The Latest Trick

Hazel has started a little skip and a jump move, appropriately debuted amongst puddles after the rain yesterday. She displayed her new skill repeatedly today, indoors and out. She is delighted with the air she can catch (and the reaction I give her, I am sure!). It's pretty amazing to think that this time last year we were cheering her on as she mastered rolling over.

Overstimulation Equals Money Saved, Not Spent

I went to the mall last night and hated it.

Why am I surprised? Every time I go to the mall I hate it. Which may help explain why I haven't been to a mall in two years.

It's a combination of overstimulation and expectations destroyed.

I think to myself, The mall will have a bigger selection. Which is true, to a point. But not a larger selection of what I am looking for, which is just reasonably priced, modest and classy clothing.

Most of all, I hate weaving through the thick throngs of people amid the noisy music and the bad lighting.

But there was one thing I saw that actually brought a smile to my face. True, it was because of its disgusting absurdity. But I giggled a little and took a picture on my phone.
HOW is that mannequin supposed to make me want to step inside that store???

And where does everyone else go to shop for clothes?
Target ain't doin' it for me no mo'.

Happy Easter!

Yesterday we had an Easter egg hunt at the park with some friends. We've spent the last few days practicing egg huntin' in the house so Hazel would know what to do. She has loved searching for the little eggs, whether or not there is a treat inside them. The past 48 hours, more often than not she's had Todd's basketball basket in the crook of her arm, walking through the house to the sound of little plastic eggs jangling and plunking against each other. This game should keep us happy and busy for at least a week more.

Daring Dad

No one should be surprised that when the garage was open and we had 10 minutes to spare on Saturday, Todd decided to throw our baby on the scooter and give her her first ride. I never would have thought she was old enough for something like that, but she actually held on with both hands and carefully kept her feet on the scooter and absolutely loved it. She begged to get back on when she saw the scooter the next day.

My favorite part of the video is when Todd says "Let's go" and Hazel hums the sound of those words back at him like she wants to say it, too. She's so close to talking!

Soccer Diva

Hazel's latest fetish is to kick absolutely everything: balls, toothpaste tubes, stuffed animals, hair bows, scraps of paper. She is in love, and I think she's got quite the knack for it.

Triumph!

Maybe it was a gag, maybe it'll be the only time she does it for a long time, but this morning Hazel called ME Momma. She did it five or six times over the course of a couple of hours, always as she put her hand on my chest or my leg, and every time accompanied by giggles, like not calling me Momma has been part of some grand scheme of hers that she just finds too funny.

Girly

Hazel's starting to love her femininity. She runs up to babies at the park and loves to tote her baby doll around the house. She brings me receiving blankets and asks me to tie them around her waist, towel-style, so she's wearing a "princess skirt." She knows she's extra pretty on Sundays and preens, pointing at her cute dress and her pink tights. And her latest trick is to request that Todd or I adorn her in every single hair bow she owns, all at once.

A Curious Hobby

I thought the door to my bedroom was closed when I left Hazel to her own devices for several minutes while I got things done in the kitchen. When she'd been quiet just a bit too long, I got suspicious and discovered that she was, in fact, in my room. Can you tell what I found Hazel playing with?

Am I a bad mom for not taking it away from her?

Instead I whipped out the video camera and tried to get some footage. This clashed, however, with Hazel's new-found activity of begging me to take videos of her and then wanting to watch them repeatedly.

Our First Visitors

My brother Chris and my dad came to visit us over the long weekend. They drove through the night on Friday and drove back to Utah all day on Monday, so we only had them for about 48 hours. It was quick, and I KNOW Hazel was the big motivator to make the short trip worth it. What can I say, she's irresistible!

We drove down to Big Basin on Saturday and spent our afternoon having a picnic lunch and strolling through the redwoods.

(Todd is a photographic genius.)

The rest of the visit was spent eating good food, playing fun games, laughing and talking, and just hanging out at home. Sunday afternoon we went outside and let Hazel walk whatever direction she wanted, and the four of us just trekked after her for about an hour and a half. This was Hazel's itinerary:

*show everyone the magnolia blossoms we're in love with

*run up and down across all the speedbumps in our parking lot

*dig in the sand at the playground

*swing for a couple of minutes

* investigate wood chips and a colony of ants

*climb everything imaginable

She didn't stop moving until she was so worn out she had to be carried home by ME and no one else (tired Mommy time). She slept great that night!

We sure loved having visitors! Thanks for coming, guys.

Hazel's Vocabulary

According to Hazel, the word for just about any picture she sees, on the computer, in a magazine, hanging on the wall, or otherwise, is "Dada." I see where she's coming from, since Daddy WAS a picture for the first 10 1/2 months of her life.
This is "Momma." Maybe because she hears him say it the most?
This person does not get a name. Not fair.
We went to Todd's church ball basketball game last night, and every time she picked Todd out of the crowd, she pointed and said, "Momma, Momma."

She also says "uh-oh" and "oh, wow." She makes a Russian-sounding "kkh" (I think from trying to say yucky) for trash and diapers and anything else she thinks is stinky or not supposed to be touched. And Hazel says "Dain da," meaning thank you, whenever you hand her something she's asked for. It's very sweet.