She's 1!

So this is going to be a ridiculously long post with way too many pictures...but I have a lot to record and I selected these photos from the over 200 pictures I took this week.  We've had an eventful 3 days. 

Mowing the lawn - a new spectator sport

May 11 Hadley had surgery to have tubes placed in both ears.  Even though we've been through this procedure with Miles and know the doctor and are familiar with the hospital it still is scary and unnerving to think of your baby having surgery.  We arrived at the same day surgery area of Ridgeview Medical Center at 6:45 am and got all checked in.  It was really weird to think that almost 1 year from this date we were making the same early morning drive to this hospital to have Hadley!  Anyway, babies get to just stay in their pjs and we were one of four families in the check-in/recovery rooms awaiting tubes that morning.  I can't say enough positive things about all of the doctors, nurses and care we received while there.  Everyone took exceptional care of Hadley.  She was taken back into surgery in her pink, fuzzy pjs with her little stuffed lamb and purple pacifier at 8:00 am.  Mike and I went to sit in the waiting room and at 8:07 we were called back to talk to the ENT.  He reported that everything went very well and that the fluid in Hadley's ears was thick and infected.  This reaffirmed for us that we made the right decision.  Our baby has been living with plugged and infected ears probably most of her life.  At 8:20 the nurses brought her to us.  She was crying and you could tell she was dizzy.  She cried off and on for a few minutes and didn't want the nurse to listen to her heart but she handled everything like a little trooper.  I overheard one of the nurses ask the anesthesiologist if he was giving the babies angel gas because they were all doing so well.  Mike and I just cuddled her in the recovery area until 9:00 when we were released to go home.  That morning she ate and drank like normal and snuggled on my lap.  After her nap she was back to her usual funny and wild self.  Now she has to have ear drops put in twice a day for the next 7 days.  We are so thankful that everything went well and our little daughter is healthy again!

Yep, I'm feeling better!

Miles was a trooper during this weekend when he wasn't really the center of attention
-  a very difficult thing for a 2 year old!

Crawling everywhere and getting herself stuck in small spaces.

On May 12 we celebrated the 1st birthday of the most wonderful little girl in the world.  Hadley was born early in the morning just one year ago this date.  Oddly, this year she woke up crying at 4:25 am.  I brought her into bed with us thinking - at this time last year we were just starting out for the hospital.  She woke up again with a little cry at 5:30 am - just about the time she was born.  These were sweet little moments, although early, for me to reflect on how just one year ago she was newly part of our lives.  We started off  Hadley's birthday celebration by crowning her the birthday girl and had her favorite breakfast, pancakes and bananas.  

 She then got the gift I was most excited to give -  a new deluxe play kitchen.  Both kids loved it and have spent many hours cooking and rearranging their play food and dishes.  Only a few fights have broken out over who gets to open the silverware drawer. 

 In our family your first taste of cake comes on your first birthday.  Hadley's first cake she got all to herself.  (When I went to pick up her cakes that morning the baker presented me with two "Happy Birthday Haeley" cakes.  I thought she was joking until I saw the misspellings for myself.  They did their best to correct the spelling and gave us both cakes for free.  As a joke we've been shouting "happy birthday Haeley" all weekend.)  This little sweetie was tentative at first - just poking one little finger into the cake.  Soon though both hands were squishing and squashing that cake to pieces. 

We actually had a real birthday cake (one for eating) after dinner.  We debated a lot about what to serve for Hadley's big day.  We settled on grilled steak, cheesy potatoes and fruit.  This is a meat and potatoes girl - she ate so much!  We then sang and ate cake.  We had a beautiful day celebrating with our beautiful daughter. 

Today we celebrated Mother's Day.  Everyone let me sleep in until 7:30 when they climbed into bed with me and gave me their homemade gifts.  Miles made me a beautiful colored candle holder and Hadley gave me a painted apron.  Mike made breakfast and we spent the morning playing and doing yard work outside.  After naps we went to Excelsior Beach and strolled along the water, swung on the swings and watched the boats.  Tonight we went out for a sushi dinner.  I always feel lucky to be Miles and Hadley's mommy and don't need a holiday to celebrate it.  We had such a nice day though - I wish we could do this everyday!  Today was extra special because it's my first Mother's Day as Hadley's mama.  I'm so thankful for these wonderful children.  Happy Mother's Day everyone!