November 2015

Oh man, so it's November and it's been 3 months since my last post. Lots to update on. So, Hazel is an expert at walking, and has just recently discovered a couple things: her great singing voice and her ability to jump.... or hop actually.  She will also sit still for about 5 minutes to read some of her favorite books.  Hazel enjoys pop-up books and is starting to recognize some of the colors, animals, and figures in the books.

She loves to play catch with the basketball, softball, tennis ball in the house. The problem is, she likes to play catch really early in the morning... when the neighbors are trying to sleep still.

Hazel of course still loves to eat.... although she is getting more interested in exploring the apartment, department stores, friends' houses, the playground, Costco, and daycare.

Hazel dressed up as a Dalmatian for halloween and had alot of fun. We went with our friends Anne and Aaron to the Roslindale halloween parade where she met her boyfriend Abel :)  The two have perfectly complementary outfits. Abel was a fireman and Hazel was his side-kick! Just in time for Halloween, Hazel learned how to 'woof' like a dog... so she got plenty of practice while she went trick or treating.

Hazel went to a couple houses to trick or treat, but given that she isn't allowed to have candy, we didn't want her to do a lot since we would just end up eating all of it.  She did really get the hang of ringing doorbells and reaching into the gigantic bowl of candy for a piece. It was hard to convince her that just one piece was the right thing to do.

Hazel also experienced apple picking, apple cider donuts and discovered what goats, chickens, and pigs were for the first time. It was a little cold, but I think she enjoyed getting to pick apples from trees and take bites out of all of them.

And lastly, Hazel's 'YiaYia' got married in Indianapolis at a beautiful ceremony at the Woodstock Country Club. Hazel was a very well behaved flower girl and everyone looked very beautiful.

September 2015

August: California Trip

We spent the first week in August in California for a friend's wedding up in Sonoma. Hazel was a champ on the flight over there and we kicked off our stay with a quick stop at In n Out burger and hazel enjoyed her first cheeseburger and strawberry milkshake. Lesson learned from this experience: don't underestimate Hazel's eating, order your own or you'll be sorry when you 'share' and wind up hungry.  

Grandma and Grandpa were ALL-STARs and did TONS of babysitting so we could have a few evenings free to attend the rehearsal dinner and wedding the next evening.  

While up in Sonoma, we went wine tasting with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Karen who went the whole 9-yards and brought a picnic lunch to some of the best vineyards.

strawberry milkshake

Wedding in Sebastpol, CA

 Not to be outdone, TP arranged for Sean, TP and myself to go salmon fishing up in Botega Bay. We spent the entire morning fishing for salmon and finally caught one after a group effort. TP grilled up that tasty guy that evening and we enjoyed it with some wine while sitting outside enjoying shade from the Redwood trees. It was pretty picturesque.

 Back in Moraga, Hazel enjoyed chasing Cody around and sitting in the hottub with Dad. We also went into the city for a few days and spent the night with Seth, Makiko, Maya and Mika. We went to 'Off the Grid' on Thursday evening and enjoyed playing on the Presidio lawn and sampling from food trucks.

hot tub time

Off the Grid with the Tada-Pfalzers

 We ended up our visit with a beautiful picnic, entirely planned by Grandma with delicious food, drinks and cupcakes at Larkey Park. Hazel knew just what to do with those cupcakes and didn't wait for us to start singing Happy Birthday. We had relatives from near and far attend and had a blast, despite Hazel taking a nose-dive onto the cement... twice.

We also left Seth and Makiko's with a giant tub of clothes for Miss Hazel. In addition to the clothes, we left with a car seat and another stroller. Watching us at the airport with all that stuff must have looked like a circus, but we made it and are already taking advantage of all our sweet loot thanks to the Tada-Pfalzers.

Man... what a sweet vacation! I'm not sure we're gonna be able to ever top this trip. So much fun crammed into a week!

cruisin in my new stroller

July 2015: the 4th, Kiawah, and BBQs,

Hazel had an exciting July -- which probably culminated with her 2nd annual Kiawah trip -- although she probably doesn't remember her first Kiawah trip. 

Hazel was pretty good on her flight down and decided to take over Izzy's airplane carrier during our layover. She also thought the space for checkin's was pretty cool too. 

Our  annual Oyster roast trip was pretty successful, although Hazel didn't really enjoy the oysters. She tried one and immediately spit it out. So, we'll try again next year.

 Hazel was a fan of the beach. She wasn't such a fan of her hat, so we put on loads of sunscreen. She also enjoyed eating sand, small seashells, and other things which floated past her.

Hazel and Lidia mostly rode in the Burley (bike trailer) to get places on the island. After a few days of being fussy, they rode in it without too much of a battle.

June 2015

What a fun and busy month! As the weather continues to improve, we spend more and more time exploring new playgrounds in Jamaica Plain. One of our favorites is the 'Tot Lot' where there are plenty of abandoned toys to play with, but Hazel's favorite part is the sand box and the tasty sand. She finds twigs and other things to put in her mouth at lightning speed.

 She's also become an excellent stair climber and will climb the 2-flights of stairs from our first floor to 3rd as many times as you let her.

 Thanks to Seth and Makiko, we got our first jogging stroller and have used it a handful of times to get a little bit of exercise while Hazel enjoys the view.

 Hazel flies! We went to Providence, Rhode Island to see some friends for an afternoon and the husband, Nick, took some really cute pictures of Hazel. One of my favorites was her flying through the air -- her facial expression is pretty unbeatable.

 Another piece of major news is that Hazel has graduated from bottles to 'big girl' cups and has really (quite quickly) mastered the use of straws. She's also gotten pretty good at throwing items over her high-chair and into Izzy's mouth. Although, unfortunately for Izzy, sometimes it's food scrapes and sometimes it's Hazel's cup -- which lands a bit harder.

 Hazel enjoyed a nice evening out with our friends Stephanie and John at a local Greek Food Festival. Hazel likes spanikopita -- or feta and spinach pie --

 Lastly, Grandma had the good idea of giving Hazel a cabinet to call her own (and crawl into). We spent a good deal of time trying to keep her out of them and instead, we just let her crawl into the plastic tupperware cabinet and take everything out, bang it against the floor a couple times, drool on them, and then crawl inside and sit for awhile. She's usually entertained long enough for us to make our lunches in the morning.

Lastly, we spent the first week of June in Austin, Texas with all of the Pfalzer's, Schmitt's and Tada-Pfalzer's. We all got together for the entire week and had  an awesome time swimming and being on the lake. We also got a photographer to take family pictures of all of us and I think Hazel was pretty photogenic. 

Summer time activities: May 2015

Decent weather means we're getting outside and enjoying our last summer in Boston. We used Aaron and Anne's hiking backpack for the first time and apparently, Hazel really enjoys hiking. Well. I think we'd all enjoy hiking if it meant we got carried and ate snacks. 

 We also checked out this petting zoo in Bolton, MA that letting Hazel get up close and personal to all kinds of animals. I think we liked the Alligator and Chinchilla the best.

Hazel is getting so big that she doesn't need us anymore to help her drink her bottles. She just cozies up on a pillow, grabs a bottle and takes it down.

 Also, Hazel is the new, proud owner of a Helmet. She didn't want to have anything to do with it until I put on my helmet -- then it was okay.

 Our Grinnell friend Nick Merklin came out to Boston to meet Hazel and hang out with us for the long Memorial day weekend. The weather was nice and we got to squeeze in multiple BBQs, a Fenway game, some brewery visits and snuggle time with Uncle Merklin. Hazel sure lights up when she sees Uncle Merklin -- just like all the ladies.

9 months old

As the weather has gotten warmer and daylight savings time gives us another hour of sunshine, we've been going outside and introducing Hazel to new activities. We live really close to the Franklin Park zoo so we became members and now we can go anytime we want, typically for only an hour or so, but Hazel does enjoy looking at animals and looking at other kids. 

   

 Hazel has also gone from crawling to pulling up on everything overnight. Everytime I turn around, she's climbing up on something else, our bed, the coffeetable, her crib, the chairs, the laundry, etc. She never stops moving, but *fingers crossed* it seems to tire her out a little bit too so she's been a pretty good sleeper too.

 He took a 24-hour vacation to Falmouth, MA which is part of Cape Cod. It was short, but a much needed break from Boston. We spent the night in a hotel which had a swimming pool, so we took our chances with Hazel (without a swimming diaper) and let her experience the pool. We also put her toes in the sand and the ocean. She wasn't sure what to do about the stuff between her toes and the ocean was a little too cold for her.

 She's also getting pretty good at sitting in the big girl high-chair at restaurants. She's getting equally good at grabbing our plates if we leave them unguarded for just a second.