Snow Day

Hailey had a wonderful day today! First of all, she was pretty pumped that Daddy was home. Secondly, her and Mommy had been talking about sledding for a while and Mommy said that when it snowed, Daddy would take her out sledding.

What do you know? We got a couple of inches of snow! Hailey saw it and said, "Now go sledding. We can sit, kneel or stand!"

All I can picture here is the super duper over bundled up kid from A Christmas Story...

As we were explaining the whole sledding thing, I'm pretty sure she didn't know what we would really do. Hailey and Mommy went into the garage and got down the sled and Hailey said, "What's this?" Umm... Honey, that's the sled!

Once she was in, she fully understood! Let 'er rip Daddy-o!

I stopped for a bit and asked if Hailey wanted to pull the sled thinking that we'd walk together... Hailey then insisted that Daddy ride in the sled. I can't imaging what the people driving by in cars were thinking when they happened upon this little scene...

Then the last story of the day happened shortly after. We stopped and I made a little snow pile next to the sled. Hailey was playing with it and I suggested that she eat some snow... Then I made certain to point out that it is only WHITE snow that we eat... Not yellow, or brown, or any other color...

She really didn't take to the idea of trying it, so we fired up the sled dogs and headed around the corner... Then I heard Hailey pipe up, "Mommy's favorite is yellow snow!"

Not knowing if I should encourage this conversation any further, I just pretended she yelled MUSH and I kept pulling the sled and laughing while facing forward...

It is sooooo good to be home!

Daddy's Home!!

Hailey is going to be one happy girl when she wakes up tomorrow and sees that her daddy is home. She has been missing him so much!! I can't wait to see her face!!

In case you're interested in this year's hunting stats, here they are:

Uncle Earl: 0
Daddy: 0
Cousin Mason: 2

By the way, this is Mason's first year hunting. Congrats Mason!!

Clean Up, Clean Up

If you've ever been to my house, it might be hard for you to believe that any of us enjoy cleaning. . . . but Hailey thinks its super fun. We have a special cleaning song that I learned from her nursery at church:

Clean Up, Clean Up
Everybody, Everywhere
Clean Up, Clean Up
Everybody Do Your Share

Here's Hailey dusting the blinds. I wish you could hear her singing the song while she does it, but you'll just have to use your imagination.

By the way, picking up toys does not seem to qualify as cleaning. She has no interest in that. She likes the type of cleaning that requires equipment: vacuum cleaners, feather dusters, and spray bottles. Does anyone know of any tools that could be used to pick up toys?? I've suggested the garbage can (like my mother used to suggest to me) but I think she's still too young to understand that threat!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Poor Baby was feeling sad this morning. I asked Hailey what would help Baby feel happy. She said "change the diaper, take a nap". Here she is getting wipes to change Baby's diaper.


We had a very nice Thanksgiving, I hope you all did too!! We went to my boss's house in River Falls WI. They had a lot of fun people there and great food. His daughter Ella is 6 years old. Hailey had almost as much fun playing with Ella as she had playing with Ella's toys!! Now Hailey's sound asleep and I'm heading that way. It was fun, but we were both worn out when we got home.

Reindeer Games

Before Tony left for Wisconsin on Saturday, he took Hailey and I to the Bachman's winter open house. I was so excited. They had a live reindeer, and I really wanted to see it!! I might have been more excited about it than Hailey, but Hailey agreed that it was pretty cool.

This Reindeer's name is Dancer, isn't she pretty?? Hailey and I were discussing the fact that Dancer was eating. Hailey also got to make reindeer food to scatter outside on Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer to eat. The food consisted of hay, pellets, and candy sprinkles. Hailey thought it was very fun to scoop the pellets with a "trowel" (I couldn't believe she recognized a trowel) and shake the sprinkles. She was not at all happy about the hay though. I think she's had a grudge against hay since we covered the garden. It made her really mad that her garden was "all gone" under that hay.

I think Hailey's favorite part was making an ornament. The Children's Museum sponsered the ornament decorating. I didn't quite understand what the kids were supposed to create with a peat pot and a pipe cleaner, but Hailey enjoyed herself. You can see she was very focused!!

Hello Everyone!!

Hailey is doing a very good job of raising her baby. Today I took out the camera to take their picture together. Hailey started waving baby's hand for her and said, "Ok baby, say hello to everyone". There you have it, a big hello from Hailey and her baby.

Snowman Project

Hailey is always excited to work on a new art project. Today we made a big cotton ball snowman. I thought she'd really like sticking the cotton balls on, but she wasn't at all interested in that. She was way to excited about using a glue stick. We decided that she could do the glue and I would do the cotton balls. I think we're a pretty good team, what do you think??
When we finished her "snowman prodect", she put him on the floor. She said "awwwww. . . . Snowman's special girl " (I call her Mama's special girl) and gave him hugs and kisses.

On an unrelated note, the Packer's miserable performance tonight can not be blamed on Hailey. She was full of team spirit in her cheerleader outfit and matching socks today. I'm just glad she was asleep so she didn't have to see the second half of the game!!

Daddies

There is a very special connection between Daddies and their little girls. I love watching it, but I've always wondered what the basis of it is. Perhaps our very intuitive 2 year old realizes how hard her Daddy works every day. She appreciates that he provides a roof over her head, warm clothes, and plenty of food. Maybe she is thankful that he changed her first diaper, gets up with her in the night, and plays with her as soon as he gets home from work. Maybe. . . . . but I doubt it. I would like to submit this scenario as the basis of the Father/Daughter bond:

Beautiful blue-eyed girl asks Daddy if she can do something that she KNOWS Mama would never allow. Daddy says, "Sure you can!" and then leaves the state for 8 days.
I hope we didn't make you feel too guilty Daddy!! We love you and we hope you're having a great time. Now I have to get going. I'm off to rummage through your possessions to see what I can replace the "tiny baby swing" with. It seems like Hailey was asking about your autographed Brett Favre football the other day. . . . . .

I'm Baaaaaack

We have good news, Hailey is back in action. She started feeling better last night and was much better today. She had a sore on her wrist that got infected. It was looking bad and I took her to the Doctor yesterday. He gave us antibiotics and said it was either Staph or Strep. The words "Staph infection" freak me out after spending a couple days in the hospital with one over the spring. Hailey's Doctor assured me that it was very rare. I knew I was worrying too much, but it was hard not to. Also, she started throwing up in the waiting room at the doctor's office. That appeared to be unrelated, but it certainly didn't make things any easier. For the first part of the day she couldn't hold down the antibiotics to treat her infection. Poor kid!! Now she's back to being her normal, happy self.

I knew for sure she was feeling better a couple hours ago. She was standing on her chair and being a little wild. I reached out my hand to steady her. She grabbed my hand, lifted it up to her mouth, and made a terrible retching noise. I looked at her nervously and asked if she was ok. She smiled and said "Just pretending". Hmmmm. . . . I think I caught so much vomit in my hands yesterday that now Hailey thinks that's what my hands are for. Perhaps I should get a bucket next time!! I am glad she has her sense of humor back though!!

No Pictures, Just Stories

Today Daddy was supposed to leave town to go hunting in Wisconsin. However, after Hailey needed to go to the doctor for an infection on her arm and being really sick, Daddy is still home. I think most would appreciate no pictures of our little infectious puker (even though she's still really cute!)

I'm hoping to head to Wisconsin tomorrow, and Mom is going to be controlling the posts and camera during the week. So I cannot promise the frequencey of posts, other than there will probably be a couple.

I hope everyone has a good week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Olive Garden

Today was I believe the first time the three of us went out for dinner here in the midwest (we went out to two dinner shows in Tennessee twice earlier in the year). Before the big event, Momma was going over the game plan with Hailey, Baby, the puppy card, the Elmo card and the barnyard friends.

On the way to Olive Garden, Hailey said, "This garden has no dirt in it... And no hay either!" This was unexpected on our part, but really should have been expected. The only other garden we've ever talked about was our vegetable garden we planted over the summer. But NOW we're talking about OLIVE gardens. Weird!

First order of business when we sat down was getting Baby tucked up real nice with a plate from home and a strawberry. She's all set!

I think Hailey was really enamored with the place. She liked seeing all the people, and saying, "There's that guy!!" to the waiter. She did like the food too. She had chicken strips and french fries. She also partook in the yummy breadsticks and salad.

Then, came the cake. I had this...

I was eating my share, waiting for Hailey to ask for some. She really was disinterested. That straw and a cup full of ice water was really keeping her busy. Then I finally broke down and gave her a spoonful. She was slightly hesitant at first, but after tasting it said, "yum, yum!"

She had a couple more spoonfuls and then we reaped the rewards of her bouncing off the walls having a high old time until 10 p.m.!

It was sure fun seeing her a lot since I'll be heading to the woods of Wisconsin tomorrow night! I'm going to miss my girls!!!!

Bookie the Worm

If I could have one question answered right now, it would be how many books have we read Hailey since she was born? That would be soooo interesting to know! I'm not sure if anyone in this household combined could count that high!

Find the Hailey

Look closely, can you find the sleeping Hailey???

New Bath Toys

Hailey is really enjoying her new bath toys!!

This is the waterslide toy that Uncle Earl, Aunt Jodi, Mason and Maggie got Hailey for her birthday. It sucks up water from the tub and bubbles it down a slide.

She really liked the tea-time toys from Grandpa and Grandma Zier too. Not necessarily intended for the bath, but I thought they'd be fun! She really liked filling up the tea cups and pot by catching the water from the water slide. She'd fill up her cups, dump them out, and repeat.

Birthday Bye-Byes

Now that the back to back birthday party weekends are in the books, hopefully we can get Hailey back into a somewhat normal schedule... Our luck, that normal schedule will probably be achieved about the same time Christmas parties start rolling around!

Am I really saying I can't wait until January is here? I don't think so, but the one thing I do know is that Hailey sure has been a trooper! All the traveling and bee-bopping around, she's done quite well!

Thanks again for all the presents and cards! Hailey really likes the card above... It was from her Aunt Karen sent all the way from the Lone Star State!

Happy 2nd Birthday - Part Deux

Today was Hailey's lucky 2nd, 2nd birthday party! We had a couple of her friends over (Belle in purple and Addie in black and polka dots) Here they are working on a little art project... They all decorated the first letter of their name with glitter and stars. We thought that they would all have fun (which they did!) but we had no idea this would keep Hailey entertained for about an hour! In the mean time, Addie and Belle were rocking the house with the rest of Hailey's toys.

What's the best thing about having 2 birthday parties? Having birthday cake for the second time in less than a week! This time it was a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Yummy!

One of Hailey's presents was a dental exam... Wait, no, it was a cow with a flashlight in its mouth. We were getting all the kids to open their mouth just like the cow's mouth! Say AHHHHHHHH!

Hailey's other favorite gift was this new hat! Well, it was really a basket filled with little presents, but we totally love the age where the gift box/package is still just as fun, if sometimes not more fun than what was inside!

Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate this day with Hailey! We had a lot of fun and thank you too for the gifts!

Hailey Jane

Here's out little princess in a dress from our good friend Miss Meghan! Hailey is awfully cute, isn't she? Well, if you don't think THAT is cute... Then, how about the fact that she thinks 'Jane' is a term of endearment! Since we call her Hailey Jane all the time... She's been recently heard saying, "Momma Jane" or "Daddy Jane"! The funny thing is that Momma Jane is pretty much the right thing to say, but we're pretty sure that she doesn't KNOW that Mommy's middle name is Jane!

Weekend is Almost Almost Here!

Hailey sporting Daddy's hat after he got home today! Can't wait for the weekend to start!!

The Inadvertent Nap

Today was an interesting day. Hailey didn't want to take her nap today. Which, isn't really what makes it interesting. She was actually very typical of her nap times lately... She'd lay in bed, chatter a bit, whine a bit, and then start disassembling her room. What also happens during these times, whether it is intentional or just by chance... She typically loads up her diaper with that oh so wonderful smelling crap stuff. (Hey, I'm TRYING to keep it clean!)

Well, lo and behold, she doesn't end up taking her nap... This really puts a different spin on the evening because at this point, she needs to go to bed earlier than usual. Well, Mom and Hailey decide to spend some time at the gym. During their time there, Hailey was entertaining some older kids. When Mom went to pick her up, the kids were all saying how much fun Hailey was. Then one of the girls asked what her name was because when she kept asking Hailey what her name was, Hailey kept replying, "Two."

After the gym, they bopped over to Target which happens to be right next to the gym and used Grandpa Dave's gift card to buy a pink pony and a little baby doll (as seen above). On the way home, Hailey was asking to open the baby doll. Anyone who has opened a baby doll knows that this is not a task to do while driving...

Anyway, they made it most of the way home (which is only about 8-10 minutes) and Mom noticed Hailey wasn't asking about opening the doll anymore. Wouldn't you know, it's 6:15 and Hailey decides she needs a nap. Talk about frustrating! All day hoping she naps. What does she do? Not nap. 10 minutes in the car. BAM. Out like a light.

I was home by this time, and I thought it would be fun to wake her up and bring her inside from the car. I unbuckled her from the car seat and lifted her up. She gave a little head roll and then layed her head on my shoulder and went right back to sleep.

I walked into the house, closed the door, laid her down on the couch... Still nothing. I took off her coat, lifted her up to pull it out from under her... Still nothing! This from the girl who wakes up often at the sneezing of the crickets... Man! What a night.

Goodness gracious! This long of a story and you'll be thinking Mom wrote it! All of this was to tell you three things:

1. Hailey says alot of funny things.
2. Thanks Grandpa Dave for the gift card!
3. Holy bananas this is post number 700!!!
   

Tuesday, the Other Monday

There is nothing better than having a Monday that is actually a Tuesday due to the long weekend and having the real Monday off. That means tomorrow is Tuesday and Thursday is Thursday and then what do you know?? The day after Thursday is Friday. Everyone loves a short week!

Ok, enough with that. Onto the Hailey pictures. Our special treat tonight was apple cider with cinnamon sticks in it. Hailey really enjoyed it... Especially in her light blue cup.

Thanks Grandma Jane for my starry shirt! I loooooove it!!

Hailey thinks that African violets pretty much rock too! Especially ones that are in a pot decorated by a recently turned two, blond haired, starry shirted girl!

Happy 2nd Birthday

We made it back from Wisconsin this weekend! Hailey had a very fun 2nd birthday party with my family. We stayed at Grandma Jane's and had a really really good time!

Hailey even got a special visit from Grandma and Grandpa Zier on their trek to Madison. Ducky pajamas, Packer cheer leading outfit and a tea set (which you can't see in the picture)

The best part of all! Hailey has been asking us to sing Happy Birthday to everyone from Daddy to Ducky and now we get to sing it to her! She was excited as Grandma Jane delivered the pineapple upside down cake. Hailey did waaaaaay better this year with her share of the cake than last year... She actually ate her whole piece plus ice cream!

To cap off our weekend, we had an allergy appointment in La Crosse today. We were hoping for just a check up, but she had to get 6 more tests for different allergens. She was such a big girl She recovered very well from the little pokes.

We were certainly happy to be home! Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa Bader for the hospitality and everyone else for the wonderful presents! All the way home in the car today, Hailey kept asking... One more present? Pleeeeeaaaaaase!?

Dancing the Weekend Away

I can't believe this is the first weekend in almost 3 months we have headed out of town! Is that possible? In the mean time, Hailey has grown into the fancy bed phase. This will be exciting none the less at Grandma Jane's house in Grand Marsh!

We will be celebrating a joint birthday party with Hailey and Uncle Earl party on Sunday. We'll have pictures when we get back Monday! Have a great weekend!

I leave you with a video of Hailey and Daddy dancing the night away. "Dooobie, doobie dooo. Doo wah, do wahhh!"

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Pouring Beans

One of Hailey's favorite activities recently has been pouring pinto beans from cup to cup. Notice the concentration:

I have enjoyed this game as a study in human nature. This is what intrigues me about the bean pouring: first Hailey asks if she can please pour beans. I get it out for her and say, "Hailey, if the beans fall down, who picks them up?" Her immediate answer is "HAILEY!!". Then she pours beans, she's pretty good at it and doesn't make too many mistakes at first. Then she decides to get fancy, maybe try pouring beans while standing on her stool or something like that. All the beans fall on the floor and so does Hailey. Kicking and screaming, "Mama pick them up, Mama pick them up." It takes all eternity to get her to pick up the beans because she is so busy trying to get out of it. At first it annoyed me so much that I almost discontinued the bean pouring. Then I noticed something, when she's finally put the last bean in the cup she's all smiles and high fives and, "Hailey DID IT!!". I think its a good life lesson for her, and I also realize that we're all like that a little bit. I really dislike cleaning the bathroom and I put it off until I just can't take it anymore. Then when I finally get it done I brag to everyone I talk to about my squeaky clean shower. Maybe the rest of you are more mature than Hailey and I, but I'm sure someone out there can relate!!

More Tucking

Mommy and Daddy sure hope this is a sign of things to come when the new baby comes... Hailey is always taking care of baby, tucking her in, making sure she has her medicine, wiping her butt, giving her something to drink or holding her. It's soooo cute to watch and listen to!!

Wednesday Game

Does anyone remember the game on Sesame Street where 4 kids are doing something in four sections of the screen... "One of these things, doesn't belong here. One of these things, are not like the rest..."

Here's a picture after Hailey's nap today... An interesting explosion none the less, but does anyone see something funny?

Mainly in the bed area...

The conversation between Hailey and Mom after is as follows:

Mommy: "Hailey, what is the chair doing in your bed?"
Hailey: "What is chair doing in bed?"

I doubt we'll ever find the real reason!

Barnyard Fun

Good Morning Animals!

That is one of the two things that Hailey said which have really made me chuckle about our little Hailey. I think it was Saturday morning, and I got up and went into Hailey's room when she was waking up... She sat up in bed, and looked over at her toy barn, with animals, and said, "Good morning animals!"

The other thing happened tonight, we were playing chase back and forth between Hailey's room and Mommy and Daddy's room... When she went to our room, she'd go to the window and check out the moon. Before bed, we went to look at the moon one more time and enough time had past, that Hailey said, "Moon moved. Moon moving!"

She thought that the moon was walking. But I told her it was gravity... And that's where the conversation ended. Any other time of the day is probably better to teach an almost 2 year old about gravity... I thought it was better to not do it right before bed. :)

One Last Cowgirl...

Mommy and Hailey made it to the hayride event at a church in Roseville that we went to last year. I wasn't able to go, but they got their picture taken after the hayride... Is it me? Or is that one wide-eyed-tired-end-of-the-day stare from our little cowgirl??

Happy Saturday

We had a very fun day today, and I hope everyone else had a great day too! We are slowly, but surely on the mend. This morning, we all went out to the garden to "put it to sleep". We had to call it that because on the way out Hailey really wanted to go and water the rhubarb!

But we had to do our share since it is a community garden. We are in the process of tilling up two 25 x 25 foot plots and we will clean up and till the plot we had this year.

After the fun went down at the garden. Daddy officially got stickered with Hailey's My Little Pony stickers.

Hailey thought that was REALLY funny!