually do anything other than get the bike out, cry and put the bike away. 

By Day 3, Mommy wasn't holding on so tightly but was a little nervous to let go for too long.  Smiles were starting to emerge.  I told Natalie a few times when I let go and she smiled then got mental and hit the brakes.

Like I said, more than half the battle was mental.  A battle of the wills.  Parents searching for just the right motivational words to strike a chord in this insanely stubborn 3 year old brain.  For Mommy and Daddy, it was an exercise in love and patience.


Day 5:
It was the Thursday before Easter so there was no school the next day for Natalie or Katie.  That morning, Daddy promised to come home from work early so he could see Natalie ride her bike. She promised him she would show him how she could ride. But as usual, Natalie didn't want Daddy to help at all so mommy got her started.  Then Daddy took over.  He wasn't scared to let go...

As Natalie was riding, neighbors and her friends started to come home from work/school.  They all cheered.  They all stayed out to watch.  There were more and more smiles from Natalie.  A driveway happy hour evolved.



Day 5:
Soccer in the AM, errands, crabbies and time out. Loss of bike time.



Day 6:

Post-nap on Easter Sunday.  She's proud of her self and actually asking to ride her bike now and doesn't seem to think she needs any help or supervision. 

Hard to believe that this was just an hour or so before the 6:00 daily melt down.

Green Beans: Day 1

And after three days of sweet potatoes, we moved on to green beans...

She was a little skeptical at first and then instantly excited after her first bite.  Unfortunately, it got a little messy and required a bath.  Luckily, the kid loves baths and gives fantastic post-bath snuggles.

April Fools baby giggles

Who needs an April Fools joke when you can make a baby start to belly laugh?

Sorry for the shaky camera operation.  I was running low on spare hands.