Hayley: Four Months

I cannot believe how big my little girl is getting, typical Mom thing to say, but it's true! She has changed quite a bit from that little newborn we brought into the world.

She is starting to figure out her hands and how to use them, she will grab anything within her reach and usually stick it in her mouth. She can almost sit up on her own. For the most part she either needs to be laying on her back or sitting up cause she'll try and sit up herself if she's in between 0 and 90 degrees, and she's getting some nice stomach muscles from doing her little crunches ha. She could play with balloons for hours. She has developed her laugh/giggle and we love to hear it! We'll do practically anything we can to get it out of her. She is quite the little chatterbox, most talkative in the morning and evening. She still hates tummy time and has only rolled over a few times. She loves being in the tub and will splash and play in the water. She is now sleeping (most nights) from around 10:30 at night to 7:00 in the morning, and she never cries when she wakes up, she'll just make noises or "talk" until I wake up and come in and get her. I am grateful for how easy of a baby she has been - we have been able to give her breast milk or formula (and she'll be fed to by anyone), any type of binky or bottle, all brands of diapers without any reactions, etc. I know some babies don't always take what they are given and have a preference or a dislike and it has made our lives so much easier because she is not picky. She will smile at anyone and everyone. The magic touch when she's upset is swinging her in her carseat forward and backward, side to side not so much or we'd just put her in her swing. She still loves her bouncer and bouncing will sooth her sometimes. She will sit and stare at her footy pajamas that have things on them or her bright gold shoes. She is still in size 1 diapers and her 3 month clothes are fitting about perfect. We finally had to stop going to see the Doc every two weeks for weight check ups because she maintained her 25th percentile. She loves all books but especially ones that have things she can touch. She drools so bad that I have to put a bib on her so that her shirt won't get soaked. Her cheeks are still huge but that's ok because I love to kiss them! She will smile and laugh at me when I sing to her. Her cradle cap is basically gone, but she has developed something else that gets inflamed when she irritates it. The Doc thinks it could be an allergic reaction of some sort. She can sometimes put her binky back in all by herself, usually after she pulls it out. She has figured out she has lips and will suck on her bottom one and kind of smack them together, we find it pretty funny. She has the most beautiful blue eyes that I love to see the world through.

My own sleeping beauty.

The outfit I came home from the hospital in. I was pleasantly surprised my Mom kept it. 

Halloween! A Cookie Monster needs a Cookie.

A mi bebe en un poncho!

She fell asleep on our hike.

Cutest pumpkin in the patch!

She's so strong! She can stand up by herself as long as she's leaning against something.

Grandma Susan and her matching Skeleton.

I feel like I'm getting better at this whole Motherhood thing. I decided that instead of making sure I video or take pictures of her doing things for the first time or when she does something cute that I would just enjoy it and make sure that I really see it. If she does it again and I can catch it the second time then great. I don't want her first memories of me to be with me holding a phone in her face. I just want to make sure I enjoy my Hayley bug and treasure who she is and what she does.
A rewarding moment, or moments because they happen daily, is when Hayley will see me for the first time in the morning or when I come into the room or make eye contact with her and just smile. I love that she is so happy to see me, it's the best feeling ever! An embarrassing moment from this past month was in my parent's ward during Relief Society, Hayley pooped so loud the whole room heard it. I know she's a baby and they do that but I still turned pretty red. A sad moment was when she was sick, again, and her voice sounded terrible. It was like she swallowed a frog. The hard moments are when she is crying and I can't do anything to help her, whether it's when we're driving somewhere or she's uncomfortable from who knows what or she's waiting for a diaper change or to be fed. A fun moment was celebrating my birthday and having her here. She wore the outfit I came home from the hospital in (pictured above) and it was kind of surreal to think about how I was that little 25 years ago.

"Come stop your crying it'll be alright, just take my hand hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you, I will be here don't you cry. For one so small you seem so strong, my arms will hold you keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken, I will be here don't you cry. 'Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart, from this day on now and forever more." 

This is my song for Hayley because it perfectly describes how I feel about her. I love my little one!

She is the light of our lives!

Side note: She had her 4 month check-up on November 12 and weighed almost 13 pounds. She dropped again in percentile but not enough for the Doc to be concerned about her, thank goodness. She is 72nd percentile for head circumference, 54th for height, and 23rd for weight. She got her second round of shots. Dan took her while I was at work so that I wouldn't have to hear her cry and be sad. He's a good Daddy. She can start rice cereal and number 1 foods in two weeks.