Here is Hadley wearing the sweater and hat that my sister made for her-
And here she is smiling in her new (borrowed) car seat! She had been crying SO MUCH in her infant bucket seat, and I was hopeful that moving her to a convertible seat would be more comfortable and enjoyable. It worked like a charm. Plus I bought a little travel sound machine that plays white noise, which she really seems to like. Now she will often fall asleep in the car, or just be quiet and content. Again, something Makena rarely ever did!! I think it helps that big sister is back there with her. We often look in the back and see Hadley just smiling away while watching Makena sing.
We walk to Panera sometimes for breakfast or lunch. For breakfast Makena likes a bagel and cream cheese and orange juice. (And one of their awesome delicious iced shortbread cookies!) For lunch she likes the grilled cheese kids meal with an apple. (And a cookie. I always let her get the cookie because we share it and I always want it too!) Here's Makena and her friend Lyra playing after lunch.
Makena called me over to take a photo of her. "Mommy take a picture so I'll never forget how proud I am that I can do this! Can you keep this photo so I can look at it and remember how brave I am next time I get scared?"
Makena and her friend Lyra. What could possibly go wrong?
One of Hadley's favorite toys is this banana teether my mom bought her.
A few minutes after this photo was taken, Makena was off scootering around and Hadley and I were sitting here when suddenly the sprinklers came on and soaked us!
Makena was sick and missed the St Patrick's Day festivities at preschool, but she was invited to join in with the other class the next day. Grandmo came with us, and they had so much fun together
I signed Makena up to participate in a kids fun run, a short little race to raise money to send to an orphanage in Zimbabwe. She was excited about it and I was so glad that she did it! I wondered if she would get too nervous and cry and decide not to try. But she ran the whole 220 yards in 1 minute and 21 seconds! Of course I cried as I cheered her on and watched as she smiled and ran past me to the finish line.
Towards the end of March Hadley got a little cold that turned into a cough that made her lose her voice. It was so sad, she couldn't make any noise for 2 days. She'd so this pitiful silent cry, and I felt just awful if I didn't notice her when she woke up from a nap since she wasn't making a sound, but was crying! Then her voice was hoarse for a few days. Poor baby. She had diarrhea for several days and got a very red diaper rash from pooping 6+ times a day. We took her to visit a pediatrician for the first time when she was 1 day shy of being exactly 4 months old. She weighed in at 15 lbs 9 oz, and 26 inches.
Bath time always makes her smile!
I'm always trying to find ways to reconnect with Makena and remind her of how special she is to me. I served her toast that I cut out with the Mickey cookie cutter, and she wrote me a note.
We are really struggling lately, this morning I put the baby down and asked Makena to come hug me and she squealed "YAY MOMMY TIME!!" It makes me sad that just a quick hug is exciting to her now. Yesterday we spent an hour at Target just she and I, when Pam got home, since the day was so tough. It was lovely. The second we got home she was having a tough time again. Lots of shouting at me lately and crying and bad attitude. It's hard, and I know she is just so looking forward to having her bed ready, but we have so much furniture rearranging to do first.
On the last day of March I saw that Hadley was sitting by herself! A bit supported here by leaning and holding onto her activity mat, but still! 4 months old and sitting!
