Baby Jay

We found out Tuesday that we are having a baby boy! We're quite ecstatic. He's measuring on just perfectly for his due date and looks very healthy. Matt felt him for the first time last week and he's gotten more active each day. Feeling the baby is probably my favorite part of being pregnant. We're so excited to welcome baby Jay into our family. He'll be the fourth generation Jay. His great-grandfather is still living and we can't wait to get a photo of the four of them.

French braids!

Okay, this will be my last post for the day. I think I've got a little wild - four posts in one day. That's crazy! It's just that Matt figured out this incredibly fast way to downsize several photos at a time so they load up in just seconds. It makes blogging so much less time-consuming that I actually look forward to posting photos. So, here's this morning's happening: french braids!! It's my first successful attempt and they even lasted until lunch. I'm sure after her nap we'll have to do a new hairstyle, but it was fun while it lasted. 

And for anyone that hasn't picked up on this little "Hailey detail," she has sucked on her two fingers since the was a tiny baby. It's not complete without her other hand guarding and her pinky up by her eye. I love little details that make people unique. One other little detail to point out - the poor kid has my hair line. Half the hair grows back, the other half forward. At least I have some experience to help her out when she's older.

Easter

This has to be a record for me. I don't think I've ever gotten holiday photos up this close to the actual holiday. I was disappointed that we didn't get pre-church photos of Hailey with her hair all perfect. I did little braids on the side that went back into a crown. It was so precious, even if it didn't last even 30 minutes. When we finally did get the camera out, she had no intentions of holding still and giving her adorable smile, so here are some action photos. After church and her nap we did a basket and egg hunt around the house. It didn't take her long to catch on after she found the first jelly bean inside an egg. She had so much fun, and so did we. I love holidays!! 

Multi-Layered Jello

I laughed at myself as I wrote the title because it's a joke that Mormons love their jello. Apparently it must be true if I'm actually posting about it. No, really, I just wanted to show off this pretty photo. Maybe it's just because I'm pregnant and really like food right now, but I've found myself taking photos of food lately. Odd. Oh, and that's mango on top, not cheese, to Matt's grateful relief after first seeing it.

The instructions are in the comment section for anyone who wants them. Kids seem to think it's pretty cool to make (according to my friend who gave the recipe). 

Mango Demonstration

This might seem really strange, but my sister and I were chatting last night and she mentioned that she bought a mango a couple of days ago to try with her kids. She said she was disappointed because by the time they got the fruit off the pit it was a mashed mess. Matt served his mission in the Philippines and ate mangos all the time. He's taught me how to cut them and, honestly, how to love them - they just tasted like a pine tree to me the first time. Hailey and I ate one for lunch today so I thought I'd grab a few snapshots while I worked and share. For what they're worth to anyone, here you go.  I have to admit too that the fourth photo was just so pretty that I had to come up with a reason to post it.

Wash mango and gather knife and cutting board.

Holding mango vertically, cut along both edges of the pit.

Peel the skin off the outside of the fruit left on the pit. You can either cut the fruit off with a knife or eat it off. This provides entertainment for a kid if you need space while you finish cutting up the rest. I actually prefer to peel the edge pieces as well. I seem to get the most fruit, and it's the easiest way if you're going to use the fruit for a salad, topping, etc.

The "fancy" way to serve the mango is to cut the fruit into squares and bend the peel back so that the fruit fans open. It makes for a pretty photo as well.  

Another option is to spoon the fruit out of the skin. 

We're Moving!

Earlier this year we had considered moving and had even given our 60-day notice, but when we were unable to find anything that seemed just right we decided to stay in our apartment until our contract ended at the end of summer. However, on Sunday we got a call from a lady we know who told us about a fantastic deal and said we should look at the house. We were a little skeptical, but  after taking a tour, we're so excited! It's a fantastic price, much less than others we had toured, and even nicer as well. It has been very well maintained inside and the yard has great potential. We're most excited about the big, beautiful trees in the back yard and the wonderfully large kitchen with tons of storage! So these are a couple of photos of the outside of the house prior to being cleaned after the last tenants. We're excited to put up after photos later this summer. 

Little Nephites

Our ward had an Easter activity that was themed from the Book of Mormon when Jesus came to visit the Americas. My friend had brought some cute dress-ups to church one day for the kids to act out Bible stories so I asked her for the pattern. I made these adorable little head pieces from scraps. Matt's t-shirts made perfect robes. It was so fun and the kids looked adorable!

Note: for anyone that wants really casual instructions, check my comments on this post. I put them there so they wouldn't take up so much room here.

Baby Mine

It's already obvious from the "Happy Dreams Song" singing previously posted that I've had so much fun with Hailey's new love of singing. Matt is equally, if not more, excited as I am. He plays with her on the piano and has her match notes, etc. She picked up this "Baby Mine" simply because I sing it to her so often. Matt taught her "You Are My Sunshine," but when I tried to get it on a clip today she was doing a rendition that included half "Good Night Hailey."  You can tell we always end the night of singing with "Good Night Hailey" because she starts to sing it after then end of other songs - you'll see here.

ABC's

So this video is kind of long (2 minutes), but I finally got all of her ABC's on one clip and wanted to show grandparents.  She can see herself on the computer and gets embarrassed at first. My favorite is "w" - we're still working on pronunciation. 

Baking Time

Hailey was wanting my attention while I was making dinner so I decided to include her in the process. She had lots of fun and her favorite part was her first introduction to licking the beaters. Matt gave her a great demonstration. Oh yeah - and the shades....with Matt being in school and learning all the dangers of the sun to the eye, we've got Hailey in shades. She LOVES them. Obviously she doesn't know the real purpose of them - she wears them indoors sometimes too. I'm so impressed at how well she leaves them on. Oh yeah, and note the adorable apron in the last photo. Thanks Heather - she loves it!

Dangers of Optometry School

Matt came home from school with a battle wound. I asked him how bad the other guy was and he said about the same. I'm sure glad I don't have to practice injections in the eye. 

Christmas from Grandpa & Grandma

My parents sent out a HUGE  box of Christmas gifts for us a couple months ago. Hailey got a beautiful handmade rocking horse and rocking chair. She LOVES them both! I don't have a photo of her on the horse, but you can see it in the second photo. Although she loves them, one of her favorite parts about the gift is the house we made for her out of the box they sent everything in. She crawls into it when she's running away from a diaper change (note the crazy hair before bedtime) and it's a big hit when friends come over. Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!

Memphis Zoo

Hailey and I had a chance to go to the zoo with some friends. We had a great time. There were baby giraffes, a fake cow we could ride (she didn't like it much), and her favorite, the polar bears. The one polar bear had a route it would follow that included a swim right by the window where Hailey was standing. She'd squeal and get so excited. Occasionally he'd come right up to the glass so they were nose to nose. She'd step back a little, but it was so precious.