Happy First Birthday Zara!

I really can't believe that my baby is a whole year old.

Zara loves to clap, twirl and point her tiny little index finger at things she wants, accompanied with a high-pitched screech. The most adorable one is when she points her little finger at Suyom and cries "eee!" as if she's trying to say "Kitty!"

Zara loves balls, computers, phones (any technology really), her barrel of monkeys, and her miniature broom. Oh, and her little baby doll.

Zara loves to laugh and giggle. It's one of the best sounds in the world.

Zara also loves to move. She's not one for sitting still. (Which makes church a chore, for sure.) She wants to always be moving some part of her body.

Zara will sit still to flip through books. She's fascinated by books and loves to turn through their pages.

Zara loves to eat fruit. She especially loves mangoes, cherries, bananas, and pineapple, proving that she is David's child.

Zara is stubborn as all Hayman women are. She's already begun to throw little tantrums and stomp her little foot when she's not getting her way. I hope to cut that in the bud in the near future.

Zara's sleeping has greatly improved in the last few weeks and she has started to sleep through the night. Hallelujah!

Zara had only 4 teeth for a long time, but a fifth front tooth has finally emerged. It also looks like she's getting some back molars on her left side so maybe she'll be able to eat a different variety of foods soon.

I tried to take photographs of Zara every month with her stuffed monkey to show her growth. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for two months--when here monkey was packed away during our move--but here's the progression of Zara from birth to one year.

Zara Hope Malone, August 31, 2010

One Month (September 2010)

Two Months (October 2010)

Three Months (November 2010)

Four Months (December 2010)

Five Months (January 2011)

Six Months (February 2011)

Seven Months (March 2011)

Eight Months (April 2011)

Nine Months (May 2011)

Ten Months (June 2011)

Eleven Months (July 2011)

Twelve Months (August 31, 2011)!

How big she's grown! I haven't taken many photos recently (on account of the move) but here are a few from the last month that I like.





Happy birthday Zara!

Zara vs. Sleep, Part Three

So remember how, many months ago, I bemoaned and groaned and wailed about Zara's sleep issues? And do you remember how we started co-sleeping because it was the only thing that worked? And also, do you remember how we've been vagabond traveling wanderers for the last three months and therefore have had no consistency or routine in our lives? You do?

Oh good.

Then you may also remember that David, in his aged wisdom, told me many, many months ago that even though Zara didn't want to sleep in her crib then, that when she got older, she'd get the hang of it. I wanted to believe him but friends had told me horror stories about children who refused to leave the parents' bed or who never learned to go to sleep on their own if they hadn't forced them to cry it out by a certain age.

But now that we're no longer vagabond traveling wanderers and have a home to call our own again (more on that later when I've emerged from the insanity that is unpacking), we decided to take another crack at getting Zara to sleep on her own and in her own crib. The first night, I crossed my fingers and put her in her crib for the night, fully expecting her to cry and cry her little baby tears and moan her little baby cries of misery until we could bear it no longer but to my astonishment, she cried for about 10 minutes, and then laid right down and went to sleep. For 8 hours. The next night, she went to bed even quicker and stayed asleep for 10 hours. (The next night we had a relapse. And by we, I mean me, because I missed having my baby in my bed and so when she make her first peep at about 1am, I promptly plucked her out of the crib and cuddled with her next to me. Apparently, this sleep thing is harder on me than it is on her.) Naps have also been going much better as well, especially if she only takes one nap a day. So we're not very far into this new sleeping arrangement but I think it's looking pretty promising. And David was right about her just needing time to figure it all out.

David said today that Zara is probably going to be schooling us a lot in the ways of parenting. And by that I mean, stubbornly refusing to do anything we try to get her to do until she's good and ready to do it.

The little punk.

But if she keeps sleeping through the night, I may just be okay with it.

Zara at Ten AND Eleven Months!

I'm way behind on updates for Zara. I missed her ten month update because we were in Georgia with no internet connection and I'm a little behind on her eleven month update as well. Best get it in before she hits a year at the end of this month!

The word that best sums up Zara is crazy. She is a crazy, crazy baby and she's full of life and stubbornness and opinions and she's crazy. She sometimes drives us crazy but we still love her a bunch and kinda think she's the best baby ever (except when she's being crazy). As David often says, he'd rather have a crazy baby than a boring baby. Zara is not boring. Not a teeny, tiny bit.

General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.

Let's see....Zara is a big baby. She's taller than all her cousins who are one week older and three weeks younger and has big fat baby feet and hands. It's no wonder that she can walk as well as she does.

And walk she does....in fact, she's getting pretty quick that I don't think it'll be long before she starts running.

Zara has also learned how to climb up stairs but hasn't quite mastered climbing down them. She also climbs up on everything else, the little monkey.

Zara is generally a very happy baby unless she is tired or hungry. Then she becomes a cranky monster. She has also started throwing little tantrums if she doesn't get her way. I didn't think the tantrums would come so soon. I'm not liking it.

She still has only 4 teeth but I think more are on their way in.

People always comment on Zara's beautiful blue eyes and her dark curly hair. It's such a striking combination. I really hope it lasts.

Eating and Sleeping Habits

Zara's sleeping schedule is still all kinds of messed up since we've been vagabonds for the last two and a half months. I'm really hoping that once we get settled in our new home, we can quickly get her back into a consistent routine and that her sleeping habits will improve. I'd really love for her to take one longer nap during the day (not on me, David, or in her car seat) and to sleep in her own bed at night.

Zara continues to breastfeed, though she goes longer stretches between feedings. She mostly nurses in the morning, maybe once or twice during the day, and then right before bed. (She still wakes up once or twice a night to nurse though.) We're working on getting her used to drinking water or juice out of a sippy cup. She especially enjoys drinking out of straws.

Zara is generally a very good eater. She'll try just about anything and loves to feed herself. She particularly loves fruit. She doesn't always love it when we try to feed her the pureed baby food but sometimes she loves it. If she can feed herself, Zara prefers it.

Accomplishments and Firsts

Zara has mastered clapping her hands. If you start clapping, Zara will start clapping along and finds it to be absolutely delightful.

Zara also started clicking her tongue a few weeks ago. David and I don't know where she picked it up--since neither of us have demonstrated or encouraged the behavior--but Zara does it frequently.

She is has perfected her walking. She can really get some speed going too.

Zara has also learned how to climb up and down stairs. She still forgets sometimes to turn around when she tries to climb downstairs but she has improved quite a bit. I'm just glad that our new home doesn't have any stairs.

Favorite Toys, Places to Go, Etc

Where has Zara not gone these last two months? She's one well-traveled baby. I don't know if any place is her favorite....I just know that she hates her car seat with a passion and puts up the good fight every time we try to strap her in. She's a wily one, that one.

Zara loves her baby doll. (I think we might want to name the baby since we just call the doll The Baby but Zara is The Baby so it gets all confusing because sometimes I'll tell David to grab the baby when I mean the doll but he thinks I mean Zara and then the poor Baby (the doll) gets left behind. Or we'll ask "Does the Baby have the Baby?" and really proper nouns are there for a reason, right?). Anyway....Zara likes to carry her baby doll around by it's little hat and has become quite cute when she holds and hugs her baby.

Zara also enjoys her barrel of monkeys, Jenga blocks, cars, balls, and the giant stuffed bear my aunt has. We also bought Zara her first Lego Duplo set and she's been enjoying those more as well.

Now for some more adorable photos of our crazy baby.

We are alive and other such things....

It's been far too long since my last blog update. And there is so much to tell! We've had two months of craziness driving from one end of the country to the other and I fully intend to bore you with all the minute details. But first, a quick update of where we are and what's been going on. (Just in case I never get around to the boring details.....)

We arrived home (to San Diego) on June 1st. After two weeks there--during which time, David out-processed with the Navy--we drove to Georgia to visit David's family, stopping in Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Vicksburg and Birmingham along the way. We spent two weeks in Atlanta--during which time David mostly helped his parents move into their new house--and we didn't have internet for awhile. (So sad! So glad I have a smart phone now.) We left Georgia on July 5th and drove back to San Diego, stopping in Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis, Springfield, Nauvoo, Independence, Oklahoma, Albuquerque, and Williams, Arizona along the way. We arrived in California on the 14th, just in time for my mom's big 60th birthday celebrations and mini family reunion. After that, we drove up to Lemoore, California (30 minutes away from Fresno) to spend some time with my sister and her kids. We went swimming, ate delicious food, and visited Sequoia National Park. We then drove through Northern California to Reno and from Reno to Utah.

We've been staying with my Aunt in American Fork for the last week as we've been house hunting for a place to live in the Provo/Orem area. The first few days were rather discouraging. We couldn't find anything decent in our price range in the Provo area and even when we widened our search to Orem and Springville, we still couldn't find anything we liked. Most of the houses in Provo are in a sad state of disrepair since students tend to move in and out frequently and the landlords don't have the time or inclination to keep their properties well-maintained. When we did find a place we liked, they always had a strict no pet policy.

We finally found a nice 2 bedroom condo in north Orem which we both liked, allowed pets, and was in good condition. It wasn't my ideal housing situation, but I knew we could make it work for the two years we'll be living here. It had a nice, big kitchen, a good sized bathroom, and several playgrounds and a swimming pool in the complex. But after putting in our application for the condo, we decided to keep looking at a few more places, just in case. We even drove all the way down to Provo to look at one 3-bedroom condo but the landlord got in a car accident that morning and didn't show up. (Obviously, that place wasn't meant to be.) As we were driving home that afternoon, I saw a new posting for an old house in Provo. What really caught my eye was the picture of the kitchen--with a gas stove. I love cooking with gas and was sad that everything we saw had electric stoves. I made David call about the house--even though the rent was a big higher than we wanted to pay--and we went out to see the house the next morning.

We fell a little bit in love with the house. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home built in 1899 but it's been really well-maintained and upgraded. It has a beautiful kitchen, big rooms with high ceilings and is in a nice neighborhood in Provo that's within walking distance to several parks, shops, grocery stores, restaurants, and the Provo Library. Even better is that the house comes with a big backyard, a garage, and a separate fully finished bonus room (with electricity and air conditioner) that will become David's office and a sewing room for me. Best of all, they allow pets! Since we wanted a two year contract, the landlord struck a deal with us for a lower monthly rent. It's exactly what I was looking for and I'm so excited to move in. Unfortunately, we can't move in until August 15th, which means that we have another two weeks of bumming around, living out of suitcases. We're all pretty tired of the vagrant lifestyle and are really looking forward to getting settled again. I guess I can survive another two weeks and hopefully my aunt won't get sick of us and kick us out.

The Beach

While we were in San Diego, we went to La Jolla Shores, one of my favorite beaches in San Diego to give Zara her first experience with sand and surf. She greatly enjoyed the sand part and was tolerant of the surf part but all in all, we had a great time. Zara loved playing in the sand--eating the sand, mostly--and knocking down all the sandcastles that David built for her. David tried to bury Zara on many occasions, which she didn't mind in the least, because it brought her that much closer to more delicious sand. David also built a sea turtle out of sand which I found rather impressive because it actually does look like a sea turtle and many of David's other artistic endeavors don't always resemble what they're supposed to. (Unless he's made them out of Legos. He's a Lego master.) Here are a few of my favorite photos from the beach. Hopefully, I'll get up more photos from our road trip soon.

Happy Father's Day

We've been on our whirlwind road trip adventure for the last week so I haven't had much time to update this blog or tell you about all our cool adventures. I don't really have time right now to wax poetic about fathers. Not that I would anyway. I don't wax poetic about many things because I've got zero poetry skills. Since we've been on the road, I didn't have time to get David a father's day gift (though I've got a good one in mind) or do anything special (I kinda sort maybe remembered at sone point during the day) but I just wanted to say that David is a wonderful father, husband, and helpmeet. He does so much for me and for Zara and is always willing to help no matter how long or stressful his day was or how tired he may be. I am very lucky to have him as a husband and Zara is very lucky to have him as a father.

I took this photograph today--on Father's Day--while we were exploring a little bit of Houston. So, finally....Happy Father's Day David! I love you! And Zara thinks you are pretty awesome too.

Cousins

Logan (3 weeks)
Zara and Seth (3 weeks apart, 9 months old)
Zara discovers Seth's nose.
Anna (almost 3 years old)
There was a great fight for the beads. Seth emerges victorious.
James, the mischievous. (4 years old.)
Isabel (2 years) with baby brother Logan (3 weeks)
Zara and Seth

Isabel, Anna, and Zara.

Cousins. They're super fun.

(And next month will be EVEN more fun when the last cousin, Grisette, comes to San Diego!)

Zara at Nine Months!

Let's do this quick and easy, ok? Since I'm so late on getting this one done.

This is my baby.
Her name is Zara.


Sometimes I call her Baby Lee. Or Babyly. I can't decide which one I mean. Is it a proper noun or an adjective?
I don't know. But that's the only nickname I have for her.
Well, I do sometimes call her Baby Z or just The Baby. Real original, don't you think?
She went swimming for the first time this month.
And swinging. She did for the first time too. She really enjoyed herself. Also. She walks. Toddling, teetering little baby steps of absolute cuteness. Her highest count is 8 steps in a row without falling on her wee little bum. She's getting better.
The little monster. She likes mangoes and strawberries and butternut squash. And really, she'll put just about anything into her mouth that you give her so I stopped trying to be all methodical and organized in her introduction to solids stuff. Wait 4 days between each new item? Not this little girl. She just eats what we eat. And comes out looking like an oompa loompa afterwards.
She has four little baby teeth. Two on bottom and two on top. Those top two took years to come in. And now she bites. It hurts. I seriously have bruises on my arms from where she's bitten me. Can you charge a 9 month old with domestic abuse?
She's sweetness and light. Sugar and spice and all those fluffy things people say about babies.
Except when she's not. Then she's a baby monster. I don't like baby monsters. Luckily, now there's a grandma around to help out when I'm seriously considering giving her away.
She's still not a great sleeper. And she absolutely refuses to sleep in a crib. And really, I like co-sleeping but we seriously need a bigger bed. Especially when this baby flails and flings herself around all night long.
Zara knows when a toy has been specially designed for a baby and will therefore not play with it. Baby toys are lame, apparently. Straws and cell phones and remote controls and computers and books and magazines are so much more fun.
I love this baby, oh boy I do.