Loved.

Yes she is.

Meet Smoochie

It looks like I won't be sharing Christmas photos by Valentine's Day. We have all been very sick around here. First Hattie, then Randy, now me. I called my mom to come up and help because I just couldn't get off of the couch. Now we are all finally starting to feel better. I have a little bit of a headache, but I am sure that will be gone by tomorrow.
Instead of Christmas photos, I will introduce you to Smoochie. Smoochie was sent to Randy in a care package while he was in Iraq. He has since become our family's mascot. We take him with us whenever we go on a trip and document his adventures. The photos show the places he has been to so far. He was even able to reconnect with a long-lost cousin at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Keep a lookout for him. You may never know when he'll show up.

Shedd Aquarium

I'm so behind on photos. I'm hoping to get though Christmas by Valentine's Day. Here are a few photos from our trip to Chicago way back in October. We went to the Shedd Aquarium. It was an amazing place with lots of sea life and very cool fish. Hattie was definitely fascinated by them. It will be fun to go back when she has a better understanding of it.

Tunnel Fun

Yesterday Hattie was invited to Brody's house for a quick play date. Brody has a tunnel from IKEA that the two crawled through. Hattie was hesitant at fist, but Brody was a good role model and soon Hattie decided to follow him. I think a tunnel will be a future purchase of ours.

Captain Brody

Happy Birthday to Brody! He turned 1 on Friday and he celebrated his birthday on Saturday with a pirate-themed birthday party. Hattie and Brody are great friends. Even though Hattie can't keep up with him yet (he's been walking since he was 9 months old!), she sure tries and they are cute to watch together.

Hattie has been giving lots of hugs and kisses lately. She especially loves giving open-mouth wet kisses. We must also have Kleenex around now.

Birthday Celebration

Last weekend in Los Banos, we threw Hattie a birthday party. It was a pink hippo theme. The inspiration came from a book called, "Hattie Hippo" and a pink hippo blanket I found early last year (yes, I have been planning this party since she was about 3 months old). Randy made 2 hippo cakes: one for everyone to eat and another smaller one as a smash cake for her. I wish I had a better photo of the cakes, but I was busy running around. If anyone has one, can you email it to me please?
She was a little timid around the cake at first, but she came around and enjoyed spreading the frosting all over her legs.

Happy Birthday Randy!

36!!!! So close to 40.
We love you!!!
In other news...
Hattie had her 1-year appointment today. She is 18.4lbs. (10%), 28in. (10-25%) and her head is in the 50-75%. Big head, little body.

12 Months and What a Year

I can't believe this day is actually here. It has been the most exciting, rewarding and best year of my life. Of course in the beginning it was hard, and we still have some trying moments (some listed below), but we would go through them all over again for her.
She:
-is not walking, yet
-has 4 teeth with number 5 starting to appear
-says a few words: water, mama, dada, cat, duck, hi, Hattie
-has 30 signs total with the newest ones being: help, tickle, bib, all done, mad, cheese, Santa, snow, phone, rabbit, car, monkey and toilet (poop)
-likes to rub her food in her hair
-still hates having her hair washed
-loves the snow
-acts shy around strangers
-takes her clips out of her hair (and shakes her head no while she is doing it)
-still sleeps from 6pm-6am (unless we are on vacation)
-takes 2 naps a day

and a Happy Birthday to my friend Michelle!

More Snow Fun

These photos were taken at Grandpa and Nana's house in McCall. It was very cold, so we bundled her up so tightly she couldn't move. I think she was trying to tell us something a few times, but with her arms/hands unable to move, she wasn't able to sign.

Snow Much Fun

I guess we have to move to Idaho. This California Baby loves the snow. Randy pulled her in this sled at Grammy's in Boise. She had a huge smile on her face and giggled up and down the hill. We also took her sledding in McCall. Photos of that soon.

Happy Holidays!

From the Fawcett Family.

We are in Idaho. I will post photos later.

First Tantrum

The other day, Hattie had a short, but rather loud tantrum. She wanted cheese (see the photo of her hands "cheese"), but I was feeding her oatmeal and mango. Even though she likes oatmeal and mango, at that particular moment she wanted her soy cheese. She wasn't too happy when I ignored her.

11 Months and "More" Cheerios

This photo shoot took three people to get her to sit still. Go go go. Lot's of that going on, but it is fun.


She:
-has a very busy social calendar-3 birthday parties just this weekend alone!
-cruises the furniture and has been caught letting go a few times (for half a second)
-loves wearing hats and looking at herself in the mirror
-is approximately 18 lbs.
-says "Mama" and "Dada" consistently
-is almost down to one nap a day (ugh)
-has learned five more signs (hot, hat, get dressed, car, cracker)
-loves being around other kids
-picks up her baby doll and a few other stuffed animals and hugs and kisses them (trying to get a cute photo of that)
-is starting to fit into her 9-month clothing
-still enjoys story time at the library (although it is getting harder for her to sit still now that she can crawl)
-may be allergic to milk :(
-hates getting her hair washed during bath time
-says "na na" which I think means "no no"
-shakes her head no when we say "Hattie don't touch" and then she laughs
-has 3 1/4 teeth
and
-tried Cheerios yesterday for the first time. She loved them. In the photo, she is signing "more."

Thanksgiving Day Photos

Some photos of Hattie on Thanksgiving.

First Thanksgiving Meal

Hattie thought the pureed turkey and sweet potatoes were delicious! Nana, you are a great cook! She's hoping she can try the apple pie next year.

A Fabulous Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, we headed over to Los Banos for dinner at John and Jenny's. My parents met us there along with Jenny's mom and sister and Glen and Kylie. The food was wonderful and we all had fun talking to each other and watching Hattie. With 2 grandmas, 2 grandpas, an aunt and an uncle there, Randy and I were able to sit back and relax!
Lots more photos later.