Hunter is 3 Months

Hunter is 3 months old!  Hard to believe!  He is the sweetest, cuddliest thing ever! 



Merry Christmas!

Alexander Stephen Hummer

Alexander Stephen Hummer

Born 2:54pm, 7lbs 1/2 oz, 19.25 in.

Both are doing fabulous!  Got to meet him tonight!  He is such a cutie!

Haley's First Haircut and Potty Training

Before

Before, I loved how her hair curled at the ends

Today Haley is a few days shy of 2 years and 11 months old and she had her first haircut!  I held out as her hair is so beautiful.  However, it was time.  We hyped it up for a few weeks in hopes that she would cooperate.  Today I took her to Cartoon Cuts which is a kiddie haircut place that plays cartoons while you get your haircut.  I figured the distraction was needed.  She did better than expected, but had to sit in my lap to get her in the chair.  She sucked on a watermelon lollipop, watched Mickey Mouse and let the lady cut her hair without any fussing.  I think they cut about 6 inches off the back.  I think it looks cute!  The lady even gave her a cute purple bow that she actually kept in all afternoon.

Also, big news for Haley is that she is potty trained!   Wahoo!  Starting last Spring, I had a little potty out, but she never wanted to do more than sit on it and read books.  Then we moved to Texas, stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Dibble for a few weeks, moved into a new house, had a baby, and totally changed her entire world.  She lost all interest in the potty and actually would refuse to even talk about it with you.  She would just pretend she didn't hear you if you brought it up. 

Steve took the week of Thanksgiving off and I thought this would be a great time to push the training as I would have an extra set of hands.  The weather was warm so we took advantage and spent lots of time outside which helped with accident clean-up.  And ice cream was the bribe of choice (I tried to offer just about everything else.) and she got a small scoop for every 2 successful trips to the potty.  I think the first day or two she had like 4 or 5 small scoops.  The third day, she said she didn't want any ice cream anymore.  Guess she had too much but it worked and I figured she would get sick of it fast too. 

She has been going without accidents for about 2 weeks and we are so proud of her!  Her new thing is to do it all by herself (pull down pants, sit on big potty, wipe, etc.)  She still wears a diaper at night but some morning they are almost dry so I'm hoping night training will happen relatively fast too!

And she has become quite the little chef!  She loves to help me cook!  Today we made Five-layer bars which were 1) very yummy and 2) great for little ones to help with as it involves lots of sprinkling of toppings and little effort.  And we made 4 loaves of pumpkin bread.  She loves to stand on her stool and stir.  It is so sweet and fun to spend the time with her!

And Hunter, he is doing great!  Sleeping, eating, and just hanging out!

Haley's Christmas Program (Post 3 of 3)

Dressed and ready to go to school!

Haley sitting with her class

Take 1 of Ring the Bells

 Take 2 of Ring the Bells

Ready to play the game

It was our turn to open the present

Making a reindeer ornament with Haley's hand

Enjoying a cupcake

Today was Haley's preschool Christmas Program.  Aunt Julia was even able to join us as today was her first day of maternity leave (induction scheduled for 12/20...can't wait!)  The program was held in the church sanctuary.  The three of us (me, Aunt Julia, & Hunter) got there with about 5 minutes to spare.  I noticed that no one really came in after us.  First the 12 month old class did a "drive-by" in their 6-seater stroller that was decorated like a sleigh.  Then the two 18 month classes sang "Jingle Bells" followed by the hree 2-year old classes sang "Ring the Bells."  Each of the 3-year old classes sang a song too and the Pre-K classes had their own program.  It was really cute and Haley did a great job.  Her teachers said that she was the only kid who sang during the rehearsals. 

We then headed back to the classroom for a game.  Each parent sat with their child and we passed a package that was wrapped with a book for each child in it.  When the music stopped, the child got to remove a layer of the wrapping paper and keep the book.  Then the package was passed again until the music stopped and another layer of paper removed.  It was a cute idea.  This was followed by a craft where I helped Haley make a reindeer ornament from a trace of her hand.  This whole time Hunter was snuggling with Aunt Julia.

We then found out that just North of the school there was a major accident and most parents didn't make it to the program in time.  (We live South of the school so didn't get stuck in the back-up.)  It was decided that the kids were going to preform their songs again so we headed back to the sanctuary for round 2.  This time the kids were not as cooperative as they wanted their parents.  Haley told me that she needed to go sing by herself. 

The party was topped off by a cupcake!  It was fun to see all the little kids and we wanted to thank Aunt Julia for being able to make it!