8 Months!

This past Thursday marked Haleigh's 8 month birthday! I know I say the same thing every month, but the time seems to be going by so quickly!

Haleigh is growing so quickly and her personality is becoming more and more apparent. She is an easy-going kid who is willing to put up with a lot from her big sister! She is very expressive and makes all kinds of adorable facial expressions! 

Eating: Haleigh gets solid foods 2-3 times/day. I haven't done a great job at following the '3 day rule' or at introducing just one new item at a time. Thankfully, she has tolerated everything quite well! She eats bananas, applesauce, pumpkin, black beans, ground beef, green beans, avocado, butternut squash, and oatmeal. She has also enjoyed a butternut squash ginger soup, potato soup, and some sort of risotto that is absolutely delicious that have been adult and kid-friendly:) Needless to say, I am quick to puree foods that we are eating for Haleigh as well. Thus, she has also had foods seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, onion powder, paprika, cinnamon, and a variety of herbs! 
    She also takes a bottle 4 times/day with about 6 ozs of milk each time. The bottle is a combination of breast milk and formula, although in my lazier moments she does end up with just formula! Again, I am very fortunate that she will drink whatever is available! 
    Haleigh loves to eat! She gets so excited and her whole body shakes when she sees her bottle being prepared or food set in front of her. Her eyes get wide and her arms go straight out and she can't hardly wait for the first taste! 

Sleeping: Haleigh continues to sleep through the night, going to bed close to 7pm and sleeping until anywhere from 7:30-8:30 am. Her naps are still very irregular. Some days we get a 2 hr nap; at other times we are lucky to get 45 minutes. We usually attempt nap time mid morning, early afternoon, and then once more in the late afternoon. She sleeps in her crib, starting on her back and usually ending up on her stomach with one arm awkwardly out to her side. Her soft purple bunny is always near by! 

Clothes: Everything is 9 months now and I'm noticing that some of the 9 month pants look like they won't fit for long! She's got some impressive thighs:) 

Teeth: 2...still just the bottom 2 front teeth. The past several days I keep thinking that we will soon see another though. Her hands have constantly been in her mouth and she's had a runny nose...but last time I checked we still just had 2. 

Activities: Haleigh loves to play and be surrounded by her toys! She will sit contentedly for quite awhile if she has the right toys nearby. The barrels, snowballs, and blocks are current favorites. She also loves pulling hair, watching Annaliese do anything, playing with her tongue, and eating. There really aren't too many things that she doesn't like...like I said, she's a pretty easy going kiddo!

Checking out Auntie Kelsey's tongue!

Movement: There really is no need for Haleigh to start crawling...Annaliese takes care of that for her. It looks something like this: Haleigh is sitting contentedly, doing her own thing. Annaliese comes over, pushes Haleigh onto her back and rolls her over onto her stomach. She then proceeds to drag Haleigh by the arms to wherever it is that Annaliese thinks she needs to be. Upon arriving, Annaliese sets Haleigh down and excitedly proclaims, "She did it! She did it!" I'd try to video it, but I'm trying not to encourage such activities. I don't think it's too good for Haleigh's shoulders!

Trick or Treating... and other Halloween fun!

Auntie Kelsey, Uncle Ben and Mallory came up from Seattle for the weekend so we spent most of of the weekend doing family stuff together. Friday morning Auntie Kelsey and Mallory came over bright and early (think 7:15am) while Uncle Ben worked all day. We spent a fair amount of time just hanging out around the house letting the cousins play together.

 Haleigh and Mallory

We then headed over to Auntie Kim and Uncle Thane's house for dinner. Some of the Thane's family was also there which meant there were lots of kids to play with!

 Auntie Kelsey and Mallory

The kids table!

After dinner, we dressed the kiddos up in their costumes and headed outside for some trick-or-treating. Annaliese and Elias picked up on things quickly and as soon as they were given a piece of candy, they were quick to move on to the next house (or try to take another piece!)

 Haleigh the bumblebee

 Kisses from Grandpa!

 Mallory the cow and Haleigh the bumblebee

 Annaliese was super  excited to be Winnie the Pooh!

 Our attempt at a picture with the little kids...Mallory the cow, Annaliese as Winnie the Pooh, Haleigh the bumblebee, Elias the monkey and Josiah (Thane's sister's little boy) the penguin! 

Annaliese and Elias were pretty ready to get back home and check out their candy bags! 

Saturday morning, Auntie Kim and Elias came over to play. Grandma had given all of the grandkids matching outfits awhile back and we finally had the opportunity to get a few pictures together!

7 Months!

This week brought us to Haleigh's 7 month birthday! Looking back over the past month, it seems that there should have been more milestones or big changes. But that doesn't seem to be the case! The biggest change has been that I went back to work this past week. Eventually I will be working 4 days a week from 3:00-11:30pm but the training and orientation period started out with 5 full days...which meant that the girls were either at a babysitter or home with Grandma or Kyle every day this week! They handled it very well! 

Sleeping: This has still been rather inconsistent. We try to put Haleigh to bed between 7:00 and 8:00pm. Frequently she wakes up around 10:00 and will cry for about 10 minutes. As long as she isn't too cold, she will fall back asleep without any intervention. (We have found that her room is the coldest in the house and she needs to sleep in two fleece sleepers! I don't know what we are going to do when it actually gets cold out!) Her wake-up time varies, but seems to most consistently be around 8:00. That being said, it is 9:20 and she is still asleep this morning! 
   Naps also vary. Some days she will nap fabulously, taking two 2 hour naps and then a shorter 3rd nap. Then there are usually a day or two where she takes 2 or 3 45 minute naps. We just go with it:)
   I always put Haleigh down on her back and she usually turns onto her side and grabs her purple bunny right away. Within the last week or so, I have started to find her flat on her back with her arms straight out in the morning. 

Eating: Haleigh usually nurses or takes a bottle 4-5 times/day. She is also eating more solids and I am trying to be more consistent at feeding her and also broadening her diet! We regularly give her bananas, avocado and applesauce. We've also tried peas, green beans, carrots, and pumpkin. She loves green beans and could easily pass on the carrots! Unfortunately for her, I love the face she makes when she gets the first bite of carrot so she continues to get them:) 

Clothing: Onesies are still 6 months, although they are getting a bit tight. We have moved into 9 month pants. This weekend the plan is to go through things a bit more thoroughly because the poor child has been wearing the same clothes over and over again! 

Activities: Haleigh loves watching Annaliese and will laugh at just about anything Annaliese does. She likes to be a part of the action and will instantly start crying when anyone walks out of the room. She enjoys playing with blocks, being tickled, eating, and being outside. She doesn't like being cold, taking a bath, being alone or tummy time.

Movement: She doesn't really move. Unless she's in her crib. Sitting up the living room with anyone around however, she will just sit there or lay there. She doesn't make any attempts to move whatever. But I find her all over her crib! Sometimes she's at one end and sometimes at the other; she turns in circles and everything! I should put a video camera in there just to see what she does! 

Teeth: We still just have the two teeth on the bottom. Every once in a while she gets a bit fussier and more drooly and I think maybe we are getting another one...but no, we still just have 2!