Birthday Board

A few months ago Andrea introduced us to this birthday board idea and I was so excited to get in on the action...but it took me quite awhile to finally finish what I had started.  But, nonetheless, it is finished!

I was excited to hang it up but made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing these to do the hanging:

Note the claim "Damage-Free Hanging"?  That's only if it actually hangs.  A few minutes after I stuck the board on the wall there was a huge crash and birthday chips were flying everywhere.  I fixed up the few bruises that came as a result of the fall and thankfully wised up and used the good old brass hangers to do the job.

As you can see March is quite lacking in the birthday category with our family.  But luckily that will be changing soon!  Thanks, Morgan, for putting the Nelson clan on the board in March...and congrats to Eric and Morgan on their upcoming July wedding.  We're so excited for you guys!

Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Downtown Chicago

Geoff took last Friday off so we could have a family adventure in Downtown Chicago.  We originally were hoping to explore one of the many museums, but Hylie's nap schedule made it a little difficult to get downtown in time to truly get our money's worth, so we opted to check out some of the amazing architecture instead.

It was a COLD day, but we all bundled up and walked fast in between buildings and had a wonderful time.

Mom and Hylie in the lobby designed by Philip Glass at 190 South LaSalle Street.  In front of "Chicago Fugue" sculpture.

Hylie wondering how Dad can smile when it's SO cold!

Lobby designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Rookery Building

Taking a hot chocolate (and for Hylie a sweet potatoe) break

Just as we were headed home, Geoff noticed the Sears Tower was officially in the clouds!

Toe Sucker

We know when she's older Hylie will deny ever doing so, but yes, here's proof she's more than just a thumb sucker...

6 Months

Here's Hylie at a half a year old!  She's getting better and better at handling solid foods, she's rolling from side to side and every once in a while she'll actually roll all the way over, and she's becoming more and more curious about everything around her.

Isn't that little stool darling?  Some friends of Geoff's family gave that to us when Hylie was born.

At her Doctor's appointment this morning she weighed in at 18 lbs 13 oz (She's officially doubled her birth weight!) which is the 88th percentile.  And it looks like she's going to be a pretty tall girl--she's at the 96th percentile with her 27 1/2 inches in height.

Hylie also took her immunizations like a champ.  She had to have three shots today and was done crying by the time they started putting the band-aids on!  She definitely did NOT get her shot tolerance from her mom...

All in Due Time!

So as first-time parents I think we can get a little eager and have Hylie try new things a little too quickly.  Some friends gave us a bouncy seat that suspends from a door frame and the box indicated it was for ages 4 months and up.  Needless to say, I pulled it out around her 4 month mark and was excited to see Hylie bounce away in delight!

It didn't take long to figure out Hylie wasn't quite ready for this adventure!

So we tried again a little after 5 months old and she seemed to enjoy it a great deal more this time!

Geoff's Hair Cut

This Sunday I decided to finally be brave and cut Geoff's hair.  Over Thanksgiving Break Andrea gave me a tutorial on how to cut hair and then just before I pulled out the clippers, I skyped Mom and Dad so they could refresh my memory.  It took way longer than Geoff's average hair cut at Sports Clips (but it was FREE!), but all in all I'm pleased with my first attempt and hope I'll only get better with each cut!

Here's Geoff, who can't take a normal, smiling picture

I was so anxious to start cutting that I forgot to take a "before" picture, so here are all the "afters"!

Making Some Milestones

This past month has been sprinkled with a few of Hylie's achievements.

 

Look who's learning what a spoon is all about!  Yes, we've been trying to give Hylie some solids...slowly but surely she's figuring things out.

 

She's also been a pro at scooting around on her back.

When Hylie's not moving and shaking, she picking things up and playing!  She loves the stacking bowls Aunt Janna gave her for Christmas.

If the toys don't amuse her, her toes will!