Snow...boys...kisses

Snow! I still can't believe it snowed in Houston! We took Haley out in it but she didn't want much to do with it and quickly wanted back inside. I'm sure it didn't help that I made her wear her thick puffy jacket that she looked like a pink blob in. I did manage to get a few pictures of the back porch and truck.
On Thursday Grandma took Haley to get her picture with Santa at a local shop in Montgomery. They waiting in line over 1 hour! Poor Uncle Nathan who is home from his first semester at college was coerced into coming along. I was shocked she didn't cry when she finally got to Santa. I guess there were tons of kids there so she was quite entertained. Haley seems to like Santa as she always points him out. I bet she likes the beard and the big red coat.
Yesterday we went to a gathering for our friends who are home from Singapore, the Kirkham's. Haley had a good time playing with all the kids and even got her first kiss! Whoa...we are going to have to watch out for those Kirkham boys in a few years!!!
Today Grandma and Grandpa Vara along with Uncle Michael arrived for the holidays. Haley was really excited to see Uncle Michael again and daddy took her for a ride on Uncle Michael's wheelchair. She wasn't sure what was going on but she loves to talk to her Uncle.
Hope everyone has a great week and enjoy our last week in pictures...

It's snowing!

The truck covered in snow

Ben and Haley running around outside

Haley was more interested in carrying the chair around then sitting in it

Haley thinking....hmmm....he is cute!

Ben thinking.... I'm going to sieze the moment and go in for a kiss

Smooch!

Whoa...what just happened?

Ben going in for seconds and Haley pushing him back

Catching up

We have been having some computer problems lately and today is the first day the internet is working again!!! So to catch up....we had a great Thanksgiving with Matt's family coming down to spend the week with us. Haley enjoyed seeing all her grandparents including all on T-day, I think that is a first. On Friday we went to San Antonio where we spent the weekend and enjoyed a day at Sea World. Haley had a blast. She loved watching Shamu and was mesmorized my the show watching his every move. It made it hard for me to get a picture but that's ok. After a long day at Sea World she zonked out in the bed. We ended up getting a season pass so we can't wait to take her back. Later that night we went on a riverboat cruise dinner where we saw all the Christmas Lights along the riverwalk. What a pretty night.

This week we finally put up our Christmas decorations and have finally told Santa what to bring Haley for Christmas. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to start your shopping.

Enjoy our pictures from Sea World...

Getting ready to walk in

This is what I think of waiting in lines!

Shamu

Our family with Christmas Shamu

Boy what a long day...this was about 2 minutes after the picture with Shamu

Our week in pictures

I think the time change is really getting to me. It is already dark by the time we get home so once we put Haley to bed I just want to go to bed too! Or at least that is my excuse for not posting any this week :)
We had a good week. Last Saturday we decided to go to the Ren Fest...wow, never seen so many crazy people in one spot in my life. I've been in the past but I don't remember it being like this. Maybe I just never paid attention before. It was a cool, windy day so Haley just chilled in the stroller. I think she enjoying looking at all the "strange" people too. Matt had never been and I think we both decided it will be some time before we visit again.
This morning I had a moment that other mom's had warned me about. I was looking at Haley in her carseat and realizing that she is looking more and more like a toddler and less and less like a little baby. She is getting so big! Where has the time gone? We just enjoy watching her explore the world around here and learning her personality. And boy she has a personality. Some of her favorites lately include dancing. I'm trying to get it on video but everytime I pull the camera out that takes the video she is more interested in that then dancing. But the other day she was playing with a toy when on TV a catchy tune came on (which she hardly ever watches)...next thing you know she was moving her feet a mile a minute and twirling in circles. She was doing the "maniac". I laughed so hard and she is so proud of herself with a cheesy smile and clapping. Santa might be bringing her some music classes...the elves are looking into that. I'm not sure where she gets the love of music but anytime a song comes on tv she is mesmorized. Guess that explains why she likes to watch Ellen Grandma reports.
Hope you enjoy our week in pictures...

Haley and her purses. She has taken over my extra ones too.

What a big girl at the playground

Cheese

Trying to snuggle with mom and Buster before bedtime. She was right up on poor Buster trying to sleep!

Riding her Alphabet Train...Dad takes her for rides all around the house. All aboard! And notice how messy her face is...and look at the next pic

Hard to tell in this pic but Buster's beard used to be white. It looks wet but it's not. Now that Haley gives him all her food, he is getting fat and his beard is permanently stained. We are trying to cut back on all the human food he is eating...last thing we need is a trip to the vet

Tyring to use the stacker as a megaphone. Grandpa Lewis taught her this but she turns it the wrong way. She also tried to use a box for a megaphone too...didn't work out too well...imagine that :)

The best 4 letter word

I've been trying to get Haley to say "Mama" but she looks at me like I am crazy then "Dada" comes out. I know the "M's" are really hard so I try not to get my feelings hurt. She tries Buster, doggie, bubbles, but no Mama. Well, that was until Wednesday. Wednesday morning before work I was saying.....MMMMMM. She was laughing and finally started with the "mmmmmm". Yeah! We are close. Then wouldn't you know it, out comes "mmmmmm Dada" Matt and I laughed so hard. It's like she is teasing me.
Wednesday night though I finally had my moment. We were in Michael's looking at frames when she bursts out of nowhere, "Mama". Oh my heart just melt! That is such a wonderful feeling :)

The little daredevil

Wow, this week has been a blur. First to get caught up on Halloween. Haley's wasn't too sure about what was going on but one thing she did know was that Matt's costume scared the begebers out of her. He only wore it to one house before taking it off. Guess Haley didn't like daddy as a fat man in a thong (sumo wrestler). We made it down the street then she had enough so we called it a night.
Then came Tuesday morning. I had heard Haley whimper in the night but she went back to sleep so I didn't think anything of it. Turns out she got sick in her bed and slept in it all night. So needless to say after cleaning up chunky pasta out of everything (sheets, bumper, blanket, toys) I was a little queasy myself all day. She ended up with a fever almost all week and not wanting to eat so off to the dr we went yesterday. He said she probably just has the bug that is going around and nothing we can do about it, which we figured. Her fever finally broke yesterday and today she was back to the old Haley. Still not eating too much but at least no more whining, crying, clinging. Poor baby. Now Matt woke up sick today so I just know my turn is coming this weekend....yikes!
Now my funny story. Tonight before bed I've determined my child is going to be a daredevil. Good thing we have health insurance because I see several trips to the dr. in our future. She has decided she loves to climb. So she took one of her push toys, maneuvered it right in front of the chair, then decided to stand up on it with socks on. Now remember that the toy is on wheels...bad combination. We told her no, don't do that...yep...didn't work. She even fell right on her face one time, laughed, and did it again. Ahhh...I can only imagine what we are in for. I managed to get a few shots below of her feat she was so proud of. She was just beaming when she did it!

And finally, Happy Birthday Uncle John. Hope you have a great 20th birthday :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Not too sure about what's going on


Where's my head?


Riding my horse


Playing tug of war with Buster...I love this game! Mom and Dad like it too because Haley and Buster can wear each other out.



Look Mom...I'm on the car

Whoa...this is moving but I'm still laughing

Our little chick

Haley's getting good use out of her Halloween costume this year. And every time I put it on her I just want to squeeze her! Friday I took her to the costume party at The Little Gym. We were heading in as most people were heading out but it worked out good. We saw a few kiddos from her class and she wasn't too sure about the chick-fil-a cow. I think she had fun just people watching.
Saturday we went to Calyn Payne's birthday at Pump It Up. Haley's a little intimidated by the bouncies but finally got down the huge slide and loved it. Thanks Calyn for inviting us!!!
Sunday we took her to the Halloween party at the front of the subdivision. She got a balloon animal and her hand painted. We then walked over to the park and Haley had a blast going down the slide. I think we found a winner at the park. She has a slide at grandma's but she isn't too into it yet. Funny how that works out.
Now to the not so fun stuff. Matt and I have been joking that someone is going to call CPS on us when we take Haley out in public this week! She fell on Sunday on the cement while holding on to the wagon and both knees are raw now...ouch. Then yesterday she fell again walking to Grandma's car and now she has a busted lip and scratches on her nose and chin. Poor thing. We've been putting medicine on them and hopefully they will heal soon. So when you see us trick or treating on Friday, you'll know the story of her lip :(

Check out my costume!

Chirp Chirp

Where's my face?

Again Daddy

Wheee!

Tonight we carved our first pumpkins as a family! We bought three and this was Daddy making his. Haley's checking out what's inside,

Our trip to the zoo...and the zoo at our house

This weekend we did some firsts. It started with me finally planting some flowers in the back yard. Haley was helping me by picking the flower petals! Then she was watching me fill the pots with dirt so she thought she would help. And she did, but instead of getting the dirt from the bag she took the dirt from the newely planted flowers and gave it to me. No worries, I was just glad she was outside trying to help. So along my flower planting I went and the next thing I know I see her moving her mouth like she was eating something. You guessed it...she took a handful of dirt and wanted to try it! YUCK! Matt walked out at this time and snapped a picture since it was so funny.
On Sunday we thought it would be nice to enjoy the beautiful weather at the zoo! It was PACKED...and that doesn't even describe it! We still had a great time and the zoo was much nicer then we remembered it. Haley looked at the animals and enjoyed the petting zoo. She was so good and fell asleep before we even left the parking lot. I'm sure we'll go back to visit the exhibits we skiped.
And now the zoo at our house. Monday night I was at bunko so I heard the story second hand from Matt. He had given Haley a bath and was letting her run around naked while he was making her bottle. Her turned around and Haley had something in her hand she was trying to give to Matt. He took it and realized it was the dog's poop! YUCK! We're pretty sure it was Buster's since it was a little log (I know...tmi) but what's worse is that there wasn't anymore to be found. So I just know one day while cleaning we will find the rest of his poop. And why he is pooping in the house is beyond me! ARGGG...that dog! I guess the best thing is that Haley didn't try the poop...oh my! Ah, the adventures of a 12 month old and her untrained dog!!

Enjoy the pics :)

No that is not a brownie...that is potting soil

Haley looking at something very seriously...

Ahh...it was a Giraffe she was looking at.

Haley more interested in the elephant then getting a picture taken

Hmm..you're my size. What's your name?

Learning to pet the goat

I like this!

Accessorizing

The ups and downs of parenthood

This week we experienced the ups and downs of parenthood. After a wonderful weekend we put Haley to bed on Sunday night after she started getting fussy. Then about an hour later she woke up screaming. It wasn't the normal crying, more like something was wrong. So Matt and I both tried to calm her down and nothing was working until we decided to change her diaper. Poor thing had eaten something that didn't agree with her and caused a really bad diaper rash. I had just changed her diaper before bed so in the hour her entire diaper area was bright red! I've never seen her in so much pain. So we finally got her cleaned up, gave her some Tylenol to ease the pain, lots of Butt Paste (which works wonders!) and rocked her to sleep. Glad to say the rash cleared up quickly and she was fine the next day but that was my first real time that I have felt completely hopeless trying to ease her pain...poor baby.
Now to the joys! Everyday has been a joy with such a happy little girl but some days are just too funny. On Friday I had put Haley into a new outfit that had capri pants. It was size 12 months so I figured it would be fine. I got her all cute and then gave her a bottle a put her down to drink it. She took two steps towards me and her pants fell down to her ankles. She just stood there with a stunned look on her face like...what do I do now Mom? So off came those pants and I had to find some others in her drawers. I couldn't believe she can still wear the 3-6 months jeans! At her 12 month checkup she weighed in a 18.4 lbs which means she has dropped in the charts quite a bit. Her height was still at 50% but her weight is now at 10%. The dr. isn't worried since he said genetics is probably starting to take over and she doesn't have a big frame. Not to mention she won't sit down for even a minute, she is always on the go. So I guess no more Chunky Monkey! More like Skinny Minnie, at least for now.

Haley walking off at the park...Ms. Independent


Hmm..how many wipes come in a box?


My big girl!

Haley's Birthday Pictures

Ok, so to get caught up on Haley's big weekend. Thursday, which was her actual birtdhay, we took her to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. That was my first time there since I was 10 and boy has it changed! No more super scary gorilla...what's up with that? I guess they want to make it more kid friendly :) She really enjoyed it and afterwards we came home, had a small cake, and opened some gifts from Grandpa Jeff, Lee Ann and Uncle Mark.
Friday Grandpa Vara came to visit from El Paso. We went to dinner and played with all her new toys from Thursday. On Saturday Haley had gymnastics in the morning then had a birthday party with the rest of the family at Grandma's house. Our cousins and Great Aunt Jan drove in from Arlington/Burleson to help Haley celebrate the big day. I did a pink princess theme, afterall she is my little girl! She had no idea what was going on and did pretty good until I wanted her to wear her party hat. She got over that quickly and opened her presents, went swimming a little then took a nap.
She's been having fun playing with all her new toys. The other day she was riding her new horse Kourtney sent her and had her other leg in the dump truck. Today I caught her trying to sit insider her dump truck, that girl. She is silly. And one last note...this morning I got my first picture from Haley. It's a puppy dog that she colored while at the library yesterday with Grandma. I was so proud because just last week she was trying to eat the crayons instead of color with them. Needless to say it is displayed proudly in my office :)
Hope you enjoy her pictures from this past weekend.

Happy Birthday Haley!

Happy first birthday Haley! I still can't believe our little one is already one year old. What an awesome year full of blessings each day. More then anything, we are very greatful to have such a healthy and happy little girl.

Having a birthday on a Thursday really pays off! She had a small birthday gathering on Thursday and is having a family birthday today! I'll post pictures later of her birthday weekend.

We hope you enjoy her video...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Super Saturday

Haley had a super Saturday. We started the morning with gymnastics and Daddy came this time. There were more kids then before and she did ok. She is the youngest and smallest by 3 months and at times you can tell. She is VERY independent and loves to explore and go up to all the other kids. I think she really likes it because the entire 45 minutes she is running wild with a huge smile on her face.
After gymnastics we left for the Aggie game. Haley usually takes a nap around 9:30 so she is exhausted when gym gets out at 9:45. She slept the entire way to College Station and we got to the game little late. It was hot and the sun was beating down so Matt and I took turns letting Haley play in the shade down the ramps. I think we both managed to get in about 1 quarter of game watching. We didn't mind though as it is fun to watch Haley explore the new surroundings.
After the game we came back home, went to dinner and a quick trip to WalMart, then off to bed. Long day.
This morning Haley and I had some quiet time in her room where she took out her robe, so I put it on her, and tried some of her gymnastics by herself. I caught it on camera below. She was a snuggle bunny this morning, which she usually isn't so I was enjoying it :)

The start of gymnastics...

Haley more interested in the boys then learning new tricks!

Trying to climb on the mat

Somersaults

Wheeeee!

Catching the bubbles


After the Aggie game walking back to the car


Practicing her gymnastics at home (no she didn't really do a roll but it looked like it)