My Gardenside

On a Hike

Most of the best adventures are the kinds that you just stumble upon.  On our camping trip last weekend, we began on a paved hiking trail and unexpectedly ended up at Hopewell Furnace.

We ambled along at a toddler’s pace taking in the old stone buildings, checking out some farm animals and even watching a reenactment of how the furnace was used way back when.

Part of the reenactment

The best part was that Hazel got to do the things toddlers can do when they aren’t in the city:

Discovering that pockets are great for holding rocks

Just sitting in dirt

Watching the sheep and horse

Playing with a baby doll and chair from the 1800’s

And so we happily moved along at Hazel’s pace, enjoying the beautiful history that was so close to Philadelphia.

Zucchini Bread

It was sprinkling this morning, so I thought I would finally make the zucchini bread I had planned.  I’m still not sure why I thought this was a good idea - 100% humidity + 1 oven + 2 toddlers and 1 dog = craziness.  But the babes loved the whole process, and isn’t that really what matters?

The truth is that Hazel is a picky eater (I wonder where she got that from?) and I’m trying to find ways for her to eat vegetables.  So we pulled out the flour and grated some zukes.  She fell off the chair twice (not hard) and took a huge bite out of a tablespoon that she had managed to fill with flour.  We smelled cinnamon and vanilla, sort of took turns stirring and then baked the bread during lunch.

Hazel loves it, but I’d like to find a yummier recipe, so if you have one, please pass it along.  And, as always, I’d love to know ways to take better pictures!

Backyard Adventures

We’ve been working on getting our backyard more suitable for Hazel; we’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.  For now, we are stuck in the city and while I come across many wonderful blogs about developing a sense of wonder in babes, there are none that that take place in the urban confines of concrete backyards and small row homes - please let me know if anybody knows of one!

This morning we went outside to do some water play.  I have plans in the making for a sensory table, but for now a bin works okay. 

Hazel helps fill the bin

Some great smelling natural dish soap - a couple drops

The ever-so-important whisk

The beginning of the bubbles

What’s some water play without completely climbing in?

The King of the yard protecting us from squirrels

Beach Babe

This girl is a beach babe.  After spending a few days at the shore, Hazel decided she loved the ocean, even though it was freezing.  I can only hope that she’ll love Island of the Blue Dolphins some day.

Hazel and her socks

Suddenly I’m realizing there is so much that I’m likely to forget if I don’t keep track of it, so here it goes.

Today Hazel’s sock fell off so she crawled over to it, picked it up, sat down, took off her other sock and then tried to put them on. Attempts were abandoned in less than 10 seconds, but I was glad that I caught the action. My baby is growing up.

Six Months

Hazel Mae,

I can’t believe you are 6 months already!  This past month has been so much fun watching become even more of your own person.  Right when you turned 5 months, you started sitting up on your own.  Every morning, you would sit in front of your mirror, play with your toys and stare at the Other Baby.  Gradually, you started to scoot over to the stranger to make contact, sometimes by reaching out a hand, other times with a big, juicy raspberry. 

You decided you liked that you could move yourself around a bit and started scooting all over the place.  For a couple weeks, your favorite activity was to belly scoot along the floors and blow raspberries on them. You very quickly went from belly scooting to popping up to all fours and rocking back and forth.  Watching you learn to crawl was one of the best things ever.  You were so determined to move your body, but couldn’t quite figure out what to do with your hands - it was like they were glued to the floor.  Don’t worry, smart girl, you quickly figured it out just before you turned 6 months.

Hazel, you continue to be one of the most expressive babies ever.  In less than a second, you’re whole face goes from smiling to you’re worried look, eyebrows raised or sometimes furrowed.  You make the sweetest squeaks and squeals when you babble; your sounds of frustration easily sound like a dinosaur and more often than not, Daddy and I have to laugh at them.

You don’t have any teeth yet, and, admittedly, I’ll be a little sad when you get them.  I love nothing more than your huge gummy smile.

This past month, you rode an airplane for the first time and you loved it.  Or at least didn’t dislike it.  You visited your grandparents and Aunt Elizabeth in Illinois for the first time and got to meet some great aunts and uncles and two of your great grandmas.

We also spent the day at the beach and you had a great time in the waves and knocking down the sandcastles that Daddy built for you. In fact, Daddy likes to call you Hazel the Destroyer because you love to knock down towers and anything else you see.  That was how you first crawled.

I’m not sure if you know this, but half a year is kind of a big deal.  You have changed so much in the past six months and we couldn’t love you more or be more proud of who you are becoming.  You are simply amazing.

Love,

Your Mama

I love this quote!

“You are not a pacifier; you are a Mom. You are the sun, the moon, the earth, you are liquid love, you are warmth, you are security, you are comfort in the very deepest aspect of the meaning of comfort…. but you are not a pacifier!” — Paula Yount

Hair, hands and feet

Hazel,

I love how your hair is growing in.  Since you were born, you’ve had a dark brown skullet which grandma likes to call a fringe.  The rest of your hair is filling in slowly, mohawk on the top style.  I always thought that I would prefer you to have a ton of hair, but I’ve fallen head over heels in love with your fuzziness.  When you’re sweaty, I like to style your fringe and mohawk, but it’s been hard to get a good picture. 

You are a very tactile baby.  You love to take your fingers, or talons, and scrape everything, from bedsheets to the side of your bassinet to the floor.  You also like to do this while nursing which isn’t as fun for Mama.  You’re other favorite thing to do while nursing is to grab your foot and kick repeatedly.  I like to think of it as first-position nursing and sometimes I even imagine you in a tiny tutu.  Mostly, I love to kiss your hands as they reach up to grab my face and hair.  You’re also quite the quickdraw when it comes to getting Daddy’s glasses off his face.

Oh those toes!  I love how sweet and tiny they are.  But most of all I love that when I kiss them, they grasp my mouth. Daddy has super amazing toes too - they can pick anything up and I’m sure he will be more than happy to teach you that monkey trick.

xoxo

Mama