Sisters

Look at our girls!! These are genuine smiles, not glued on for the sake of a photo. Sadie just adores Zoe and although she doesn't say it, Zoe shows that she feels the same way. I makes me so happy!
Sadie sings, smiles, and has two bottom teeth! She is VERY close to crawling. I was hoping she would wait until after Christmas so that we don't have to fence in the tree, but...
I've been gone for the past 4 days. I could not get home quick enough today. I missed them both like crazy.



I HATE cold weather, but there is just something about this kid in a coat! We are looking forward to spending time camping with my family for Thanksgiving. There will be 4 under 12 months, so it should be entertaining.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sadie the Butterfly!

Sadie was absolutely adorable last night! She did such a good job even though it was the hottest Halloween that I can remember. I can't believe she is almost 7 months. It feels like I just posted on this blog, yet it has been almost 2 months!
She measured in the 97th percentile for her length and Aaron is SOOO proud! She skipped all of her 6th month clothes and is onto her 9-12 month stuff. It is so sad. :-( She is still wishy washy on when she sleeps through the night. Some nights she makes it and some she does not.
She is eating ALL stage 1 and stage 2 foods. She does NOT like peas or meat still. We are working on it, though. We stopped nursing and are totally on formula. :-( It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It just shows how fast its all going.
Sadie is almost sitting up on her own. She gut laughs with Aaron and is starting to reach to people. There are certain behaviors she repeats like playing with my hair EVERYTIME I hold her and ALWAYS reaching for her butterflies above her changing table. Sadie wakes us up EACH day to squealing which is so sweet.
I'm sure the next time I post, she'll be crawling- hopefully not walking!

Has it been a month already?!

I can't believe how fast the time is going! Sadie will be six months soon and Zoe just turned 13. I hate it!!

Things have been so busy around our house. Aaron went back to work, I'm back in school, and Sadie STILL isn't sleeping through the night. We've tried going to bed later, going earlier, more food, less food... I can NOT figure her out! Naps are just about the same.

One of the funniest things happened a few weeks ago. I left Zoe alone with Sadie for a short time while I worked upstairs. Much to my surprise, Zoe dressed up Sadie in mismatched clothes and put a dreaded head band on her. We all died laughing and Sadie cried. :-)

She laughs out load and rolls over all the time. Her newest accomplishment is kicking her legs in the pool. She has not cried in the water at all. Good thing Aaron likes to take her swimming. It gives me a chance to get stuff done inside. What are we going to do when its gets cooler???

I plan on posting a very cute video within the next few days. We are trying to take it all in and not miss a thing.

Food, toes, screams, and Greats!

I can't believe its been almost 4 weeks since I've posted the latest on Sadie...well, actually I can! We have been so busy. Sadie is now almost 15 pounds and 24 inches long. She screams on purpose, laughs when you kiss her neck, and "tells" you what she wants.

We were up front with the Dr. and let him know that we've been giving her rice cereal and sleeping her on her stomach- against his orders. Since she looked so good, the Dr. said to begin her on solid foods. She LOVES carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and even green beans. She's not so thrilled with peas, though.

Her sleeping was great UNTIL her 4 month shots. Since then, she's back up to waking up in the middle of the night. The GOOD news is that she now goes down pretty much on her own. We had to let her cry for about 3 nights. It was tough, but man was it worth it!

We are all enjoying each day with her. We all 'fight' for who gets to go get her in the morning because she smiles so big first thing. She's found her toes and loves to chew on her clothes. Are teeth in the future soon? She rolled over one time when she was really mad, but hasn't since.

Sadie got to meet her two remaining Great Grandmas (Ganny Werner and Great Baker). Great (Baker) was not shy to tell me that 'she favors OUR side of the family.' My grandma, Granny, even admitted that she looks so much like Aaron.

I hope this month doesn't go by as fast as the last!

Where has the time gone?

We've seen July 4th, a few more cousins, and survived a week without Daddy! Man, has it been busy!

I screwed up royally on July 4th. I left the rice cereal at home and boy did she let us know that she was NOT happy about it. She screamed all the way from CK to home and then some. I didn't realize how much she really does depend on it.

She stares at everything...so hard you'd think she can stare through it. I'm hoping that makes her smart. :-) She gets excited around certain people now, especially Zoe. Big sister can do almost anything and Sadie loves it!

The last few days have been rough. Aaron went camping for the week in NC. I didn't realize how much I depended on him! I haven't submitted school work, cooked a decent meal, or gone to Wal- Mart all week. :-)

Sadie squeals, laughs, coughs, and sticks her tongue out. She has lots of new hair starting to come in, too. Everyone now has a different opinion about who she looks like. We are trying to absorb as much of her as we can each day.

Sadie Saying "Hi"!

Three months old yesterday... Wow, has the time flown by! Things are pretty good. Sadie teases us all with her lack of consistency. Just when I think we have some sort of schedule...she goes and changes it. I never know when we can eat, grocery shop, go to the bathroom (lol), etc...

She has been 'talking' to us a lot lately. She LOVES to lay on her changing table to talk and squeal. We've learned to lay her there when she's fussy and low and behold....she calms right down.

Overall things are going well. We are looking forward to getting a pool, which should make for some really good Sadie footage. :-)

Yippee!!!

New good habits by Sadie equals happy mom and dad!!!

Sadie has found her thumb, slept through the night, and has stopped crying (for no reason)! It has been a really good week and a half. I feel refreshed now that I've gotten some sleep. I look forward to getting her in the mornings because she now smiles at me! My mom has been promising me that things would get better at 12 weeks. She is 12 weeks tomorrow!

Sadie coos all of the time and actually tries to mimic your sounds. This has been quite a fun change from just staring at us all like we are crazy. Although, I've broken the rules by giving her rice cereal AND sleeping her on her tummy, she is happier and well rested.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day, Aaron!

Sadie and Zoe have one terrific Dad! Aaron does it all with lots of love and patience. What would we do without him? I don't even want to think about it.

Sadie has been a much happier baby lately. She smiles more, laughs a little, and coos on demand. :-) We are starting to have so much fun. Still not sleeping through the night, but is sleeping a little better during the day. She has gotten much better in the car seat and stroller which has made riding and walking so much better for us all.

I can't believe she is 10 weeks old already. She follows Zoe with her eyes everywhere Zoe goes. It is so cute. I'm sure Zoe might not think so in a year or so. One other cute 'happening' was with our dog, Trixie. I was burping Sadie near Trixie. She must have thought that I was hurting her because she growled the entire time that I did it. Sadie even has the dog looking out for her!

Daddy is home with Sadie during the day all week this week while I'm at UF for a class. I'm sure I'll have lots more to write next week!

Sadie talks to the puppies...

11 pounds and growing!

She's so serious.


Sadie's first Watermelon Festival!


Finally some proof that she does belong to me! Oh how I wish this were us EVERY morning.

Things are going fairly well. We still aren't sleeping too much. She still feeds about every 3 hours, which explains why she's still gaining weight. She is perfectly average, falling into the 50% for weight and head. She's 75th percentile for her length. Daddy is VERY hopeful that she'll play basketball!

I can sure tell that work is back in session. My house is a wreck, we are eating take out, and I look forward to Friday nights. This week, Nonny (Aaron's mom), is watching her while I work. She's helping get Sadie into more of a routine. Thank Goodness!!!

It takes a village...

It really does take a village to raise a child. Thank goodness for grandmas!

Sadie has hung out with Anny (Mary) a ton this week...literally. Last night she screamed for 5 hours with Anny while Aaron and I went to a graduation party in Cedar Key. I think Zoe may be scarred for life!

We gave her drops for Colic when we returned home and within about 10 minutes she was out like a light! She slept for 6 hours!!! I slept for 5 of them. It is so nice to be able to rely on family for advice and help. We are very lucky.

Week of firsts!

Its official! Sadie now 7 weeks old weighs as much as I did at birth! My poor mother... She weighs 9 pounds 13 ounces and is 22 1/2 inches long. No wonder she eats all of the time. We went to her six week check up with LOTS of questions:
1. Will she ever sleep through the night?
2. Why did she throw up our one and only attempt at formula?
3. How can we get rid of the cradle cap?
4. How can we do away with the baby acne?
5. Why is she such a noisy sleeper?
6. She is really gassy...what can we do?
7. Does she have an eye infection because it is draining all the time?

Within a few minutes we learned that we have a perfectly NORMAL baby and that with most of our questions the solutions is to just let it go. :-) Dr. Landay did give us eye drops, a formula to try, and colic medicine. Although we don't think she has a bad case of colic, she does seem uncomfortable every afternoon. The formula will help me get a few more bottles of breast milk in the freezer so that Aaron will have something to give her during the day. :-)

I have given up on the hunt for a schedule. I realized that if I just let it go, she'd be happier! :-) She does seem to be stretching the feedings to about every 4 hours now.

This week was filled with firsts. The photos below highlight most of them...
First pattern of ALWAYS holding on to whoever holds her.
First nap in the swing...heck, first time in the swing without crying!
Her first shoes...they didn't stay on too long.
And my personal favorite... her first big girl outfit!
Her first bottle!
Sadie's first bath without screaming! Yay! I finally figured out how to do it!

Overall, she is doing really well. Oh how I dread going back to work. I don't want to miss a moment.

Sadie's First Sponge Bath- 4/12/09

Sleep, Sadie Sleep...

Well, for the past two nights Sadie has slept beautifully! She only woke up once both nights! I feel like a new woman with just 5 hours straight sleep. Zoe has been a HUGE help this week. She gets Sadie up from her nap, changes her, and entertains her while I get ready. It has been sooo nice!

Poor Sadie now has Cradle Cap, Baby Acne, and an infected eye. She looks like we've totally neglected her. But, on the up side she has 'cooed' 2 times. It's so funny how excited we get over the tiniest things. :-)

Sadie had quite a few visitors this week. Aunt DeAnne and Jolie, Aunt Jonya and Tucker, and even got to meet her other cousins, Tyler and Adysan.

Goal for this week...Aaron is going to introduce Sadie to a bottle. I can only imagine what that will be like!

What a Mother's Day!

The Haldeman family had a great weekend. Our friend Milinda visited us on Saturday. Milinda is fun for the whole family. Each of us have a special relationship with her. :-) I can't wait to see what Sadie will think of her in a few years.



We have been encouraging Sadie to soothe herself by sucking her thumb. She just can't quite find it yet. It melts my heart to watch.


Mother's Day was terrific! Zoe spent a ton of time making me napkin holders, flowers, and a card. She was so proud, but not as proud as I. :-) Aaron spent the morning with his mom, while I got to clean my house. Yay! Believe it or not, that is exactly what I wanted to do on Mother's Day...feel caught up. Aaron surprised me with new patio furniture and a crab cake sandwich from Anne's Resturant in Cedar Key. The Day could not have gotten any better.

Almost a month old!

Sadie has enjoyed a CALM week this week. Tomorrow she will be 4 weeks old. It has been a CRAZY 4 weeks.
She enjoyed meeting cousin Micah for the first time. He was really good with her. Maybe he's ready for a little sibling?
I love the picture below. Neither one of them had any idea that Zoe and I were filming them sleep. They BOTH snore! :-)



Last night was one LONG night. Sadie couldn't get settled. We are convinced that I'm eating something that hurts her tummy. I feel like I've elminiated everything that could potentially cause a problem. Today I'm trying to avoid dairy. She screamed and ate for 6 hours straight. Of course this would happen when we were alone. Aaron got no, "Hi, how was your day?" when he walked in the door. Instead, he became Mr. Soother. It worked! I got the longest stretch of sleep that I've gotten in the past month (6.5 hours!).


We are working really hard on some sort of schedule. Keep your fingers crossed!

Who does she look like?

All I've heard since the day she was born is, "Wow, she looks just like her daddy!" While this is not a bad thing, I'm a little disappointed. :-) She does have several combined traits, like our well defined family cleft chin. She has my brown hair and Aaron's top lip.

I can't help but think she looks like Zoe in the photo below. There is just something about that profile. I love it! It really is like having a chance to do it all over again. Good thing we're happy with the results so far with Zoe.




So, I'm dying to know. What do YOU think? Who is this girl?