Is she gonna...? BAM! She did!

Happy Holidays everybody! Hailey will turn 4 months old on Christmas Eve! Its hard to believe it has been four months already! Although... I was just looking at her hospital pictures and I can't believe how much she has changed! She's gone from a wrinkly, puffy- eyed, little newborn to an adorable, smiley, drooly little girl.

She had another doctor's appointment yesterday and she is doing great! There was a bit of concern at first that she wasn't growing enough....until they re-measured her height. Apparently between the first and second measurement, she gained an inch in a half (she is 24.5 inches now)! Talk about a growth spurt!

Our nurse practitioner (who looked and sounded so much like our good friend Louise it was startling) was asking us about Hailey's development - particularly about 'baby push-ups' and rolling over. Well...Hailey hates being on her stomach. Our darling daughter is not a fan of tummy time - we do it, she just hates it. When we try it, push-ups seem to consist of her arching her back then bonking her head on the blanket (it's soft - I swear!).

Yesterday, at the doctor's visit, Louise.2 showed us how to prop her arms underneath her so she can help support herself and - voila - tummy time with no crying!

As soon as the nurse left the room, we tried it ourselves. Nathan propped her arms underneath her and let go. She lifted herself up into the perfect baby push-up (it helped that there was a mirror in front of her - she loves to look at herself). A minute later she was balancing on her side when all of a sudden she swung her leg over and BAM! She rolled over for the first time! We were so excited that we called the Louise clone and the nurse back into the room to share our news.

Then, of course, to celebrate... poor Hailey received 4 immunization shots in the legs and two Daffy Duck Band-aids.

She may just decide that rolling over is not worth it.

This is her first real 'She did it!' milestone (smiling and cooing come on so gradually that they don't have the same excitement factor). The wonderful part is, that she wasn't in daycare when she did it... she was with us and we were both there watching! I got to see a milestone first-hand and not hear about it from someone else (a big 'working mom' fear for me)!

Even better was the look on Nathan's face when she did it... complete excitement, astonishment and joy - the pure essence of a new dad.

Who says 4 months old is too young to give out her own Christmas gifts?

Obviously, our 2006 has given us a great deal to be thankful for. Prior to getting pregnant, we had been trying for 4 years with no luck. I was beginning to doubt that I even had the ability anymore. Life is miraculous, and surprising - so look forward to every minute. I know I can't wait to see what 2007 has in store for us!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday!