Eight Months

Hazel,

You are eight months old! Such a big girl. You really are getting more fun every day. You move all over the place, getter braver by the minute. In the past when crawling, you would pretty much stay where you could see us, but lately you have been venturing out around the couch and into the kitchen. You still love following the animals, but I think Junie B. has figured you out and runs when you get close. You have also started to stand up while leaning against the ottoman. Such a mover.

 

You are talking a ton. Daddy is pretty sure that your official first word is "Dada." He does have a point, since you say it all the time, and yeah, maybe you look right at him (or a picture of him) when you say it! You are eating a ton of new things: sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, apples, cantaloupe, prunes, green beans, rice cereal and oatmeal...to be exact!

 

You are still such a happy baby girl! You smile and laugh all the time. You have really developed an opinion of your own. You have realized that when you screech or growl we get you what you want, mostly food or a binky!

I'm a big girl and can climb up on my chair! Oh yeah, and I have such long eyelashes you can see them in my shadow on the wall!

I finally got a great picture of you doing your plank position. So stinkin' cute!

 

Happy eight months...in fact, it's been the happiest eight months!

We love you!!

Mommy and Daddy

O Christmas Tree

Hazel,
We got our Christmas tree today! We actually tried to get it last weekend, but the farm was closed. Last year we found a great little farm just down the road with great trees, so we went back this year. We got all bundled up, packed up the car, and headed out for the perfect tree! 

Mommy and Hazel getting ready for the hunt

Kisses for baby

Pretty girl

Our little family

Cheese!

Yep Daddy, that's the tree we picked

Hi Mama

Watching Dada

Daddy and Baby with our tree

We were a little squished, but we all fit. If you look close, we are all in this picture!

We'll have to take pictures of our tree in our house when it's all set up!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Snow Day

Hazel,
Last Tuesday you had your first snow day! Mommy didn't even have to work, so we got to play all day! Daddy stayed home with us for a little while, and we played and took pictures in the snow. I'm not sure you even touched the snow, but you thought your snow suit was pretty fun! We all laughed a lot, and Henry ran around like it was his favorite day ever. 

Mommy, this is funny

Our little birdy

You are our little present under our tree

Here's to many more super fun filled snow days!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

The park, the pool, and a whole lot of fun.

Hazel,
A little over a week ago Mommy and Daddy both had the day off of work, so we decided to take our first family trip to the pool! We went to the Kroc Center and played in the super fun pool. You sat and splashed, Daddy and Mommy both went down the slide, and we pulled you around in a life-jacket while you kicked, watched other people play, and tried to suck on the strap! You loved playing in the pool, and we all had such a great time! Hopefully we will get to play in the pool lots more.

The weather was beautiful the next day, so we decided to go to Bush Park for a walk and some pictures. You are so stinkin' cute, we can't get enough!

I'm so excited, I can't even stand it!

Daddy, look what I found! Henry wants to play too.

Daddy, I don't know about this thing on my head...

No, you are not in the middle of the road, it's a soap box derby track.

You really liked patting the ground.

Your partial plank position

Ooh, what's that girl doing? That looks fun.

Our attempt at a family self portrait!

 Trees and leaves are fun

Daddy's angle

Just after Daddy took this last pictures, you got really excited, leaned back a little too far, and fell ...oops! Daddy had to pick you up and make sure you were okay. You were more interested in this leaf!

We had such a fun family weekend! We have so many more to come.

Love you!
Mommy and Daddy

Crawling?

Hazel,
Okay, so maybe it isn't technically crawling, but you sure are moving...and moving fast! Daddy calls it the worm, Nana thinks it is more of a dolphin, I don't think it matters what we call it, you love moving! We officially decided you don't need a blanket to play on when you are on the floor, we just have to vacuum a lot more! It also means you have started hearing us say "no." You have done a great job staying away from the fire, but you sure like the buttons on the cable box, and apparently the Wii! Daddy found a game that you ejected and was on the floor. I guess that makes sense given that you also love the remote control! I tried to take some pictures of the process of you moving across the floor. They are not great pictures at all (since you move super fast), but they definitely show that you move!

Step One: Push yourself up and smile big for Mama

Step Two: On all fours, rock back and forth, scoot knees in, and move forward

Step Three: Make it across the blanket and grab book to suck on. Congrats, you made it! 

Watch out world, here comes Hazel!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Seven Months

Hazel, 

You are seven months old! This month has flown by. You are getting bigger and bigger every day. What's new this month? Well, at the beginning of the month we started food. At first you hated it, then you loved it, then you got sick and hated it again, and now you are back to liking (not loving) it. We are hoping you'll get back into eating your veggies you loved so much (avocados and sweet potatoes). I also froze pears and acorn squash to try too! Getting sick has been a big bummer. You have had a little bit of a cold for awhile, and it finally came on full force. At the beginning of this past week daddy even had to stay home with you because you were so stuffed up, you weren't eating, and you just seemed super sick. You guys had a fun sick day at home and since then you have been getting better. 

Aside from coughing, sneezing, and blowing snot bubbles, the big news this month is how much you move. You are so close to crawling! You are definitely scooting. You'll get into your push up position, pull your knees up, and then scoot your whole body forward over and over again to get where you want to go. It's so fun to watch you be able to get what you want! Speaking of getting what you want, you definitely have more of an opinion about what you want and when you want it! You are showing us a little bit of an attitude! We think it's funny now, but I have a feeling that in a couple of months we won't think it's so funny!! 

You are still talking up a storm. Dadada is your favorite, but you are also making k and b and sometimes p sounds. Pretty much everything but mama. Okay, that's a little bit of an exaggeration! You love interacting with people, whether it is talking to whoever is holding you, pulling their hair, or trying to eat their necklace, you love it all! You are so fun to be around, Hazel. Your smile is so pretty and makes everyone around you smile! Yesterday GG and Great Grandpa came to visit, and you sat in their laps and talked and smiled with them! Mike and Jeannie came to visit too, and you had so much fun with them! You love games like peek-a-boo, tickling, and flying above daddy's head (see picture below)!

The next three pictures crack me up. Such a funny series!

Seriously Mom? Another picture...lame.

Okay, fine, I'll look at you. What do you want now?

Oh, you just want me to smile, I can do that!!

It's a good thing my camera can take pictures fast as you only stay in the same place for a couple of seconds!

And you're off...

rolling all over the chair!

You love to read! We read to you every night, but lately you have loved reading books in our laps. You love looking at pictures, listening to the words....

and mostly, eating the books!!

You are such a big girl, and doing such big girl things! You make us smile every single day. We are so blessed to have you in our lives, you are the best Hazel we could have asked for!

We love you big seven month old girl!!!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy