I stole the Year in Review idea from Wendy. My memory's not the best in the world but I thought I'd give it a shot!
January: I was absolutely miserable this time last year because of my job situation. I re-read some posts from this month and it brought back horrible memories! I had forgotten just how bad it was. I was obsessed with finding a new job. Every day was a struggle then. On a more positive note, Hailey was starting to talk more and more this month. I'd forgotten how exciting it was to hear her say a single new word, like "bug," or how neat it was when I asked her "Where's the ball Hailey?" and she'd crawl to the ball. This was also the period of time when D and I really started having trouble with parenting clashes. I was so used to taking care of her every day and he was just starting to take notice of everything and we started having a few bumps along the way...disagreements over how I did things, like washing her off after dinner and making her cry...I knew she was fine, she just hated being washed off...he thought I was torturing her...things like that we fought over. At this point he wasn't ready to learn from me and he hadn't had enough experience w/ her himself to realize he was over-reacting.
Here are a couple snippets from posts last year that I loved:
January 12, 2007:
Evidently Home Depot is verrrrrrrry interesting to a 9 month old. It is so funny, as soon as I got Miss H out of the car she was pointing and pointing at the building and saying “uh, ah!” as if to say “Mommy please oh please oh pleeeeeeeeease can we go in there???” And once inside she was happy as pie. She LOVED the yellow Dyson vacuum cleaner. She wanted it. I told her some day I hope she can afford a Dyson, but that we sure can’t. It’s such a bummer, my aunt has a mini version, you know those little kid vacuums that look like the real thing just smaller…well she has a mini version of this exact vacuum Miss H fell in love with last night. But I know she would never get rid of it. The kids she watches like it too much, and they don’t sell them in stores, it’s a promotional item only. She bought it off Ebay. Miss H has a toy Hoover. Evidently she has expensive taste, because she does not like her Hoover. Maybe because it’s not a pretty yellow…who knows.
Hailey STILL to this day LOVES the yellow Dyson vacuum. This past Friday night when we were in Target Hailey's face lit up and she yelled "Mommy, yellow bacuum!!!" She absolutely loves it. At home, she now settles for her little Hoover and she is no longer afraid of the real vacuum. She turns her little Hoover on and tells me "Mommy I bacuum in living room! Mommy I bacuum in kitchen! Mommy I bacuum in there!" It's so cute to watch.
January 31, 2007:
Last night my mom and I went grocery shopping. I used to make my husband go with me, but he spent the whole time griping and not paying attention so I started going with my mom and now it’s so much fun. And Miss H LOVES shopping. She babbles and points at everything on the shelves and tries to grab whatever’s in reach. Usually Miss H has no problems waiting til we get home to eat…but last night evidently she was starving and we took a little too long for her liking, because when we got up to the checkout and started putting her baby foods and yogurts up on the conveyer belt thing she lunged at them yelling and was trying to poke her little finger through the yogurt tops. It was so funny! She wasn’t upset, just VERY excited at seeing all her food. She’s changing daily, it amazes me. Every single day she doesn’t something new and acts less like a little baby. It’s so hard to explain without someone actually seeing for themselves. This morning she was still tired, so when I was getting dressed she was fussing…she took her pacifier out of her mouth, looked right at me and gave me a big ol fake fuss, complete with a big juicy tear rolling down her cheek. She fell over on the floor and just lay there whimpering. So pitiful. And she’s been hugging me for a while now, but lately her hugs have been extra special. She grabs me around my neck and squeezes like she’s never going to let go, it’s the sweetest thing in the whole world. She comes over and climbs into my lap and stands up and just hugs and hugs me. Melts my heart every time. What on earth did I ever do without her???
I remember these hugs. I miss these hugs. Now she's in love with her Daddy too(which is a good thing) and he gets most of the hugs. She's not that cuddly of a child, she never has been. But I remember this phase, when I'd get my morning hugs. And she STILL loves shopping. We can't go in Walmart without her asking(demanding) "Mommy, look at toys!" This post reminds me of my chubby, round little baby and how much she's changed over this past year.
February: This month Hailey started standing up on her own without pulling up on anything. I also realized I had to start watching what I do in front of her because she was understanding much more than I thought she would at that age. This month I also realized that I am having a lot of trouble managing everything on my own and that my new years resolution of making myself a priority again was going to be tougher than I thought. I remember that feeling, of always being so exhausted and frustrated at not even having time to shower. I remember going to work every day without makeup...I'd brush my teeth and hair, some days just wiping off my face, get dressed and go.
February 22, 2007: The Mommy Song
I had forgotten about The Mommy Song. How could I have forgotten?? It was beautiful. The Daddy Song too. How incredibly sweet. I'm not sure if what I had hoped for in the end of this post will ever happen. She usually yells at me "Music off!!" or "Too loud!" when I turn it on. She does love to sing herself though. Her favorite right now is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She also sings the ABC song, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old McDonald.
February 26, 2007:
Sunday morning I woke up at 8...no yelling from Miss H. So I went back to bed. Woke up at 9...went and checked on her...still snoozing away! D and I woke up at 10:30 and honestly we flipped out a little...she hasn't slept that late since she had the stomach flu. We walked in her room to find her standing there in her crib, pointing at her special lamp her great-grandparents got her, and whispering "dat, dat!" She is so funny. Usually she stands up and yells at the door for us to come get her. I have no idea how long she was awake looking at her lamp. But at least we got some sleep, and she didn't seem like she was starving to death or anything surprisingly. She fought her nap again on Sunday. Finally D just laid her in bed with him, and I laid down as well. She cried, and tossed and turned, and cried. The only way I could get her to settle down was to rub on back and hold her really close and say "bye-o, bye-o baby bye-o"...my grandma used to rock me to sleep singing that when I was little, and oddly it soothes Miss H too. She FINALLY drifted off to sleep, and I slept w/ her from 1 to 3. I got her up at 3:30 to eat lunch. We went to the in-laws around 6 and Miss H didn't eat dinner til 8. She did however do something pretty darn amazing. One minute she was sitting on the floor next to me, the next she just stood up. She just stood up right there in the middle of the floor and just stood there, not wobbling or anything! Of course me, the wonderfully eloquent person that I am, could only think to say "um, um, um!" I was shocked. To see my little baby girl standing there next to me was a very odd sight. Needless to say I'm very proud.
This is when Hailey started sleeping in. She'd sleep later and then wake up and just play by herself for a while. SO NICE after so many months of so little sleep. Made for a much happier mommy! Hailey is STILL to this day soothed by me singing "Bye-O, bye-O, bye-O baby bye-O." This is so special to me since it always reminds me of my grandma. I'm so glad I could pass this on to Hailey since it was always so special to me. I don't know what it is about that little song, but even now if she's hysterical about a diaper change or getting hurt or anything I can sing that in her ear and she'll calm down.
February 28, 2007:
Ok so it was another big night for Miss H. She demonstrated to me how she can now put her big plastic coins in the slot on her talking piggy bank. I was very proud! Also, while I was videotaping us rolling around on the floor, out of nowhere she just stood up. Again! She just stood there. On the tape you can see her chest and head only, so you can’t tell she’s standing except I’m yelling “oh my gosh look you’re standing up on your own, H you’re standing!” LOL And then she plopped down on her butt, and then stood up again and this time she bounced! She bent her knees and bounced up and down, while standing by herself. I was shocked! Again, you couldn’t really tell on the tape that she was standing by herself because I was so close to her, dangit! It’s so funny to see her just standing there all by herself! Now we’re just waiting for her to take steps…I think it’ll be a while, but it will be so neat and weird to see our little baby walking. Also I’ve noticed she’s really starting to mimic even more than she used to. For quite a few months now if another baby was crying she would fake cry. But now she’s even mimicking us. Last night D was being a butt while I was on the phone w/ him and Miss H was in her highchair eating. I hung up the phone and slammed it down on the kitchen counter and turned around, and Miss H made a mean face and slammed her hand down on the highchair tray. I burst out laughing. It’s hilarious to see her doing what I do like that, and it’s weird to think she actually understands enough of what we’re doing to mimic it now. Also I got really frustrated and cried a bit and she started making the pouty face and whimpering. She’s just too stinking smart and cute! She’s 10 and a half months old today.
It's funny how something as simple as putting the coins in the piggy bank were HUGE tasks back then.
March: This month is the month our lives began to change. I got my new job, which changed everything. I started to feel awesome about myself. Even though I didn't start my new job til the next month the stress was already beginning to lift off my shoulders. I knew I'd be leaving the Hell Hole so I didn't give a crap anymore. Handing in my letter telling them I'd quit was the best feeling ever. This month was the month Hailey started climbing on everything.
April: Hailey turns one this month. She really works on her walking and begins having horrible temper tantrums. We wean her off her night time bottle. I start my new job the 9th of this month and love it. I find out I'll be making even more money than they told me when they hired me. This was a great month!
May: This month we made plans to start trying to have another baby in December. My job continues to go well, and the AP lady retires which starts thoughts of a possible promotion. D and I are doing okay this month. My sister's boyfriend got back from Iraq and came to visit and we found out first hand what war does to a person--he left a goofy, happy-go-lucky person and came back very quiet, serious and angry.
May 24, 2007
Last night my mom came over because she has to work the next few days and wanted to get her dose of Hailey in to tide her over. She was holding her over by the dishwasher and D and I were in the living room. He was getting ready to leave for work, so he gave me a hug. Hailey saw us, and she kicked her legs and pointed really hard and said "uh!!! MINE!" She was so mad. My mom brought her to us, and she clung to me like a little monkey. She's so selfish with me! She doesn't want anyone else to show me affection, I'm all hers. Makes me feel so special!
June: Hailey had her first trip to the Zoo this month, and also her longest car ride ever. She loved the Zoo and did great on the car ride. Hailey tells me she loves me "Bub you!" I got the promotion at work, which meant yet another raise. We finally had Hailey's first birthday party this month.
July: D and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by taking a trip to the Lake like we did for our honeymoon. We did not, however have a repeat of our honeymoon...the trip didn't go so well. I had major separation issues from leaving Hailey for the weekend and D and I realized we hadn't spend alone time in a LONG time so we didn't really even know each other anymore. We fought quite a lot this month. People at work started to turn shady...I learned it's not the shiny happy place I thought. Hailey is 15 months old. She can name her body parts and is saying 2 word sentences regularly and even 3 word sentences at times. She pooped in the potty for the first time ever on the 4th of July...and got to experience the 4th of July perfectly healthy(in 2006 she was very sick and went into the hospital the next day). She loved the fireworks!
August: My relationship with D quickly begins to spiral downward. I start contemplating divorce. He's working on his relationship with Hailey and starts trying to do things with her more, including putting her to bed some nights. Hailey read her first book ever this month...as in turned the pages and actually said the words that are on each page(I know she can't read, but she had it memorized)...the book was My Puppy.
September: D and I have been together 8 years this month. We convince my sister and her fiance to get married here. We get the bad news he'll be going back to Iraq in February 2008. Hailey is talking full sentences now.
October: Hailey is 18 months old. We took a trip to St. Louis and Hailey had her first little vacation with the family. We stayed with D's grandparents and went to an awesome wedding and took Hailey back to the Zoo. Hailey saw her first rainbows this month. She had her first trip to the library and went to her first Art in the Park. My relationship with D is getting better each month.
November: Hailey discovers snow, and loves it. You can have full conversations with her now. We had a great Thanksgiving. We discovered Hailey's love of horses. She can count to ten and also count objects. She sings lots of songs...her fav. is Twinkle Twinkle little star. Hailey actually gets her feet off the floor when she jumps. She's getting better at knowing her colors and she has started to sing the ABC song. We went to see Garth Brooks, fulfilling one of D's lifelong dreams.
December: I celebrated my 25th birthday this month. Hailey is 20 months old. She has learned the meaning of "forever" and will tell me she wants to stay somewhere forever. I ask her if she wants to leave and she replies "No, stay here. Ever." She's truly a little girl now. She has a wonderful relationship with her Daddy now and loves him to pieces. Some days she doesn't want to have anything to do with me, which hurts my feelings...but I love that she has such a good relationship with D now! D and I are doing well. We have our bad days still, but he's helping out around the house more. My sister got married this month. I actually don't mind coming to work anymore. When the weekend's over it's not the end of the world...I really don't mind having to work at this job. We made the decision this month to put off having another baby for a few years.
Here are a couple snippets from posts last year that I loved:
January 12, 2007:
Evidently Home Depot is verrrrrrrry interesting to a 9 month old. It is so funny, as soon as I got Miss H out of the car she was pointing and pointing at the building and saying “uh, ah!” as if to say “Mommy please oh please oh pleeeeeeeeease can we go in there???” And once inside she was happy as pie. She LOVED the yellow Dyson vacuum cleaner. She wanted it. I told her some day I hope she can afford a Dyson, but that we sure can’t. It’s such a bummer, my aunt has a mini version, you know those little kid vacuums that look like the real thing just smaller…well she has a mini version of this exact vacuum Miss H fell in love with last night. But I know she would never get rid of it. The kids she watches like it too much, and they don’t sell them in stores, it’s a promotional item only. She bought it off Ebay. Miss H has a toy Hoover. Evidently she has expensive taste, because she does not like her Hoover. Maybe because it’s not a pretty yellow…who knows.
Hailey STILL to this day LOVES the yellow Dyson vacuum. This past Friday night when we were in Target Hailey's face lit up and she yelled "Mommy, yellow bacuum!!!" She absolutely loves it. At home, she now settles for her little Hoover and she is no longer afraid of the real vacuum. She turns her little Hoover on and tells me "Mommy I bacuum in living room! Mommy I bacuum in kitchen! Mommy I bacuum in there!" It's so cute to watch.
January 31, 2007:
Last night my mom and I went grocery shopping. I used to make my husband go with me, but he spent the whole time griping and not paying attention so I started going with my mom and now it’s so much fun. And Miss H LOVES shopping. She babbles and points at everything on the shelves and tries to grab whatever’s in reach. Usually Miss H has no problems waiting til we get home to eat…but last night evidently she was starving and we took a little too long for her liking, because when we got up to the checkout and started putting her baby foods and yogurts up on the conveyer belt thing she lunged at them yelling and was trying to poke her little finger through the yogurt tops. It was so funny! She wasn’t upset, just VERY excited at seeing all her food. She’s changing daily, it amazes me. Every single day she doesn’t something new and acts less like a little baby. It’s so hard to explain without someone actually seeing for themselves. This morning she was still tired, so when I was getting dressed she was fussing…she took her pacifier out of her mouth, looked right at me and gave me a big ol fake fuss, complete with a big juicy tear rolling down her cheek. She fell over on the floor and just lay there whimpering. So pitiful. And she’s been hugging me for a while now, but lately her hugs have been extra special. She grabs me around my neck and squeezes like she’s never going to let go, it’s the sweetest thing in the whole world. She comes over and climbs into my lap and stands up and just hugs and hugs me. Melts my heart every time. What on earth did I ever do without her???
I remember these hugs. I miss these hugs. Now she's in love with her Daddy too(which is a good thing) and he gets most of the hugs. She's not that cuddly of a child, she never has been. But I remember this phase, when I'd get my morning hugs. And she STILL loves shopping. We can't go in Walmart without her asking(demanding) "Mommy, look at toys!" This post reminds me of my chubby, round little baby and how much she's changed over this past year.
February: This month Hailey started standing up on her own without pulling up on anything. I also realized I had to start watching what I do in front of her because she was understanding much more than I thought she would at that age. This month I also realized that I am having a lot of trouble managing everything on my own and that my new years resolution of making myself a priority again was going to be tougher than I thought. I remember that feeling, of always being so exhausted and frustrated at not even having time to shower. I remember going to work every day without makeup...I'd brush my teeth and hair, some days just wiping off my face, get dressed and go.
February 22, 2007: The Mommy Song
I had forgotten about The Mommy Song. How could I have forgotten?? It was beautiful. The Daddy Song too. How incredibly sweet. I'm not sure if what I had hoped for in the end of this post will ever happen. She usually yells at me "Music off!!" or "Too loud!" when I turn it on. She does love to sing herself though. Her favorite right now is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She also sings the ABC song, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old McDonald.
February 26, 2007:
Sunday morning I woke up at 8...no yelling from Miss H. So I went back to bed. Woke up at 9...went and checked on her...still snoozing away! D and I woke up at 10:30 and honestly we flipped out a little...she hasn't slept that late since she had the stomach flu. We walked in her room to find her standing there in her crib, pointing at her special lamp her great-grandparents got her, and whispering "dat, dat!" She is so funny. Usually she stands up and yells at the door for us to come get her. I have no idea how long she was awake looking at her lamp. But at least we got some sleep, and she didn't seem like she was starving to death or anything surprisingly. She fought her nap again on Sunday. Finally D just laid her in bed with him, and I laid down as well. She cried, and tossed and turned, and cried. The only way I could get her to settle down was to rub on back and hold her really close and say "bye-o, bye-o baby bye-o"...my grandma used to rock me to sleep singing that when I was little, and oddly it soothes Miss H too. She FINALLY drifted off to sleep, and I slept w/ her from 1 to 3. I got her up at 3:30 to eat lunch. We went to the in-laws around 6 and Miss H didn't eat dinner til 8. She did however do something pretty darn amazing. One minute she was sitting on the floor next to me, the next she just stood up. She just stood up right there in the middle of the floor and just stood there, not wobbling or anything! Of course me, the wonderfully eloquent person that I am, could only think to say "um, um, um!" I was shocked. To see my little baby girl standing there next to me was a very odd sight. Needless to say I'm very proud.
This is when Hailey started sleeping in. She'd sleep later and then wake up and just play by herself for a while. SO NICE after so many months of so little sleep. Made for a much happier mommy! Hailey is STILL to this day soothed by me singing "Bye-O, bye-O, bye-O baby bye-O." This is so special to me since it always reminds me of my grandma. I'm so glad I could pass this on to Hailey since it was always so special to me. I don't know what it is about that little song, but even now if she's hysterical about a diaper change or getting hurt or anything I can sing that in her ear and she'll calm down.
February 28, 2007:
Ok so it was another big night for Miss H. She demonstrated to me how she can now put her big plastic coins in the slot on her talking piggy bank. I was very proud! Also, while I was videotaping us rolling around on the floor, out of nowhere she just stood up. Again! She just stood there. On the tape you can see her chest and head only, so you can’t tell she’s standing except I’m yelling “oh my gosh look you’re standing up on your own, H you’re standing!” LOL And then she plopped down on her butt, and then stood up again and this time she bounced! She bent her knees and bounced up and down, while standing by herself. I was shocked! Again, you couldn’t really tell on the tape that she was standing by herself because I was so close to her, dangit! It’s so funny to see her just standing there all by herself! Now we’re just waiting for her to take steps…I think it’ll be a while, but it will be so neat and weird to see our little baby walking. Also I’ve noticed she’s really starting to mimic even more than she used to. For quite a few months now if another baby was crying she would fake cry. But now she’s even mimicking us. Last night D was being a butt while I was on the phone w/ him and Miss H was in her highchair eating. I hung up the phone and slammed it down on the kitchen counter and turned around, and Miss H made a mean face and slammed her hand down on the highchair tray. I burst out laughing. It’s hilarious to see her doing what I do like that, and it’s weird to think she actually understands enough of what we’re doing to mimic it now. Also I got really frustrated and cried a bit and she started making the pouty face and whimpering. She’s just too stinking smart and cute! She’s 10 and a half months old today.
It's funny how something as simple as putting the coins in the piggy bank were HUGE tasks back then.
March: This month is the month our lives began to change. I got my new job, which changed everything. I started to feel awesome about myself. Even though I didn't start my new job til the next month the stress was already beginning to lift off my shoulders. I knew I'd be leaving the Hell Hole so I didn't give a crap anymore. Handing in my letter telling them I'd quit was the best feeling ever. This month was the month Hailey started climbing on everything.
April: Hailey turns one this month. She really works on her walking and begins having horrible temper tantrums. We wean her off her night time bottle. I start my new job the 9th of this month and love it. I find out I'll be making even more money than they told me when they hired me. This was a great month!
May: This month we made plans to start trying to have another baby in December. My job continues to go well, and the AP lady retires which starts thoughts of a possible promotion. D and I are doing okay this month. My sister's boyfriend got back from Iraq and came to visit and we found out first hand what war does to a person--he left a goofy, happy-go-lucky person and came back very quiet, serious and angry.
May 24, 2007
Last night my mom came over because she has to work the next few days and wanted to get her dose of Hailey in to tide her over. She was holding her over by the dishwasher and D and I were in the living room. He was getting ready to leave for work, so he gave me a hug. Hailey saw us, and she kicked her legs and pointed really hard and said "uh!!! MINE!" She was so mad. My mom brought her to us, and she clung to me like a little monkey. She's so selfish with me! She doesn't want anyone else to show me affection, I'm all hers. Makes me feel so special!
June: Hailey had her first trip to the Zoo this month, and also her longest car ride ever. She loved the Zoo and did great on the car ride. Hailey tells me she loves me "Bub you!" I got the promotion at work, which meant yet another raise. We finally had Hailey's first birthday party this month.
July: D and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by taking a trip to the Lake like we did for our honeymoon. We did not, however have a repeat of our honeymoon...the trip didn't go so well. I had major separation issues from leaving Hailey for the weekend and D and I realized we hadn't spend alone time in a LONG time so we didn't really even know each other anymore. We fought quite a lot this month. People at work started to turn shady...I learned it's not the shiny happy place I thought. Hailey is 15 months old. She can name her body parts and is saying 2 word sentences regularly and even 3 word sentences at times. She pooped in the potty for the first time ever on the 4th of July...and got to experience the 4th of July perfectly healthy(in 2006 she was very sick and went into the hospital the next day). She loved the fireworks!
August: My relationship with D quickly begins to spiral downward. I start contemplating divorce. He's working on his relationship with Hailey and starts trying to do things with her more, including putting her to bed some nights. Hailey read her first book ever this month...as in turned the pages and actually said the words that are on each page(I know she can't read, but she had it memorized)...the book was My Puppy.
September: D and I have been together 8 years this month. We convince my sister and her fiance to get married here. We get the bad news he'll be going back to Iraq in February 2008. Hailey is talking full sentences now.
October: Hailey is 18 months old. We took a trip to St. Louis and Hailey had her first little vacation with the family. We stayed with D's grandparents and went to an awesome wedding and took Hailey back to the Zoo. Hailey saw her first rainbows this month. She had her first trip to the library and went to her first Art in the Park. My relationship with D is getting better each month.
November: Hailey discovers snow, and loves it. You can have full conversations with her now. We had a great Thanksgiving. We discovered Hailey's love of horses. She can count to ten and also count objects. She sings lots of songs...her fav. is Twinkle Twinkle little star. Hailey actually gets her feet off the floor when she jumps. She's getting better at knowing her colors and she has started to sing the ABC song. We went to see Garth Brooks, fulfilling one of D's lifelong dreams.
December: I celebrated my 25th birthday this month. Hailey is 20 months old. She has learned the meaning of "forever" and will tell me she wants to stay somewhere forever. I ask her if she wants to leave and she replies "No, stay here. Ever." She's truly a little girl now. She has a wonderful relationship with her Daddy now and loves him to pieces. Some days she doesn't want to have anything to do with me, which hurts my feelings...but I love that she has such a good relationship with D now! D and I are doing well. We have our bad days still, but he's helping out around the house more. My sister got married this month. I actually don't mind coming to work anymore. When the weekend's over it's not the end of the world...I really don't mind having to work at this job. We made the decision this month to put off having another baby for a few years.
And that's 2007, in a nutshell! Or what I can remember of it, anyway!
