>morning sickness

>I thought I might get by without it, but mother nature is not going to be that kind to me. Our bathroom (clean), chicken and odors make me sick. I am told there are no odors, but I smell something and I want to vomit. I don’t think I can handle Hadley’s diapers for much longer. Uuuuughhhh… I don’t like this part! AND, I actually turned away frozen yogurt, which is my favorite and it now sounds terrible!

>no no spot

>Hadley is testing us by doing things she knows she shouldn’t do… Such as, playing on the fireplace hearth, pushing the television buttons and playing with the electrical outlets. We’ve been redirecting her behavior and telling her no, but it’s clear that she is now testing us.

This morning, in a fit of frustration (after “redirecting” three times), I made her sit down in the corner. She sat there. In fact, went and sat there on her own at one point. This afternoon, I had to do it again and I tried to explain to her why (I know she doesn’t understand, but I need to tell her no) and she belly laughed while I talked. It was very hard to keep a straight face. And then I started to worry – will I be able to properly discipline this adorable little person or will she think it’s funny because I am fighting back the chuckles?

>backyard fun

>Hadley spent the day and night at Grandma’s and she was very entertained with watering the plants in the buff. She took me outside to show me her new toy, the hose, where we realized that the plants probably wouldn’t need to be watered for weeks, despite the heat wave. I love this picture.

>all grown up

>I took my little one down to spend the day with Grandma this morning so Jonathan and I could have some time to take care of some things that are tough to do with a little one. One major one is to clean… Hadley does not like the vacuum. So, I enlisted the help of my mom for the day, which has now turned into an overnight.

I have left Hadley with my mom on several occasions and anytime we took her to my mom’s house she would become very upset. But not today… oh no, Grandma’s house was a hit! We set up her little pool in the backyard, Grandma made Mac n Cheese with a side of bananas and Hadley decided that she was just fine without me. In fact, she walked me to the screen door, waved bye-bye and blew me kisses. I called two hours later and my mom had not heard a fuss out of her yet.

My little girl is growing up so fast. My heart is swelling with pride, and maybe some sadness as my baby sprouts into a little girl.

>cheese

>My kid will eat anything when topped with cheese! She’s a good eater anyway – loves avocados and salmon – but sometimes picky. Today I thought I’d try something new – cauliflower. Cauliflower is a favorite of mine, but in our house, only mine. So, I don’t ever have it unless in a restaurant. Today while at lunch I spotted a cauliflower and asiago cheese dish on the menu at Izza’s in San Clemente and it was delish. Not to mention, Hadley couldn’t get enough of it! But really, who wouldn’t love a dish doused in yummy cheese.

>dropping the second nap

>We FINALLY have a good nap schedule and I think it’s taking a turn. I think Hadley has readjusted herself to a noon time snooze and no longer goes down at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. We had her napping well in her bed and I was enjoying the extra time to myself during the day, but maybe I’ll get a nice monster nap out of her at lunch time.

The rule in our house with nap times is that she needs to go into her bed for at least an hour. She can choose to sleep, cry, watch her Baby Einstein DVD or play with her stuffed animals, but she does not come out for an hour. Lately her activity in her bed has been little sleep (if any) and a combination of the other allowed activities. However, this morning, she played for an entire hour and managed to pull everything off her changing table that is located next to her bed (that will be moved). So, I got her up, she ran around the house for while, I took her to the pool for a half hour and when she came back, she sucked down a bottle and took her nap on my chest. Now, I know I should have put her down, but she had already fulfilled her hour obligation and, let’s face it, a sleeping baby to snuggle with is sure wonderful.

It is now 5:15 p.m. and she shows no signs of sleepiness, which means bed time will likely come earlier than later (YAY!), although accompanied by some crabbiness.

I think I am going to miss the first nap…

>showing already

>I have always heard that second pregnancies show quickly, but I am at seven weeks and my belly has pouched even more than it was before (I’ve never had a spectacularly flat tummy). I am currently wearing my new B Band (thank you, Mom) with some shorts and finally feel somewhat comfy.

The first stages of pregnancy are not fun… your body is changing by the second. You feel fat. Your clothes don’t fit the same. Nausia. Heart burn. Sleepiness. Moodiness. Seems to me, with the exception of occasional nausia and chronic heart burn, I felt much better at month four. Two more months to go.

I did yoga yesterday afternoon. I almost bailed for a needed nap, but am glad I went because it felt wonderful! Not only did I feel rejuvinated, I have a nice level of soreness today. Looking forward to going again.

>baby signs

>I have been trying to teach Hadley some very basic sign language for several months now. Well, I haven’t been completely diligent, but she did learn the sign for more a few months back, but we didn’t see it often.

The other day at Gymboree I saw her signing for more bubbles, the teacher actually acknowledged the sign. Then she started using it more at home and I suddenly realized that she is absorbing this concept. So I went out and bought the Baby Einstein First Signs DVD and showed her how to sign for milk (in her case because we are weaning from the boob, I have only taught her the sign to use with a bottle). She picked up on it like that!

This morning, she brought us an old sign language flash card that showed a bottle and she brought it to us and signed for milk. I am so proud!

>spaghetti night

>

What can I say, it kept her busy!

>some of my favorite things

>Some of my favorite things I have for my little one (in no particular order):

1. ModMum and Hotsling slings. I don’t know what I would have done with out these. No, I didn’t really need two, but the ModMum sling was great when Hadley became wiggly because it offered more fabric to help keep her on my hip.

2. BeBe Au Lait nursing wrap. This made nursing a snap and kept me going when I thought I couldn’t do it in public.

3. Baby Legs. What an adorable and simple way to keep my kiddo warm. With a simple onesie, under a dress or jeans, these leg warmers were super cool!

4. Bugaboo Stroller. I am not a huge stroller user, but this nifty thing steers beautifully and is very convertible.