Hailey: Fourteen months old

Where is the month 13 update you ask? Honestly, I don't know where the time went - we will just pretend that we are superstitious and didn't want to post for that month.

In the last month you have impressed me beyond belief with your ability to adapt to any new situation. We traveled by train, bus and automobile over to Wisconsin to visit your new cousin Mirabel. It was a long day. Actually TWO long days if you count the way home - and though the travel hassles may be something we will not want to remember - the fact that you are a now seasoned, exceptional traveler and a complete trooper are yet another way you never cease to amaze me. During the train and bus rides you were so content and happy to just watch people and smile at them. So many people told you how beautiful you are, I lost count. At Aunt Dana's house you went right to sleep in a unknown pack n' play and were not even phased when I switched your room. You fell into our strange new routine for that week like you never knew any different. Bless you for that because it is hard enough for me to be out of the norm and having you out of sorts would have made things so much worse.

It seems wherever we are people always comment to me on what a happy baby you are. It takes me by surprise at first because as your Mom you just seem like a normal baby to me. You get cranky and fussy and cry when things don't go the way your baby mind thinks they should go. But it is true, when we are out somewhere like the grocery store, Evan's gymnastics class, Dad's school or even at church - you are so content to look at people and just smile at them. I have noticed recently and mentioned to Daddy that the people you seem to gravitate to are men in their late teens or 20's. I told Dad we had to watch out because you are interested in boys already. He has started to research convents.

As far as physical changes in the past month there are two pretty big ones. Your two front teeth have FINALLY come through. I was getting a little worried that maybe something was wrong with them - but last week the tell tale sharp white points made their appearance. You can also stand all by yourself and have even taken a step toward me. Of course after you take the one step, you free fall forward into me and think that is the funniest thing you could ever imagine.
You can walk very well by holding onto someone's hand. First steps may be just around the corner.







Your seem to have a acquired a taste for "people" food. You will still eat baby food from the jars and I continue to give it to you just to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need. Lately though anything that you see someone else eating, you want. In the last week you ate ratatouille, an egg salad sandwich and red beans and rice. I was VERY nervous about the red beans and rice. They were quite spicy and I thought the after effects were not going to be nice at all. It was all fine though. I guess you have very mature taste and a strong stomach.

The weather is finally starting to warm up and I am so anxious to be able to get outside with you. I think you will love exploring outside and riding your princess car in the driveway! We will be able to take walks with the stroller and go hang out down by the beach. Come on Spring! It's been a long winter.


These photos were part of your 14 month photo shoot. You are hard to photograph these days. You just won't stay still. I had your brother's trying to distract you but even that didn't work. I still love how many of them turned out. The top one is just straight out of the camera. The other three I "fixed" a little in Photoshop. While I was working on them, I remembered great words of wisdom one of the photographers in my class said: You have to ask yourself if you are a picture taker, or a picture maker. A picture taker shoots what they want and a maker shoots and figures they will fix it in their editing program. I realized while I was doing this that I mostly want to be a picture taker. There is nothing wrong with changing something to black and white or bordering edges, but I don't want to take pictures just to change them into something completely different in Photoshop. It sort of seems like cheating. At least that is what I think now, just wait until I purchase my own editing program. I could reverse my stance on the matter. Wow! That was way off topic.