daley taylor

sick...

2012-01-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

while i love that jack loves to go to school, i do not love that he has managed to bring home at least 3 different viruses in the last two months. since the new year, each one of us has been sick consecutively. daley is just getting over the virus of the month, and i am slowly getting over it as well. this one was a doozy and seems to last at least a week, with remnants of a cough for upwards of two weeks. ugh and ugh.

while i was contributing her lovely demeanor as of late to her not feeling well. i do believe it is in fact just her demeanor!? we had an epic battle yesterday after picking jack up from school because she wanted to climb in her seat by herself. well, if she would grow a couple inches perhaps she would be able to do it, but since she is a little on the short side, its not happening and she was not going to let it go. so much so that she screamed about 2/3 of the way home. awesome. i of course assumed her awesome 3 1/2 hour nap would awaken a cheery little girl, only to find that she was in fact still a beast!? she rolled around on the floor crying-after i brought up her bouncy turtle per her request-that the turtle should and i quote "go back down, no bouncy turtle." the absurdity of this day was just unimaginable. oh and did i mention i had a fever of 103 while trying to deal with this. i'm apparently still not over this!?

she of course has her moments of absolute sweetness, so i will leave you with an image of her singing a song she made up about lightening mcqueen, because what two year old little girl doesn't love to play cars...oh the ones who don't have four year old brothers who dictate what they play;)

fun word mispronunciations....

2012-01-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

daley has been vocal since she turned a year, and speaking in sentences since 18 months, but there are still some things that she mispronounces. i have to say it is so cute and i know that she will eventually correct them, so for now i relish in the fact that there is still some "baby" left.

here are a couple;

"all buzzy" = all fuzzy
i.e. "this is all buzzy mom." speaking in regards to a toy that has fuzzes hanging off of it.

"lemontime" = clementine
a favorite fruit of the moment, and she often asks for one. all "oranges" are lemontimes right now!

"uh dum" = ummm....
she says this in the middle of her conversations or when you ask her a question. it is so funny, you can see her little mind spinning while she figures out the answer!

she is loving pretend play these days. she is always setting up "dinner" on the coffee table, playing with her doll house (which by the way someone always has dirty pants in her house:/), and dress-up-any kind. just yesterday we had a crazy hat party at dinner while dressed up as a ladybug and a pumpkin. although we generally don't wear hats at the table, we felt it permissible since we were having orecchiette, a.k.a. "little hats?!" it was a stretch, but lots of fun!

telling me "shhhh" the baby is sleeping

what a difference a year makes...

2012-01-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

i never use this camera, but when we were playing "dinner" tonight daley decided that we needed to say grace first. i quickly ran to get my point and shoot, and was able to sort of get grace on video. however, while downloading i came across this other video from almost exactly one year ago. i literally have tears streaming down as it caught me off guard and made me realize just how big she has gotten. if only i could stop time and savor every moment...

on the eve of your 2nd birthday...

2011-12-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

to my beautiful, headstrong, cuddly little girl,

you cannot believe all that you have taught me in these two short years. i have learned a bit of humility, which comes in handy when there is a meltdown in public and no matter how much i plead with you your tears seemingly overshadow everything. i have learned take a step back and enjoy each day even if it means there is dirty laundry in the basket and crumbs to be vacuumed (just a little though, because i cannot stand the thought of things needing to be done and just sitting there). you have taught me to hold on tight to every step you take developmentally because i know all too well that in the blink of my eye you will be all grown up and no longer want or need me to rock you a little bit before bed each night. although i try my hardest to remain steadfast in my parenting and not let you get away with more than your brother ever did, once in a while you catch me at a weak moment and i cave.

i love how each morning you insist on sitting on my lap while you watch your show. how even though i would never not give you the same thing i gave jack, you make sure to let me know you want it too over and over until i finally give it to you. how you play so nicely with your dolls, always making sure to cover them with a blanket and feed them. how despite my thinking i could fool you, you are no fool when it comes to your lovey and you immediately knew the imposter, threw it down and said "wrong one!" how even though we drop jack off at school all the time you still ask where he is and when he'll be home. how you sing along to all the songs and make the cutest little face while doing it.

happy birthday daley olivia!

i love you to the moon and back....

love, mama

christmas take two!

2011-12-27T18:04:00.001-08:00

daley was a lot of fun at christmas this year. she really seemed to understand a little bit of what was going on and certainly made it clear that she wanted to be included! of course i have zero nice pictures of her in her dress because it was too late and she had a meltdown over something ridiculous, but alas i can't remember at the moment!?

however, i had so much fun watching her get to experience all the mayhem:)

waiting to come down christmas morning...i have very fond memories of waiting on those steps with great anticipation!

she really likes her chair apparently....

pint-sized super hero!

2011-12-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

daley loves to play pretend these days, so when jack suggested super heroes (even if she has no idea what that is) she was totally game! she is also obsessed with wearing jack's sunglasses, and it has made for some interesting outfits these days.

she had so much fun at the museum, and unlike jack who was very reserved and kept asking me if he could touch things (poor kid, i guess i need to let him live a little), daley went right for it. she didn't even think twice about it which is so indicative of her personality.

she has such an imagination these days, and can often be found singing along to the music. of course, we have to go through 15 songs on the ipod before she will agree to it, but at least its not the wiggles or fresh beat band-lol!

batman and robin

sugar and spice...

2011-12-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

naughty or nice!

i have been practicing a lot on daley and jack...it has gotten to the point where i need to bribe them so they let me take their picture!? i had daley convinced she could try the candy cane we used as a prop, if she would sit in a certain spot and just let me shoot away. i knew that once i let her try it, she wouldn't like it, and sure enough she told me it was "too spicy!"

some cute pics did come out of it, and some of my favorite are with the piano. you can't actually tell, but she was pretending she was schroeder from charlie brown and was singing jingle bells--too cute!

my almost two year old...

2011-12-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

i took daley out this morning after we dropped jack off at school to take some pictures of her for her upcoming second birthday. i am going to completely breeze over the fact that she is going to be two and share some of the pictures from this morning...how can we not get outside when it is 60 degrees here!?

i have been frustrated as of late with my "focus" issues, so i have vowed to practice, practice, practice...only time will tell if i'll get it right! alas, some cute pictures did come out of said frustration...

two balloons for the two year old!

snowman is sick...

2011-11-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

everyone is sick or has a tummy ache these days in daley's world!? it is really kind of funny, she gives them kisses and then they're all better! it is usually followed up with "snowman, i love you." could she be any cuter!?

here are some pictures from our tree excursion...

giving the snowman a hug

i just love this one, even if it is a bit overexposed

daley, daley, daley....

2011-11-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

she is such a sweet, strong-willed, precocious child! she will hug your leg and tell you she loves you, and then turn around and hit you all in the same breath. just tonight she hit my arm, immediately asks if she can kiss it (to make it better) and then looks at me and goes "no worries!" ugh, i was so confused by the whole chain of events that i didn't even know how to react to that one!? i really need to get my priorities in order with her because i have a feeling she will be testing me for the next 20 years!

as evident in these pictures...she is both sweet and spicy (but not "too spicy" as she would say)!

my little ballerina!

2011-11-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, i have been daydreaming about this day since daley was born-her first ballet class! hard to believe she is old enough to take said class, but alas the time has come and she had her first "baby ballet" class this morning. she looked absolutely adorable, and although she was shy, she really seemed to have fun. the class incorporates some traditional classical and nursery rhymes, and let's just say they had her at "itsy, bitsy spider!!"

i was trying to get her to look into the mirror, but its tricky when there are tons of people and she won't leave your side!?

taking it all in...

little miss sunshine...

2011-11-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

daley is not! she really is tough to please these days. one might assume it is because she is not feeling well, but i'm going out on a limb here when i say that i do believe it is mostly her temperamental demeanor. she can often be seen walking from room to room whining "hold you, hold you mama." in other words, she wants me to pick her up and continue on with whatever it is i am doing, because you know cooking and going to the bathroom are wicked easy when you have an unnecessary appendage!?

on another note, she has these moments of pure sweetness where she will be sitting quietly looking at books and singing old macdonald, twinkle twinkle or rock-a-bye baby. it quickly erases the above and allows me to forget all of my frustrations.

i was also amazed this morning when she was sitting next to me looking at a book, and all of a sudden started counting. she has been able to count for a while, but today she counted to 15 without any help or prompting!

i love you mama!

2011-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

this is the best phrase in the whole world, especially when it comes unprompted! daley has been coming up to me and hugging my leg while saying she loves me, and it *almost* makes me forget what a bear she has been lately. it really is too bad that teething has such a profound affect on her. i was certain once the last eye tooth popped through, we would have a much less temperamental girl on our hands, but recent findings would prove otherwise as it looks as though we are moving onto 2 year molars-ugh. she just walks around with both hands shoved into the back of her mouth and i feel so bad for her. we've been doing a lot of frozen peas and berries as the cold seems to help a bit. i almost considered scotch last night when for the hundredth time yesterday daley had a meltdown. i thought better of it, but mostly because we didn't have any in the house-lol!

on another note, the bickering has begun in this house. all will be content and quiet, and then someone is yelling or crying these days. it is so frustrating because i feel like i'm playing referee rather than mom! i'm well aware that this is just the beginning of all this...it might be time to go back to work!

daley has been my muse as of late for my class, so i will post the plethera of pictures i have taken of her...poor jack gets the shaft this time because he seems to always be at school when i do this!

apple picking!

2011-10-12T12:12:00.001-07:00

here are some more pictures from our apple picking adventure! oh and some of my favorite little princess (a certain little one loves to play dress up. the girlier the better!?)...

you wouldn't know it, but daley got right in and starting waving and saying "bye mom, see you later!"

not to be forgotten about...

2011-10-05T10:26:00.001-07:00

this is daley to a "t." we are in the "mine" stage, and forget about giving jack something and not her!? poor jack couldn't even try out his birthday gift first this morning, daley pushed him right out of the way and got on his new bike. silly me for thinking she would be excited to finally get to ride his old bike. she certainly doesn't make my life easy these days, and add in the fact that her last two eye teeth are about to breakthrough, and i might start drinking by 9am ( i kid, sort of;).

here are some of my favorite picture of the week with her...we've had a lot photo shoots while jack has been at school:)

like i said, she literally pushed jack out of the way. it is a good thing he is so patient with her, because no one is stepping on her toes!

"hello. what's up?"

2011-10-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

picture daley walking around with a phone on her ear, saying the above statement. she is becoming such a character. just today she told me she liked my shirt-i am definitely in trouble, as she already loves to try on clothes!

she also seems to have adjusted just fine. she had a couple bedtime issues, but has since done exceptionally well. she does ask for mimi quite a bit, and more often than not she is "talking" to apa on the phone, but i think it is only natural as she saw them every day.

on another note, i'm happy to report her strong-willed demeanor has yet to soften. she is still keeping me on my toes, and constantly staying consistent is a lot of work, but hopefully she will begin to follow in her much more mellow and tame brother's footsteps!

it's funny...

2011-09-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

that is daley's newest line...she follows it up with a laugh, and it then really becomes funny! she is also becoming quite good at independent play. she is using her imagination, and pretending. she loves to "shh" her babies to sleep, pat them, take them for walks. so cute!

she is still quite willful and has a temper that i need to constantly remind her is unacceptable. when she is told no, she will often throw something or spit/blow bubbles at you-ugh, this is just so unladylike and gross. i have no idea where she gets this from, because jack is so mellow when it comes to reacting.

despite all of this, she really is such a sweet child...oh, wait she just did exactly what i was talking about above. ugh, she is going to send me over the edge!?

here is my sweet and spunky girl at jack's party...

tea party...jackie comin?

2011-09-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

that is all daley wants to know these days..."jackie comin?" or "where'd jackie go?" all of a sudden they've become best buds and it is so cute! things are far more peaceful when they get along and aren't grabbing things from each other.

daley has also become quite interested in pretend play. she played right along with us while we "drank" our tea and "ate" our crumpets! another development is her discovery of cause and effect. for instance if i tell her not to throw something, her response is "it will fall down?" so she's beginning to understand outcome to her actions a bit more. it is eye opening to me because she can vocalize things so well. i am amazed at her retention and understanding of things.

and further proof that she is growing leaps and bounds...

hurricane who?

2011-08-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

truthfully, daley is more of a threat these days than irene proved to be! she is quite a determined, stubborn child and the fact that her vocabulary is so good, only makes negotiating with her that much harder. she has one of the most distinguished jekyl and hyde complexes i have ever seen-sweet as pie one minute, and literally possessed by the devil the next! i think if she were my first i would be much more wary than i am, but i'm still holding out hope that this is all just a phase. call me naive, but its all i've got left keeping me afloat-lol.

not to be left out...here are some pictures from today, as well as one from her stealing her brother's thunder the day we went to the track!

and there off...

this was jack's boot after the fun, not sure if you can see that mike is actually pouring water out of them!

after...and yes she was still in jammies:)

mom, don't forget about me!

first boat ride!

2011-08-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

while we were up in lake george, daley got to take her first boat ride. of course she showed no hesitation and wanted to get right on the boat. she kept asking to drive it and refused to be held, wanting to walk around the boat! she is so independent and headstrong, both a blessing and a curse!?

she loved annie and had so much fun!

"horsies"...neigh, neigh...

2011-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

that is what daley calls them. actually she adds an "ie" to everything these days; jackie, soupie, milky, snackie, greggy. i'm sure there are more! she's really enamored with animals, and had so much fun at the farm. she pet the horses without even flinching. when the horse whinnied i think it caught her off-guard a bit, but she was otherwise excited. she also fancied the barn cat quite a bit, and got right down at her level and pet her. she also squealed in delight and kept saying "kitty. meooow!"

for as feisty as she is, she really is a snuggler:)

i just adore the way they are looking at each other in this picture

stubborn!

2011-08-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

so while i will cut daley a bit of slack considering she is cutting all 4 eye teeth, i have to be honest, she is wearing me out! she is so headstrong, stubborn and decisive. i know these will all be fantastic attributes when she is older, and of course out of the house so i no longer have to battle them, but it is trying every last bit of patience i have left in me! i'm not certain i have enough sticktoitiveness to keep up with her. that said, i am now perfectly aware of the fact that she in turn gets away with slightly more than jack ever did. on the flip side, jack is much more laid back than her, so it probably is a combination of both.

ironically, daley happens to have the sweetest side to her. she loves to rock, and be held. her new favorite thing to do is to sit and listen to music, which has led to her ability to sing the abc's, twinkle, twinkle, the garden song & march two by two. she actually sings in tune and has the cutest little voice. i'm trying to get it on video, but she refuses to sing when asked and states an affirmative "no!" in response...ahem, see previous paragraph regarding a certain stubborn streak;)

first wedding!

2011-07-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

as mentioned on jack's blog we attended my cousin's wedding this weekend. daley was really well behaved considering the ceremony started at 6:30 and she is typically on her way to bed at that time. she also managed to garner quite a few laughs during the ceremony when she cheered and shouted "yay" when the music ended during the procession--it was too cute and thankfully everyone else thought so as well!

here some pictures from the wedding and beach...

hugging her big brother during the ceremony-this could not have been cuter!

beach baby:)

2011-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

that just about sums up daley while on vacation. she loved the beach. there wasn't much relaxing to be had as she was in and out of the water the entire time, but she had so much fun. she was not put off by the waves one bit. there was only one jellyfish incident where she decided to squish it and nearly gave me a heart attack!?

lame attempt at a family photo-apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to attention span-lol!

happy 4th!

2011-07-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

a little breakfast, the carousel, a balloon, the pool...that about sums up our day! daley had a lot of fun, and was so excited to finally get a balloon-she has been taunted by balloons lately as there seem to be a lot of balloons and parties going on! every time she sees one she gets all excited, and trying to explain to a toddler why they can't have it is not quite that easy.

on another note, she is learning her abc's...she's able to sing up until the letter "g" and it is so cute! it sort of overshadows her extremely strong-willed demeanor these days. one of her new responses when i call her name is "what?" really? already?! i'm definitely in trouble with her!

a little girl and her balloon...

happy father's day!

2011-06-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

hopefully it was a fun day for dad, because i know daley sure had a good time! after a round of golf, we took dad out to lunch, for a ride on the carousel, and to walk in the park.

on another note, she also rode front facing for the first time. i really didn't want to turn her around, but mike wanted to and historically daley hasn't been a great passenger. of course, she was so excited and smiled the whole ride. she kept looking over at jack with a big grin! maybe this will make our trip down to hilton head more bearable.

first haircut!

2011-06-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

i put it off as long as i could, but daley finally needed a haircut to the point where it was no longer a mullet, and started to resemble cousin it-lol! i was just happy that i had the opportunity to take her to the same place we took jack for his first cut. in typical daley fashion she didn't even flinch. she was more interested in "driving" the plane and eating her snack, which despite my attempt to take it away so there wasn't stray hair getting in it, remained with her for the duration.

on another note, she has become so personable as of late. i think she's auditioning for miss america the way she goes around waving to everyone! she is also a complete chatterbox, repeating just about everything you say to her. i love that i can ask her if she wants/needs something and she actually responds with yes (or yup in most cases!) or no. she is also now telling me when she has dirty pants, sometimes even beforehand, which is very efficient of her! i have no grandiose plans of potty training anytime soon, but it would be kinda funny if she was fully potty trained before jack (he'll wake up dry one of these days;).

daley also really likes to climb...on tables, the stairs, chairs, into things like cabinets and shelves. this is new territory for me as jack was not really a climber at all. she's bound and determined to keep me on my toes! further proof of said climbing can be seen below;

bronx zoo!

2011-05-29T18:25:00.001-07:00

i have been eager to take daley to the zoo for a while now. things have just been so busy, not to mention uncooperative weather, so it has taken a while to get there. daley loves animals. she is so enamored with dogs, and with all of the animal puppets we have i just knew she would have a blast when we actually got to see the real giraffes! she did not disappoint...she had so much fun. she took her first carousel ride, and when it was over she did not want to get off!

totally in love with the carousel:)

she is just too cute if i do say so myself!

happy 17 months!

2011-05-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

to my 17 month old little one...

though you can be quite demanding at times, you can also be the sweetest. i love you and am amazed by you every day.

love, mama

choo, choo, beep, beep...

2011-05-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

looks like someone has been hanging out with a certain big brother who loves all things that have wheels! daley is like a little sponge these days. she often repeats exactly what you say right after you've said it. along with all her words, is her independence...out, down, up, done, are most often the words you'll here from her these days! she always want to do it herself, i can't even help her with things like yogurt-she pushes my hand right out of the way!

we had fun at a day out with thomas, and no need to worry about daley being shy...she walked right up to the train table and started pushing her way through the kids to get to where she wanted to be. those little boys didn't stand a chance! somehow she managed to bogart 3 thomas trains!

sitting in the fire truck-she did not want to get out!

words!

2011-05-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

daley is exploding with words these days. just this week she started saying baby, cracker, feet, one, two, three, teeth. along with her words is her decisiveness, and let me just say she is very decisive! she will let you know if there is something she wants, and will shake her head and say yes(both of which are in an exaggerated manner). of course if you're not quick to meet her demands, she will often push, throw or throw herself on the ground in a fit of annoyance-i think i'm going to be in trouble later on! on the flip side, she can be the sweetest baby. she loves to snuggle, rock and be held.

another fun new thing is her recent discovery of books. we read a lot, but until recently, daley was not interested in the slightest. now she loves to go to her bookshelf, grab a book, come over and tell you "book?" and sit on your lap for you to read it. granted you can only get through one or two pages before she's off to get another book, but it is still so cute!

greg took these outside pics one night after dinner, and i think they are some of my favorites. thanks greg!

we should all stop to smell the flowers once in a while:)

looking at these makes me realize just how big she is getting...

this goes against all things i believe in, but when they were sick per jack's request i bought pops with jokes on them(on the popsicle stick). and since daley has to have everything jack has, the pictures will tell the story!

woe is me...

2011-05-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

i'm not sure i've ever posted about daley's absolute loathing for the car, but after today's little excursion, it is well over due!?

i'm pretty sure i can count on one hand the number of car trips we have taken where daley has babbled happily, slept or just sat contently while we made our way to our destination.

picture pouring rain, a long trip and two *almost* healthy kids in a car with just one parent (the driver)...moments into the trip as per usual, jack passes out cold (he has always been a good traveler), and then there's daley who is growing increasingly more irritated...even trickier is the fact that i failed to bring my "go-go-gadget" arm along with me and i can barely reach her seat to hand her anything (not that she'd take it anyway-it usually gets thrown back in disgust). key soothing music, let's try avett brothers, eh she could take them or leave them, ok now this has worked a couple times in the past, but i likened it to a fluke...let's try pete yorn's "relator"-bingo! she instantly calms, and we listen to it on repeat for at least 6 times and she is finally asleep. ahh...two sleeping kids. for about 15 minutes, because then of course jack is awake and wants to talk about all the trucks and the fact that its raining so hard, oh and did i bring him a snack and a drink? all the while i'm pleading with him to use his "inside voice"-lol. sufficed to say, daley slept for a little over and hour, and then she screamed bloody murder the rest of the ride, aside from a few short moments when she was happily eating happy baby yogurt melts...i'd say our trip to hilton head this summer is going to be a good time. i might be toting a flask along with a couple sippys in my diaper bag;)

happy easter!

2011-04-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

daley was very into dying eggs, so much so that she actually cried when it was over!? she is quite dramatic these days;) she also had some fun egg hunting and found her first egg.

"all done!" lol

she is such a girl...she always wants to wear a necklace!

the best family picture we've gotten in a long time...miss serious and mr. weird face!?

the girl who doesn't love wearing hats sure does love to wear a bucket-lol.

painting fun!

2011-04-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

we did some fun easter crafts on a rainy wednesday morning...not that the rain mattered all that much since daley and i are both getting over strep throat-ugh. daley loves to paint, and was surprisingly still as i painted her feet and hands for the project!

on another note, she has quite a few new words this week...she says "more" as she signs it, and this is one of my favorites-its so cute! she also says ball, sit, signs/say please, quack (duck), bawk (chicken), moo (cow). it seems like everyday there is a new word.

along with these new words, is her new found or rather intensified temper...she is definitely not letting jack get in her way, and there may be some pushing and hitting going on, couple that with some definite tantrums, and the house is like mayhem!? she makes jack look downright demure-lol!

mmmmm....pear!

2011-04-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

daley grabbed this out of the fruit bowl the other day, and before i could stop she took a huge bite! i guess i don't need to peel these for her anymore. she thought she was the "bees knees" so to speak and managed to eat almost the entire pear!

in case you were wondering, this was a pants-less occasion;)

on another note, we officially have a walker! as i type this daley is toddling around the room...it is more of a 10 steps, fall, 10 steps, fall sort of walk, but she is getting better by the day!

15 months!

2011-03-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

i cannot believe it...i really feel like she just turned one and for some reason 15 months sounds so much older!

she has such a personality these days. she loves to mimic, and has a couple new words, a favorite being cheese. she is also taking upwards of six steps, i forgot how cute the "frankenstein" walk is. she thinks she is a big girl and insists on sitting on the kitchen chairs all by herself, and she is quite amused with herself whilst doing so. she is also turning into a bit of a climber, and has fooled me on more than one occasion with just how good at it she is...you can often find her on the butcher block shelf or standing on her chair reaching for the phone, and her newest feat climbing up the stairs all by herself in record time (eek). she certainly is keeping me on my toes:)

on another note, we went to boston this past weekend to visit uncle timmy. the kids had so much fun despite the rather cold weather. we headed to the aquarium, quincy market, and strolled tim's awesome neighborhood (beacon hill). when we got there, jack decided that he wanted to move there, so i guess he did in fact have a good time! i think daley enjoyed the aquarium the most, and was so enamored by the penguins-she reacted every time the penguins made noise!

here is a funny video of jack making daley laugh in the bath. they have so much fun together these days!

right now...

2011-03-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

i am watching daley on the monitor as she sings and claps to her soother. she looks so proud of herself, and is having quite a bit of fun. it makes my heart feel like it may explode with love for her. she can be the sweetest little one...we should all be so content with something so simple:)

happy st. patty's day!

2011-03-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

my poor little irish girl is still not feeling well, but i was able to get her smiling for a little bit. for the most part i had to hold her all.day.long.

some of these pictures are blurry, but they're so funny. she looks like a sumo wrestler in some of them(her stance, not her stature of course;). she also loves this book, and it was so cute because she was playing peek-a-boo behind it.

poor little one...

2011-03-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

both jack and daley are sick with head colds:( i don't usually like to blame anyone, but i do believe a certain person who currently has bronchitis is to blame (he may or may not be blood related to them-lol)!

here they are this morning watching bambi together...

on another note, daley has become quite adept at using her fork. i find that she's actually more willing to eat if she can stab it with her fork, so i attempt o make everything "fork" edible! she is also starting to say a lot of words; hot, this, that, mama, jack, wow, ow, horse(although this one is a bit inaudible), hi...there are a couple more, and she also "thinks" she's saying many things, we just can't really understand them!

her fine motor skills are pretty advanced, and i think she focuses on them a bit more than her gross motor skills as she is still only taking one step or so. she can however zip/unzip, stack blocks, put things back into the containers (even small openings), and hold/use a crayon the correct way. so the walking will come eventually, as with all things, she will do it when she is ready to-there's no forcing her into anything;)

happy 14 months!

2011-03-01T05:07:00.001-08:00

wouldn't you know that the day she turns 14 months she has pretty much mastered the fork! i'm pretty impressed that she has this down pat, but its not all that surprising as she seems to be very focused on her fine motor skills. we're not quite walking yet, although she did take 2 steps to me over the weekend. she is very close, but her confidence is not quite there yet. she is becoming more vocal each day, which can mostly be witnessed by her very determined and feisty demeanor!

we had a very belated first birthday party this past weekend for her, and she seemed to have a lot of fun! she was not into the cake part, but it still made for some cute pictures.

i just love this one, she looks like a little ballerina.

the hat came off right after this picture was taken-typical daley!

baby hudson

where did my baby go?

2011-02-23T19:13:00.001-08:00

i took these pictures this afternoon, and just looking at them makes me realize just how big she is getting:(

i guess i shouldn't be all that surprised, because along with her grown-up little face is a grown-up big attitude! seriously though, she is quite a piece of work these days. oh the drama, this is all new to me as jack never threw a tantrum of this caliber!

ch-ch-changes...

2011-02-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

(turn and face the strain)-thanks david bowie for putting it all into perspective for me;)

daley has officially given up her morning nap, and i have to admit i'm a bit sad with this change. not so much because our routine has to be re-adjusted, but because it is just another sign that daley is growing. unfortunately given her feisty demeanor, i have no choice but to go with this change as she will literally stand in the corner of her crib and yell/babble/whine until you finally go in and get her...and i tried to wait it out, but after an hour and two unsuccessful weeks, it is quite obvious she is so over her nap!

alas, i now have to figure out a way to fit in pilates and my shower with two kids in constant need of something!?

mmm...

2011-02-14T10:35:00.003-08:00

i don't know what this is, but it will certainly get me to sit still for more than two seconds!?

when there's candy involved, they share so nicely!

that?

2011-02-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

daley is a little chatty cathy these days! she constantly points and asks what "that" is. of course, among her audible words is a whole lot of garble, but it is so cute.

on another note she thoroughly enjoyed finger painting today. i think i'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

this was just a cute one...girl loves her snacks:)

oh the drama....

2011-01-13T20:31:00.001-08:00

"mom!"

"i think its my nose."

"no, wait. i think it might be my eye?"

"i'm so confused..."

"well, it IS something, so stop taking pictures and tend to me!"

moments later...

"oh, what's this?"

"what are you looking at?"

i love the sweetness of this one

"don't mess with me mom, i can turn on the waterworks in an instant!"

it should come as no surprise to know that daley went down for a nap a mere 2 minutes after this last picture was taken...somebody needed some serious beauty rest;)

twelve month stats

2011-01-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

we had daley's well check last week. she is doing well, thankfully. she did have to get two shots, and her lead test which requires bloodwork. she's dropped a tiny bit on her curve, but it is more than likely because she is so active.

height: 28.75 inches (30%)
weight: 20lbs (30%)
head: 18 inches (60%)

on another note, she is so much fun these days. she's starting to point to things that she wants, and makes this same little noise simultaneously that is her way of saying "i want that!" she's getting more and more brave with walking, letting go and stepping from one thing to another, pushing her walker all by herself, and standing without holding on for longer periods of time.

here she is with mike, just a little jam session;)

likes/dislikes

2011-01-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

who knew at one you could be so set in your ways! daley is certainly her own person and she will let you know it.

she loves to dance these days, and she's in good company seeing as every toy plays some sort of music for her to dance to. she is starting to point, and points very decisively at what she wants. she can show you where her nose is. when she coughs she pats her head, because she can't reach her back-it is pretty funny (i guess she's seen me do that a few times!). she signs "more," "all done," and "drink." she laughs, and often it is on her own-she apparently finds herself very funny;) she refuses to let you build a tower with blocks, as she is what we call the human wrecking ball. she is so sweet and loves to kiss and snuggle. she takes her dolls and gives them hugs and kisses. during bath she'll hand me rubber ducky because she wants me to sing the rubber ducky song. however, on the flip side, her temper is fierce-when she's annoyed she grunts and pushes you away, i believe jack receives a majority of this behavior and it's probably deserved-he seems to always hang on her. she is still a really good eater, and loves anything with flavor; turkey tacos, chicken sausage with white beans and spinach, hummus, fruit, veggies, cheese, pizza, ravioli, pesto. and finally, she has been given this nickname by her brother that has seemingly stuck, we all find ourselves calling her "lum ditty" or "little lum," which is not exactly what i had in mind, but pretty random and funny. i believe it comes from a suess book "hand, hand, fingers, thumb...dum, ditty, dum, ditty, dum, dum, dum!?"

so that's where daley is in a very long, run-on, nutshell!

happy 1st birthday!

2010-12-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

dear daley,

i am amazed at how much you have brought into our lives. on the day you were born, my heart expanded with so much love, more than i ever could have imagined. i am so lucky to have had the chance to share so many of your firsts, especially this first year of your life.

there are so many things i try to remember each day, like the way you scrunch your face, kick your legs (they are constantly moving, even in utero), snuggle with your lovey and bink, the smile you give your brother when he walks into the room. i know that these little things might not always be a part of who you are, but they are right now and they shape who you are at this very moment-they have a little part of my heart.

happy first birthday to my little one! i love you to the moon and back...

love,
mama

we had a little cake after dinner tonight, and daley was less than impressed by it!? in fact, she preferred the hat that took me an hour to make her in lieu of the cupcake! needless to say it was fun to celebrate, i know jack was certainly excited to eat a cupcake:)

daley's first christmas!

2010-12-27T17:51:00.001-08:00

it is so hard to believe that daley wasn't here for our last christmas, she's become such an integral part of our family i can't imagine our life without her. it is also hard to believe that i was nine months pregnant with her this time last year, but its probably because i've blocked that part out!?

i know daley didn't understand what was going on, but she certainly had a good time:) she really is such an easy going, content baby. she had so much fun getting into all the presents and with all the wrapping paper flying she didn't even know where to begin...you know because doesn't everyone eat the paper?

i took a lot of pictures of daley because there is nothing cuter than a little girl in a fluffy dress!

christmas eve:

look who's "so big?!"

she pulls kermit off of the tree constantly, and the she tries to put kermit back on the tree,
but can't figure out how-it's so funny.

christmas morning:

the most awesome christmas present...my brother greg hand-made this doll house bookcase! i had been eying the one in pottery barn. it was a total surprise and it looks amazing!

daley likes it too!

rockin' out on jack's new keyboard...she is hilarious and loves to dance!

all ready for church

santa?

2010-12-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

that's pretty much the reaction daley gave santa today when we went to visit him?! she just kept staring at him, but didn't seem the least bit put off by the fact that she had been placed in some strange bearded man's lap!

poor girl looks a bit worse for wear in these pics...the second "eye" tooth is making its way in and wreaking havoc on her naps:( jack on the other hand was so excited to see santa, and told him exactly what he wanted-a kitchen, and a car (big surprise there!). the picture we ended up choosing actually came out really nice. unfortunately it isn't a digital file, so you're stuck with my shots!

denial...

2010-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

that is what i am in over the fact that daley will be one years old in 15 days *sniff*. it really is hard to imagine, and i'm of the mindset that if i don't say it out loud, it can't possibly be true!

i guess i've begun to notice little things that indicate she is growing and developing. for instance, she can now hold and drink her own sippy cup, her head is getting closer to the top of back of her high chair and she no longer looks like she is being swallowed up in it, and just today she began to push the wooden push cart and "walk" with it. *sigh*

not to mention she has quite the flair for the dramatic, which can be seen in the pictures below!?

this smile is so ugly, it's cute!

we were playing chase/peek-a-boo...she's feeling her new top teeth with her tongue here:)

geez, life must be so rough?!

she's pretty good about the tree, but every once in a while...

"mom, pick me up now!"
*disclaimer: she was not in any pain or distress, she just wanted me to pick her up.

"daley, no!?"

2010-12-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

no, no, no...which is usually followed by her shaking her head at me, smiling and scooting away from me! there have been a few occasions where i've startled her enough that she's started to cry--oops, not my intention and actually doesn't prevent her from stopping what she was doing:/ the aforementioned situation occurred this evening when i turned around to find this...

this picture was taken at the end of our tree hunt...daley had woken up and she was not in the mood to smile!?

she really is so cute these days. i have to get some video of her "dancing" because it is so cute...she loves to dance and bop up and down to music. she has also become a little chatterbox...babbling constantly. now if only these teeth would get here and she can get back to her normal sleep schedule-i'm tired! that being said, when they do get here i will be amazed to see all of the different things she will eat. i have yet to find something she really doesn't like. just tonight she had pesto tortellini and tuscan pumpkin soup and loved it!

all i want for christmas...

2010-11-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

is my two front teeth!?

yup the day before little one is eleven months her two front teeth decide to pop through! no wonder she was up from midnight to 2 am. i have to say i'm relieved for her because her top front gum has been so swollen for a long time now. i think she's also getting her top incisors as well.

and...this is why we always close the bathroom door!?

2010-11-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

"what mom?"

"oh, is this water..."

"huh, this boat is pretty cool."

"so that's where the water comes from."

the little stinker has been dying to get into the bathroom! she was content to just hang out in the shower and "play." never mind the fact that i had to change the clothes that i had just put on her minutes before!

all dressed up!

2010-11-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

we all went to dinner on saturday, and little miss got all dressed up. she looked too cute:) i have to say that both she and jack were so well-behaved. not one tantrum between the two of them!

on another note, daley continues to amaze me...i'm pretty sure she has out-eaten jack on occasion, and she will literally eat just about anything you put in front of her! i love it, it makes it so much easier, because she is almost eating whatever we eat for dinner these days.

all done!

2010-11-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

we've been working on signing with daley basically since she's started solids. jack was a little late to pick up on them, but once he did it was so nice to have him be able to let us know what he wanted. well, daley is starting to pick up on them, and now signs "all done" when she is...and then proceeds to try and climb out of her chair-lol! i was able to get a little bit of it this morning on video...she's also done the sign for "more" but she isn't consistent with it quite yet.

i also found these on my dad's camera, and thought they were too cute:)

happy 1st halloween!

2010-11-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

my little cat girl:)

here she is earlier that morning...i had mentioned that she was finally finding things funny, and this is her reaction to mimi blowing bubbles! she thinks it is hilarious!!

9 month well check & happy 10 months!

2010-10-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

eek...time is really flying, and poor daley is not getting nearly the frequency of posts that jack did. she went in for her 9 month well check and did great! she's in the 50% for height/weight, and surprisingly in the 25% for head circumference. developmentally she is doing perfect. we have to keep and eye on her right foot as it turns outward when she's standing, but it should correct itself naturally as she begins to stand more frequently.

she is eating just about anything you put in front of her these days, and really enjoys it! some of her favorites at the moment are; cheese, mini crackers, beans, avocado, turkey, peas, pear, potatoes, carrots, hummus, yogurt, french toast, pancakes, waffles...the list goes on!

her personality seems to shine through more and more each day, and little miss serious is finding things more comical each day as she now actually giggles at things! it isn't all giggles with her however, she does have quite the temper coupled with a flare for the dramatic. i know i'm in for it with her:)

she got another bottom tooth this week, but her top teeth have yet to break through and she is a bit miserable because of it. i'm hoping this is the cause for her recent sleep regression.

finally, the best milestone of all in my book...hearing her say mama:) at first there was no attachment to it, but she now crawls up to me saying ma, ma, ma...love it!

crawling, da da, and quite the temper...

2010-10-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

i have been meaning to report that on the eve of her nine month birthday, daley decided that she was far too mature to army crawl anymore and now officially crawls on all fours! i'm not sure what took her so long, but it was like a switch went off for her and all of a sudden the whole thing clicked!

following her crawling skills have been her recent babbling and mimicking...she has been ba, ba, ba'ing for quite a while now, but out of no where this week the "da, da's" have begun...she is so funny when she's doing it--the face she makes is priceless! she also goes back and forth with you mimicking sounds. needless to say our house just got a bit noisier--if that was even possible!?

now let me discuss this little one's temper as of late...holy moly, i never experienced this with jack. for all the things jack put me through, he never actually yelled at me in anger/frustration!? she gets so mad these days...not only does she yell, but she stiffens her legs and rears back. i knew from the get-go that she was going to be more temperamental than jack, but i'm not sure we're equipped for this!

making a beeline for the bathroom. ironically, she's obsessed with jack's potty. if only big brother was equally obsessed!?

clearly there is not enough room in here for the two of us!

i'm outta here!

nine months:)

2010-09-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

yet another month has flown by. daley gets cuter and more curious by the day. she is quite determined these days, and gets around pretty quickly. she can be found underneath the kitchen table most of the time, showing off her newest trick, which is to climb over the wooden beam underneath. she's also recently discovered that she can pull up on just about anything, and she gives you the biggest smile when she accomplishes this feat! she pretty much thinks purees are for the birds or six month olds as she is far too old to be eating them!? i've had to get creative at mealtime and have learned that there isn't much that she won't eat! forget about getting dressed or diaper changes...its like a WWE smackdown, and i have to basically dress her one-handed while restraining her from rolling, sitting up, or crawling off of the changing table?! it is so amazing to me how different she is from jack, it makes watching her grow and develop all the more interesting.

happy nine months little one! i hope you always stay determined, curious, decisive and loving.

oh, and you can stop growing up now:)

love, mama

again, with the wires!?

jack insists on going in the activity garden with her...cute, but really doesn't leave them much room!?

after a morning of fun...

precocious...

2010-09-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

that is what i will call daley at the moment...she has discovered her ability to get into just about everything she's not supposed to! she loves wires, dvds, phones, and vacuums. what is it with little ones and their love for all things electronic!?

she also has quite the temper these days...she is so vocal and let's you know it if she doesn't want to be somewhere, wants you to hold her, or is done eating! actually she is so quick to swipe at the spoon that i've started to give her one just to occupy her and ward her off from grabbing the one with the food on it--i learned the hard way as i've worn far too many purees as of late!?

on another note, she can absolutely crawl on all fours, but insists on army crawling! again, she is quite decisive and if she doesn't feel like crawling the "right" way, then she's not going to. she has also started to clap...last night i was watching her on her monitor and she was just clapping away at her soother...it was so cute!

here are some recent pics of her...taking er outside continues to be a challenge as i spend most of my time prying grass and leaves out of her mouth!?

her reaction to the wind and blowing trees-she loves it!

check out that determination-the girl will do just about anything for a leaf!?

pretty sure i had to swipe out a blade of grass after i took this pic

milestone:)

2010-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

well, well, we will apparently be dropping the crib yet again since little miss has decided that she can pull-up! she thought she was the bees-knees up there in her crib rolling around, pulling up, yelling, and then pulling up some more. i really wish she would slow down her development a little bit, as she is growing way too fast.

on another note, we are slowly moving away from purees and onto softer table foods. she is loving waffles, pancakes, steamed veggies, fruits, even a little cereal bar. she does really well with it, and ever the lady only picks up one piece at a time with her pinky out!

here are some fun pics...we had a little time one day just the two of us while big brother was napping:)

happy 8 months!!

2010-08-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

it is so bittersweet. daley is becoming her own person, and her personality is certainly not lacking! she seems to be a bit feisty, has a temper, but loves to give kisses-a lethal combo;)

on another note, i don't remember jack being quite as interested in our food the way she is, but she seems to be "over" purees! she practically lunges at jack's food, so we're starting to move onto more finger foods--kinda tricky since she still only has 2 teeth!

daley is also moving all over the place, but while she has been rocking on all fours for over 3 months, she is still only army crawling. i can tell her next milestone will be pulling up because she is all about standing while holding onto your hands or her leap frog table.

happy eight months to my smiley, determined, precocious little girl...i can't wait to see what this next month brings. i love you!

love, mama

here she is today with some finger foods...we did banana, watermelon & steamed carrots.

central park

2010-08-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

so while jack ran around and played "ball," daley and i hung out and ate some grass! just kidding, i spent most of my time prying grass out of her hands/mouth and all the while i just wanted to get some nice pictures of her-lol?! these were the best of the bunch...

as you can see she really doesn't quite grasp smiling;)

i've dubbed this family picture:FAIL!?

uh, oh...

2010-08-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

looks like we'll be lowering the crib sooner than expected!?

my pretty, sleepy-eyed girl who was so proud of herself:)

eek...i'm going to need a teething rail stat...teething + expensive crib=disaster!?

my first hair barette!

2010-08-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

i have been waiting for this pretty much since she was born! she looks so cute:)

and i just liked this one because she was so in awe of herself when she "opened" the door...

milestone:)

2010-08-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

daley has been sitting up for a while now, and ironically been able to get herself into a sitting position inadvertently, but it wasn't until yesterday that she could do it intentionally. with all milestones comes the lovely need to do it over and over and over again!? as i type she is in her crib rolling around, then sitting, then playing with her soother and sitting up all over again! i forgot that she still has to learn how to intentionally lay back down again, and thus have gone in to "help" her. please let her figure it out soon:)

she has also become a very good eater. she has the pincer grasp down and loves to self-feed cheerios. she is also eager to get her hands on whatever it is we're eating so i think we'll move onto table foods sooner than i expected. here she is below enjoying the end of a baguette...she devours it!

i don't know...

2010-08-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

do you think she's teething!?

ugh, if only this didn't come out blurry!

happy seven months!

2010-07-29T06:54:00.001-07:00

daley,

at seven months you are so much fun! you're still a bit skeptical and like to give everything a good once over before you flash your gummy smile. that being said, you're a very happy and laid back girl. you're just content to sit and look around--taking it all in. you love to look at the trees/leaves. you've recently discovered the army crawl, and you're really fast! part of me still wonders if you may skip crawling altogether and go right to walking the way you get up on your hands and feet and stick your tush way up in the air! you love food now, especially your veggies. you're learning to chew little pieces of food and you're pretty good at it. finally, big brother jack still gets the biggest reaction out of you and it is usually a huge smile!

i love you so much and although i'm sad that seven months has passed, i look forward to all the months ahead:)

love always, mama

here's a little video of little miss fishy--she's definitely a water baby:)

more HHI pics:)

2010-07-27T05:47:00.001-07:00

got peas?

i just love her face in this one!

first time having watermelon:)

her love affair with sophie runs deep;)

she is finally starting to get some hair!!

hilton head

2010-07-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

we got back from our annual hilton head trip this past weekend. we spent 2 weeks down there with the kids and it was so much fun! i think jack is still drying out from all the swimming and daley is now officially a beach baby! she even has a slight tan on her legs, which is most noticeable when you open the creases of her leg rolls;)

while we were there her second tooth broke through and she mastered sitting up unassisted-she had been doing it for a while but was a bit wobbly. she also tried yogurt, watermelon, prunes (unfortunately there were one too many days of bananas;) and carrots.

there were too many pictures that i loved to narrow down, so bear with me...

first time in the big pool

meeting grandma smith (mike's grandma) for the 1st time

below is a series of her first time in the ocean...she was very skeptical at first!

one of the few family pics

my lens was blurry from the insane humidity, but this was too cute not to post!

our last beach day and a good shot of her two teeth!

6 months and her first tooth!

2010-07-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

she is getting way too big, too fast! not only is she up on all fours and rocking, she's chattering, sitting up nicely, and she just got her first tooth! her tooth is so new, that it wasn't there at 4:30am this morning, but popped through around noon today!

i snapped some pictures of her yesterday while we had some "alone" time...its hard to get time with just one of them these days. she was giving me such great smiles, here are a couple of my favorites:

6 month stats!

2010-06-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

we had her 6 month check-up on friday, and she was quite the show-off! there she was showing the dr. all her moves...rolling, babbling, and up on all 4's. she follows everything up with a big smile, which is hard to resist.

she really is such a good baby. she's finally taking an interest in food. oddly, she seems to love peas and squash more than fruit. however, she loves, loves frozen banana chunks in her mesh feeder...she usually gets this while i'm trying to finish up dinner as it occupies her for at least 5 minutes!

and true to form, she is consistently proportionate falling in the 25-50% on all accounts!

height: 25.5 inches
weight: 16 lbs 11 oz.
head: 16.7 inches

i'm in trouble...

2010-06-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

"what mom?"

"i'm just hanging on my playmat."

"see?"

"oh this? i'm doing my calisthenics!"

i guess i can't blame her...check out this physique;)

in all seriousness though, she's up on all fours!? eek...i'm in trouble!

speaking of monkeys;)

2010-06-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

here's my current little monkey displaying her newest skill...

i've dubbed it the flailing fish! she really wants to go, but can't quite figure it all out. she'll get it eventually and then life around here will never be the same!

baptism

2010-06-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

we had daley's baptism this past saturday. it was just a small private ceremony at a church here in chappaqua. aside from the horrendous heat, it went really well. daley surprised me with how even-keeled she was. she was great during the ceremony, came home and took a 2 hour nap, woke to a house full of people and was all smiles! she really is such a good baby. she is so content to just hang out.

here are some pictures from the day:

our "best" shot at a family picture!

cousin ben

baby hudson

5 month stats

2010-06-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

daley seems to be growing leaps and bounds these days. i swear the pants i put on her this morning were big on her last week! we had her 5 month check-up last monday, and she is doing great. she is perfectly proportional falling into the 50-75% on all accounts (head, height & weight). we had started some solids a couple weeks ago, but then she got sick and wanted nothing to do with them. we have recently become more routine with them, and while she tolerates them, she is much more interested in the world around her. nothing like a certain big brother who we couldn't get the food in fast enough with!

just for my own notes, here is a list of what we have tried thus far:
rice, oatmeal & multi-grain cereal
sweet potatoes, butternut squash & banana

for the first time today she ate the multi-grain, up until this point she would spit it back out, and funnily enough her favorite so far has been the squash!?

she is still enamored with her toes, and her favorite spot to get them is on the changing table where she can pretty much get her whole foot in her mouth!? i'll teach her how that's not so ladylike at some point;) she also loves her jumper these days. she will jump and yell with excitement--it reminds me of jack at her age, only jack was a bit more daring swinging back and forth! she is able to sit unassisted for about 5 seconds. she hasn't figured out that she can't just lunge forward for an object and still expect not to topple over! finally, she wants to "go" in the worst way. she's like a fish out of water flailing on the floor-her arms and legs going in all directions, but she never actually gets anywhere! she gets a bit frustrated by it, but then remembers she can roll and works her way around a bit that way. i'm more than happy to have her slow down on the development. i think with two kids life seems to fly by a little more quickly, and we're already approaching her 1/2 birthday:(

happy (belated) 5 months!

2010-06-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

i really have been slacking lately. with us all being sick, traveling, planning for a party, etc...life really has gotten in the way!?

happy 5 months to my little miss:)

you really are delightful these days! you love your toes and thumb. you're definitely a woman and will not put up with things if they don't suit you (ahem, the grunting is not so ladylike;). you get prettier each day and your smile never fails to make me smile. i love you!

love, mommy

who needs sleep...

2010-05-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

when there is so much going on in the world?! apparently this is daley's newest motto, because 2 out of the last 3 days she literally has been up with the birds. i'll hear her babbling from her crib, and i know there is no way she is going back to bed. 5 am wouldn't be so bad if she also wasn't still waking 2-3x/night?!

i will say she is finally feeling better. we finally determined that they contracted a strain of the coxsackie virus. man, i hope they never get that again. she still has a hoarse voice, and per the pedi should be on "voice rest." um, asking her to be quiet really isn't working for me!

i wish i could post pics, but i need to back up my computer as we're dangerously close to crashing. therefore, i can't download anything at the moment:(

2010-05-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

i've always envisioned having a little girl. when i was pregnant with daley, i was so sure it was another boy, so i never really gave myself the chance to imagine that on december 28th i would in fact become the mom of a little girl! it was the best surprise and made me realize that there are now 3 generations of women on my side of the family! i never had the opportunity to grow up with grandparents so knowing that my children are getting this opportunity is especially bittersweet on mother's day.

despite daley being sick, we managed to get one fairly decent picture.

mother's day 2010: a davies, daley & taylor

my poor little one...

2010-05-08T11:34:00.001-07:00

ugh, i hate when they get sick. both daley and jack caught some sort of virus. i assume they caught something on our trip to the natural history museum, because it was the only place we went all weekend!? ugh...it just figures we try to do something fun and wouldn't ya know they get sick:(
a
on a happier note...i took some pictures of daley, and i am amazed each time with how big she is getting!

happy 4 months!

2010-04-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

it is really hard to believe daley is 4 months old already! i thought time flew with just one baby, but with two kids i feel like we're in constant fast forward!

we went to her well check appt. yesterday. she looks great! despite my thinking reflux was the culprit of her poor sleep and frequent spitting up, the dr. thinks that she could just be a gassy baby who's using me to get back to sleep when she wakes up at night...aha! so here we are again, faced with the decision as to whether or not we let her cry:( i thought for sure she would be a better sleeper than jack, but after having been up with her for over 2 hours in the middle of the night last night, i am starting to think we'll be down the same road we were with jack.

sleep aside, she looks great developmentally. the dr. thinks she's a bit advanced, so of course i will agree;) she did ask if she laughs, and i had to laugh (oh the irony) because we have yet to get "little miss serious" to let out a chuckle!? i told the dr. that we're apparently just not funny enough, and she is not amused!

as for the fact that she is still eating about every 2 hours, she thinks we should start solids. she claims it will help her sleep better, but i'm not holding my breath because it never helped a certain lively 2 1/2 year old. and speaking of food, she clearly is growing just fine...

weight: 14.7 lbs (50-75%)
height: 24 inches (25-50%)
head: 16.3 inches (50-75%)

my feet!!

2010-04-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

just this past week, daley has discovered her feet and it is so fun to watch her grab onto them and smile. she's so happy these days to just roll around on her playmat. i forgot how fun this stage was with jack. they really start to interact and become a bit more independent.

on another note, her stomach seems to be bothering her. i think her reflux has spiked a bit, and it has cause some serious long nights and crying. its so hard to see her in pain, and its even more frustrating because its so hard to make it better. that being said, i have eliminated dairy from my diet with the hope that it will help some. anyone who knows me, knows how hard this is for me...my love of cheese and ice cream runs deep! hopefully this will help, and we won't have to resort to medication.

we had our friends matt and amy, who recently welcomed little miss elizabeth into the world, or as i like to call her miss e:) this was the best pic we could get of these two--they're 1 month apart. my little chubster being the older one!

oh the cuteness:)

2010-04-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

my thumb:)

2010-04-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

and a "what the heck are you doing mom?" look!

hands, hands, fingers, thumb...

2010-04-08T06:09:00.001-07:00

i'm sure many moms know the next line to this book! in this case, this has been all little miss has been into these days. she can roll over, but she's found her thumb, and boy does it taste yummy! in fact, she is not sleeping all that well in the middle of the night if said thumb makes its way to her mouth, sigh...

she still continues to be very serious. i know jack was laughing at this age, but she will not give us a giggle. apparently, we are not funny enough, because she is not amused!!

daley's 1st easter!

2010-04-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

there's really not much to write...it was probably just another day in her mind, but we took lots of pictures and dressed her up nonetheless!

checking out her basket

hanging with her dad:)

showing off her tongue--she sticks it out all the time!

"why so serious?" you might ask...um, that's her usual face. she really is quite the serious girl!

i decided to embarrass her much like i did her brother with this outfit. in my defense, this was a post blow-out outfit change. she almost made it through the whole day without one!?

finally, my non-napping child decided to take a nap:)

only to have her brother scare the crap out of her a mere hour later! i think we'll hold off on co-bathing for a little while longer!

3 months!

2010-03-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

i think i say this every time...i cannot believe she is 3 months old already! i've asked her to stop growing, but judging by her most recent stats (posted below), i'm guessing that's not going to happen anytime soon!

i have to say that daley's personality thus far seems to be a bit on the serious side, as well as a bit short-tempered. while she gives big smiles, she doesn't seem to be all that amused by things, and forget about messing with her when she's not happy in her surroundings, she will for sure let you know!!

we had her 3 month well check, and she is doing very well. the dr. commented on how "emotionally mature" she is--see above;) she is very aware of where people are--she's been following me around the room for over a month now...probably because i'm her meal ticket!? now along with her emotional maturity, wouldn't it be fabulous if she would start to mature in the sleep department:)

here are her stats:
height- 23.5 inches
weight- 12 lbs 12 oz.
head- 15.9 inches

she's in the 25-50% on all accounts...perfect!

here she is for the first time in the doorway jumper...it'll be interesting to see if she loves this as much as jack used to!

look at those chicken legs!

she loves her brother...he gets the best smiles out of her!

notice the drool--she drools a lot!

just taking it all in!

a little video...as you can see jack had to get in on the action, which inevitably lended itself to "parenting" as mike would call it!

1st st. patrick's day...

2010-03-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

as you can see daley is not impressed!? it could be because she is sleeping horribly, but that's just my assumption. come on little one...momma needs some sleep!

ooh, my hands...

2010-03-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

over the last two weeks, in addition to rolling over, daley has really started to find her hands. she holds them out in front of her and just looks at them--it is so cute! of course they go right into her mouth once she sees them...i'm sure this is the way it will be with all new discoveries over the next year;) i was never a fan of the "everything has to go in my mouth" phase, me being the germaphobe that i am!

another recent discovery is her voice, and boy does she like to use it! while most of the time she is sweetly cooing, her temper has already shone through when she is no longer happy where you have placed her. she also seems to have a love/hate relationship with a couple of her toys...one minute she's talking to them and the next thing you know she is yelling and visibly upset by them. just like a lady to change her mind like the wind!?

here are some cute pics of the little lady...

look at these cheeks!!

rolling over...not a fluke!

2010-03-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

so i mentioned daley rolled over at the doctor's the other day. that was a belly-to-back roll. well, she rolled over back-to-belly 2 nights ago--in her swaddle no less!? mike went in to get her when she woke up 10 minutes after being put down (that's a whole other issue!), and there she was on her belly and quite annoyed about it! since she wasn't really awake, i'm guessing she did it while asleep!! oy...bye-bye swaddle:(

2 months!

2010-03-03T18:09:00.001-08:00

it really is hard to believe we had daley's 2 month well check today. as much a part of our family she has become, it really does seem like she just got here!

here are her stats:
weight- 11 lbs 6 oz. (50-75%)
height- 21.5 in (5-10%)
head- 14.7 in (5-10%)

she is doing so well. she is smiling, cooing up a storm, and she even "calls" me with the same little yell every time. she actually rolled over on the exam table today!? they say the 2nd one always develops faster, but i'm not sure i'm ready for a verbal and mobile 2 month old! now if we could just get her to nap for more than 20 minutes at a time in her own bed we'd all be much happier around here:)

brotherly love:)

smiles and coos...

2010-02-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

this is probably the most fun part about her age--her smile when she sees you in the morning! she seems to be a very easy going baby thus far. when she wakes up she kind of just lays there, looks around and coos for a bit. its been so fun watching her develop, and it really is so true that no two children are alike!

the best valentine pic i could get...

to my valentine's...

2010-02-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

i love you with all my heart. you make me smile and laugh each and every day. you've taught me strength, patience & humility. without all of you my days would be, well, very quiet, but lonely! thank you for showing me how fulfilling my life could be and is.

happy valentine's day!

love,
mom, mama, mommy, kris

one month stats

2010-02-04T03:15:00.000-08:00

it has been brought to my attention (thanks greg!?), that daley might start to get a complex from my negligent blog posting...alas, i have been a bit lax. in my defense we're still adjusting to our new routine and searching for some sense of normalcy!

we had daley's one month yesterday, and to say she has grown a little would be an understatement! the little piggy is now 10 pounds exactly and 21 inches!! i cannot believe how big she has gotten. the dr. was also impressed with her leg strength--she can already plant her feet flat and stand, which is apparently a 2-3 month development. this doesn't surprise me because my ribs have yet to recover from her little legs constantly kicking me!?

daley is also starting to make eye contact and coo a bit at you...its pretty cute. her temperament is definitely more subdued than her older brother's was...she'll just wake up and look around in the bassinet, as opposed to jack who would wake up screaming immediately for food!

here is a pic from when jack was 2 months...do you think they're related!?

4 weeks

2010-01-26T09:39:00.001-08:00

another sleepless week:) daley is getting a little better with her sleep stretches. however, she really only wants to be held. this would be fine if there wasn't a precocious two year old running amok!

mike will tell you otherwise, but i swear she smiled at me yesterday...he claims its gas, which considering most of his smiles are gas related, i can see why he would think that! i however will say it was her first real smile.

she is still a bit under the weather, and i am on my way to the dr. for the 3rd time in 2 1/2 weeks--she must think i'm a real rookie;) i'll be sure to update the outcome later, but let's pray that it is in fact still just a lingering cold.

here are some adorable pictures:

3 weeks old

2010-01-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

hard to believe we've made it through 3 weeks already! the last week has been a rough one--not only has jack been sick, but daley caught a bit of it as well. thankfully it turned out to be just a cold because i was so leary it would end up being more.

she seems to be on the up and up, and has decided that the evening is party time?! its almost as if she knows we're trying to get dinner, bath and bed accomplished, and decides to mess with us;) couple that with 3 hours of cluster feeding and you can just imagine why my posts have been so few and far between as of late!

i took some pics today in hopes of getting a nice birth announcement photo, but i think we'll head back to the drawing board. here are some of my favorites...

daley's first bath

2010-01-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

hard to believe little miss will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, but like usual, time flies! she had her first "real" non-sponge bath this morning. like a lady, she was very even-tempered about it. she kind of just took it all in and seemed to enjoy it a bit. if she's anything like her brother she will come to love bath time!

post-bath, all tuckered out!

and for fun, here's jack's first bath pic...in typical jack fashion he let it be known he was not happy!!

9 days and counting:)

2010-01-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

hard to believe she's 9 days old already, but she is! its funny because she looks a lot like jack to me, but then there is something about her that is distinctly different--other than her girl parts;)

she's very even tempered so far...i say this with hesitation, because i don't want to jinx it! her sleep is still pretty erratic, but that is to be expected at this point. i'm trying to keep her to no more than 3 hours of sleep at a time during the day, and that has been tough given the fact that she of course wants to sleep for long periods during the day and then get up to eat every hour to hour and a half during the night!

we had her 1 week check-up on monday, and she looked great! after leaving the hospital at 6lbs 2ozs, she's already exceeded her birth weight and weighed in at 6lbs 15ozs!! she did get her hep b shot, but i chickened out and made mike hold her for it. we head back next week, so hopefully the visits will continue to go well.

here are some pics from the week...

i love the newborn bug-eye look:)

ok so i know its not really a smile, but how cute is this!?

welcome to the world...

2010-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

daley olivia taylor
12/28/09
3:18 pm
6lbs 6ozs

daley taylor

sick...

fun word mispronunciations....

what a difference a year makes...

on the eve of your 2nd birthday...

christmas take two!

pint-sized super hero!

sugar and spice...

my *almost* two year old...

snowman is sick...

daley, daley, daley....

my little ballerina!

little miss sunshine...

i love you mama!

apple picking!

not to be forgotten about...

"hello. what's up?"

it's funny...

tea party...jackie comin?

hurricane who?

first boat ride!

"horsies"...neigh, neigh...

stubborn!

first wedding!

beach baby:)

happy 4th!

happy father's day!

first haircut!

bronx zoo!

happy 17 months!

choo, choo, beep, beep...

words!

woe is me...

happy easter!

painting fun!

mmmmm....pear!

15 months!

right now...

happy st. patty's day!

poor little one...

happy 14 months!

where did my baby go?

ch-ch-changes...

mmm...

that?

oh the drama....

twelve month stats

likes/dislikes

happy 1st birthday!

daley's first christmas!

santa?

denial...

"daley, no!?"

all i want for christmas...

and...this is why we always close the bathroom door!?

all dressed up!

all done!

happy 1st halloween!

9 month well check & happy 10 months!

crawling, da da, and quite the temper...

nine months:)

precocious...

milestone:)

happy 8 months!!

central park

uh, oh...

my first hair barette!

milestone:)

i don't know...

happy seven months!

more HHI pics:)

hilton head

6 months and her first tooth!

6 month stats!

i'm in trouble...

speaking of monkeys;)

baptism

5 month stats

happy (belated) 5 months!

who needs sleep...

my almost two year old...