Hayley and Kate Minter

After daddy survived the AC4 tournament at ComedyWorx this weekend, we all went out this afternoon to Cary Towne Center to get Hayley’s three-months-old pictures taken at The Picture People.

We got six poses taken - four of her by herself, and two of the whole family. In three of her solo pictures, we got her to smile. It was an effort, though - she seemed to know that we were trying to get that grin, and made us work for it. But we ended up with a lot of nice shots.

Hayley was good during the photography - she only registered her displeasure a couple of times. Her mood through the shoot was mainly of detached disinterest - “Strange lady - why are you squeaking that rubber duck at me and ticking my foot with a feather duster? Are you daft?”

We ended up using a gift card and a coupon to get a package and a few 8×10s.

Hayley’s first Easter is in the books, and it turned out pretty well.

We went up to Kenbridge on Saturday, visting with the Grandparents Estes in the morning, and Grandma Barnes and Bill, Aunt Beth, and cousins Ashley and Blake in the evening. Everyone’s always glad to see Baby Hayley, and we had a fine time hanging out, going for a stroll around town, and visiting.

Hayley didn’t sleep very well Saturday night, a result (I’m sure) of her routine getting thrown off. We got up bright and early Sunday, got Hayley dressed in her Easter finery, and headed over to Perseverance Christian Church in Dundas to meet up with the family.

She did pretty well during the service - not quite up to the sleep-through-everything performance she gave us last time we went to church, but not bad overall. She fed out in the car right at the start of things, dozed and fussed off-and-on for a while, then left the building with about 10 minutes remaining in the service due to a catastrophic diaper leak that caused her to change most of said Easter finery.
The trip back was pretty uneventful, marked only by Hayley waking up about 30 minutes from home and fussing the rest of the way back. She normally is out like a light once the car starts, and doesn’t move until we’re back home. I think she was worn out, though, because she napped off and on through the afternoon and evening, finally going down for good by 11pm.

She’s continuing her good work grabbing and holding things, and Holly reports that she grabbed one of her own feet briefly the other day.

Hayley’s been showing off her new grasping ability today. She’s able, when we hand her stuff, to hang onto it quite well. We had her in her swing, and she was able to hold onto the plastic pull-ring of her musical star for a good 20 minutes or so. She was also able to grasp Mr. Lion Head in both hands and hold it for a while.

It’s springtime, so Daddy’s spending more time freebasing “Claritin” and keeping Kleenex in business than writing in the BabyBlog. But here’s an update for the people.

Hayley’s finally over her cold, so she’s feeling much better. Though from her occasional sneezes, I wonder if she inherited the springtime allergies from me. Let’s hope not, for her sake.

Hayley had her first audience with a holiday icon this past week, as Mommy took her to see the Easter Bunny while they were at Crabtree Mall. She apparently did well for her first time on the lap of a six-foot-tall rabbit, and we got a few pictures. The pictures didn’t turn out very well, but I’ll put them up as soon as I pull the scanner out of mothballs.

Speaking of pictures, we have an appointment to get some pictures taken next Sunday, courtesy of a gift certificate from Kyle & Christine.

We’ve been taking advantage of the nice weather to go walking in the evenings. There were lots of people out on our street last night, so we had fun showing Hayley off to everyone. She enjoyed it - smiling at everyone and looking around at everything. Of course, everyone thought she was the cutest baby ever. And she is.

Finally, happy birthday to Aunt Beth!

Hayley got her Social Security card in the mail yesterday, so she’s offically a number person in the eyes of the government.

Hayley had her first trip to a resturant Saturday night, as she went with us to our favorite sushi place, Kanki at Crabtree Valley Mall. She was very good during dinner - sitting in her stroller for part of the meal, and in Mommy’s lap the rest of the time. She just hung out watching us eat, at one point stretching her legs out and putting her feet up on the table like she owned the place!

She’s still getting over her cold, though. Her nose is pretty stopped up, and she really doesn’t like it when we use the big blue bulb to try to clear it. It’s for her own good, though! Hopefully it’ll clear up in the next few days - I don’t know how much longer we can go before she snatches that bulb and throws it out the window.

Christine stopped by to visit today, and Hayley was in much better spirits this time than on her last trip. Which is good - everyone loves smiley baby.

Hayley’s enjoyed showing off her ever-improving muscle control. Yesterday, I propped her up in the corner of the couch, and she leaned forward quite a ways, then pulled herself back all by herself. When we give her tummy time on the floor, she can lift her head up an look around just like she’s people. Maybe she’ll be an early sitter - time will tell.

Hayley made her first unscheduled trip to the doctor today. She’d been showing signs of a little cough and sneezing for the past couple days. Nothing major, no fever, no abnormal fussing, no trouble eating, but when it didn’t go away, Holly decided to take her to the doctor.

The doctor diagnosed it as a mild cold, and said to just watch her to see if it gets any worse, and it should go away within a week or so.

So her first brush with illness has been pretty mild.