Happy 1st Birthday

We had Hazel's birthday party this afternoon. She had a lot of fun...except when it came to singing happy birthday and eating cake. We have loved this past year of learning how to be parents, and watching our beautiful daughter grow. It is hard to believe that a year ago we were just getting started on this new adventure. We have learned so much, yet we still have so much to learn.













We love you Hazel! Happy Birthday!

Hazel's garrison birthday party

Hazel had a birthday party today in NC with her grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncle. She got her first taste of chocolate...and she loved it! She had more fun opening presents today than she did on Christmas. More x-mas and birthday pictures here.

merry christmas

Santa

Hazel & Will went to see Santa yesterday...He got put in Santa's lap first---was absolutely terrified. Then Hazel joined him. Poor Santa, my mom recognized him as the local story teller. At least he is a nice guy.

nothing is off limits now

Hazel just discovered that she can climb pretty much anything. She climbed into her old bouncy chair that is out for a baby I watch two days a week. She climbed into the laundry basket, she climbed on top of a box of Christmas decorations I put on the floor, she climbed on Christmas present, then onto the foot stool then onto our chair...let the fun begin!














This picture cracked me up. She went from trying to tear this tupperware lid in two, to playing some sort of peek-a-boo with it.

I cannot get enough of how much her little personality is shining through lately. She is learning and exploring everything.

Walking

On Thanksgiving Will took his first steps! Then last night we got to watch our nephew walk between his mom and dad. It was the cutest thing in the world. Also my computer won't let me turn off the underline function...

Hazel's first turkey day

Let the eating begin please!!

Hazel had lots of different foods on Thanksgiving: Turkey, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Stuffing, Asparagus Souffle, Cranberry Sauce, and I can't remember what else. This was the first time we've let her have salt, and kept saying, "mmm!"

We went on a hike after dinner, and Hazel quite bundled up! She looked like the little boy from A Christmas Story. I can't believe she is 11 months old!

Grammie & Granddaddy

My parents came out for a visit last weekend, and Hazel got to go on a few adventures. She LOVED my parents, and thought my dad was the funniest person she'd ever met. She perfected her wave and her fake laugh while they were here.



We went to the Children's Museum and Hazel sat for about 10 minutes before she started exploring. She loved this stump. There were speakers in the stumps that were triggered by movement or weight, and they giggled at you. She couldn't figure out where the person was who kept laughing.






She also went down her first slide--head first. She was unsure about it at first, then couldn't get enough. It must have felt good on her tummy?!





On Saturday we went to the Zoo. She had a pretty good time--she had a very close encounter with the Gorilla. Right after this picture it got up on it's hind legs. I would have been terrified if I were her. She just kept pointing at it.

She had a really fun visit with her grandparents, and now when we Skype (cameras on the internet) she recognizes them. We also get to see them for 10 days over X-mas!

it's good to have a pal

Kinds of duets: 4 hands, one piano. 4 hands, two pianos. Or, cute.

don't forget to vote

Even if you don't want the same person elected that I do...don't forget to vote.

bed head

I don't know if you can tell from these pictures--but Hazel has been sporting some really nice bed head lately. I wondered when her hair was going to start taking after her father & me...not that either of us have big hair or anything like that...

Halloween Cont.

We carved our giant pumpkin! When we carved it we were amazed at how warm the inside of the pumpkin was. As you can see the rind is really thick! We used a stencil to try to make a fun face...but as always in CO we get granny faced pumpkins after they have been out for a day. Oh well. We let Hazel play with the pumpkin seeds--she just wanted to eat them. Then she got sleepy.















Our stencil was called "Lumpy face"








For Halloween we went over to our good friends Tom & Mindy's house. We thought it would be fun for the kiddos to play in their costumes...they didn't really care. Mostly they got really warm in their costumes. I think we had a record warm temperature for Halloween this year. We decided not to take Hazel around to other houses since we would be the ones eating the candy. Maybe next year she will get to enjoy trick or treating?!

Henry & Hazel as a puppy dog and a lady bug! Why are kids with hoods on really cute?

Happy Halloween

Homemade baby food

I decided to make Hazel some homemade baby food. The stuff in the jars smells and looks really weird. Jonathan & I both tried all the batches and we thought they tasted great. Hazel, on the other hand, did NOT want the food. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but it is all over her--she was desperately trying to not eat it. Then I got the camera out, and she posed and thought that was fun.

The good news is that on day #2 with the baby food, she decided she liked it!
She is still not sure about the couscous and chicken...I guess I will keep trying!

Friends & Family

Hazel has had lots of visitors lately. My Aunt Catherine came through on her move to Minnesota. Hazel LOVED her! When Catherine came in the door Hazel waved and smiled at her. They were instant pals.

Hazel also got to meet our dear friends Scott & Claire. They all had a pretty good time hanging out. Hazel thought Scott was pretty interesting. Claire & Hazel got to spend the afternoon together when I went to my class

Hazel is pulling up on everything--which also means she is falling a lot more. She had a rough few days...and one bruise:( I can't believe our daughter is big enough to stand on her own, and to be able to reach our kitchen table...how did that happen?

you can dance if you want to

baby gate

Last week, I tried to find the perfect baby gate. I didn't realize how expensive a piece of plastic could be. So, I got the cheapest one, made out of wood that I thought would do the trick. Well, of course, it didn't. So in the mean time Hazel has figured out how to climb the stairs. By the time I get around to getting another gate that works properly, she will probably have figured out how to go down the stairs.

Did I mention that our pumpkin weighs 40 lbs? I was at Safeway last week and they had a pumpkin for sale that is the same size as the one we grew. It was $60!! If I wasn't so attached our pumpkin I might try to make a little bit of money.

Our 5th Anniversary

Yesterday, Jonathan & I celebrated our 5th anniversary! As a standing tradition since year #2 we have made ravioli. Each year, we get better at making ravioli. Just to give a brief history on our ravioli--the first year we made it, we stacked all the ravioli on top of each other after we had filled them. So, when we went to cook the ravioli--we had one giant blob. The next year we decided we needed to redeem ourselves and made better ravioli. We ended up with WAY too much and again, we decided since the ravioli stuck together, to layer them on wax paper...well, you can imagine how that went. we had lots of floaties in the water and a lot of cooked dough without much filing. The next year--we remember our mistakes and made pretty decent ravioli.

This year, we had written notes to ourselves as to "what not to do" and we made the best ravioli yet. We made a spinach, ricotta filing and for our sauce we made a butter, sage sauce. It was really simple, but quite delicious!



We also decided to make creme brulee for dessert...we have leftovers we are going to enjoy all week!!

A good friend, Laura Martin, makes ravioli every thanksgiving with her italian side of the family. We asked her what was the key to making good ravioli, since we had such a hard time with it. She said, "lots of wine, make sure you can read newspaper through your noodles, and lots of wine." We added cheese to the "lots of wine" advice.

Hazel was much happier with this whole process after dinner and when she got to rip some tissue paper to shreds!

chapstick...friend or foe

Recently, in an attempt to not lose myself to frumpiness and mom jeans, I bought a "tinted" chapstick. Well, then I started getting these really strange fat lips...it took me a little while to realize what the exact cause of fat lips was. So, I stopped using the tinted chapstick. Then, I bought some new chapstick, softlips, well two benadryls later and I still look like some sort of collagen treatment gone wrong. Oh, chapstick, why do you hate me?

How did time pass so quickly

This morning Hazel had her nine month check-up and when I left the Dr.'s office today I made her 1 year check-up appointment. Hazel now weighs a grand total of 22 pounds and 6 oz. and is 30 inches long. I thought she seemed awfully heavy to me lately.

I recently hung out with a friend who has a newborn, and it is crazy how quickly Hazel has changed and become her own little person. She is now crawling on her knees and yesterday she pulled herself up to standing for the first time.

She loves to pull herself up and then hold on to you as she walks around the room.


Below is her other new trick. She loves to bite her ball as hard as she can and then crawl with it in her mouth. What a goof! I am loving every minute of being with her.

Obama in Golden...it gives me hope

This morning Obama came to Golden. I didn't manage to get tickets to go see him--but I did wait outside to hear him through the loudspeaker and to see him exit the building. One funny thing that happened while waiting was a woman who lived across the street from the building had two McCain signs in her yard. She mowed her lawn over and over and over again for about an hour and a half. At one point the people waiting for Obama to come out started chanting, "missed a spot, missed a spot" I thought it was kind of funny. Obama spent about an hour visiting with families after he gave his speech. We were told that he was not going to make an apperance and that we should clear out. Well--Hazel & I waited and he came out, gave the crowd some waves and away he drove. It was hot, I got sunburnt, but it was worth it.

I don't want to say too much here in case I offend any friends who are McCain supporters. But, this man gives me hope that the next four years in our country will be much better than they have been.

Madeline-Our cutie pie niece

We got to meet Madeline this past weekend, and Gordon, Kristin & Madeline got to meet Hazel. They were pretty cute together. Hazel is not much of a social bee. When I got home from the airport-she was smiling and chatting and crawling everywhere. She isn't sure about new situations and lots of people. Oh well.

Madeline is such a sweet baby. She seems really tiny compared to our 21-22 pounder. I didn't take very many pictures of these two--because they were a little overwhelmed with cameras.

I will post more pictures when I get them from the grandparents or Gordon & Kristin.

I was feeling a little girly--Hazel got to play with a necklace and some bracelets. She thought it was great!










We are trying to teach Hazel how to drink out of a cup. She thought it was great-She wouldn't let go of the cup. Most of it ended up on her--as you can see on her sleeves and her high chair.




She has been keeping me busy lately. She is crawling and discovering EVERYTHING! She also just figured out she can sit herself up.






She knows she is doing something that we do--she thinks it is pretty neat.