What we've been up to....

So, during the entire computer fiasco we still led a pretty normal life. Imagine that, my life extends BEYOND this computer screen!!

Anyway, at one point in the last bit Hailey and I had our friends Chantelle and Jocelyn over for some yummy food and just to hang out. It was so nice to see these two girls and I'm soooo sad they live so far away!! I wish we just lived downstairs from them still. Anyway, the girls decided they wanted to match, so the moms decided we needed to take pictures:

They're great friends, can you tell?

We also ate some YUMMY cinnamon buns. Ben's mom sent me This Recipe and they are to DIE for!



Hmmm, what else have we been up to? Oh...we just bought one of These

This one to be exact:



Hmmm, oh we also had a baby shower for this little darling....



She's the one on the right AND she's Hailey's cousin in case you were wondering. Check out her hair! Can she get any cuter???? This little cousin of Hailey's is in Japan rigth now and we miss her and her mom sooooo much..That lucky girl, she's got people loving on her from all over the world!

And here's one of Hailey just being cute:


One of her loving a shoulder ride in Raymond


And one of her being oh so grown up


We also spent a day with the The Taylor Girl's at one point...I can't forget them. That was so fun. Jadyn so full of personalilty and was so fun to hang out with. Heidi, is just perfect. Seriously, She's the dream baby.And Laura's always fun to be around - you just can't beat hanging out with an old friend. I'm also so sad these girls live so far away....maybe I just need to move back home so I can see my friends more often. Or....maybe that just means I should start making friends where I live. Can I do both??

And finally....we had a fun easter. We spent Friday and Saturday in Raymond with Ben's family and then Sunday with mine. But I forgot my camera, so when my mom decides to email me some pictures of Hailey trying to get her easter eggs then I'll share. I just have to say though, it was soooo fun watching the older kids hunt down their eggs. Soooo cute! Nad of course Hailey was a doll, in her whiney kind of way. You know what I mean.

I'm back

So...I reformatted my computer. I researched as much as I could and I felt like I was totally prepared for it. And I was...for the most part. Except for the whole part where I didn't make a copy of my recovery discs before I started the reformat, and then the computer ate my discs (literally) and then the company that sold me my computer decided it's not getting along with the company that made the computer (who is also not getting along with the real company that made the computer). Which all means...my computers a write off. Normally you can just buy recovery discs from your manufacturer. For example, if it was a dell, I'd just log onto the dell website, and order them or $30-$50. But when you buy a computer from a certain Canadian Electronics company (should I name names?? Let's just say they are supposedly in the 'future'), who claims the computer is their store brand, but then decides a year later that they no longer want a store brand computer. So that 'store brand' decides to cut all ties with the store and also with the real manufacturer of the computer. Meaning, there are three companies out here who have access to the recovery discs I need...but all three companies are refusing to cooperate. And trust me I've tried. I spent probably 6 hours on the phone with the true manufacturer, another six with the brand name company, and another six with the store. Plus....I spent a good half hour in the store trying to buy them from the techies....who were soooo uncooperative and sooooo unrealistically rude. Basically, I left that store in tears (and so steaming mad that I had to 'cool' off in the car for a few minutes before I drove away).

Anyway, if you followed this saga, you're a saint! Basically all I wanted to get out was that I had a totally legit reason for not blogging...and also that I'm still bitter about the whole computer thing. So, as it sits right now, we have a perfectly good computer that is temporarily useless because it's waiting for recovery discs that may never appear. In the mean time we had to buy a new computer so I can do all sorts of wonderful things, like blogstock, check Facebook, write complaint letters to companies that won't sell me recovery discs and so on.

Also...in between all this computer madness...we've had a pretty busy few weeks. I'll update you on all that later. But until then here is a picture of the Hailey babe in her toothy glory:



Cute hey??

I hate my computer!

Seriously, I do. Well...it's sort of a love hate thing. I loooove that it cares enough for me that it gives me the Internet (meaning all my blogs and Google - oh and of COURSE Facebook). But I hate that it's super messed up. We've got viruses or something. Whatever the problem is, I can't do a thing on here! The screen freezes....blacks out...freezes and then works about every three or four seconds. So, in the time it's taken to write this blog I've had to sit and wait three times while it figured out what it's supposed to be doing. All I can say is this mouse is very very lucky the computer room is right next to Hailey's room otherwise I would not keep stopping myself mid throw. Seriously, I've had the mouse in my hand, ready to throw it at the screen and then a little voice reminds me that Hailey's sleeping and I should wait to complete my rage toss later. Ugggh. So anyway, I'm going to reformat this computer. We've got everything backed up...we've got all our installation disks and things are good to go...EXCEPT....we are missing our Microsoft Office installation disk. Waaaahhhh. We bought a legitimate copy of it and now we can't find it. So frustrating. Needless to say, the computer reformat is ON HOLD until we find that disc...because I'm no where near ready to spend a load of money on something when I already own it. So, that means I'll have to continue this self restraint thing and try to keep the mouse and keyboard intact, and I might just not blog nearly as much because I can't get anything done. Ahhhh! Anyway...that's my life.

5 Years

So...it's been five years! Ben and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary and boy did we celebrate! We went for dinner and a movie! Amazing how before kids that would have been the lamest anniversary ever, and now after kids it's like the biggest treat ever! My parents came over and watched Hailey so Ben and I could have a night out alone! It was fun. We went to the 'Bucket list'...which I would highly recommend. I almost never recommend movies, but this one was so cute and so touching. Go see it! Anyway, Hailey had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa...who have now turned into full time babysitters. I'm just so glad they made the time to come out and play with the Hailey Babe. Maybe next year we'll do something really cool for our anniversary, so we don't sound so lame. But, Ben did score some serious brownie points last week.

On Tusday he bought me one rose:

On Wednesday he bought me two more...so total of three:

On Valentines Day he bought me three more...so a total of 6. (sorry no picture of that one...it's still on the camera)
And then on our Anniversary (the 15th) he bought me 6 more...a full dozen! Plus a cala lily -which was our wedding flower. (also no picture yet)

Serious Brownie points! Oh...he also got me a gift cert. for a mannicure, pedicure and a massage. Ahhh...I can't wait! Hailey and I made him a little album of some pics of Hailey and one or two of me. So we weren't really that creative or anything, and I definitely did not score any brownie points, but he thought it was cute. Here's a sample of what he got:



And finally, we decided to paint our wall. After much thought, and tons of feedback we decided to go with the brown. Our couches are a really dark chocolate and our carpet's on the brown end of things so it just made sense. We've also decided to move the art that was originally there and replace it with something like this picture, and to make new accent cushions too. This picture is sort of what it looks like. It's not an actual picture of what we did (I have to clean before I do that), so I just made some pics to put on the wall, coloured the wall and added the cushion. Cute hey? The actual brown on our wall is a very chocolate brown and is not green at all...nothing like this picture, but you get the idea. The paint actually looked like chocolate pudding in the bucket and it took all my will power to not take a bite. Seriously, it looked soooo delicious.



And the original art is now hanging above our bed...and it actually looks really great there. One day, I'll take a picture of it for you...but I have to clean first. And well, I just don't ever feel like cleaning. Oh...and some of you may know the paint story...so I have to fess up. We painted it brown all the way back in November. But, I chose the colour and I did most the painting. Let's just say I have been banned from colour selection and painting for the rest of my life. The brown I chose was more like something you would find in Hailey's diaper after a week of sweet potatoes and peas. Get what I mean? Not so nice. Also, I did half the cutting in of the corners/edges, and all I can say about that is that you really can see where I was working. Big thick streaks of paint. Sort of like a border of paint. Also not so nice. Anyway, we had to do a LOT of sanding and Ben had to choose the colour and paint the wall entirely himself this time. And I didn't mind one bit. Some may think I even planned it that way. I plead the 5th.

Randa...this one's for you

Ok, due to my cousin Randa's request, here are two vidoes of Hailey jumping. Neither are great quality...and definitley no real editing was done. The first video has her jumping to the music...it was playing in the background. I added some music to the second one just to make it more interesting, but it's not really in time with her jumps or anything. If I were my brother, everything would be perfect, but this was something I put together quickly (i.e. 2 minutes). Anyway, Randa, I hope this helps you out a bit and maybe adds a bit of variation to your day. Oh...please give Melia some hugs from her second cousin Hailey.

I lied

Well, sort of. Hailey really is a good sleeper, really she's great and I give all the credit to my babywise obsession. A babywise baby is a good sleeper - I promise...and I know lots of people that can back me up on that one. Believe me, it's the schedule. But I also think it has to do with the fact that we are just given the trials we can handle and losing sleep is just not something I can handle - I NEED to sleep. Some of you remember me from junior high and high school and you KNOW that I was grumpy and moody and difficult to get along with....I was sleep deprived. Ben can back that up as well...we get a long really great - as long as I've had a full nights sleep. But catch me on a sleep deprived day and you'll wish you hadn't even made eye contact. Seriously, sleep deprivation is just not a trial I can have. And I've had my fair share of heartache, so if I get a bit of sleep at night don't hate me. My life is far far far from perfect.

Anyway, onto my lie. I know what you're thinking...I have the perfect baby. Well here it is: Hailey does not sleep 12 hours a night straight. She gets a 'dream feed' about two to three hours into her night - so just before my bedtime. I feed her without waking her up and it works fine for us. She usually sleeps through it and will go back to bed without a problem. This works probably 85% of the time. Which means there is usually one night a week where she does not sleep all night. Like last night for instance...or actually the night before. Oh actually this whole week! She had a killer ear infection on sunday night and was up ALL night long. My baby does cry at night. So we got up with her and cuddled and rocked and tried everything to get her back to sleep. Then on Tuesday she slept great out of pure exhaustion...but Wedensday, well, let's just say I gave in. She hardly ate (drank?) anything all day long and she hardly had any wet diapers, so when I heard a little peep from her in the middle of the night I decided to feed her. She NEEDED her fluids. And then that's where it started. Thursday night I heard another peep from her and because I was having company the next day (Hi Laura :))I wasn't really up for spending the whole night trying to put her back down. So I fed her again and she went back to sleep....which means that last night she woke up expecting to eat again. So there you have it. Hailey's has a bad week...but to me this is just a glitch and not the norm (hopefully). Which is why I can say that she sleeps through the night, because when she's not teething and doesn't have an ear infection she sleeps well. I just have to get back to that way of life, and now that I've set a new precedent it may take some work. So please don't hate me for having a baby that sleeps. Cause she sure didn't this week.

But she still is the perfect baby...aren't they all? She's just perfectly our baby and she's just perfectly Hailey.

6 Months

Ok, it's time for Hailey's big 6 month post. Well, she's actually going to be 7 months in a week, but I still think I need to do this. It's the least I can do. I'm not one of those moms who takes lots of pictures of my baby (well at least not lots of good pictures), I don't scrapbook her pictures at all, I haven't made a baby book for her and so on. I just feel like I need to do more, like I need to be one of those crafty Mormon moms...she is my first baby you know. So if this is what I'm like with one kid - imagine what number 3 (or dare I say 4?) is going to have to deal with. At this rate, that kid will get one picture in the Hospital and one for each year of his life and that's it! My poor posterity. Anyway, here is a little collage I put together of Hailey and a little update on what she's doing. The collage idea is stolen from Ben's famous sister Rebecca Cooper (many of you know of her). My collage really has nothing on hers since she actually has some photography talent, she has a real camera, she has photoshop, and she's creative. Me on the other hand...I just plain old think my baby's cute - and that's good enough for this collage. So you won't see any pro pictures and you won't see any real editing, but you will see lots of one cute little girl. Does it work for you?? It does for me. So here it is:

Hailey, at 6 months you:
-love to roll over (but only from you back to your tummy...you still haven't figured the other direction out)
-are still not a fan of tummy time, but...you definitely are getting better at it
-have started to pull yourself up onto your knees, and almost onto all fours
-like to stand up and can do it all by yourself as long as there's something to hold onto
-L-O-V-E your jolly jumper, you just adore it
-also LOVE your exersaucer
-can sit up...not just a little bit, but really really well
-have 5 teeth, and two more on their way-they should be here by tomorrow
-weigh 17 pounds (50th percentile)
-are in the 75th percentile for height...tall little girl
-are in the 95th percentile for your head size...lots of brains
-are very very curious...you want to see, touch and hear everything
-sleep 11-12 hours at night and take two 2 hour naps a day
-you still nurse a few times a day, eat solids a few times a day and take a bottle every once in a while
-You say 'mmmmm' every time you eat anything
-you still love your thumb
-have had one awful ear infection, poor baby
-smile all the time
-brighten your mommy and daddy's lives more than anything else

We love you Hailey babe...thank you for being so perfect.

Flashback

Remember these two?
They would be: Hailey and her Friend Jocelyn. They are 6 months apart and boy did that seem like such a huge difference then. Hailey was just barely two months and Jocelyn was a fun 8 months. I remember thinking that day how I just could not wait until Hailey was as old as Jocelyn and could do tons of fun stuff - like smile on demand, sit up and basically just be the perfect baby. Well...they are still 6 months apart (surprising?) but it seems like less of a gap now. Well at least as far as their size goes. Hailey now smiles more...but not on demand, she does sit up too...but I'm not sure what a perfect baby is though. I thought for sure by 6 months I'd have it all figured out...turns out it just gets more confusing. Who knew? Anyway, Jocelyn turned 1 this month and we went to her Birthday bash last weekend. It was so fun - especially watching the girls together. They are going to be good friends one day. however, right now all they are to each other is soft-squishy things they can pinch and poke and pet and prod. Fun times. Here's evidence that babies do eventually grow:

Hailey still looks at Jocelyn with wonder...she really is amazing.

I'm pretty sure Hailey just stole that toy from Jocelyn and is avoiding eye contact so she doesn't get in trouble.

Awww...best buds

So Jocelyn's a petite little girl (i.e 10-15th percentile) and Hailey's a monster kid (i.e. 75th percentile - at least her height, her head size is the 95th percentile - she's definitely a Woodruff). So that kind of explains why they're so close in size.

On to other news...Hailey's top teeth came in. Turns out they weren't her fangs...but just her side two (totally don't know the 'real' terms here). Here's a little peak of them...and her new smile.


The close up

What's with the squinty eyes? We KNOW she does not get that from me.

Oh, do you like her bedding? I made it all! The crib bumpers are my favourite...no pattern or anything. Pretty cool hey? I started them in June, so it took me only...oh...7 months? not bad. You'll notice they're really floppy and flimsy...that was on purpose though. I wanted them there so she would stop hitting her head on the crib, but I wanted them thin enough that you could breathe through them...and I tested it out. So they work, they're not the best, but good enough for me. Oh and please disregard the puke on her sheets. My mom saw these pictures already and told me to wash her sheets next time I take pictures of her...to which I responded with 'I'll just edit the puke out'. I kind of don't think that was her point though. Anyway I still haven't washed the sheets and I didn't edit the puke out either. What's wrong with me? At least she now sleeps with her head at the other end...until her sheets are washed that is. Oh, and I need to justify that bathroom picture from my previous post a bit more...that's a our second bathroom (or third, depending on which order you're counting) and it never gets used. So it was clean. And I had just washed the mat she was on, oh and that floors. It was clean, I swear!

That's it for today. I do have a bunch of pictures of Hailey and a little '6 month old' official post to make. But I have to upload my pictures first and then edit them a bit, and I have to do some cleaning (and obviously laundry) some time before that too. But soon, I promise.

Should this embarrass me?

Ok...first of all I have to thank everyone for fessing up to blog stalking! I love that I'm not the only one and I love that people actually read my blog. Oh...I also love that I now have a few blogs to read/stalk myself. So, keep stalking! In a good non creepy way of course.

Anyway, onto the embarrassing thing...what do you think? Is it bad that this is where Hailey napped the other day?
In my defense, she was really really not feeling well (she was trying to cut one of her eye teeth) and the only place she would sleep is in the bathroom where it was dark - with the fan on. How did I discover this you may ask? Well, as most moms would know, you will do almost anything to get your baby to sleep and this just happened to be on of many tricks I tried that day - and surprisingly it worked. Two full hours of napping bliss! Don't worry there's a sleep positioner there and she doesn't know how to roll out of it yet... so it wasn't dangerous. But I might have to set up a play pen in there for future desperation naps. Want to hear something even more embarrassing? In true first time mom fashion, I took Hailey to the Urgent Care center earlier that morning. I was certain she had an awful ear infection and I needed something to be done about it. But, after the doctor checked her over (and laughed silently...I know he did), he sent us away with the diagnosis of 'Teething". Ever heard of it? Seriously, that's embarrassing. Urgent Care!! Teething?? Who does that? First time moms, that's who. Once again though, in my defense, she doesn't even have her other top teeth yet, so when I was looking for teeth to rule teething out I didn't even think to look at her fangs. So there you have it, this baby has her two bottom teeth, one fang and one on it's way in. She's my fangle toothed little baby. Cutest little vampire ever! I'll have to get pictures.

Anyway, here are some more pictures of the Hailey babe:

Helping me with the laundry...or hiding from the camera

Getting ready for some yummmmmmy butternut squash. Seriously, I'm the best mom too (a little self praise never hurts right?)...I make her baby food and it actually tastes really good. Like today, she had applesauce and sweet potatoe for lunch and when she decided she didn't want it, I was more than happy to finish it off for her. Yum-my.

Anyway, thanks for reading the blog...hope it's not too boring for you! I've got to run and feed to waking baby, she's a bit of a princess and eats the second she wakes. Spoiled?? I think so.

Do you?

Do you ever blog stock? As in read peoples blogs that don't really know you and then don't comment? I'll admit it, I do. I'm so embarassed by it too. There are so many blogs that I read and they have no clue that I'm there. These are ordinary everyday people (not famous bloggers or anything), just people like me! Is that creepy? I don't think it's too creepy, but I think it's funny that I feel like I know their kids and their husbands but I really don't. Ok...so most of the blogs I read are links from blogs of people I actually know. And most of the time they are people I knew growing up from church or something - I may not have ever talked to them and wouldn't ever really keep in touch, but I know who they are at least. And I'm pretty sure they know who I am...and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them have stumbled upon my blog too. But here's where it gets awkward:

Last week I was at the mall with my mom...we were minding our own business, window shopping, etc. And then I looked up and saw a girl from one of the blogs I read and I totally smiled at her...almost waved...and then looked away quickly. Holy awkward. Seriously, I don't even know if I've ever talked to her, I know who she is (because she's somehow connected to a blogger who I actually know), but it's definitely not like we hang out or are buddies. But...but I do read her blog and totally feel like I know her. I feel like I should have said "Hi, how's it going? How's so and so? Is the baby doing ok? Oh...I love what you did with your place...and that shirt you were wearing that one time is so cute...was the holiday as fun as it looked...etc.etc.etc." Now that...that would be creepy.

So do you ever do that too? Or is it just me? Are you blog stalking me right now? If so, please let me know...just so I don't feel so creepy.

It's a new year

Which means I may just start blogging more. I haven't made any real resolutions or anything, but if I did, blogging just might be one of them. I also thought about possibly losing some weight or even getting in shape, but those peanut M&M's on sale everywhere sort of did away with that idea. The justification: I didn't write any resolutions down, so I'm technically not breaking them yet. But I do think getting in shape is a great idea! this baby weight is NOT coming off. Who said Breastfeeding helps lose all the weight?? Well, it doesn't work for me, I'm still holding on to an additional 10-15 pounds (depending on whether you go by my real pre-pregnancy weight, or what I liked to think it was...about 5 pounds difference). So ideally, I need to lose 15 pounds, but it will probably only be 10. I actually started working out there for a bit too, but then Hailey started teething, and I got sick then she got sick, I got sick again and she's sick again. Funny how she's sort of taken over my life and how teething alone can throw all my weight loss track plans of track. Teething?? Come on, I need to be more dedicated. Anyway, since I haven't been working on this weight thing, we've decided that Hailey should at least start working out...or just practicing a healthy lifestyle. Kidding, we're not that mean. But we do think a little time in the jolly jumper can never hurt anyone. So we tried it out and it's been a big hit...so in mommy fashion, I decided to video tape the kid.

A few things to keep in mind when you watch:

1. She likes to jump with a friend in her arms...workout buddy??
2. She jumps more when Ben's around
3. She pukes more when she jumps...she's a pukey baby generally, but we've now entered a new territory of puke (hence the blanket on the floor at all times - it's easier to wash a blanket then to shampoo the floors weekly)
4. I'm still sick...so my voice sounds stuffy and funny (although it always sounds funny to me, but this is worse than normal)
5. We don't have a video camera, so this was shot with our digital - which means the sound's funny and the quality is not so good...oh well.
   

Here it is:


Oh and here are a few still shots of her too:

The classic thumb in the mouth shot

...which was followed by me asking Hailey to take the thumb out for the next picture and then she said:

What do you think I am mom...five???

And finally....look at those teefers! We think she's prepping the top ones as we speak...hopefully in the next few weeks we'll see a few more!

Sick and tired of being...sick and tired

Seriously, we've been too sick around this house for too long! I've been sick for over two weeks...and not just a little but the full blown cough, head going to explode, sore throat type of thing. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and begged for something - anything, but it turns out this stupid thing is viral, so I've just got to tough it out. But man this sucks. And then to make it worse, Hailey's been a total pill lately. I don't know whether she's getting what I have, or she's teething or she just want to make my life more miserable, either way, she'd better get back to the sleeping through the night business quick!

Anyway, a lot has happened in the last month. Christmas mostly!! We had a fun Christmas, we started it out at my parents on Christmas eve and then drove to Raymond late that night to wake up there with Ben's family for Christmas day. BUSY. We slept in the same room as Hailey while we were there - and that was a disaster. When you're not used to sharing a room with your baby it makes for a rough night. Seriously, every noise she made was magnified a million times and I could NOT sleep!! But we made it through and we had a fun time anyway (I think the buttermilk syrup definitely made up for not sleeping. We ate some yummy food... and opened lots of presents.

Anyway, here are some pics of the last month:

It's always fun when a really bad picture ends up looking kind of cool

Ooooh, presents, shiny presents

The family in front of the tree

Baby and mom

Sarah Helping Hailey open her first present...someone looooves paper

Ben and I and Hailey in Raymond (that's me in my 'no makeup, only got 4 hours of sleep' glory)

All the cousins on the Woodruff side in their new pj's that grandma made...can you tell she's used to only boy grandkids?

And on to non Christmas news, we started solids! YAY!!! Hailey seems to really like this solid food business. We started with sweet potatoes - an instant hit. And so far that and peas are the only things she actually likes. Rice cereal? Blech. Avocado? Double Blech. Sweet potato? Mmmmmm.

Oh and at the same time, look at what this kid learned out to do? impressive? I think so!

And finally, we were trying to figure out why this baby kept having so many diaper blowouts...serious blow outs. Well we figured it out:

Time for a new diaper

Oh - and just cause I don't think you'll ever see a cuter droolier baby:

I definitely...

needed to update this blog last week- BUT-I've got a sick little baby and a teething little baby; plus I'm sick too! Thank goodness I'm not teething. So big news though, Hailey's got a tooth...in fact she's probably hours away from cutting her second one. It's there, I can feel it and it looks like it's through, but not quite yet. Let me just tell you though, a 4 month old baby is NOT supposed to get teeth! She's 5 months old today though, so that's a little better, but that first tooth, man oh man was it tough. Also on the good news side of things - she's rolling over! I know it's a bit late, but still pretty exciting! It's so cute too. She's diving all over the place and trying to grab toys too...she so wants to be mobile, but just isn't sure what to do about it. But seriously, if I'm holding her it's got to be one tight grasp because she will do all she can to squirm her way out - she's even mastered the arched back maneuver. I thought I had months before that started...I guess not. Anyway, I have pictures...on my camera though. And I'm too busy right now to transfer them. But I do have this one! It's the magic tooth:

Oh and this one...

my sweet little sleeping baby - who SUCKS HER THUMB!! Ahhh! You won't believe how many people have opinions on that. Everyone tells me that I just have to keep taking it out of her mouth...well I say "my sleep is so much more important than going in her room at night and taking it out" - soooo not worth it. Really if it keeps her asleep at night, which is does, then I don't care. Ask me in two years and I might have a different opinion, but for now I just don't care!

Just had to share....

So maybe I have too much time on my hands, but I couldn't resist. This is my first attempt at making anything, so please...no judging. However, now that I figured out how to do this, they can only get better!

Enjoy:

Tag...I'm it!

Ok...thanks for all your input on the decorating! You've just made it harder though - I was soooo set on the brown and now I'm second guessing the red idea. I do think there needs to be a mantel...and I like the art cover over the TV....although we're thinking of just moving the TV permanently once the basement's developed, that might be an easier solution (thanks for the suggestion Amy...I remember you! It's always fun to know that there are people out there that actually read this blog). So I'll keep you all posted on what we end up doing...hopefully we'll decide on something this week and maybe...just maybe we'll paint on Saturday!

Ok...so onto the regular blogging. I found this little questionnaire on...well... everyone's blog. And since no one tagged me...I'll just do it all my self.

It's all about My hubby:


What is his name? Benjamin McCance

How long have you been married? almost 5 years...Holy Shmokes - where did those 5 years go??

Ok...look at his 'fro - oh man. We thought we were soooo cool. I had crimped hair and he had a bleached blond afro! What were we thinking??

How long did you date? we dated for about 1 year total...9 months of true dating and 3 months engaged...we were young and had to be REAL sure we were making the right decision. So far so good!

How old is he? 27...and a half! He would be so embarrassed that I added the half...I love counting in half years

Who eats more? ME...without a question. I'm a Woodruff..we know how to eat. He's a McCance - they eat like birds. Really, when we have family gathering it's always me and Lauren (another inlaw) going in for seconds. Everyone else is full half way through the meal...light weights.

Who said I love you first? I did...but only after Ben asked me if I loved him...so he kind of made me say it...I was pretty sure I loved him...now I KNOW I love him

Who is taller? Ben

Who sings better? Me...but not because I'm any good...but because Ben doesn't sing.

Who is smarter? Depends...I'm definitely way more book smart - sorry Ben. But he's so much smarter in every other category....so much smarter!

Whose temper is worse? Um me...well I have the louder temper - it's more obvious. He's got one too, you just don't ever no he's mad. Ok...I'm just trying to make myself sound good.

Who does the laundry? Me...unless there's no clean underwear then it's him. I can hold out...Ok that's embarrassing.

Who does the dishes? Me...and only me! I don't even think Ben knows where the dishwasher is!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? when we're laying down I do. I used to sleep on the left, but then this one night I slept on his side and as luck would have it that's the night my water broke. So, I've been banished to the right side from now on. Ben wants nothing to do with that side now. Sorry...TMI i know (TMI=too much information)

Who pays the bills? I do...he used to until I figured out you could do it online, and since Ben doesn't know how to use the computer (crazy I know) I'm stuck doing it.

Who mows the lawn? He does...I don't think I've ever mowed a lawn ever

Who cooks dinner? Me..always! once in a while he'll make sandwhiches...or Kraft Dinner - but that's it!

Who drives when you are together? Always him...especially in the truck.

Who is more stubborn? ME

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Usually me...but I don't always mean it. It's just a way to get him to see how humble I am...and guilt him into apologizing. Ahh, the classic guilt trip.

Whose parents do you see the most? Together? Mine. Alone? His. Ben sees his dad everyday because they work together...we see my parents usually once a week.

Who proposed? Ben did...in a helicopter in the mountains - pretty cool I must say.

Who has more friends? We've got to be equal...we're kind of hermits...so equal in not having any friends.

Who has more siblings? Me - I've got six (including me)...he's got four (including him)

Who wears the pants in the family?Totally depends...we both think we do.

Okay...I need help!

So I don't expect much of a response because I'm sure most of you stopped checking my blog a looong time ago...I'm sure you got bored of the lack of posts. Anyway, for those of you that are still reading...I need some decorating advice. Right now our house is sort of boring...when we built it we only could choose one paint colour and that's still what we have. I alway planned on painting, but never got around to it. Well, now that I'm home all day I think it's about time I made this place look really nice. I want to paint an accent wall...here's a picture of what it looks like right now:


What I don't want to change:

• the layout
• the carpet
• the art work
• the furniture
  

What needs to be changed:

• the wall calour
• the art...i.e. it NEEDS to be framed!
• anything that will make it less boring
  

So here is one idea:

And here's another:

What do you think? Please don't pay attention to the horrible editing job...it's rough - but who has time to make it perfect? NOT ME! I think if I were to frame the pictures that's what they'd look like...although they'd be hanging straight and the angles wouldn't be crazy like they are...once again - I just don't have time to make it perfect.

Anyway please....what do you think? I know there are people out there that don't post or comment...now's your time! Please let me know!

thanks!

oh...and watch out, there will be a bathroom decorating post coming soon. I have a stupidly over sized 'powder room' that needs some serious attention. But that'll come next!

Hailey...

(I got this idea from another blog I read...I love it because now I can remember all Hailey's stages)
At 4 months old you:

• are getting bigger by the minute
• are starting to giggle...just a little
• love it when I put you on the floor...you're not a big fan of being held
• can't quite roll over but you sure try
• spit up sooooo much still...but not nearly as bad as before....thank you for modern medicine
• make eye contact with everyone and give smiles away to anyone...but only one per person
• make all the perfect noises every baby should
• play with all your toys...well at least you grab them and try to suck on them
• love your moms finger...it's way better than your thumb
• still won't take a soother...but that thumb sure tastes good
• eat every 4 hours and take three naps a day
• don't wake up at night to eat any more...at all
• loooove your daddy and talk to him all the time and squeal with joy every time he holds you
  
• still fall asleep in the car...but only if mom holds your soother in...or even better, her finger!
• love getting your diaper changed...especially when you poop - that's funny
• you only poop once a week, but when you do...we all duck and hide until it's over
• have mastered the blank stare...you can give a mean glare too
• love to watch tv...even though it's not always on...you're always looking at it
• make your mom and dad so happy....we love you!
  

4 whole months...

Have passed since Hailey was born. Wow...I can't believe she's that old - she's no longer the smallest baby when we go places...in fact she's a bit of a chunker. Here's a quick comparison...
The first one was when she was not even 24 hours old, and that second picture was her yesterday at exactly 4 months old. Can she get any cuter? I remember putting her in that carseat for the first time and thinking how there was no way she would ever fill it out. Now...she's pretty much the perfect size for it...and at almost 15 pounds she's getting closer to being too big for it! We've got a while still...but gosh she's getting big!

Anyway, we've been busy lately. Last week we went to Calgary and had lunch with some old friends...Laura...Dashanne...and Estelle. Hailey pretty much cried the whole time. Laura and Estelle's girls played the whole time, Dashanne's baby just smiled and sat like an angel the whole time and Laura's baby slept the whole time. It was fun though!! Here's one quick pic...so you get an idea of what they girls were like...Hailey had just about had it!

So I didn't put their names on the picture just because I wasn't sure if you girls were comfortable with that...also if you want me to remove this pic from my blog I will...just let me know!

Ok...onto the business at hand. Then the next day Rebecca and Randal came up for a visit with their newest member of the family - Addie! Hailey is very very excited to have a cousin so close in age! They are only three months apart! So we visited with them and got to know their little baby girl...we're very excited to watch her grow up...we know she'll be friends with Hailey!

So then later in the week I hung out with Tan...we're often husbandless on the weekends so we used to get together all the time (before Hailey came around). Anyway, we finally decided to get together again...well I finally got up the guts to spend the evening away... and we had a movie night on Saturday - just for us girls - well and anyone else who wanted to come, but most people have husbands around on the weekends. Anyway, before the movie we got the kids all bundled up and took them for a walk...in the freezing-cold-windy-weather...we were desperate to get out:


And then yesterday Hailey and I went out to Airdrie and spent the afternoon with Becc and my friend Chantelle. We had lunch...ate way too much food and just hung out. It was nice to see them again...Hailey loves watching Chantelle's little girl move around and she loves it when Becc's Bradley pets her head. He's sooo cute! They are all so cute!

And that's it! It's been a busy few weeks for me...although I'm sure that would be normal for most of you...but for the Hailey-babe and me, we're used to just hanging out around the house. It was nice to get out, but we're looking forward to some down time now.

I like Pumpkins

But this one I love!





Ok - I'm not a pro...so not a pro at taking pictures...but I thought I'd play around with my camera and they turned out half decent. But it's definitely not something I plan to pursue...at least not until I get some proper equipment, and maybe a little but of talent.

So we had big plans this year to take Hailey to some little trick or treat thing with Tan and the boys...but Hailey decided to get sick instead. The poor baby had a cold...which of course I got too - but 10 times worse. I'm still fighting this stupid thing. I used to never get sick...and if I did, I was better within a day or two. I guess that's the beauty of being able to sleep all day. But now that I've got a baby around she just sucks all my energy out...literally she's sucking everything I have. So, I'm still fighting this stupid cold and really hoping it's nothing worse. You know I'm not feeling well when I pass up things like: seeing my new little niece Addie in person or celebrating Carson's 3rd Birthday. Seriously it's breaking my heart that everyone is getting together tomorrow and I have to stay home...but I'm sure no one wants me around if it means a three week old Addie gets sick. So that's why I'm not going....but it still makes me sad. I'll just pass the day away by playing on the computer...sleeping when Hailey naps...watching bowling on tv (I'll admit, I watched 2 hours of bowling already this week...can you say white trash???) and maybe....and this is a big maybe...I'll clean my bathroom. I had a little accident yesterday... not that type of accident. I was trying to do the whole mouthwash thing but I was too tired to get a cup and too sick to drink straight from the bottle - so I tried pouring it into my mouth. As it turns out, I never got good at the aiming for my mouth from a distance thing...I must not have played enough sports...or maybe all the time on the bench during basketball games meant I never had to drink any water from a bottle. You know, if you don't even break a sweat, you don't need refreshing. Anyway, I missed my mouth with the mouthwash and poured it all over the floor. And since I was sick I just left it there...my theory was that since it's mostly just alcohol it will just evaporate away and no one will notice a thing. Turns out there's some sort of sticky syrupy stuff in it...seriously how can that be good for your teeth?? If my floor is now sticky...imagine how sticky my teeth must be! Anyway, that's what I plan to do tomorrow.