Hayli's Fortress

Hayli has claimed one of our end tables as her fortress, thus requiring mama to clean it and remove the numerous dangers that used to be on, in, and around the newly found fortress! Hayli is worth the extra cleaning though!!!

Anna & Hayli BFF

Hayli really likes having her LC friends, but Anna took a special place in Hayli's heart right away. They are so cute when they play together. It is so sweet!!!

Anna got Hayli a cute outfit with Hayli's name on it for Hayli's 1st birthday. TOO cute to not take photos! Anna and Hayli are supermodels!!! =)

Tumble Bugs - Butterflies

Hayli's second gymnastics class was today. She had a really good time!

Moving Grandma

Conrad, Hayli, and I took some of our day today to help Grandma with the movers. Grandma moved to Las Cruces from Sacramento a week ago, but the movers could not get to the new house until this afternoon. Opa is in crutches because his knee busted last night. Hayli seemed to think that Opa's crutches were just another toy for her to play with... good thing Opa didn't fall!!!

Wibbly Wobbly

Hayli amazes us on a daily basis with her new skills. Today I was just talking to her like normal. "Hayli where is your binky?" Normally her response is "I don't know... you find it." BUT today, Hayli got up and got the Binky for me. AMAZING!!!

Also, Hayli is learning how to stand up after falling. The technique is quite unique.

Photo Contest

In October, we all went to the pumpkin patch in Las Cruces. In January, I submitted some of Hayli's photos for the photo contest that the owners of the pumpkin patch. I must admit the photos were supposed to arrive no later than the 15th of January, but I didn't even get the photos out until the 16th hoping that the owners would see our little cutie and not be able to resist her. Of course they couldn't - Hayli won honorable mention. WOOHOO!!!

http://www.mesillavalleymaze.com/photocontest.html

Leaps and Bounds

Every day Hayli learns new things. It is really hard to keep up with her...

Today Hayli decided to pick up a new instrument (thank you Auntie Elisabeth for these!).

"DOGS!!!"

Hayli is also beginning how to feed herself (scary stuff for mama - and a lot of clean up involved!).

Look At My New Purple Shoes

Hayli is has not mastered walking, but watching her explore her new shoes has been really entertaining to say the least!

Mama's Little Helper

Hayli really does like "helping" mama take the laundry out of the dryer... especially if she can get her hands on one of those cool blue balls that are in the dryer. ;)

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

Unlike most other babies, Hayli wakes up in the morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. (okay... maybe not ALL the time but most of the time)

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY HAYLI!!!

It is a day that a mommy both looks forward to and dreads at the same time. Hayli's first birthday was today. Mama insisted on documenting the entire day...

Hayli woke up in a great mood around 7:30 this morning.Hayli's birthday day started off just like any other day... diaper change with dada...Then some oatmeal for breakfast with Moeke...Hayli then proceeded to have a birthday party at 10:30. Little Einsteins was its theme. We really enjoyed that!
We decorated Oma's & Opa's house late last night. We had a lot of streamers!Hayli got a Little Einsteins Rocket cake. WOW!
There were Little Einsteins decorations...
Beth put Hayli's tiles together to say "Hayli 1". What a brilliant idea.Mama hired Kindermusik to come and help us celebrate Hayli's birthday. This was really special because Moeke participated with Hayli. Mama was happy that Moeke got to spend this special time with Hayli. It was so sweet! Miss Leslie brought a big drum with her (this was a hit with the kiddos).
There were sliders involved...

There were also egg shakers - one of the kiddos favorites...

There was song singing! Leslie can sing... (Mama not so much! LOL!)

The drum was very popular, but Hayli kept on insisting that it was her day and she should be allowed to stand on it! This was all good and well, but then the other little ones couldn't bang on the drum. Hayli can be such a funny little girl!

I don't know a single baby who doesn't just love the Gymboree bubbles. Miss Leslie brought some and they were an instant hit!

There was a parachute ride!

Of course, there were presents. Hayli was so happy that everyone came that presents just were not a priority for her! It was a bit hard on mama to open all the presents alone, but Hayli made up for it by loving each present as it was opened.
There was a lot of cake eating - or should I say cake smearing! LOL

The mini cake that was made for Hayli was really cute when it started, but afterwards it was a real mess!
While we were relaxing around the house, Hayli decided to wear her birthday hat. She is SO cute!Hayli enjoyed her time with Beth watching Little Einsteins. How sweet!

Hayli hopes that all her guests had a great time. She loves all the gifts and was happy that most of her little friends were able to come to her birthday party!!!

After all Hayli's guests left, Hayli was so exhausted that she needed a good long nap - giving mama time to clean up.When the daddies came home with lunch (Carl's Jr.), Hayli woke up. I think she just wanted to eat some french fries. What a cute smile - how can you resist that?After Hayli's belly was full of french fries, Hayli decided that Callie (cousin Xander's Great Dane) needed some extra lovin'.When we got home, Dada and Hayli spent some quality time playing World of Warcraft (WOW).We had breakfast for dinner, and it was super yummy. Tracy and dada made the breakfast while the girls watched the little ones. GO DADDIES!!!Hayli had a late start to bed. We did our usual routine and started with a bath. Tonight we took a bath with ALL our foam letters and numbers (normally we only use a couple a night).Mama having fun with some of the letters.After the bath, Hayli gets dressed and wrapped up for bed.Then it was time for a baba (bottle)... though dada gave her the bottle instead of mama. After the bottle, Hayli gets her binky to sooth her. Dada put our angel to bed for mama, because mama was busy documenting the day. :-)Mama has a really hard time with her sweetheart turning one... awwww... they grow so fast! Mama was the only one awake to see the clock magically change to 22.59 - Hayli's exact time of birth. Hayli was still sound asleep.
Conrad and I are truly blessed to have our loving friends and family (especially Hayli) in our lives. It has been a crazy year, but I just wanted to take a moment and enjoy the entire day (it wasn't so much the case last year - LOL). No matter what, I would not trade our precious angel for the world - she is perfect for our little family.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY SWEET BABY - WE LOVE YOU!!!

First Pull-Up

Hayli is a strong little baby. She even started doing pull-ups at the Sears portrait studio when we were waiting to do our photos!!!

Open Gym (again?)

Today we went to open gym (for the second time this week - I know we are addicted). Actually Hayli had a lot of energy to burn off - so we went... If all else fails, blame the baby! ;-)

Hayli loves the balls of different shapes and sizes. We used those to the best of our advantage and motivated Hayli to walk further and further. Conrad and I no longer have a 'baby' - we now have a walker. It is both a proud and sad day for mommy!

Hayli walked over obstacles...

And under others...

Moeke wanted Hayli to walk across the trampoline to mama, but Hayli decided she was perfectly happy just bouncing on it.

We had a very good time at open gym today!!!

Walking the Walk

Auntie Elisabeth would help Hayli walk around everywhere. Auntie Elisabeth would not let Hayli 'cheat' and hold on to things along the way. Thanks to all the hard work with Auntie Elisabeth's help, Hayli is walking with a lot of confidence now. Hayli has grown in her mobility tremendously since her first real solo 'flight' last Friday. Watch her go!!!

On the Go!

Mama and Hayli are always on the go. Moeke is beginning to understand just how much we are on the go! Every time we go somewhere, Hayli has to go into her carseat. Moeke has been through this complex procedure so much that she too has a process of putting Hayli in her car seat. First, Hayli is placed on Moeke's purse. At first, Hayli didn't know what this meant. Now, however, Hayli waits patiently to be place in her car seat. It is too funny!

Open Gym

Practice makes perfect!

You're Never TOO Young For Chores

While some of us (like me) try to avoid chores at all costs... Hayli seems to thoroughly enjoy the chore of getting the laundry out of the dryer. She loves being Moeke's little helper!

She's Walking!!!

That right!!! Hayli is now an official walker!!! We are SO proud...

In the Bag

Today was a very exciting day. Today Hayli walked freely between Mama and Dada (unfortunately, no video was captured - Mama was too excited to even think straight). Hopefully tomorrow will prove to be a walking day for Hayli.

Moeke played with Hayli a lot today. It was really funny watching Hayli get her blocks out of the paper bags...

Open Gym

Today Moeke and Mama took Hayli to Open Gym at Gym Magic. Hayli really likes to play with all the different balls and trampolines!Hayli leading Moeke around the gym... "Come on Moeke... I have something to show you!"Hayli enjoys all the balls of different sizes and shapes.

Hayli seemed particularly drawn to the orange one with spikes! Hayli followed a little girl who had it until the little girl FINALLY lost interest in the ball and gave it to Hayli.

Hayli on one of the trampolines... she sure does enjoy it!

Sweet Baby

Hayli is such a good baby. She loves the laundry room - it's good that someone does! Today Hayli helped Moeke with the laundry!!! LOLHayli loves the blocks that Grandpa brought with him from Belgium... Here Hayli is insisting that Dada play with her like Grandpa did. Too funny!

Sad Day

Today was a very sad day for Mama. Grandpa and Auntie Elisabeth left early to go back to Belgium. We thought they were leaving on Saturday, but instead their flight was today. =( The house feels so empty without them here!

Auntie Elisabeth and Mama laugh a lot, but buying 10 boxes of Wheat Thins made Mama laugh extra long! I still can't believe we bought every box they had at WalMart. You do what you have to do when you live overseas though to get the things you miss most. LOL!
Even though Hayli really does not feel well, she is still such a cutie. It is amazing how much of my heart this little being has. I love her SO much!