Mother's Day

It's still a little bizarre that I get to start celebrating Mother's Day as a mom. Sometimes this whole "mom" thing feels like a wonderful dream, but thankfully it's not! My Haddie girl is here to stay! I had such a wonderful first Mother's Day. It's like having another birthday! Everyone caters to you and makes you feel so special and loved.
We went to Abilene for the weekend and kept ourselves busy the entire time. Me and Hadley were able to spend some much needed time with Jenna (I'll post more about that later) and we were able to have meals with both sides of our families. On Saturday night we went out with my parents to a cute little Itallian restraunt with my mom and dad. Shane gave a sweet card from him and a sweet card from Hadley. He also gave me a charm for my charm bracelet. It was very thoughtful!
On Sunday we headed to church. We were late of course; it's so hard to get places on time with a baby! We got to sit with Shane's family and watch Aubrey sing in the children's choir. Hadley decided that she would like to take a nap in Aunt E's arms during church which was fine with me! After church we went to brunch with Shane's family.
I definitely have a new appreciation for our moms after having Hadley. Mom's work hard and it's a stress that I never knew before. It's also a love that I never knew before. I could have never imagined that I would love Hadley like I do. I now know what people mean when they say that being a mom is the hardest and most rewarding job in the world!

Backyard Family Time

Happy baby.

 The weather has been so nice around 6:00 in the evenings lately. My favorite thing to do right now is take a blanket, put it in the shade, and spend time with my family outside. Hadley loves being outside. She loves all the new sights and sounds, but most of all she loves watching her puppies bark and play.
Last week we went outside and I told Shane that I wanted to freeze this moment in time. It was just perfect. The weather, the happy baby, the husband playing with the dog... it was all perfect.
I'm very blessed and it was a moment when I could really take a deep breath and breathe it all in. We took some pictures to capture our backyard family time.

She makes my heart so happy.

Her smile is so contagious!

My two loves.

Shhh dada. I'm talking here!

Look What Hadley Found!

Hadley LOVES Raider!

My sweet girl loves her dog! She literally starts smiling when Raider comes up to her. She follows Raider around with her eyes and reaches out to her. She even pets her when she gets close enough. We're currently working on petting gently!

Hadley's Favorite Song

Hadley loves the ABC's! I mean she LOVES that song! I'll sing lots of songs, but as soon as I start singing the ABC's she lights up!
Please excuse my singing, but you've got to see how much she loves this song!

5 Months

Hadley Faye,
Today you are five months old. It blows my mind! On one hand it feels like you just got here and on the other hand it feels like you've been here forever. One things for sure, though, you bless our lives daily. Your sweet smile and your innocent giggle brighten even the worst day. When I am with you life is good. Your dad and I are so proud to call you ours.
This month has been full of growth for you, baby! You have recently started eating rice cereal and prunes... yum! You weren't too sure about them at first, but you're getting used to them and eating like a champ. I always feed you in the bath, though, because you're certainly not the neatest eater. Your food winds up all over your mouth and chest! You don't seem to mind- you're just having fun! When you take a bottle you eat 4-6 ounces.
You have completely mastered rolling from your back to your stomach. You can turn in no time. You haven't turned from your stomach to back yet, but I think it'll be soon! I'm planning to stop swaddling you as soon as you learn, but until then you'll still sleep in your cocoon. For the past month you haven't been sleeping as well. You seem hungrier and a little wrestles at parts of the night. I'm hoping that you'll start sleeping well soon, but until then I'll be patient and get up as much as you need me to.
You are getting stronger everyday! You push yourself up and hold your head up for long periods of time. You have such a strong grasp, too! Mommy would know- you love to grasp my hair!
You are such a good baby! Mommy and Daddy love you so very much. You bring us a joy that we never knew existed!
Love Always,
Mommy

Giggles

Getting Hadley to giggle is not easy, but lately her giggles have become more frequent and I LOVE IT! I can't get enough! By no means is she giving them away-she still wants you to work for them- but it's not quite as much of a challenge as it once was! It's without a doubt the sweetest little sound I've ever heard.