Let the Crying Begin

Hailey has quickly gone from being a sweet little baby to a strong-willed toddler in what seems like overnight. Yesterday she discovered how to dip the bubble wand into the bubble mix. She would even hold it up and blow in its general direction. No bubbles, of course, but it’s pretty funny to watch her try. Later, we had a major standoff because it was time to put the bubbles away, and she wanted to keep the bubble wand. When Mommy took it away, there was a bit of a tantrum with much gnashing of the teeth. She’s so dramatic too. She’ll sit and put her little forehead down on the floor so that she’s folded on top of herself while she’s screaming. It’s really killer.

Anyway, she has become overly attached to anything that she’s holding, and it’s impossible to coax things away from her without having a major struggle. I try to be very polite and hold out my hand to ask her to give it to me (instead of grabbing because I don’t want to encourage grabbing). Unfortunately, when she has something she wants, she just locks down the death grip. Sometimes I can make a trade, but most of the time it’s impossible. She’s also grown attached to a blankie which I now have to rip out of her little claws every morning. When did this happen, and how do I make it stop?

First Video Attempt

Ok, I'm trying this for the first time. So, if it doesn't work, I'm going to blame Blogger. I hope that you enjoy this little tidbit of Hailey standing. She's getting to the point where she can stand for a long time by herself, but she hasn't gotten up the nerve to actually walk on her own. She's such big girl!!!

New Friends

When I moved to Nashville, I did a terrible job of making friends in the beginning. Granted, I was in graduate school so it’s not like I had a whole lot of free time on my hands. Still, I’m trying to learn from my mistakes by really pushing to make lots of friends in Atlanta.

So far, I’ve made a ton of acquaintances from all different venues: work, the neighborhood, Luke’s work, Mom’s groups etc. Now, I’m wondering if I have so many acquaintances that I won’t have enough time to make any real long term friendships. I was talking to my college roommate, Nikki, the other day, and she mentioned that she has a “second family” of friends where she lives in Sacramento. I guess I’m hoping to get to that point here someday.

Hailey actually makes it quite a bit easier to “meet” people, but the problem is that everyone is running in different directions with their heads cut off trying to raise their children. The nerve of them! Anyway, we made a list of all of the couples that we wanted to have dinner with in the next few months and the list was overwhelming. So, I think that we’re going to have one big party instead. I know it’s not ideal, but I hope that it’s a good way to reconnect with people and get them all together. When things slow down in the fall, we can start a more personalized strategy. Wish us luck on our new friend initiative!

PS: I promise that new pictures are coming soon!!!

Top 10 Things Dog Training Taught Me About Raising Children

Since Josie has come back into our lives, I've started to remember all of the dog training that we did with her back when she was a puppy. Actually, dog training was more about training us than about training her. Our amazing trainer, Tracy Ann, was much like the Dog Whisperer; she taught us all about how to become the leaders of our little family pack. I knew that getting Josie a few years before we had kids would certainly teach Luke and me a lot about responsibility. What I didn’t count on was how much the process of training her would influence our parenting style. So, here are the top 10 dog training tips that we use regularly with Hailey:

10) Both parents must participate and be on the same page when it comes to discipline.
9) Adults must exert themselves as the leaders in the family. For dogs, that means eating first, walking through doorways first, and otherwise setting the tone for proper behavior. For Hailey, it means not letting her dictate her way all the time.
8) Use "no" only when necessary or it will become meaningless.
7) Use distraction or incompatible commands to control undesirable behavior.
6) A calm parent = a calm dog/baby
5) Do not positively reinforce negative behaviors like laughing when she bites or making a game out of hitting people.
4) Practice what you preach. Don't be aggressive toward the dog if you don't want the dog to be aggressive toward you.
3) Socialize, socialize, socialize. A well socialized dog/baby makes for a calmer dog/baby when out in public.
2) Exercise both the mind and body to ensure proper sleep and eating habits.
1) Heap on as much love and positive reinforcement as you can.

In Hailey news, we are taking a few steps from time to time, but no actual walking yet. Her favorite word at the moment is doggy, which sounds a little like Dada, but clearly has a long eeeee on the end.

We were in Nashville last weekend celebrating her first birthday (a little early). The pictures of the cake debacle are hysterical so I will try to get them up in the next couple days. While we were there, I did come to the frightening realization that she weighs more than her friend Corbin who is 5 months older than she is. She’s so solid, and those thighs are killer!

A Few 4th of July Pictures

Here's a little coloring action. She made her first beautiful picture, which I have properly displayed in my cubicle at work. I'm not going to lie...the child tries to eat the crayons, but she also makes beautiful artwork when given the chance.

We had a 4th of July party in our community and there was a snow cone machine, which Daddy insisted that Hailey try. Nothing like a bit of red sugar ice to soothe a tired baby and ruin everyone's clothes.


Here's a few pictures from Hailey's first dip in our new community pool. It's right at the end of our street and was just finished on the 4th. We are so excited to go swimming all the time. Hopefully, she won't be as scared the second time around.

Well, that pretty much sums up our 4th of July festivities. Hope that you had a fun one as well!

Miss Independence

How appropriate that Hailey choose Independence Day to assert a little independence of her own. Yesterday was the first day that she made a regular practice of standing all by herself. It wasn’t just that she would let go of my hand when she was standing. It was an actual “I’m going to pull myself up and stand without holding on,” and she did it over and over again. I’m afraid that her crawling days are numbered. I can’t believe that I’m going to be chasing a toddler around soon!

We also went to our new community pool for the first time yesterday. Her first swimming adventure started out with lots of crying and clinging to Mommy, but eventually she warmed up to it. In fact, by the end I was able to put her in her little floaty boat and pull her around the water. She thought that was very cool.

New words for the week: hat, up, and doggy.

Dog Meet Baby Update

Ok. I got more of a full version of the story yesterday from Luke. Apparently, Hailey was harassing Josie repeatedly. I believe that may have included messing with Josie’s injured leg. Josie growled once to warn her and then got snippy, but didn’t bite. So, now I’m looking at this as a positive thing. Obviously, Hailey was really bugging Josie despite warnings. Josie didn’t bite her although she certainly could have. Now, it’s up to us as the parents to just watch their interactions very closely and intervene whenever Josie gives any type of mixed message. Josie really is a very sweet and obedient dog. I don’t think that she would hurt any of us on purpose, but accidents do happen. We just have to do our best to minimize the chances.

Dog Meet Baby

During our move from Nashville to Atlanta, we were in a period of rapid housing transition, which included living in a one bedroom condo for several months. Because of the considerable upheaval, our three year old border collie, Josie, went to live with my Mom and Harry temporarily. I'm sure that she had an absolute blast with them as they live right on the water and have considerable land on which she can roam.

Last Wednesday, Mom and Harry returned Josie to us and her new life here in Atlanta. Our new house backs up to a dog park, so we were convinced that Josie would be very happy as long as we took her to the dog park at least once a day. So far, that's pretty much true, and we've kept to a once or twice day routine. What I didn't really know how to plan for was the baby/dog dynamic. Josie is a herding dog; Hailey is a crawling baby. Do you see where this is going?

For the first few days, the two really kept their distance, but I kept a very watchful eye on their interactions because Josie seemed very unsure about how to react. Today, I came home from a dinner function to hear that Josie had growled and nipped at Hailey. Although she didn't bite and probably wouldn't, it was a really scary revelation both for me and for Hailey at the moment. Hearing this news was the first time that I've had to come to grips with the fact that Josie may have to find a new, childless home. I'm obviously crying as I write this because I absolutely LOVE this dog. She's been a great friend to us, and we've invested an unbelievable amount of time in training her and loving her and caring for her. We just failed her in that we didn't expose her to enough children at an early age, and I don't know if there's anything that we can do about it at this point. That's not to say that Josie's fate is inevitable, but I'm asking myself, "Would she be happier elsewhere?" "Is it fair to keep her?" "Is it unsafe to have her around the baby?" I'm sure that I'm probably overreacting a bit, but that is my job now that I'm a mother. In all likelihood, Josie and Hailey will learn to coexist in a peaceful and respectful way, but I still have to worry because that's what I do now.

Everyone Loves a Good Routine

Before we had children, one of the pieces of advice that we heard most frequently was “children love routine.” So far, we’ve found that to be 100% true with Hailey. Our daily routine means that she gets enough naps, eats regularly, goes to bed painlessly at a normal hour, and wakes up at about the same time we do. Unfortunately, with the number of visitors that we’ve had at our house in the last month, Hailey’s routine is often interrupted on the weekends. She sometimes gets one nap instead of two, eats later than usual, and/or is up until well past 10pm. But, the truth of the matter is that she adjusts fairly well. Sure there’s a little crankiness here or there, but in general, that crankiness is coming from me, not Hailey!

It’s true. I love our routine. Life is so much easier when we are all in sync. Now that Luke works a regular schedule, he’s home with us in the evenings. It’s great to do things as a family, even if that just includes making dinner, cleaning up, and playing with Hailey before bedtime. It’s funny how less stressful life became when I started thinking and planning ahead. Now our dinner menu for the week is prepared and posted by Sunday. The groceries are purchased for each week in one batch (hopefully), lunches are prepared the night before, and the kitchen is cleaned every night after dinner. Having life this routinized takes some time, patience, and sacrifices, but I think that the payoff is huge. I’m trying not to let life get too monotonous, to not schedule everything, to leave room for spontaneity. That part is more of a struggle for me than creating and maintaining a routine. But, we’ll find the right balance. Slowly but surely, I think we’ll figure it out.

Another Baby, Already?!?!?

Ha! Made you look!!! No, we're not pregnant, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Maybe it's because Hailey's getting close to a year old so more and more people are hinting that it's about time for us to have another one. A few months ago, I was really into the idea, but I've since come to my senses. So, here are the top 10 reasons why I'm not ready to have another child:

10) I've only been able to fit into my pre-baby clothes for a few months and I'm liking this thin thing. 9) I just stopped breastfeeding about a month ago which means that I just now actually got my body back
8) Hailey's toys have already taken over the house. I can't imagine having to pull out more infant toys again.
7) Hailey sleeps through the night. A new infant wouldn't.
6) Although I wouldn't do it any differently the second time, natural childbirth is a bit tough and not something I would look forward to right away.
5) I haven't found a midwife that I like in Atlanta.
4) We are just getting settled into our new life here, and a new baby would certainly complicate things.
3) I just started my new job and maternity leave is not something I'd like to bring up at the moment
2) We can't afford it. Daycare is expensive, and I can't imagine paying for two.
1.5) I'm really looking forward to going through the pregnancy/childbirth process again (I'm one of those weirdos that enjoys it), but this time I'll know for sure that it will probably be my last time. So, I want to be able to savor it.
1) I just got good at being a Mommy to one, and I've heard that one plus one does not equal two when it comes to children!!!

Some Extra Photos

Here we are coloring for the first time. Mmmm...crayons taste good!

Another shot from the lawn! We're so happy when Mommy blows bubbles.

You know your child must be teething when she gets this desperate.

P.S. I decided that the answer to the theoretical question in my last entry is that both of us will win at different points, but what's most important is that I will always be right because Mommy's are always right. It just takes children 20-30 years to figure that out!

Since When?!?!?

Living with an early toddler is like... well, I don't know what it's like exactly! All I know is that everyday I learn something about Hailey, and Hailey learns something about the world around her. So, I find myself trying to teach her the name of everything. Today, I tried all day to teach her to point at her nose when I said "nose" - a very useful skill. Unfortunately, she just wouldn't catch on. Then, while I was cooking our Father's Day dinner Luke says, "Look, I taught Hailey where her nose is!" Since it was Father's Day, I let him revel in his great teaching skills for about 3 seconds (at least 2 seconds longer than usual) before I told him that I'd already been teaching that to her all day. Geez!

I also find myself saying things like "Since when do we hate to get in our car seat" and "Since when do we roll over onto our belly every time I try to change your diaper." It's like she's constantly trying to exert her will over mine. Perhaps she hasn't realized that I'm the stubbornest person in the whole world (so is her Daddy by the way). There will be an epic test of wills from here on out. If you were going to place bets, who do you think is going to win???

Teachable Moments

Every once in a while Hailey has a moment of complete clarity in the middle of her baby babble. It’s in these quiet moments, when I can point to something, sound out the name for it, and wait for her to try to say it. We had one of those teaching sessions just the other day when I tried to get her to say “ducky” in the bath tub. I kept saying “duh kee” very slowly, and she would say “duh blah” or “duh pa,” but she was clearly trying to mimic my sound. That’s how we’ve taught her all of her words so far. It doesn’t happen very often that she has the type of focus to really listen and try, but when she does it’s amazing, regardless of whether she gets it or not. Just the fact that she’s trying and she knows what she’s supposed to be doing is such a wonderful feeling.

In other news, she has two top teeth now, and I think that she’s getting one of her eye teeth as well. There’s a lot of teething going on. I’ll try to post a picture later tonight.

By Golly, I Think She's Got It!!!

There's nothing better than the moment that your child understands something for the first time. We've been trying to teach Hailey the signs for "more" and "all done" so that she doesn't just sit in her high chair and whine. We started this when she was about 6 months. She's 10 months now, and I think that she just might have it down. It's not a perfect system. No, there are still moments of whining and crying, but I think that she gets the basics. This morning she not only said more when she was out of bananas (without whining), but she also very calmly did the sign for all done just before she started whining o get out of her chair. It was amazing. Tomorrow I'm sure that she won't do it at all, but at least for the moment she gets it. So, I'm going to go bask in the glory of success before I move on to trying to teach her how to finally say Mama!

Hailey - The Genius

Let me just take a minute to brag...my child is a genius. Ok, maybe she's not Einstein yet, but she has quite a vocabulary for a nine and a half month old. Here is a complete list of her formidable vocabulary:

Baba - that's bottle, duh
Bubbles - when we're outside blowing bubbles, obviously
Mama - only when she's mad, not sure why!
Dada - all the time, particularly when she's happy
Book - yes, she really says it
Uh oh - when she drops something on the floor and wants you to pick it up - usually uttered four thousand times during dinner
Bye Bye - includes a wave with her hand facing herself instead of outwards

We are still working on kitty cat, baby, nana, papa, etc. I'll let you know. I posted some new pictures on Flickr

More Pictures at Long Last

Here are some pictures from Grandpa Pete's visit. I hope to have some more soon. We are going to try to finish our unpacking and settling in this weekend, which means that I will have a lot more time for picture taking and posting in the future!

The picture below is from Hailey's first swing experience. This is the park near our house that we walk to almost every day. Despite what it looks like in this picture, she now hates the swing. We're trying to warm her up to it again, but she's been pretty unhappy when we put her in it lately.

Grandpa Pete calls this picture "Eating or Wearing?" You can see why...

I call this picture the "Vogue Look." It's funny how she completely understands what to do when we bring out the camera. She's a ham already!

"Mommy, why are you a b*#&^?"

I am having some type of emotional breakdown. I guess that it's a combination of the stress of the new move and the weaning. I've pretty much stopped breastfeeding. I had cut back, but now I don't think that I make enough to satisfy her even when I do feed her. So, I think that she's pretty much done with me. I thought that the weaning process would be easy. Kind of like just tapering out, but I am a complete witch. I'm having crazy mood swings. If this is what menopause is like, then count me out!

Up, Up, and Away

Life has been so hectic with our move into our new Atlanta house, but I wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that Hailey started crawling last weekend. Gone are the days of the army ranger belly crawl. She is up on her knees at this point. She also has started walking behind some of her pushable toys. That's pretty funny to watch too. She's going to be walking in no time. We've only been in the house of a few days, and it's already time to start installing baby gates! I'll send some pictures as soon as we get our cable hooked up!!!

Hailey's First Word Is...

Drum roll please....Dada. It's true. She learned how to point yesterday. So, we've been naming everything that she points at. We had a long session of Mommy, Daddy, and Baby pointing. Then, she looked up, pointed at Luke and said "Dada." It was amazing. Sure, she didn't do it over and over, but it still counts. Mark it in the record books...first word 4/25/07. First pointing - 4/24/07. Oh, and first clapping 4/14/07. I forgot to add that one earlier.

What Will I Be?

I'm sure that every mother wonders what her child will be when he/she grows up. I think about that a lot now that Hailey is developing her own personality. So far, I'm thinking she'll be some type of entertainer. She's such an extrovert already. It takes her no time at all to warm up to anyone, and she loves to be the center of attention. She has such a happy, wonderful personality. I'm trying to soak in all of the smiles while she's giving them. I'm sure they'll be hard to find when she hits her teenage years!

Here's a picture of Hailey playing the piano at Grandpa Pete's house. She really enjoyed banging away on it. I certainly hope that she has more musical talent (and follow-through) than I did.

In other news, I did find a day care finally. She's going to be in a family home similar to the one that she was in first in Nashville. There are only 6 kids and they are all older than Hailey. I like that she'll have exposure to older kids. It should be a good fit. Luke's office is also considering starting a daycare when they move to their new facility. So, that might be an option in the future.