collection of firsts

I don't know exact dates but since we've been here in Cali, Hailey has had a collection of first (or completions of first; as you know babies take a while to master some things!!). To list them for you, in no particular order, is me...mommy!

• sitting up
• sleeping un-swaddled
• going to sleep still awake
• reaching for grown up food
• holds her bottle (started practicing that in Texas)
• eating 3 meals a day
• rolling over on purpose
• grabbing and holding her feet and toes
• cutting tooth (right side/bottom gum)
• putting pacifier in her own mouth
• reached out to be held by someone (not mommy....auntie mandie!!!)
• spent the night without mommy (and with aunt laurie)
• sleeping through the night! 7pm - 7am
• went on a carousel ride
• swam in a floaty all by yourself (we were close by though)
• kicks her feet in the pool
• went to sea port village
• dropped daddy off at the airport

So many new things happening everyday...it's just so hard to keep track of it all. Please don't grow up too soon Doll Baby! xoxoxoxoox Mommy and Daddy

That's all for now...but you will be updated soon!

WOW!

Mandie Michelle Kelly, 19 years old

I am doing a senior portrait shoot out here in a couple of days, so to practice I asked my cousin Mandie to come out and work with me, "just for fun". Then I started shooting with her and I realized, "Man I have a great model to work with!" So she ended up having to walk around my aunt's whole house posing. Stand here, work it, turn your head, hunch your shoulders, stick it out, etc! She was such a great sport, and the pictures turned out GORGEOUS! My model cousin Mandie!!!

Jacob Patrick Kelly, 9 years old

So, Jacob was just as cute and just as fun to work with! He had no problem jumping off of rocks, flexing his muscles and thinking about ice cream and cookies! What a handsome young man my little cousin has turned out to be!

Reunión de la mente

No trip to California would be complete without Hailey meeting her second familia! Marcie's birthday was the 17th and we celebrated by surprising her at the mama's house! Her mom left a present for Marcie on the kitchen counter that said her next present was in her brother's room. So Marcie went there, and was greeted by Hailey. We had a sticky note on Hailey's shirt that said your next present is in your mom's room! I was hiding in there!! It was super fun!

Hailey really enjoyed meeting her familia and especially enjoyed the guacamole! She ate the whole bowl herself...or Marcie and I did, but who's really keeping track? She loved Tio Tico (Marcie's brother Francisco) and really loved her abuelos! Her Tia Marcie was a natural and she couldn't take her eyes off her Uncle Bill! We hope to see them again soon! Love you long time familia!!

Meeting of the minds!

Hailey has a whole nother family out in Cali that she finally got to meet this week! It has been soo much fun! I hope you enjoy (for my Texas peps) meeting her family as much as she did!

So far, she has met:
Aunt Laurie~Mandie~Jacob~Nanny~Chrissy~Brody~Sami~Sami's baby in the tummy~Uncle Rob

This coming Sunday she will meet the rest of the family...stay tuned!

Teaching new babies old tricks!

Much to the dislike, or disbelief of many Texans, California is good for the soul! Hailey has blossomed into such a fine young lady. Since we arrived she has blown the minds of many with her new and improved baby skills. She is now eating three square meals a day of solid food...last night the poor thing had squash applesauce! Waste not, want not I always say! I had a little extra squash left over from lunch, lol! With that hardy appetite has also come a need for extreme baby sports, like swimming (by herself), sitting up (also by herself!!!), and reaching out for people to hold her (or she's just using us to sit up...hmmm), and finally, she is rolling over constantly (watch out, she might just roll on back to y'all!). I am attaching some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy the update...and don't be sad Texas, this genius of a baby is coming back; you can still claim her as the product of your up bringing!

Hailey bridge is falling down, falling down falling down!

Packing...

I know I should be packing for our trip to Cali, but I had to upload these pics because I have a photo shoot tomorrow. And then, when I saw them, I had to make a collage!! Amber came over Sunday to teach me some posing tips she learned while working at Kiddy Kandids @ Babies 'R' Us. Thanks Auntie Ambs!! I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do! ;-)

What do you think?

Amber Fusca and I were having a discussion about the pros and cons of 3-D ultrasounds. Whether they were necessary or not, and why people would do them. I have to say I am one of the people who got sucked into the twilight zone of pre birth baby pictures. I enjoyed and greatly appreciated the chance to see my baby one extra time, and to "see" what she looked like.

But that's the question isn't it? Did I really see my baby, or was it just a pre-recorded recording of a 3-D ultrasound? Conspiracy Theorist, I know!

To get your vote I am posting some of the ultrasound pics next to some real pictures of Hailey.

I give the facts...you decide! ;-)

What do you think, worth it? Do they look similar?

Katie K and Amber H

This is for everyone, but I am doing it mostly for my friends Katie and Amber. They have been asking me how I make the collages everytime I post one! So I will tell ya....drum roll please....PhotoMix. It's "free" software! Free in the sense that you can make all of the collages I have made, but you can't save them in a readable JPEG format. So, that free program really cost me $26. Still TOTALLY worth it! It is SOOO easy to use and the website offers FREE templates that are pretty cute. I hope you enjoy!

Thank Heaven

During the hurricane last October my external picture hard drive crashed and would no longer work. Just tonight did we get it fixed...9 months later!!! Apparently it needed a new power source. Not that difficult, huh? Apparently it was! ;-) So once I got my drive up and running again I, of course, had to dig through all of them to see what I was missing! I hope you enjoy the pictures. They are mostly of friends, since I figure my family just got a bunch of face time in the last 5 posts! ;-)

A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

-Proverbs 17:17

New Chair

We got super lucky with this steal! Our neighbor didn't want it any more so they gave it to us. I cleaned it and ran it through the wash. It's as good as new! And the best part...Hailey LOVES it!

This video is sooo cute! We call her the giggle box!

Tongue

I don't know how many of you know about John's freakishly LARGE tongue, but trust me when I say it's GIGANTIC! I thought, at least he's a boy; boys can have a CRAZY tongues! But girls, girls don't have HUMONGOUS tongues...do they?

Her many faces...

I think I've been watching way too much America's Next Top Model...Nah! Our friends Tori and Kyle gave us this dress and thought it was too beautiful to be worn just for any occasion. So I decided that I had to do a mini photo shoot of her wearing the dress! Hailey and her many faces...enjoy!

Angel baby

Hailey truly is my angel baby! She is a miracle from God and we thank him everyday for allowing her to be a part of our lives. Let's hope the next miracle doesn't take as long as his big sister did!! ;-)

Just for Aunt Laurie

No...it's not Halloween. It's dalmation appreciation day! Yes, there's a story behind this picture...want me to tell ya? Back when I was in high school, aunt Laurie dressed my baby cousin up as a dalmation...but it didn't stop there did it? If you know her you know the answer to that question is NO! She made me (17) and Mandie (10) dress up like them too! How crazy is that? I begged and pleaded, "Please don't make me...ok fine I'll wear the clothes, but not the ears...ok I will wear the ears." She got us and she got us good! Secretly though, I love that I have that experience with my family. It's a fond memory that I will keep close to my heart forever...

Here is Hailey's version of the dalmation dog outfit...I didn't dress up this time...or did I???
This is another collage of pictures for aunt Laurie (and Uncle OOK). She bought me this outfit for Hailey. Apparently aunt Laurie cares not for Texas football and wants to make sure Hailey gets cheering for the best team right from the start! Go Chargers! Don't tell John I said that! How sad...he won't even know what I wrote on our family blog! lol sucka!

Baby Gap

I love this dress! I love baby Gap! I didn't buy it (too expensive for me) it was given to me, but it's one of my favorites! It has the cutest "quilty" patterns on it. I love the colors and the buttons on the back! I just love this dress!! Nothing else to say about that!

Uncle Matt and Auntie Court

Uncle Matt and Auntie Court came by to hang out, it was super fun! Hailey loved it!

Sunglasses Chica

I figure now is the time to get her adjusted to sunglasses! If it hurts my eyes I can only imagine it hurts hers. She loves them, THANK YOU aunt Laurie!

Future Views

Last Wednesday I babysat our next door neighbor's children. It was actually quite fun! It was a nice little glimpse into what life will be like in a couple of years. As you can see in the pictures, Hailey is very fond of Lindsey, and well, Weston's a boy so we have to cut him some slack! I had a blast and so did Hailey! Thanks for coming over guys!!

Daddys First Father's Day

John celebrated his first father's day this year! Yeah for having babies!! The super special thing about it though, was I got to celebrate father's day with my dad this year too. I thought for a father's day gift I would recount some of my best memories with him here on our blog. Maybe someday Hailey can do the same thing for her daddy.
1. I remember you carrying me from the car to my bed when I would fall asleep on the road. I think I remember faking sleep a couple of times so you'd carry me!
2. I remember going out on the boat to fish. I think the fish were "trash" fish so we never got to eat them...
3. I remember getting the winter Barbie doll for Christmas in 1990. It was ALL I wanted and you got it for me. Speaking of Christmas I also remember the year I asked for all boy things. I got that too! Guns and military hats and camo...apparently I wanted to play with the boys that year!
4. I remember my custom made water bed! What What! It was soooo sweet! How many elementary kids can say that!
5. I remember rebuilding the laundry room and bathroom in the house in Buena Park. I think that experience is what drives me to fix our house when things break. It's also what makes me want to renovate the house...John won't let me! ;-)

That's all for now, tune in later for me yackidy yackidy!

Family comes to town

Living in Texas is so much fun, and I really do love living here...but not having my family around is tough sometimes. So it was especially nice that Michael, my dad and Connie came to town to se
e Hailey. Grandma Connie was a natural with Hailey! I actually got to shower everyday because she was here! LOL...so not joking! And it was great to see my dad, and catch up. Michael was his same old self, goofy and kind of gassy! I have to say though, you don't realize what you miss until it's gone, and I really miss them already!

I found this AWESOME new software that lets you make AWESOME collages like this! I love it!! I hope you enjoy the following collages! Cause I'm about to upload a ton of them!

Back to the pictures though. We went over to the Milillo's to have an awesome playdate/reason to order pizza from the best pizza joint in the world!

Then we got a nice little surprise of Cammie coming over! She is crawling and moving and shaking and dancing! I can't wait for Hailey to do that...she's just working on rolling over!