Getting ready for Christmas vacation

Hazel got a Christmas package from her Great Aunt Kathy and fit perfectly into her Christmas outfit and matching hat. 

Here's one of our first (and only) family shots while Hazel was experiencing her first Holiday mixer. I think she was a little irritated to watch us eat all the delicious food but she was otherwise on her best behavior.

 Hazel still enjoys her nightly bathtime although she is quickly out growing her infant tub. Also, Hazel's hair has decided to grow in in particular spots, mainly, right down the center of her head and not on either side, so bath time turns into hairstyling sessions with Daddy. Here's our most recent session: Hazel with a mohawk.

4 months!

Our little Hazel continues to change on a daily basis. She's developing quite a skill set which includes (but certainly not limited to): licking everything that comes within reach, grasping objects (pretty tightly -- watch out for your hair), smacking her lips, more 'talking', petting Izzy, and rolling over from her tummy to her back. She's also become obsessed with her toes and yes, she can and does put them in her mouth. She's pretty flexible. She's willing to entertain herself more and more, which is great for Sean and I when we need to cook dinner or take a shower before work. She's getting louder though -- so when we leave her in her crib to play, we hear what sounds like a baby dinosaur trying to claw it's way out of a cage. I think soon our upstairs neighbors might start complaining about 7am baby dinosaur wake-up calls.  She continues to enjoy her evening baths -- but will soon outgrow the current baby tub we have for her. She's getting so strong with her kicks that we have to fill up the tub so that by the time she's done kicking, there's still some water left with which to wash her. She's a Michael Phelps in the making -- or a Missy Franklin, I guess.

4 month old birthday shot!

On our way to Daycare!

Tasty toy from my cousin Lidia

Enjoying Sofie the Giraffe

I am obsessed with my toes

Whats up world! I'm ready to explore!

Great Aunt Karen and Uncle Charlie come visit

Snackin on some Izzy

Getting ready for winter! Our little miniature carrot.

New PJs from Ann Harshman

3 months!

Hazel really got into the spirit of the World Series this year. Each night she got into her Giants tshirt over her pjs for good luck.

Here's Hazel's official '3 Month' picture. I can't believe she's been alive that long. It's even more impressive to say that she's 1/4 of a year old -- now that seems old.

Hazel usually wakes up in the morning in such a good mood. She's smiley and laughing and can't wait to look around and out the window at the remaining colorful leaves. I think she's going to be disappointed once everything turns a nice shade of white!

Hazel in her eskimo outfit on her way to daycare. I put her in a Baby Bjorn and usually face her outward so she can see everything and she's as happy as a clam.

Hazel's new winter hat from the Schmitty-Dogs.

Bumbo time!

Hazel sporting her new handmade sweater from our neighbor Anne. This is actually the 2nd sweater Anne has made for Hazel. I hope she doesn't get used to having hand-crafted clothing items.

Talking and Toys

Recently, Hazel has been 'talking' more than ever. I'm not convinced that she's copying the sounds that she's hearing just yet, but she's definitely trying to tell us something. I see her staring at our dinner sometimes so maybe she's asking for a bite??
She also is able to hold her head up well enough that we can put her in this little blue seat and eat dinner with her sitting right on the table. She's alert enough that she knows when she's missing out if we put her in the swing in the other room.

Hazel also enjoys looking around at the leaves, trees, lights, and ... well, pretty much everything. If I put her in the front carrier after she's pleasantly full, she'll let me clean up around the house or do other chores that require both hands.

 Margie has also been making sure Hazel has tummy time throughout the day and as you can see here, she's getting pretty good at lifting her head up. She's still a little wobbly when she holds it up so I have to be careful not to get in her way when she decides she's too tired to continue holding it up. Poor Hazel has slammed her head against people's chests countless times already.

10 weeks

Hazel has been changing on a daily basis (at least to those around her everyday). Perhaps the most exciting change is the addition of what I call 'chill' time: time she is willing to sit on your lap or lay on her pillow/crib and just hang out, smile, talk, stare, etc. It's awfully nice to have something other than crying, sleeping and pooping.

And last but not least, Miss Izzy turned 9 on October 12th. She celebrated by looking frumpy and sneaking into one of Hazel's sweaters. I can say that after our walk today and her willingness to continue fighting every dog that she passes, she's still as spunky as ever.

8-9 weeks: The SchmittyDawgs visit

The SchmittyDogs came to Boston for a couple days this past weekend and we had a blast!! Everyone took turns holding Hazel and she was on her best behavior --- as was Izzy because she was hoping they would take her back home with them.
Although our place is pretty small, we were able to cram everyone in and Hazel got to spend some quality time with her new cousins.

The weather was pretty awesome their entire stay (around 70 each day) so we took advantage and stayed outside as much as possible. We took a day trip to Salem, MA for everyone to see the intense Halloween festivities and to get in some good people-watching.

Thanks to Auntie Kiko, we have doubled our clothing inventory, including this cute little purple number which we have decided our the 'lucky PJs,' because Hazel had a good night sleep in these. So, regardless of whether they are dirty or not, they are worn most nights as a good luck charm.

Hazel has also started noticing her 4-legged sister and vice versa, I think Izzy is starting to warm up to this little creature who cries a lot and gets fed before her. This weekend, Grandma Margie comes to stay with us to help out and be daycare for Hazel for the next month. With any luck, we'll make a cute little Halloween costume for her to be paired with Izzy's bumblebee outfit.

7 weeks: coo-ing and smiles

Miss Hazel must know that its a little hard to get going at 6am when you were just up at 430am because she's usually incredibly smiley. Sean and I use the nursing pillow to prop her up so she can look around and she's content for a good 30 minutes.
Overall, she's becoming much more interactive with us, with smiles and coo's and following us with her eyes.

Hazel meets Grandma and Grandpa Pfalzer

Right around her 6 week birthday, her Grandma and Grandpa Pfalzer flew across the country to see her. She was on her best behavior for the long weekend visit. She loved snoozin' in their laps and was willing to take bottles from Grandma so Sean and I could go out by ourselves for a couple hours at a time. This weekend, I went for a 3 hour bike ride, went and got a pedicure, went to a movie and took an hour long nap. I feel like a new person. I can definitely understand why they tell you to have family come in and help when you have a baby --- it's awesome.

Grandma and Hazel

Grandpa and Hazel

6 weeks old

Here are a few shots of Hazel from around her 6 week birthday. She's changing every day and luckily, has begun to really smile and follow people with her eyes -- just in time for her first meeting with her Grandma and Grandpa Pfalzer.

Hazel is also quite happy just chilling by herself, either in her swing or in the nook of our couch. After eating and burping, she'll hang out here for up to 30 minutes just staring out the window at the sun and listening to the sounds.  I'm digging her single dimple on the left side of her face and those chubby cheeks and multiple chins.

Hazel has also developed quite a relationship with her 4-legged sister. I'd like to think they both keep each other company and warm. Hazel has developed quite a few good nicknames over the course of her 6 weeks of life: Hazy, Hazy Bazy, Lazy Hazy, Crazy Hazy, Z-Z, Hazeltine, and more that I can't remember at the moment. Her eyes are turning dark so I fear that she might have brown eyes (another Pfalzer feature).

1 month old!

Its seems weird to say that the month as flown by, seen I'm now functioning on a 24-hour day instead of a 12-hour day, but it has gone by incredibly fast!
I don't like to pat myself on the back too frequently, but keeping a child alive for a whole month without any major mental breakdowns on my side is worthy of some back-patting.

1 month glamor shot

 A big 'thank-you' to Drew Hurst for giving us the 'month' stickers to make sure we documented this time properly.

Frog legs

 I don't really know how to explain this shot below, except that every day, Hazel starts making more and more expressions, most of which are pretty funny. I know that babies don't intentionally start smiling this early, but I'm convinced that she is and that she's just really advanced (I'm guessing this is a common trend among first time parents).  The kimono style clothes are clutch! Easy access to the diaper for changing and also you don't have to pull anything over their head (which she hates). I kept her in this outfit for almost 2 days until Sean said we had to change her.

Kiawah 2014

The day after Hazel was 2 weeks old, we hopped on an airplane to South Carolina to spend the week at my mom's place on Kiawah Island. My week in Kiawah is one of the weeks I look forward to the most the entire year. Although we were nervous getting on a plane with not just Hazel, but Izzy as well, both were great on the plane. Hazel slept the entire way, so all those skeptical looks were undeserved and to the 2-year old who blabbered the entire way: I hope you are not a normal 2-year old.

At the Boston airport, getting ready  to check-in with Hazel and Izzy

I was motivated to make it to Kiawah so Hazel could meet her uncles, aunts, counsin and grandmother for the first time. I was hesitant to go, but Annie did a good job persuading us.

Hazel meets her Uncle Warren

Hazel meets her cousin Mellie

Kiawah typically involves bike rides, walks on the beach, hanging out in the ocean, hanging out on the screened-in porch, Monday night oyster roast, shrimping and crabbing, turtle patrol, looking for alligators, getting a beer at Osprey point golf club, and staring at all the massive mansions. While we did most of these things, our trip with a 2-week old was certainly very different from years past. One new activity was to travel to the end of the island and watch dolphins feed. So, we strapped Hazel into the moby wrap and walked the mile+ to see them. After waiting a good 30 minutes without any sign of dolphins and deciding that the 90+ degree temperatures were probably baking our infants, we decided to hang our heads and return home.

 

Heading out to watch dolphins feed

 

Waiting for the dolphins to show up with uncle warren

Another new activity was Battleshots, courtesy of Ashley and his fine wood-working skills. Battleshots was a game played on Jimmy Fallon's Late Night show and below is our version of the game. A tad more primitive than Jimmy's, but definitely entertaining and a new Kiawah tradition.

Uncle Ashley and his Battleshots board

Another first was using the puj tub to give Hazel a bath. She still is a champ when it comes to getting a bath -- no fussing at all and she might even enjoy the sound and feeling of warm water.

 

Bath time in the sink

Our last activity was turtle patrol (cruising the beach for a group of volunteers that monitor the turtle nests on the island). This is usually at 630am-700am in the morning and we drug ourselves out of bed on the final day at the promise of getting to see some baby loggerhead turtles being 'assisted' to the ocean. It's a cool experience. Although, this time it was a bust, there no turtles left in the nest to help waddle their way to the ocean.

Following turtle patrol with uncle Ashley and cousin Mellie

 Even though we didn't get to see dolphins or baby turtles, we did have a great time and I think Hazel (and her parents) will enjoy Kiawah much more on her second trip.