The next American Idol....

Haley got a karoke machine for her birthday and has been singing away! Do you think she will be the next American Idol?

Updated Stats

Haley had her 2 year check-up yesterday! Dr. Davison said she is doing well!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 25.5 lbs (~40th percentile)

Height: 34.5 inches (~60th percentile)

Weight for length: 25th percentile (tall & skinny)

It's Party Time.....

Going down the slide

Jonah

Lucy E.

Evie

Eating lunch

Amelie, Adam, & Haley cooking

Lucy G.

Evie

Happy Birthday!

Mmmmm....cupcake

Amelie, Jonah, & Haley eating cupcakes

Lucy E. & Lucy G.

Adam

Carla & Angela

Baby Annika and Jill

Haley had a birthday party on Sunday to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her friends! We hosted it at a local toddler/preschool play area that is also a coffee bar. Kidz n' Koffee was the perfect place to have the party. They have lots of age appropriate toys and they served some yummy snacks! She had 7 friends come and it was so cute to see they all play together! And Haley is enjoying all of her new toys! Thanks to everyone for helping make the party so special and fun for Haley!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Birthday #1 with the Easy Bake Oven cake

Happy Birthday #2 with the Crave cupcake

Eating both cakes, although she didn't touch the cupcake

Eating the Easy Bake chocolate cake....delicious!

Loving her new Dora beanie baby

Showing Daddy her animal magnet book

"Typcially Canadian" magnets plus animal magnets from book = lots of magnets on the door

Haley & Mommy

Today is Haley's 2nd Birthday! It is hard to imagine that I have a 2 year old. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with her and then she was a tiny baby! Time flies when you are having fun!

We had a fun day celebrating and Steve was off work too! The day started with cinnamon banana pancakes, Haley's favorite. Steve came with to Haley's gymnastics class and then we headed back into the woods behind our house for a walk. It warmed up above freezing for the first time in weeks so we took advantage of it! After nap time, a neighbor stopped by with an Easy Bake Oven cake for Haley! We had her favorite dinner, chicken & mozzarella ravioli, followed by a giant cupcake from Crave Cupcakes! We sang Happy Birthday twice, one per cake! Guess which cake she ate? The Easy Bake Oven cake and NONE of the delicious Crave cupcake. Sunday we are having a little party so stay tuned for those pictures!

Here is an update on Haley:

• Speaks in full sentences (~6 words or so) and uses her pronouns correctly most of the time!
• Is still somewhat of a picky eater. She eats well but only the things she likes. And this list changes regularly. Favorites include blueberries, apples, bananas, yogurt, crackers, shredded Italian cheese, feta cheese, grape tomatoes, macaroni & cheese, chicken & mozzarella ravioli, spaghetti & sauce, grilled cheese, and cupcakes. She still refuses to eat meat but I try to make up for it with cheese and beans.
• Loves to read books! She will sit and read a stack of books to herself or sometimes requests that Steve or I read to her. She has many of her favorites memorized (or partly memorized) and can recite them to you.
• Loves to take things in and out of containers. For example, she received a Mrs. Potatohead for Christmas that included 40 accessories. She doesn't really like to actually make a Mrs. Potatohead, rather she likes to put the pieces in Potatohead's bum and then take them out. She will repeat this over and over and even in non-Potatohead containers. She has several other collections of "things" she does this with.
• Loves sports. She loves to shoot hoops in her mini-hoop, play soccer, do gymnastics, and run around. She is not really into dolls and princess things like the toy stores would have you believe. This is fine by me as that stuff can get a bit creepy! She also loves to watch football with Steve and is an avid Steelers fan. She even has her own jersey!
• Is generally a good sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30/8 and wakes up at 6 and takes a 2 hour nap each afternoon! (So do I on good days!) Also, she has to have her stack of magazines in her crib. She "reads" them before falling asleep at naptime and sleeps soundly on top of them!
• Can say her ABC's but doesn't quite correlate them to the actual letters. We are working on this along with her numbers, counting, and colors.
• Is obsesses with Dora the Explorer. This is the ONLY tv show she wants to watch. We watch 1 or 2 20 minute episodes per day, typically to help her wake up from her nap without being a total grouch!
• Has her 2 year check-up on Wednesday so I will post her stats then!
• And she is sweet, loving, and affectionate! She will often give you a big kiss and hug and sometimes snuggles. We are so blessed to have her!

Enjoying an apple

Pittsburgh

Reading Seasme Street books with GG Honey
These books are SO fun!

Teaching Uncle Nolan to fish

They played this a lot.

Playing necklaces with Uncle Nolan in the tent.

Reading the Dog book with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Tom. Haley really liked the part about "All dogs poop. All dogs pee." Very educational.

Introducing Uncle Nolan to Seasme Street characters

Snacking with Grandpa Tom

Wearing eye black stickers

Playing with Little People Raceway

We headed to Pittsburgh from December 26 - January 4! It had been just over a year since we made the trip, much overdue! Haley was very good on the planes and stayed entertained on the planw watching lots of Dora and reading magazines! We were quite busy while in Pittsburgh with the following activities:

• Sunday night: Opening Christmas presents that Santa left for us at Grandma Sue & Grandpa Tom's house
• Monday: Sue & I went shopping. So nice to be back in a US mall with US stores!
• Tuesday: GG (Great Grandma Honey) came over for a play
• Wednesday: Met Aunt Sue for lunch and cooked a Mexican feast for dinner
• Thursday: Had a party so the Pittsburgh family and friends could visit with us! Sue had delicious food and Haley put on quite the "show" for everyone!
• Friday: New Year's Eve....visited with friends during the day and celebrated NYE with some champagne.
• Saturday: Steve & Nolan went to the Winter Classic hockey game (Penguins vs. Capitals played outdoors at Heinz Field (Steeler's stadium)). They had a fabulous time although the Penguins lost.
• Sunday: Brunch at GG Honey's new house and met Steve's friends at a bar to watch the Steeler's game!
• Monday: Played outside and watched the Orange Bowl where Virginia Tech lost! =(

Unfortunately, we did not get to see GG Swick as she was very sick for much of the visit! We are glad she is feeling better and will make sure to visit next time!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family! May you have a prosperous 2011!