long time....

wow... it's been a long time! we have a lot to catch up on... first, new tricks!! we learned this in aruba. that's where we've been (and we had some company). i will try to get a good variety of pics onto the blog. i am also going to email out pics, since there are quite a few. if you want to get the pics, but aren't on our email list, email me! hailefam@gmail.com. there are a lot of videos on this, but they are fun (if you are a parent or grandparent... or just are incredibly BORED at work!!!)

i will add more tomorrow, but here's a quick update. david and i went jetskiing and tubing, david LOVED golfing... he got to be on the "dad's" team. and he improved in the few times he played there. nora adored being in the pool. she was an awesome traveler. there was a lazy river that we would get in the rafts and just float. you have never seen a girl so happy! we introduced a little bit of food, and really started today (more video and pics on that tomorrow...). she will imitate a lot of things (thank you david presley for teaching her how to stick out her tongue!!)

nora also blows raspberries, and can say four syllables.... dah dah, mah mah, bah bah and tah tah. she waves, mostly indiscriminately! and will do so big both on command and just because she wants you to remember that she is a big girl!

she has this new face to go with her new tooth. i will try to get a decent pic of it. she puts her upper lip in her mouth, with the lower lip still out. or, she will just rub her tongue incessently over it. she is still getting used to this new invader in her mouth! thankfully, i have yet to be on the recieving end of her experimenting!

i think that's about all for now. my child seems to be back on san diego time, my husband however is still on aruba time. i am somewhere in between. so, with both of them in bed, it is peaceful here! i should think about heading that way now. more tomorrow!!! enjoy

so, we learned so big! nora also got her first tooth! it FINALLY broke through on the 26th of march. i had threatened not to bring her to aruba if she didn't get it before then, but i broke down. she got to come. we had a great time! we did a lot of swimming...

and playing in the sand...

and reading menus...

and hanging with uncle jon (he loved to put her to sleep while everyone else ate!!! it was WONDERFUL!!)...

dancing with pop pop on the beach....

looking cute in flip flops!!!






















sleeping on the beach.... every day....






















and wearing sunglasses to match my mom! we looked so cute together!!

a few more pics...

okay, i forgot to comment on the last pics... nora and i met friends for lunch last week... nora didn't want to sleep in her stroller.... the booth was much more comfortable! and then, we went to santa barbara... she had a lot of fun. yesterday, we went to the beach! sorry, i couldn't get the one of her to turn the right way! we are having a lot of fun with auntie sarah!

the joy of teething...

so....nora is STILL teething... i keep thinking "today is the day". but then, nothing comes through. i feel like they get so close, then go back. and nora is a FABULOUS sleeper. she goes down for naps and to sleep without crying. but, the last several nights, she wakes up, just as i am getting ready for bed, screaming and almost inconsolable. i have tried letting her cry it out. then i pick her up and try feeding her. but that's not really what she wants either. so, i rock her. sometimes that works. last night was the hardest... she was up for about an hour right as i was trying to go to sleep.

i struggle with what to do. sometimes, she will fall asleep in bed with me. i have read the books and i don't want to start a new pattern of getting up at night. i don't want her to think it's okay to sleep in our bed! i don't want to HAVE to rock her to sleep.

but, last night, as i was praying desperately for these teeth to come in, i thought about how fortunate i am that my daughter is ONLY teething. she's alive. she is healthy. she is a normal 7 month old. she is an angel 99% of the time. she travels easily and laughs WAY more than she cries. she doesn't have cancer or some other sickness. i have so much to be thankful for. and time goes so fast, so if i have to spend an hour just rocking and kissing my baby... what better way is there to spend an hour? tomorrow, she'll be in college and i won't have that luxury! so, the joy of teething! speaking of... there's the angel waking up from her nap!

santa barbara...

so, it's not letting me put up any pics, but i will try later. we went to santa barbara this weekend and had a FABULOUS time! sarah (david's sister) was out for a college visit, and a good excuse for a little road trip! david and i entertained nora on this huge grassy area while sarah had her interview. nora has never seen grass... she found it quite entertaining! today, we went to the beach (sarah and i got nice sun, nora got none!!! and i even forgot her sunscreen!!)... and i hear that the midwest is covered in about two feet of snow! so sorry to hear that... add that to my top ten list! more later...

top ten!!!

nora found several nice arms to sleep in... uncle james took over (only until uncle david could fight him for nora!!) she and pop-pop slept very well (while mom got TONS more sleep in her own bed!!! thanks pop-pop!!) we met our new friend libby, and got to hang out with her. another day, we went to deacon's house and hung out with him and libby. unfortunately, nora did not find deacon funny! she screamed bloody murder every time he talked! the moms found it VERY funny!
nora found something hilarious that night... either knocking over the blocks or how funny grandpa haile found it! it's cute to hear her laugh!!

so, as i was getting ready to come back to san diego, i started making up a top ten reasons why i don't live in cleveland (it was the night that was the worst ice storm in THIRTY years!!) but then, i realized that it sounded so negative to say... 1. because of the ice storms. 2. because i don't have to scrape off my car before i drive it. 3. because sitting on the runway for three hours for them to deice the plane and clear the runway is obnoxious.... so, instead, i came up with the top ten reasons why i DO live in san diego...
1. i can be relatively safe with jeans and a t-shirt most days. (maybe a light jacket!)
2. i can be outdoors 51 weeks out of the year.
3. outdoor malls!!
4. great friends (okay, those are in cleveland, too)
5. i have never had to scrape a car, worry about ice or plan ahead for snowstorms!
6. i can see the snow, know that it's there, and drive only two hours if i REALLY want to see some!
7. i can see the ocean ANY day i want!
8. i can lay out in the middle of february (okay, most san diegans would think i was crazy, but i could!)
9. i can smell flowers blooming in december.
10. 74 and sunny!

alright, i hope you aren't too jealous!! love you all... it was a fun week in cleveland! i'll be back...