Hadley is 5 months!

Doodle-bug! My how time flies.  To be honest, I cannot even believe you are 5 months old now.  Other ladies at mommies work are bringing in their newborns and you look so incredibly big comparatively.  It's hard to wrap my head around it!

Here's a snap-shot of what you have accomplished this month!

YOU

• weighed 15 lb 4 oz and measured 24.5" at your 5 month appointment
• can pass a toy from one hand to the other
• grab things out of mommy's hand before i can stop you...
• roll over every time we put you on your tummy
• can put your own binki in your mouth (and even your bottle!)
  
• grab your feet and suck your toes
  
• can sit up for a few minutes
• giggle
• sigh
• do the horse thing with your lips
• got your ears pierced!
  
• started eating solid foods.  you're favorite is strawberry banana!
• have officially grown out of all your 3-6 months clothes and are fitting into 6-9 month outfits.
• love love LOVE your jumper
• talk talk talk talk talk!
  

First Hewitt Thanksgiving

What a big year for the Hewitt's and the most exciting part is starting all of our family traditions!  Thanksgiving is the first of the major holidays we were able to celebrate as a new family.  Unfortunately, we were too far away to join any family this year, but it was nice being able to have it - just the four of us - and create some of our own traditions.

No one ever tells you when you are married that holidays are one of the odd times of the year that you truly have a fixed idea of what has to be or else its "not really Thanksgiving" or "not really Christmas."  What I mean is that, at Thanksgiving, I have found out that what food is served and how it is cooked is what makes it "Thanksgiving."   Ours was no different and Will and I having to come to some sort of middle ground of what would be served was an interesting endeavor at that.  He wanted broccoli casserole and cornbread stuffing.... I wanted candied sweet potatoes and cranberry jello salad...Will wanted cranberries out of a can (i mean REALLY??? a can??...pshaww!).  So, after much debate, we finally settled on OUR family menu: smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing, broccoli casserole, cranberry jello salad, candied sweet potatoes and cherry pie (to which I had no idea that Will hated cherry pie...fail).

Will received a new smoker for his birthday (yay me!) and this would be our first use of it.  I should've known....the turkey came out a little well done, at least on the white meat part (which is the only part I'll eat).  But, none the less, it was still tasty and he did a great job!  He stayed up all night cooking the turkey and slept on the couch.  So sweet!

obviously she wasn't happy the sign was on her head...or that she couldn't partake in dinner!

Also, while on Thanksgiving break we decorated our first Christmas tree.  First we were going to decorate the fake tree and then realized in our new home, it looked rather tiny.  So, in the true spirit of Christmas, and Will missing getting a live tree from his dad's garden center... we did the next best thing and purchased one from Home Depot!

Can't wait until Christmas is here and we agree upon which traditions to start on Christmas day! So much fun having a new family with a new baby and doing everything together as a first!

Merry Christmas ya'll!

Wilkes' 2nd Star Day

I'm a little delayed in this post as this is about Wilkes' November star day.  But, hey, two kids, a job, a house to keep running, who has time for blogging?!

This month's Star Day theme was "Favorite Stuffed Animal."  Wilkes decided to take Spiderman, which technically isn't an animal, but it is a stuffed toy, so we met 1 out of 2 requirements.  So, when he got to show the class his favorite stuffed MANimal, he told them it was his favorite b/c he got it at a fair.

The class then gets to ask questions to Wilkes about it and he explained to me that if someone asks the same question as someone else or asks a question that he already gave the answer to when explaining why it is his favorite then he gets to tell them "sorry, someone already asked that question" or "I already explained that."  This is apparently to promote better listening skills amongst the kindergartner's.

Some of the questions he was asked were:

Q: Do you sleep with him at night?
W: No, I don't. I just like him a lot.

Q:Do you play with it?
W: I did a long time ago

Q: Where did you get it?
W: I already answered that. At the festival.


Next month's Star Day theme "Favorite Game"

Hadley is 4 months!

Oh sweet Hadley, I cannot believe how fast time is flying by!  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was in the hospital anxiously awaiting your arrival and now you, my baby girl, are 4 months old!  Here's a look at what has happened to you this past month.

YOU

• weigh 13lbs 12 oz!!!
• give "kisses" by just opening your mouth right on mom and dad's cheeks (sometimes you lick!)
• reach out and grab anything that's within your reach, especially if its colorful.
• scream, little happy screams and like to hear us scream back
• sit on the table in a bumbo chair
  
  
  
  
  
  
• smile back and someone who smiles at you
• kick your feet against anything they touch
• chew on anything in your hands
• love to have your calves and legs massaged when your upset
• love Fleetwood Mac and when mommy sings their songs to you.  Your favorite is "Songbird".  And much like mommy you dislike any of the songs sung by Stevie Nicks.
• received your first exersaucer but are very unsure of it.  I think it is because your little legs are still a tad too short to reach the ground so you aren't sure what to do! 

  

  your thanksgiving bib

The Hewitt's Go North

What an eventful weekend we just had!  After about 5 visits from my brother and sister-in-law down to see us, our family was due to return the favor and venture up north to their homestead in Green Bay. There was a big build-up to this trip.  Wilkes had been waiting with baited breath ever since we set the date, mainly because my brother had told him about this Wildlife Sanctuary that had a slide that made you feel like you were going under water. That's all he could talk about.

My brother & Tiffany were nice enough to invite Tiffany's niece and nephew down to play with Wilkes for the weekend.  So, they we were, 4 adults and 5 children.  OUTNUMBERED!  But, they all had a great time.  Wilkes and Maddie (5) really kicked it off and by the end of the trip Wilkes was crying having to leave and Maddie told that she was "really going to miss him."  Each night we fell asleep to the kids playing and talking in the tent downstairs.  Will and I were even able to sneak in a mid-afternoon nap on Saturday and this is the conversation between Wilkes and Maddie that I fell asleep to.

Wilkes:  No, you go in there b/c I have to rescue you
Maddie: No, your going to pretend to be my father
Wilkes: NO! I'm the guard and I have to rescue the princess, so you stay here and I'll make Bryce pretend like he is coming to take you away

Wilkes with his bow & arrow he used to save the princess

(I give Wilkes props for standing his ground.  Father and love interest are two VERY different roles and he knew which one he wanted :) )

We did lots of other fun things too! We took the kids fishing, they saw all kinds of animals at the Wildlife Sanctuary (however upon arriving we found out the slide was broken so no under water feeling for us), we went out for ice cream and pizza, and played on the property with the sheep!  The Sanctuary even had a mini-playground with a rope type thing that looked like a spider web.  Of course Wilkes had to pretend!

Hadley is 3 months!

Dear Hadley,

These past few weeks have been a full of excitement for you.  Here's what happened! :)

YOU

• Weighed 12lb 4oz and measured 23.5 inches at your latest doctors appointment.  Which means no weight gain for you but a whole 1.5 inches!
• have successfully completed your first full month at daycare and you love it and they love you! It makes mama so happy to know you are so spoiled during the day. But, mama still has a hard time being away from you! I definitely have my days at work where I just want to be home snuggling you on the couch instead :)
• talk so much! You'll sit and talk to us for 30-40 min in the mornings!
• are beginning to sleep longer and longer.  We had a few nights where you slept 6 hours in a row!
• are starting to watch TV with big brother Wilkes.  The colors fascinate you. 
  
  
  
  
• are very close to being able to roll over.  You've perfected the "scoot" and we often wake up to find you completely 180 from the position we laid you down in.  Unfortunately for mama this typically means I get the feet or butt in the face while daddy gets the baby! (seriously, you need to learn to not kick the hand that feeds you, literally)
  
• definitely recognize mom and dad.  We can get lots of smiles out of you now!
• Have had your first trip to the Apple Orchard.  It's the same Apple Orchard mommy grew up going to all her life! I loved being able to share that with you.  Grampy certainly wouldn't put you down!
  
• watch with big eyes to figure out how everything works 
• can't keep your hands out of your mouth! No matter how hard we try all you want to do is suck on them. 
• just started eating rice cereal with your milk.  I am not quite sure if you are all about it yet or not, you drink it so fast but are so fussy after!
• Look just like your mommy when I was your age.  Only you will decide if you like that or not when you're older!
  
• LOVE your activity play mat.  We can leave you to play with it for about 20-30 min until you've decided you've had enough.
• Have  discovered that we have pets and you like them!  You let Jax give you kisses all the time and don't get angry anymore :)  He loves you, even if you did steal his spot on the couch!
  
  
  

Wilkes wrote his first book

Ladies and Gentleman I now present to you from the most esteemed and creative Wilkes Hewitt, "I have a Monster under my bed"

Cover Art

"I know I have a monster under my bed"

"I can hear him when I sleep"

"Then I told my mom"

"But I know where he is at night"

"I think the monster eats my parents"

"Then I heard 'ho ho ho'"

(Ho Ho Ho is the evil laugh of the monster)

"I do not know much about him"

"oh, I think the monster wants to eat me"

"I want the monster gone"

"I know something"

"The end"