January has been a pretty low key month with the exception of Christian's birthday. His birthday request was a "Meat Off, Eat Off". After some explanation of what exactly this meant, the party was on. His poor friends were great sports about the whole thing, spending most of the day outdoors cooking in the single digit weather....brrrrrr. From someone who doesn't have much of an appreciation for meat, I must admit that all of the entries were very delicious. It was a tough competition to judge, but there ended up being one clear winner. Michael Considine, who drove up from Little Rock, took the title as the 1st annual Meat Off, Eat Off Champion. He made a pork shoulder that was incredible. We can't wait to make this an annual tradition and hopefully the weather will be more accommodating to grilling next year.
Harper turned 7 months on Christian's birthday. Now that she can sit up alone, she can keep herself entertained for a while as long as a few toys are in reach. She is excelling at independent play. She loves taking a bath and can spend hours (though that doesn't happen) sitting in there splashing around with her hands and feet. She has 2 teeth coming in and is eating 2 meals a day of cereal, fruits, and veggies. She's sleeping pretty well, but has a bad habit of waking up sometime between 4-6am and it takes some work to get her to go back down, but she eventually will. Harper continues to be the happiest girl around, laughing or smiling almost nonstop!
Hadleigh has grown up quite a bit the past few weeks. First, she threw away her paci! I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into when she did it, but Christian somehow convinced her to do it. The first couple of nights were rough, but once the initial shock wore off, it really wasn't too bad. She continued to ask for it for about a week and nap time and bedtime are no longer as simple as they used to be, but she has managed. She still asks for it occasionally, but the meltdowns are few and far between and she knows that the garbage man took it away permanently. She actually sleeps better now since she's not waking up looking for it in the middle of the night. I never would have thought it would be this easy. I guess people were right...it was my crutch, not hers. Secondly, Hadleigh officially moved up to the preschool side of school (sniff, sniff). This means she eats and plays with the "big kids". I could tell she was nervous the first day and she wanted so bad to go back to her old class, but she kept it together and marched right into her class. I stayed (out of sight, of course) and watched her go to breakfast. She had to wait in line and pick up her tray cafeteria-style. I held my breath as she took the tray full of food and milk and carried it back to her new table. Like a pro, she made it to her table and sat down next to a new friend. I left daycare that morning one proud mom!
Happy Birthday, Daddy
Hadleigh, Scarlett, and Marlee having a wild time. Can't wait for the first sleepover!
The Champ, Michael (with Adriene), giving a few tips to David for next year
Dalicia, Peyton, Harper and Abby
Cheers to the birthday boy!
The ladies man!
A few of the competitors tending to their grills and trying not to freeze.
