Roll Over, Roll Over

My boss' boss, Linda lives in my parents neighborhood, which is weird because I see her out in public at stores and out to eat at places around their house. Its kind of like seeing your teacher at the grocery store...they aren't supposed to have a LIFE outside of work! But, it is nice when we have meetings at her house, because then I pop in and spend time with my parents. We had our annual Christmas lunch at Linda's on the 16th. Since the lunch wasn't going to be over until 4:00, and traffic would be a NIGHTMARE, Joe and Hadley met me at my parents' house. We spent some time with them and then went out to eat. It was nice. Hadley was perfect.

Joe and I both had the next day off and planned to do some errands and go on a date. We got up and played for a couple of hours and took Hadley to daycare (I felt pretty guilty sending her when I didn't have to work), then we set off about our day. We went to breakfast and then to run some errands at the mall before going on our "date." There was nothing playing at the movies that we wanted to see, so we decided to go to Main Event. We walked right up and were told they were closed for a private event...great....we couldn't find anything to do, how lame is that? So, we went and picked up our baby. I ran in to get her and the teacher says, "Oh, she rolled over today." WHAT??? I missed it? Seriously?? She had almost rolled over while we were playing that morning, but she'd been almost rolling over for weeks. I got huge tears in my eyes from happiness and guilt. How could I miss such a big thing on a day when I didn't even have to work???? I compose myself, get Had in her car seat and go to tell Joe that she rolled over! Here's how it went:
Me: "So, um Little Miss Hadley Grace rolled over today! I can't believe I missed it."
Joe: "Oh."
Me: "I can't believe I missed her first time to roll over and I wasn't even working." ( I couldn't get over the fact that I took her to daycare when I was off work)
Joe: "Welllll, today wasn't the first time she has rolled over."
ME: "WHAT? When did she roll over????"
Joe: "Mary Grace told me she did it yesterday."
Me: "She rolled over and you didn't tell me???"
Joe: "I didn't want you to be upset that you missed it."
So, Hadley really rolled over for two days before I knew anything about it. Talk about feeling like a failure as a mom. When we got home that day, I put her on the floor determined we were NOT moving until she rolled over. No joy. We tried again Saturday. No joy. But, something wasn't quite right with her Saturday, so I didn't make her stay on the floor all that long.

Hadley had gotten really clingy Friday and Saturday nights, and she would SCREAM anytime we put her down. On Sunday she seemed fine, so we went to church. She started screaming in the nursery and we ended up going to the ER. Hadley was starting to get another ear infection (2 in 2 weeks). I'm hoping the first one just never went away, but I'll never know. Poor baby was not feeling well at all. But, thanks to her meds, she was on the mend quick. Finally on Monday at her follow up appointment with her doctor, I saw her roll over. After the nurses had taken all her information and gotten her weight, I got her dressed and was holding her. Then the blowout. So, I stripped her down and was trying to change her (it was an awkward set up, I was trying to dig through the diaper bag, there was no place to put anything and it was chaos) and she decided it was high time she roll over for me. She rolled right into the thick of things if you know what I mean. I was still pretty happy to see her do it. I cleaned her up, got her dressed, and policed up everything we got dirty in the exam room. It was quite the ordeal. Somehow it seems fitting that the first time I see my baby roll over is in the doctor's office in the middle of something that resembled a calf scramble at the rodeo.

Hadley Grace meet Santa Claus

We took Hadley to meet the big man in red on December 6 after I got off work. I figured since it was a Monday night early in December, no one would be there in line. As we walked toward Santa I heard barking...LOTS of barking. It was weird. We round the corner and there are tons of people in line to see Santa with their pets! Yep, we went on pet night...classic. Santa was on a break feeding the reindeer so we had to wait and wait and wait. Hadley slept and slept and slept. We were trying to figure out the perfect moment to wake her and feed her so she didn't scream bloody murder at the jolly ol' elf. The line moved so slowly because people were dressing up their pups and using props. Next year, I will check to make sure it isn't pet night! Hadley did great though, she snoozed until we woke her up for her bottle, she ate and then threw up down the side of her dress, and was ready to sit on Santa's lap for a picture. She did great! I'm a little bummed that her dress matched Santa's chair perfectly. Out of all of her Christmas dresses, I picked the one that matched the upholstery, go figure!

Cookie Weekend and 3 Months

This weekend was our annual Cookie Baking weekend. We set aside two days to make tons of cookies. This year was so different (and much harder) with a baby to care for in the midst of it all. All in all, we made over 70 dozen "pieces." Hadley enjoyed herself for the most part, but wasn't feeling well. She woke up Saturday morning with a fever of 100.8. We went to the doctor as a walk in (we went to the doctor that I used to go to) and they thought her ear looked slightly red, so they put her on antibiotics as a safe guard. I think tomorrow we will probably go back to Hadley's regular Doc just to be sure he thinks she looks okay. All in all, it was a successful weekend and Hadley seems to be feeling better.




Hadley is 3 months old today! In some ways time has flown by and in other ways it seems like it took us a long time to get to this point. My parents taught her La Cucaracha today, she thinks it is hilarious. She is working on rolling over (back to tummy), holding her head up fairly well, reaching for things (especially her reflection in the mirror), and turns in the direction of who is talking (most of the time). We weighed her in tonight at 10 lbs 10 oz! She has been gaining weight slowly and I've been a bit worried. On Wed we weighed her and she has gained 4 ounces since then! That is a crazy amount for her to gain in such a short time! Hadley Grace, we love you so very much, its hard to think about what life was like before you. I am torn, I want you to stay small, but I also want to be able to have a conversation with you and know what you are thinking in that beautiful head of yours. For now, I will hold you and cuddle you as long as you will let me. I know it will go by in a blink!



Hadley was having floor time this morning and fell asleep as she was rolling over. She rolls over about half way (from back to front).

One of the cookies I made for Hadley. BU class of 2034!

It was much easier to take this month's picture than last! We got several cute ones before she fell over. She almost rolled over, but then started having a melt down, so we saved her!

Thankful

Every year around this time we all focus on giving thanks for our "stuff." And, like most things "our stuff" changes over time. In addition to all the normal things, friends, family, homes, cars, jobs, food, clothes, etc... This year, our family had MUCH to be thankful for!

• Dad's successful quintuple by pass surgery (and recovery) last December
• Awaiting the arrival of baby Cocoa Puff, Hadley Grace with a healthy pregnancy
• Grannie's recovery from multiple hospital stays
• Grannie's succesful valve replacement surgery in August followed by another succesful surgery in October
• The most precious little girl I've ever laid eyes on
  

This Thanksgiving was a bit different for us. Hadley and I drove up to Mom and Dad's on Wednesday evening to spend the weekend. Joe was working the night shift, so we didn't want to be home alone trying to be quiet during the days. My parents cooked the usual feast and we took it on the road to Joe's work for all of those who had to work Turkey Day.

Hadley chilling in her high chair while Gigi makes turkey

Friday we went out for some Black Friday people watching and some light shopping. I spent a whopping $28 at Gymboree and called it a day. Saturday Hadley and I helped decorate the house for Christmas. There is nothing better than Mom's house at Christmas time!

Tucker checking out Miss Hadley after her Black Friday excursion

Mom and I took SEVERAL breaks from decorating to love on Hadley and pose her for pictures

Hadley was supposed to watch Gigi and make sure she put the greenery up right

Best of all, Hadley got several days of extra love from Mom and Dad and I didn't change hardly any diapers while I was there. Gigi took them for the team!

Sunday we went to church and spent some time with Joe. Hadley wore her first (of many) Christmas dresses and looked SO sweet!