On Math and Keeping It Simple

Ana’s homework for the weekend was an activity that had her rolling dice, and adding or subtracting cubes to create math sentences. We had a lot of fun working on it. While Ana was writing her numbers we had the following conversation:

Ana: Does my one look like a seven?
Sim: A one is just a straight line. Why are you writing it like that?
Ana: It’s how my teacher told me to do it.
Carrie: Yeah, I’m not sure why they make them do it that way. But if your teacher said you need to do it that way, please do what she said.
Sim: Well, if you are going to give it a tail you need to give it feet.
Ana: It’s not a tail.
Carrie: Do you call it a hat?
Ana: It’s not a hat.
Sim: Well then what is it?
Ana: It’s just a line.



My Little Toddler

Well, it’s official! Hadley is now walking. She’s been doing it more and more over the last couple days. Now I’d say she is walking about half the time (she still crawls when it’s really far or when the ground is “questionable”). She knows she can do it and she is so cute as she just WALKS across the room. It’s been a long time coming (she’s almost 16 months) but considering her broken leg added a little bump in the road, I’d say she’s doing pretty great. We are SO proud of her!

Daddy Daughter Dance 2012

Tonight Simeon and Ana went to the annual Daddy Daughter Dance that is held each year (around Valentine’s Day) at the Cedar Hills Rec Center. Ana looks forward to this ALL YEAR. And you can imagine why.

For Ana, this is the ultimate dress up adventure! I found a bunch of clearance holiday dresses on-line several months back and I let Ana pick out her very own dress. We also ordered some sparkly silver “peep toe” shoes, bought some glittery purple nail polish at Target, and she was set! Naturally she decided to grow out her bangs a few weeks ago so we had to improvise with “long side swept bangs” and a polished ponytail. Ana also found a rhinestone barrett and a string of fake pearls which she felt really rounded out her look.

Here she is coming down the stairs and making her grand entrance.

Sneaking a quick cuddle with her handsome date.

Then Sim surprised her with her fancy corsage!



And before it was time for them to go and have a great time together, I made them pose for several more pictures.




They had a great evening filled with dinner, dancing and even a little dessert. And Ana can hardly wait to do it all again next year. You can see all the pictures I took of the dazzling duo here. Before I end this post, I just want to ask you, do you know where to watch world of dance all seasons?

15 Month Doctors Appointment

Hadley had her 15-month doctors appointment this morning. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 31″ (75th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 2 oz (58th percentile)
Head: 46.5 cm (75th percentile)

Hadley has slowed quite a bit on her weight gain. Not enough to cause concern, but enough that the nurse had me take her back to the scale to weigh her again to make sure we didn’t record the wrong number. But she is still gaining so we don’t need to worry. The doctor said she is most likely just really active. You can say that again! I am constantly chasing her around this place. I shudder to think about what it will be like when she can actual walk!

The doctor and I talked quite a bit about her broken leg and he said it sounds like she is making an excellent recovery. He was pleased to hear (as I was also pleased to report) that Hadley just started talking a few steps again. He said while it’s great to encourage her and help her to walk, not to push her. She will do it when she is good and ready.

As part of his exam, the doctor asked if she knew any body parts. I said I hadn’t really been working on them with her so I didn’t think so. When he asked her about certain body parts her eyes quickly darted to them and when he mentioned “tongue” she stuck hers out for everyone to see. So despite me not teaching her the body parts, she is certainly learning them on her own! That’s one observant little girl I have. He remarked that while she isn’t saying the words yet (as she shouldn’t be), she is definitely comprehending them!

Then the nurse came back in to give Hadley her one and only shot. Hadley looked skeptical as we put her back down on the table and kind of glared at the nurse when she grabbed the needle. But the shot was over before we knew it and Hadley didn’t even fuss. She even gave the nurse a hug afterwards. I’m sure just to prove there weren’t any hard feelings. We go back in three months for her 18 month appointment. Man, how time flies!

A Letter: Fifteen Months

Dear Hadley,
Today you are fifteen months old. And yesterday you took several steps! These were not your “first steps” (you took two steps back in December…then broke your leg the next day) but they were the first steps since you got that darn cast off! It was very exciting. Daddy was encouraging you to walk and when, much to his surprise, you actually took two steps he squealed like a little girl, scared you, and caused you to promptly sit down. We quickly did the same thing again and you took THREE MORE steps. But after that you were DONE and simply refused to play that game anymore. But you took steps. And we will totally take it.

The other big changes this month are in your ability to communicate. You are surprising us every day with new words or hand gestures to tell us what you want or need. You are very accomplished at pointing to things. You do this to show me things you want to eat or play with but also simply to draw my attention to something you find interesting, like, “Hey Mama! Do you see that dog?!” I love that you are able to show me things that are important to you and am always entertained by the things that fascinate you.



While knowing what you want is helpful, it is equally important to know what you DO NOT want. You have finally figured out how to shake your head “no.” Want another bite? Shake your head “no.”‘ You point to something in the kitchen. Do you want this? “No.” How about this? “Nope.” This? “NO.” THIS?! And then you squeal with delight. BINGO. It can be frustrating, and often time consuming, but it works.

Aside from non-verbal communication you are growing your actual vocabulary as well. You can say Mama (which, thanks to you having a five year old sister, more often than not is simply “Mom”) Dada, Ana (of course!!), Nana, wawa (water), bye-bye, go, up, baby, and you point to yourself and say “me me” which delights you to no end.

A couple weeks ago we had another first occur around here. Not just a first for you, but a first for our whole household. You fell asleep while eating in your high chair! I have never had a child fall asleep while eating before! Ana passed out once while playing on the floor but never while sitting up, with food still dangling from your fingers. In your defense you were a little sick and hadn’t slept well during your nap. Ana was reading a book to us during snack time and while I was helping her sound out the words (and not just guess based on the pictures) you just closed your eyes and went to sleep! I made sure to take pictures from time to time to document this momentous (and hilarious) occasion.




You are totally fascinated by shoes. Or slippers. Or boots. Any type of footwear, really. You love to put them on your feet, on your hands, or even hide things inside them. Once I even found one of your shoes INSIDE one of my shoes. I thought that was pretty sneaky.


You are also obsessed with the little pink “car” your Grandpa Larry gave you for Christmas. In fact, I was a little worried that it was going to keep you from walking because you simply ride anywhere you want to go. You roll from one point to the next, turning and maneuvering with the greatest of ease. You have even tried carrying things around while sitting down, but this proved a bit tricky.

When you realized the seat lifted up, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for you. Once day I caught you stashing your blankie in the trunk. You figured out you could ride around AND still have your blankie safely by your side. Clever, Hadley. Very clever.



Last weekend while Nana was staying with us, we decided to set up a little camp out in the living room. While you didn’t get to sleep in the tent (this time) you certainly had a great time playing in it. We left it set up for a couple days and you and Ana were constantly playing in the tent. The squeals of delight and constantly giggles coming from your little pink canopy let us know you were in pure heaven!


Hadley, it has once again been a wonderful month with you. You are such an amazing addition to my life. You give the very best cuddles and when you wrap your hand around my finger all the troubles in the world simply melt away. I love watching your eyes light up when we snuggle up in the La-Z-Boy to read yet another Blue’s Clues book (you are partial to the lift-the-flap ones). I can’t wait to share all my favorite books with you. Then one of these days you will understand why we have those round Harry Potter glasses you love to wear so much. Until then, I am happy to enjoy all the things that bring joy to you like you bring to me.

All my love,
Mama