I’m still here…

Y’all, I don’t know what the deal is, but I just canNOT get on top of my to-do list lately.  The blog has taken a back seat, and it’s making me feel even more behind that I’m not documenting our days!  Not to mention, reading the blogs I read feels like catching up with friends over coffee and I haven’t even had time for that lately!  So, this post will be representative of my  mind lately and be a jumble of thoughts!

• Hadley is 12 and a 1/2 months old and is not crawling or walking.  She tries to crawl, but just ends up scooting backwards, and would rather be standing and cruising around on furniture or strolling around the house holding my hands.  And up until yesterday, if she was lying down, she couldn’t get herself up to sitting.  Her pediatrician referred us to ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) at her one year check-up because of the not-getting-up-on-her-own thing.  She made a point to say she doesn’t think it’s any type of neurological delay, but rather than Hadley is probably just too lazy and stubborn and would rather squawk at me to help her up instead.  Regardless of the reason why, being referred to a specialist for your child is never a fun conversation.  Of course, the day I called to set up her evaluation, I walked into her room after her nap to find her like this…

• She did this twice more that day, but hasn’t done it since, so I’m keeping her appointment for now (it’s not until the middle of February). 
• I would wear leggings every day if I had enough different tops to wear them with; they are easy to play on the floor in AND when it’s cold, the only shoes I want to wear are my Uggs.  Seriously, I am the pickiest person I know when it comes to shoes.  I like boots (with skinny jeans or leggings) and I like ballet flats and flip flops, and that is seriously it.  Does anyone have a recommendation for good shoes?
• Planning Hadley’s party is taking over my life!  I decided to wait a couple weeks after her birthday to throw the party to give myself some time to get our house back in shape after the holidays and I am so glad I did!  I feel like my to-do list grows infinitely each day! 
• In addition to Hadley’s party coming up, I’m helping to host a shower for my sister in February, then her wedding is in March (eeek – that means I have 2 months to figure out my toast!!) and then we are planning our first “vacation” in May with Matt’s parents to Hilton Head!  (I’ve heard it said that you don’t vacation after you have kids, but rather you take trips – I’m fully prepared for a fun “trip” either way ). 
• Speaking of trips, this will be our first flight with Hadley, and we’ll be getting a rental car while we’re there.  Any tips for traveling with a little one?  A lot of what I’ve read says not to rent a carseat as there’s no way to guarantee that they are safe (not in an accident or expired, installed correctly or missing parts, etc…), so I’m thinking we will check a seat, but ours is pretty heavy, plus I would hate for our Britax seat to get damaged!  I’ve already got one rec (thanks Liz!) but would love to hear what anyone else has done! 
• Hadley may be “behind” when it comes to her gross motor skills, but it is so fun to watch her right now as she figures out things around her.  Just in the past couple weeks she’s started to:
• brush her hair with her hair brush
• “put her shoes on” aka: take a shoe and slam it on top of her foot over and over
• put the lid back on a jar (I had a baby food jar out earlier today and she kept pointing at the lid so I finally gave it to her expecting her to chew on it.  She grabbed it, then grabbed my hand with the jar to pull it closer and then popped the lid right on it!)
• Answer the phone – by putting it up to her ear and then saying “eh!”

I love to watch her discover new things around her and can almost see a lightbulb go off above her head when something new clicks! 

Ok, was that a random enough post for you?  Hopefully after we throw Hadley’s party and make a little more progress on our master bedroom I’ll be able to sort through my thoughts better!