Well... we are getting REALLY close to walking! Haylee took her first steps today. We practice walking everyday with her and tonight while we were playing Travis stood Haylee up and she took a step towards the couch then fell down. Later this evening she pulled herself up and took three more steps. It is so exciting! I think Travis and I get so excited that we scare her and it makes her fall down. We will keep everybody posted! Tomorrow when I get home I will try to get some video of Haylee.

Besides that, we have been busy, busy working over at our house. We have been painting and today Travis and his dad began building our deck. We are so excited about the deck. Pictures will soon be posted of that.

Yesterday we went to Briley's (Haylee's cousin) birthday party. We had so much fun! There are a couple of pictures of Haylee from the party. She played with balloons, rode on a roller coaster, played with other children and Aunt Melissa played bubbles with her. Haylee was so tired after the party. We can not believe that Briley is already 2. Soon it will be our little angel's birthday!

We hope that everyone has a great week!

Yesterday Haylee turned 9 months old. I say it all the time, it goes by so fast! Haylee has had a difficult month fighting sinus infections, bronchiolitis, and allergies. But, we are happy to say that she is feeling 100% better now.  We are so glad that she is back to her normal, happy self.

I took Haylee today to the doctor for her 9 month check up. She weighed in at 16 pounds 10 ounces. That puts Haylee in the 20th percentile for weight compared to other babies her age. She is also 27 1/4 inches long. She is growing more and more everyday. Haylee has a new friend, Katherine, who was born on September 15. It wasn't until we went to visit her that I realized how much Haylee has grown. It's hard to imagine that 9 months ago Haylee was that small. :o)

So, back to the doctor, they checked Haylee's iron levels, which are all fine, and also gave her a flu shot. The flu shot is recommended to all children between 6 months and 5 years old. She did very well with her shot, but hated being pricked in the finger to draw blood. She wasn't too happy.

The dr. also said that we could begin giving Haylee regular table food! Which is really exciting b/c Haylee doesn't seem to care for  baby fooda whole lot. The doctor said that is usually a sign that the child is ready to move on. This month Haylee grew 4 more teeth. She has her two front teeth and both of her "fang" (K9) teeth. So, she is definetly ready to move on to real food! There are a few restrictions such as, no sugary foods, eggs (she can have the yolks only), fish, and honey. She will continue to have formula until 12 months. When Haylee turns 11 months we can begin introducing her to whole milk with her meals. So, as you can tell we are growing up!!

Haylee's personality always makes us smile. She has a new face that she likes to make. She opens her mouth up as wide as she can, scrunches her nose, and laughs. It is so cute. I have been trying to catch it on video but it is hard to do! I will keep trying.

Haylee also learned how to wave this month. It takes a couple of seconds to register what to do, but she usually will wave after we do it first. I did catch that on video, so be sure to check it out in the video section. (Ignore my voice)

Our little crawler has really been on the move lately. She is REALLY fast. I have said that before, but I don't think it's normal. It is REALLY fast. She is very determined. She loves it when we get down on the floor with her and play. She likes to play "roll the ball" and catch mommy or daddy. Haylee also likes to bear crawl. Which to us is a sign that she is just about ready to walk. Haylee can pull herself up, move around, let go, stand for a minute by herself, and also squat down and stand back up. It is just a matter of a couple of weeks, I am thinking, before our little one is walking. The dogs better get ready! :o) Ha Ha

When we go out in public with Haylee she is quite popular. She gets a lot of attention, which she loves. We love it as well because it makes us so proud. Every day we thank God for our litte angel. This month will be full of a lot of new adventures for us as parents, as well as Haylee. The weather will be cooling down, hopefully, and we will be able to do more activities outdoors. It is hard to imagine that in 3 months she will be 1. AHH! :o)

We hope that everyone will have a great weekend!

The past two weeks at our house have been pretty eventful and tiring. It all started with a cold. Haylee had the sniffles for a few days before we decided to take her to the doctor. The doctor told us she had a sinus infection and prescribed her an antibiotic. We thought... a couple of days and she will be back to normal. Well a week later and Haylee was getting worse. She was coughing, breathing deep, fussy, throwing up, and running a fever. Travis took her to the doctor last Wednesday morning. He called me at work and told me that the doctor wanted us to take Haylee to get a chest x-ray and nasal swab for RSV. I left work and took her for her tests. By the time we got home Haylee's fever was 102.5, and it had gone down from when we were at the hospital. Anyway, later that afternoon the doctor called and all of the tests were negative. Thursday Haylee went back to the doctor, still with a fever, and feeling really bad. It was decided that Haylee has Bronchiolitis, which is basically baby Bronchitis. She was given a new anitibiotic, a steroid, and a nebulizer treatment to help her with her breathing. Today is Sunday and she is still not 100%, but we are getting there. She took the last of her steroid and antibiotic today. The steroid made her really fussy!! Nothing made her happy. She wanted to be held, then when you hold her she wanted down. She has barely had anything to eat since being sick. The one thing that she does want is the BINKIE!

Anyway, we can't wait for the day she is 100% better. We miss her sweet and happy personality. I haven't taken many pictures lately b/c she isn't feeling well. I did manage to snap a pic of Haylee wearing her Tony Romo jersey to help her cheer on her daddy's team.

 We hope that everyone has a great week!

Today Haylee is 8 months old. I really can't believe it. She is growing up so fast.

Last week I returned to work. It was pretty tough leaving Haylee. It's hard going from seeing her every minute of the day to only seeing her for a couple of hours in the evening. We are both adjusting.

Haylee is determined to move onto walking. She always wants to stand. She tries so hard to move around. I have noticed that she has "toughened" up in the last couple of weeks. At frist she would cry everytime she fell down. Now, she will fall down and begin laughing. I guess she realized it didn't really hurt. Haylee will pull herself up to a standing position and let go for a few seconds at a time. With each day she stands on her own longer and longer.

This month Haylee has learned how to feed the dogs. The dogs have also learned where to hangout in the kitchen. When I get home and begin cooking dinner, I usually put Haylee in her highchair and give her a snack. Haylee likes to feed Macy her "puffs". It is really funny to Haylee. We have been training Macy to stay away from Haylee while she is eating. However, Macy knows where to go when I take her out of her highchair.

Within the last week, Haylee started saying "mama", but she continues to say dada more often. It's all too cute. A lot of times when we are talking to her and she will repeat us with some noise, and we always joke about what she says back... it usually sounds like what we say. It's so funny.

I guess the only other thing I can think of at the moment is how Haylee likese being read to. I try to read Haylee a story every night. She enjoys looking at the pictures and watching my mouth as I say the words. She is so smart.

I know Haylee has had many more changes and experiences this month. We have kept her busy with the beginning of the school year. We thank God every day for the beautiful angel he has blessed us with.

My days left home with Haylee are dwindling down. :o( I only have three more days left before teachers return to work. I have had the BEST summer being home with Haylee. She has learned so many new things and it has been fun being able to experience them with her.

We have had a rough week or so with Haylee's sleeping patterns. She hasn't been taking naps like she used to and she has been waking up in the middle of the night. She will usually go right back to sleep, but she wants to be with us. As soon as you lay her down she begins crying. It's so hard to listen to her cry the way that she does. It can pierce your ears! After talking with some people I beleive that she is just going through a phase. It will be nice when she gets through it.

Haylee has become quite the crawler. She is SO fast! She goes for the dogs, Macy mostly, and their water bowl. :o) HeHe She enjoys being "free" on the floor rather than in her exersaucer lately. The exersaucer has been such a great toy! It keeps her contained. Oh well! Maybe she will like it again in a week. I found a walker for Haylee. She hasn't quite figured it out yet. She can push herself backwards, but can not go forward b/c she can barely touch the ground (even on the lowest setting). I guess she gets her height from her mom. 

Haylee is eating really well. She loves all of her fruits and most veggies. Haylee prefers the organic meat dinners rather than the plain meats. (a little high maintenance??? ) We have been experimenting with other flavors and textures of foods. I have given her jello, LOVED it. Daddy gave her a bite of his ice cream, LOVED it. She has had some mushed banana, again LOVED it. She really wants to eat what we are eating. We just need some more teeth.

Babble, babble, babble...Haylee is a talker!! Sometimes her mouth is moving but nothing is coming out! She's trying. The other day Haylee was crawling towards her daddy in the kitchen, when she stopped she looked at him and said dada with a BIG smile. It took us a minute but he looked down and we realized she said dada and knew what it meant. It is so awesome! She has done it a couple of times in the last two days. I can't wait to hear her say mama.

Haylee is doing such a great job! She is getting so big and smart.

We can not believe that our little girl will be 7 months old on Friday! It's hard to imagine what our life was like before her. Haylee makes each new day interesting. She brings meaning to our lives.

I have been so lucky to be home with Haylee this summer. I feel really blessed to be in the career field that I am in, so that I can have time home with my baby girl. I am down to one month before returning to work.

This past month we have really learned a lot about Haylee's WONDERFUL personality. She is such a happy baby. It is rare if you can't make her smile. Haylee loves attention. She knows when people are talking about her. She will smile and bury her head in my shoulder, like she is shy. It's so sweet.

She absolutely LOVES dogs. Any dogs. Haylee will laugh and laugh. It is the cutest thing. Sometimes in the evenings we will go in the back yard and Travis will throw the ball to Macy, Haylee gets a big kick out of Macy chasing after the ball.

Haylee still enjoys playing in her exersaucer, but she is beginning to prefer being on the floor. She likes to roll around playing with her toys. She likes to chew on books and play with mommy's cell phone and keys. It's hard to get her to stay still. She wants to go, go, go. This makes it extremely difficult to change diapers and clothes.

This month she has really found interest in Baby Einstien DVD's. More so than previous months. She will actually laugh at the puppets on the tv. We are learning sign language and farm animals. I usually let her watch one after she eats lunch so that she will be ready to go down for a nap. Haylee isn't a very good napper. Somedays she feels like a nap and others she won't take one at all. I guess she is like her daddy. He doesn't require a lot of sleep. I, on the other hand, require 8 hours a night! :o) So, I have found that putting on the Einstein DVD will usually make her sleepy.

While I am busy making dinner, Haylee likes to sit in her "bumbo" seat and watch me cook. I give her some Gerber puffs (similar to cheerio's) or biting biscuits. She will sit on the counter eating her "snack". It allows me time to make dinner for us.

This month Haylee learned how to drink from her sippy cup. YAY! I am so happy she can do this now.She loves to drink cold water. She will take a sip and make a surprised face, because the water is cold, then laugh and do it over.

She has also learned to sit up. All month she could sit up if I helped her get into position, then last Thursday, Haylee learned how to push herself up. It's so cute. She sits so straight with a big smile on her face, so proud of herself!

The big news of the month is that HAYLEE IS CRAWLING!! It's so exciting and sad at the same time. The sad part: She is getting big! They really don't stay babies very long. The exciting part: I was able to see her do it for the first time. I LOVE being home with her. Everyday I give Haylee a lot of "tummy time". She'd been rocking for a few weeks, then this afternoon I put her on the floor with meso I could fold clothes and off she went. It was so exciting! I immediately began making phone calls and while I was on the phone she crawled over to the laundry baskets, pulled herself up to a standing position and let go! I hung up the phone as fast as I could and tried to take a picture with my phone. It was the craziest thing. All of this in one day. It was very emotional. It seemed like she stood for 10 -15 seconds. (It was probably only a few) I just couldn't believe it.

Well our little baby girl is growing up! Way too fast if you ask me. It's all exciting though. I am sure this next month will bring many more adventures and new discoveries.

WOW! Where has the time gone?? Haylee is getting so big. Everyday she is doing something new. It is so much fun!

Haylee weighs 15 lbs. She is eating 4 times a day, 8,12,4,and 8. Haylee is eating about 5-6 oz of formula at each feeding. She is also eating solids at 8, 12, and 6:30. We have gone through all 1st foods and are now eating 2nds. We haven't come across anything that she really doesn't like. Maybe that means she won't be a picky eater!

This past month Haylee has become really active. She loves to roll. She will roll across a whole room in no time at all! It is very cute. She can sit up using her hands to hold herself up. She can also lay on her tummy and push up on all fours. A couple days ago she began rocking. So I am assuming we will be in the crawling stage soon....maybe too soon. :o)

Besides trying to move, Haylee loves to play. The exersaucer is her favorite toy. She also loves really soft blankets and stuffed animals. Haylee loves to play with people. She will laugh and laugh at sounds that people make at her. It is so funny what adults will do to make babies laugh. Haylee is laughing ALL the time.

She has a wonderful personality. Knock on wood, she rarely cries. Haylee will cry when shes tired, hungry, or needs a diaper. She loves people. I am so thankful for her personality. It makes it easy for us to take her places and pass her around.

This month Haylee went on her first airplane ride. She did great on both flights! I was so proud of her!

She also sat in a highchair all by herself for the first time. I am really excited about that b/c the carrier is getting too heavy for me! Before we know it she will be eating food with us! I can't believe how fast she is growing.

This month we also tried swimming again. This time Haylee had so much fun! She didn't care for the float. I guess she didn't like not being able to touch the ground. She preferred to be held. She would splash the water with her hands causing the water to splash her face. Haylee would laugh and laugh. It was so cute.

Oh yea... Haylee's bottom two front teeth came through! The doctor told me today that she can have some puffs to chew on. Puffs are similar to cheerios, but they are made by gerber and melt in your mouth so the baby won't choke.

Today we had her 6 month well check up. She had shots again. She won't have anymore shots until she is 1. Haylee would not give anyone at the pediatricians office a smile today which is not like her. I guess she knew that they were going to give her a shot.The doctor also told us that we can start giving her less of her reflux medicine so that hopefully within the next month she won't have to take it anymore. Usually by 6 months their esophagus tract has fully developed. Other than that, she is doing GREAT. We are supposed to continue with the 2nd foods and when she gets a top tooth move on to 3rds.

We are looking forward to the exciting new stuff that this month will bring. We hope everyone has a great 4th of July and is having a wonderful summer!

 Haylee went on her first airplane ride on June 19. She did GREAT! Mommy was a little nervous taking her on the plane for the first time, but Haylee made it easy. We went to visit the grandparents and aunts in Georgia. :o) Our flight left on a Tuesday. The take off went well and Haylee was entertained with a new toy I bought her, then she entertained everyone else. She was the star of the plane. The flight attendants LOVED Haylee. Everytime they would walk by our seat they would stop and talk to her. Haylee flashed her BIG smile. Later in the flight one of the flight attendants took Haylee and walked around the plane introducing her to the other children. Haylee likes having all of the extra attention! We soon found out that Atlanta was having some bad weather so our flight was diverted to Savannah. We were able to deplane and stretch out for an hour before we head to Atlanta. So, on Haylee's first flight she had to do 2 take off's and landings. I am so proud of her!

Once we made it to Atlanta we did all kinds of fun things and was really spoiled! Tomorrow is our flight back...I will be sure to let everyone know how she did!

Can you believe that Haylee will be 6 MONTHS OLD on wednesday? She is getting so big!