8 Months Old

Really, it has already been a month?!  This is going by way too fast for Mommy's liking!  Hattie Cakes is 8 months old today.  The biggest milestone this month is that she is finally eating solids!  Just in the last week she has decided that eating isn't too horrible.  She still makes a face with just about every bite, but she will open her mouth for more.  Her favorite are Baby MumMums (like rice crackers).  She does pretty well actually chewing them too, especially considering she still doesn't have any teeth!  I discoverd that she seems to prefer food mixed with rice cereal and does not really like either one by itself.  Seems pretty gross to mix carrots and cereal, but hey, I'll do what works! :) 

Hattie definitely prefers sitting up to play, rather than laying down.  Ainslee is quite excited by this milestone, as it means much more interaction!  I love to watch them play together.  Ainslee will make up little games to play with her and Hattie will just laugh and laugh, which makes Ainslee laugh too.  It is the sweetest noise to this Mommy's ears!

We are still waking up once to eat in the middle of the night.  I'm sure I could break this little habbit, but I think part of me secretly enjoys our little quite snuggle time...

In the mobility department, Hattie can do 360s and go backwards, but has not figured out how to move forward yet.  I don't think I'm ready for her to be on the move yet!  She has been trying really hard to pull up on us and anything she can get her hands on.  I'm sure it's just a matter of weeks before she has that down.  Time to lower the crib!  She is a squirmy little thing and is eager to get down on the floor so she can chase after her big sister!  Ainslee nicknamed her the "Squirmy Pickle."  I'm not sure where she came up with that one, but it seems to suit her! :)

Here a couple of classic "Hattie faces"

Is it Summer yet?

Last weekend Grandpa and G-Ma came over to help Daddy work on landscaping our front yard.  It was quite hot, so I decided to get out the baby pool for a little cool down.  Ainslee had a blast playing in it with ALL of her toys for about 2 hours!  Hattie got in on the fun too, but I think it was a bit too cold for her liking.  She loved watching Ains splash though!  I think we are going to get a lot of use out of this little pool this summer. 

"Cleaning" her toys 

Happy just watching Big Sis

 Sisters!

Gone Fishin'

Grandpa has been dying to take Ainslee fishing since she was about 2 months old.  During Spring Break we finally went!  We went out to a friends house/ranch where our odds were good, since the ponds were stocked with perch and bass!  Ainslee had a blast watching the bobber and pulling up the fish.  I think she and G-Ma caught about 6 or 7!  Grandpa and Daddy each caught a few bass, but poor Mommy did not catch a thing!  Hattie took a long nap in her car seat and missed out on most of the fishing, but she was happy to play in the grass for the first time, once she finally woke up.

Her shirt says "I heart Grandpa"- very true!

Help from G-Ma

Jason caught a fish eating another fish!

Playing with leaves!

Love this drooly little girl!

Refreshment break with Daddy and G-Ma

Little Mommy

Ainslee has really gotten into playing with her dolls lately.  She is such a sweet little mommy to her babies and takes great care of them.  I'm pretty sure this is her favorite baby though...



First Dance

Hattie- 7 months

Ainslee- 7 weeks

I just love these pictures.  I'm pretty sure they will be a part of their wedding slide shows! :)

Wedding Weekend

We kicked off Spring Break '11 with a wedding in Fischer, TX.  My cousin, Ian married a sweet and gorgeous girl named Melanie.  We are so excited to welcome her to the family! :)  The wedding and reception were held in the historic Fischer Hall.  There were delicious cupcakes, a delicious fajita dinner, and lots and lots of dancing.  We had a great time celebrating in our cowboy boots!  We spent the night at Lotus Ranch and shared a room with Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor.  We didn't get too much sleep, but we it was fun spending time with family! :)

Our family 

 Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor

 Pop and Grammie

 The Wedding Party

 Our sweet big girl!

 Jason's mini-me

 First father-daughter dance for Hattie

 Ainslee reserved her first dance of the night for Grammie

 She had lots of fun dancing with Daddy

 Memaw and Putt danced the night away too!

7 Months Old

Technically, Hattie did not get a seven month birthday.  There are only 28 days in February (this year) and she was born on the 29th.  I guess March 1st will have to do... 

Hattie has become quite the charmer this month!  Her stranger anxiety is fading and she will smile at just about anyone who looks her way.  The most common phrase I hear from people who are around her is, "Is she always this happy?"  Seriously.  Everyone (except maybe the nursery workers at church) says this.  And my answer is YES, all the time.  If she is not happy then she is hungry or tired, and when those issues are addressed, she quickly resumes her happy state of being.

A few accomplishments/highlights of the past month include:

• Sitting like a pro
• Sleeping on her side or stomach
• Trying, but despising, carrots, squash, rice cereal, avocado, and the blackberry cobbler that Grandpa snuck you!  Hopefully, you will decide you like food sometime during your 7th month...
• Talking
• Sticking out your tongue
• Giving big slobbery kisses
• Grabbing anything in your reach, especially in restaurants!
• Playing peek-a-boo
• First trip to College Station!
• No more spitting up!!! 

We are STILL not sleeping through the night, only waking once to eat, but it is getting a little old... I'm hoping that once she decides to actually eat food, we might get a decent night's sleep.  I did get her to drink out of a sippy cup this morning, so just MAYBE we will give mom a break on the nursing... we shall see!  It would be quite nice to completely skip the bottle weaning process and go straight to a cup!

This is the face she makes ALL the time right now

And just because we may not have toothless gums next month...