Gramma Gramma Gramma

Hailey got to talk to her Grandma Jane on the phone today... She's trying to turn up the volume so she can hear her better on speaker phone! (Actually... she just likes the big round button in the middle!)

Cheerio Spokesmodel

Do we know anyone at General Mills who can get us a commercial spot with this girl? I mean... C'mon! What a cutie! (and a sweet box of Cheerios to boot!)

Uh Oh Bath - The Movie

After the time lapse photography from yesterday... How about we discover the long lost video of Duck's incidental bath time at the hands of our little Hailey monster! All I can hear right now is Bobby Darin's song 'Splish Splash':

Splish splish, I was takin' a bath
Long about a Saturday night
A rub-a-dub, just relaxin' in the tub
Thinkin' everything was alright
Well, I stepped out the tub, put my feet on the floor
I wrapped the towel around me and I
Opened the door, and then I
Splish, splash... I jumped back in the bath.
Well how was I to know there was a party going on?

They was a-splishin' and a'splashin'
Reelin' with the feelin', movin' and a'groovin'
Rockin' and a'rollin', yeah

I was a-splishin' and a splashin' one time
I was a-splishin' and a splashin'..woo-woo!
I was a-movin' and a-groovin'.....

This film has been modified from
its original version. It has been
formatted to fit your monitor.

Uh Oh Bath

Here's a new one today. It was Hailey's bath time... and guess who was dragged into the mix? Yeah... You've guessed it!

Duck is testing the waters to ensure proper bathing temperature.

"Don't be such a wet blanket Duck! Wave to the camera!!"

"Seriously, how do you get so dirty?"

Alas! We are all clean!
Woot! Woot!!

Thankfully Forgotten

One extra thing we have been thankful for after our Thanksgiving dinner at our friend's house was that I forgot Hailey's tray for her high chair. Usually, you'd think that's not a good thing, but while we were at their house, Hailey ate really well just scooted up next to the table eating out of a bowl...

So, here's our little girl in action! Nothing better than eating yogurt with lots of fruit with a small spoon and bare hands!

My spoon.

Mommy spoon..

Hailey spoon...

No spoon!!

Little Red Dress

Thanks Grandma Jane for this fancy red dress! All day today, I just enjoyed myself gallivanting around the house and looking all cute and stuff!!!

Also notice my third tooth!!! Woot! Woot!!

Mommy and Hailey striking a definite pose! ;-)

All Boxed Up

In a continuing theme this weekend, Hailey decided to box herself up again today. This has been her new favorite thing since receiving this nice fancy new box from the Touchet's for her birthday... Oh yeah, that Pooh thing was in there too... That was also very nice!

Another thing that's been amazing me today is Hailey's vocabulary. Today she just about floored me when she said, "Hello!" She made the L sound! Up until that point, it had always just been, "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi."

Darlene and I had taken a bet on whether Hailey would say her name without an L (Hay-ee) or with the L as a W sound. (Hay-wee) After today's demonstration of the L, I think we'll both be wrong. She just might manage the proper pronunciation after all! Hailey!

Fall Cleaning

With the extra days off over the weekend, we decided to do some cleaning. Going through some of Hailey's old things (can things just over a year old really be considered old yet?) we determined there were some things that we just needed to let pass. Looking at a small t-shirt with a big stain... All you can think is "I remember that stain."

Needless to say... Hailey was not amused by this so called 'restructuring' of her clothes selection. We tried to reason with her... We even attempted to put her in the hat she wore home from the hospital. All she would give us is this sit in protest in the drawer.

She said, "You can take my clothes out of this dresser drawer. But you can't take ME out of this drawer!"

Happy Thanksgiving v2.0

Hailey was trying to call everyone today and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving! She was so excited to celebrate her 2nd major holiday! Click This Link to see how much Hailey has grown in the last year!!

Cow-gal Warmups

Hailey says that these new leg warmers ROCK! I say they make her look like a cowgirl wearing chaps. Mom says Hailey's getting three new teeth in addition to the three she already has. (Two on the bottom, one on the top) Duck says he's tired of being tossed on the floor. What do you say?

The New Comfy

Apparently, this is the new comfy position. Arms under self. Knees tucked in. Butt in the air. I tell ya, if I tried this for an extended period of time as Hailey does for a lot of her sleeping hours, it'd take me 3 days to unravel myself and be able to move again!

Me Hungry

"What was that Duck? You want an onion and mayonnaise sandwich? I don't think that sounds very good...."

Happy Texas

Hailey has received more mail than I have recently. Went to the mailbox and pulled out a package from the Lone Star State! She got this really cool touch and feel book and a very very nice dress. We can't wait to put her in it. Thank you very much Aunt Karen!!!

Waddle Waddle Waddle

Here's a nice picture of one of my favorite gifts from Hailey's party. Amber, Luke and Belle gave Hailey this nice t-shirt. There is absolutely nothing better than seeing Hailey walking away from you...

It's totally one of those onomatopoeic words that sound exactly like what they mean... This one just completely describes the action you're witnessing as she's walking away! Waddle Waddle Waddle!!

Hailey also paid a special tribute to Uncle Earl, Uncle Steph and Cousin Mason with her blaze orange diaper! I hope you had an action filled first day in the woods!

Pooh Bear Yakata

Four months after getting this nice outfit, Hailey has finally grown into it well enough to wear it! Ok, she's still a little ways out. But goodness gracious does she look cute in this Yakata she received as a gift from her Auntie Donna when she visited back in August.

The top is almost like a little bathrobe/dress.

And the bottoms are just like... Yeah... Just like them fancy flare pants!

Cheerio Count

1, 2, 3... How many Cheerios do you see?
7, 8, 9, 10... Getting closer count again!
16, 17, 18... It's about time, we've been waiting!

Cake Video

I finally had a chance to edit the video from Hailey eating her first birthday cake. We missed the two bites she really took, but the rest is just a lot of Hailey discovering how interesting frosting feels and how far it can be tossed. :)

There are two parts to this! I have a short version displayed here, but if you click this link, you can go see the full version on YouTube. That version I'm guessing might take 45 minutes or so if you're on a dial-up! But with a little patience, it's pretty good. :)

Hammer Girl

Every day, Hailey surprises us with something new that she can do. I think, being a parent, we sometimes forget that our little girl is growing in so many ways every day that we don't even notice...

Take this hammer set for instance... (thanks Grandma Jane by the way!!!) I saw it come out of the bag and thought, "Wow, it'll be cool some day when Hailey can really give that hammering pegs set a run for the money."

Little did I know "some day" really wasn't that far down the road! We took out the set, tapped on a few of the pegs and then handed Hailey the little hammer. She took that hammer and in her own subtle way said "Don't doubt me Daddy-o!" She started hammering away!

It just serves as a good reminder to think that it's ok to give her something she might not be able to do.... Because if she doesn't know how, it's something she can learn and most likely WILL learn if you at leave give her the chance!

Later in the day, we went in for Hailey's 1 year doctor appointment. She didn't like it very much. Three needle pokes later and a good bit of cryin' and a lot of Mommy and Daddy lovin' and all she got was a Daffy Duck Band-aid!

They also sent us home with the new statistics on our girl!
Height: 31 inches
Weight: 24 pounds 12.5 ounces
Head size: 18.5 inches (keep your comments to yourself Mr. Touchet!) :-D

The one bummer was we didn't get any percentile stats. Maybe next time we'll see where she rates. Or I could probably look it up, but that really sounds like a lot of work!

Squeaky Books

Hailey was just getting done eating (sans still in her bib and in the high chair) when I got home with a gift from my co-worker Pam... She got squeaky books and her very first credit card (gift card that you can use anywhere)

Hailey laughed and laughed as we read her the books and squeaked the squeaky part!! Thank you very very much! You are sooo generous!

It's the Glasses

Thanks to Pam Lutsey for these fantastic duck glasses! Hailey finally kept the glasses on long enough for us to snap up a picture...

Yeeeee haw!!

Ok, I couldn't resist. Someone had to show Hailey that the glasses were cool to wear!!

Thanks Everyone!

Hailey wants to thank everyone for coming to her first birthday!

Hailey wants to thank her friend Meghan for making these nice fancy duck cakes! Two 1/2 ducks and one 3D duck. Size wise, they are about 10 inches long and 5-6 inches in height. Coolness wise, they were cooler than anything we could have thought of when Meghan said she was making a duck cake! Thanks!!

And of course, there's some cake pictures! Yes that is part of the duck. Yes that is only one of the duck's head. Yes, it was weird to cut the head off of even a cake duck!

And yes! What a mess cake duck's make! Interestingly enough, she really only had about two or three good bites of the duck. The rest she squished around in her hands then threw on the ground!

All in all, it was a very good day! Thanks again to everyone who came!!

Happy Birthday Hailey!!!

Well it doesn't seem possible, but our tiny little baby is a big 1 year old girl. Just to prove how much she's grown, here's a picture of her in her very first bathtub.

She's much happier to be in the bathtub now than she was when she was born, but she doesn't fit nearly as well!!

Happy Birthday Hailey, we love you so much!!

Happy Birthday!

Ok Dad. Seriously. What did you say tomorrow was? My birthday?! I'm one?!?!?! Boy oh boy am I excited!!! Ok, maybe not too excited. Just a little bit. Well, maybe. Thank goodness I have duck at my side to help control my excitement.

Is it amazing though?? One year ago Darlene was half way through labor at St. Johns here in Maplewood. 2 hours from now, 10:30 as I'm writing this post, Hailey would be born into this world! It has been soo much fun. So many trials. So many victories. So many cute moments. And it was very much worth everything!

Today is post number 353. I am thankful to have been able to post so frequently. And to have our friends and family experience our first year as closely and as much as we have been able to share! Here's to the start of another 353 posts!

In the mean time. Check out this link from our first introduction of Hailey to everyone from just over a year ago!

We can't wait to see those who can make it to the party on Saturday!

Trifecta of Announcements

Hailey would like to make a few announcements on this cool, brisk November day... Firstly, she would like to welcome her new cousin into the family! Emma Kate Derrer was born on November 5th! Congratulations Curt and Sara!!

Next, Hailey would like to wish a happy happy birthday to Grandma Zier! Can't wait to see you in about 48 hours!!

Last of all, but certainly not least, Hailey would like to say thank you to her friend Jemima for her first birthday present ever! Here is Hailey saying 'thanks' in her own words!! She's soooo excited!!!

This film has been modified from
its original version. It has been
formatted to fit your monitor.

Reading Rainbow

Every Wednesday is story time at the library in Maplewood. And every week, we have a few new books to read to Hailey! And oh does she enjoy them!! My best guess here is that Hailey's making up the words and Mom just can't believe her ears!!!

Milk Beard

I think we may need a new invention. Does anyone know how to put training wheels on a sippy cup? Hailey's getting her first go-rounds with no top on the cup. This time however, I'd estimate about 2 tablespoons in the mouth. 1 tablespoon covering the chin. 2 ounces in her bib. 1 ounce down her back. And 1 ounce under her high chair. I'd say there's only one way to go from here!

Lending a Hand

After Mom took out all the dishes, Hailey decided to take advantage of the empty dishwasher to load herself in. She climbed up herself and stood up and looked oh so ready to help out with the rest of the cleaning!

Avacadoed

It's been a while since we had a dirty faced Hailey picture. So here is one for your viewing pleasure!

Hailey still loves avocados! She likes it so much, she shared it with her chin, cheek, nose, ear, floor, and high chair! Thank goodness she kept it out of her eyes!

Swinging in the Wind

Mom and Hailey got out this afternoon to enjoy the sun and fun at the playground. Hailey has to bundle up a bit, and thankfully, she's starting to get the point of having gloves and a hat on!

Other than enjoying the weather, Mom needed a little break from 2 days of 'uh-oh!' Hailey's newest phrase is pretty cute for Dad... Pretty much since I've only heard it last night and tonight. From the sounds of it, Hailey's been uh-oh-ing all day long.

Dropped the book. Uh Oh.
Dropped the duck. Uh Oh.
Dropped the sippy cup. Uh Oh.
Dropped the macaroni noodle. Uh Oh!
Dropped the wooden puzzle on my head. Uh Oh!!

Halloween Thanks

Hailey wants to say "Thank you Grandma Jane for the nice Halloween Card and the trio of greenbacks!!!" Can't wait to see you next weekend for my party where you'll be getting a thank you in the form of slobber kisses!