This is how we roll

My (Jenny) brother and I have a long standing tradition of doing a "bad ass" picture anytime we are together.  Since getting married we have taught our spouses the ways of the wise.  Now...we teach our children.  Ladies and Gents..I give you Miss Hazel Brock in all her "bad ass" glory.

Also, just because I think my kid is funny - here are some embarassing photo booth shots taken over the last few months on our computer with the last ones being this evening :).  Yes, I am talking on the phone in the first one - this was the first photo booth I ever did and wasn't sure really what I was doing.  My apologies to whomever I was talking to - I promise I was listening.

A little teaser -

If this doesn't get you excited for my next photoshoot to post, I don't know WHAT will!

Stay tuned!

Public Service Announcement - Car Seat Safety

If you can't tell by her facial expression, this is serious stuff, people.  Warning, this is not an uplifting post and it's extremely sad but it's important to spread the word and educate people to what can happen if we're not careful with our babes in their car seat.  To anyone that has or will ever watch a baby that is still in a car seat - this is important. 

A friend of my mom (and a friend of mine) works for an organization called 'Safe Kids Worldwide' - she's no joke.  She knows car seat safety better than I know celebrity gossip - and that's saying a lot.  In fact, interesting note - she was on the television in the hospital talking about car seat safety while I was giving birth to Grayson.  That information was not needed..but I digress.  Here's the deal - she is contacted by parents all the time that have had their baby die due to a car seat incident as these parents want to have their stories heard and get the information out there so others can learn from what went wrong.  She recently came across a death of a 10 month old baby girl that was TOTALLY PREVENTABLE and I'm using this blog as a vessel to inform my fellow parent friends of what happened so that this doesn't happen again.

Here's the story straight from the mouth of my friend -
A very caring, older mother (she was nearly 40) used a (well researched) babysitter to watch her beloved 10 month old baby girl.  She was only leaving the baby with her for about 2 hours and dropped her off in her car seat.  The mom never thought to tell the babysitter not to leave her baby in the car seat the whole time and to never leave her alone.  Long story short, the babysitter unbuckled the crotch buckle but left the chest clip attached at the baby’s chest.  When the baby got fussy, the sitter put the baby in a bedroom and shut the door.  She soon quieted.  When the sitter went to get her about a half hour later, the baby was deceased in the seat.  She had “submarined” down in the seat because the crotch buckle had been left open and the baby got “hung” on the chest clip.  She could not pull herself up and reposition.  So here is the message:  know who is watching your baby at all times (daycare, church nursery, babysitter) and be sure they know how you want your baby’s safety to be handled.  Car seats are for the car.  They are not babysitters.  Children in car seats and swings need to be attended by adults.  

For more information about this and other safety tips for kids birth through age 14 go to www.safekids.org.

GOT IT????  GOOOOD.  OH and one more thing - if you have a blog or other social media outlet that you could post this story on to spread the word to your community, please do so - the more awareness out there..the safer these sweet babes are!!!

3 Months Old!

Here are the many faces of schweeeeeeeeeeeeet girl at 3 months old.

 

and for comparison sake - here is a link to her big brother at 3 months old! CLICK HERE

And yes, she could hide a paci in those cheeks if she really wanted to!

Weddings, Weddings, and more Weddings!

 Two of our favorites - Gray's old nanny, Annmarie and Jenny's best friend and Gray's godmother, Christina got married in back to back weekends in early September and Gray was the ring bearer in BOTH weddings!!  He did such a great job in both.  In Annmarie's he was pulled down the aisle (outside wedding) in a wagon and only yelled "Help me, daddy...Help me!" a few times and in Christina's, despite a not so successful rehearsal, he walked down the aisle holding my hand (which was okay as I was in the wedding party), very peacefully and went right to his daddy who just HAPPENED to be holding a powdered donut as his special treat :).  Unfortunately Kyle and Gray didn't get to see that whole ceremony as Gray was very curious as to "Where dey goin'??" (when the readers got up to read) and then in dead silence he wanted to know, "Where's Hazie Haze???" - and...I proceeded to give Kyle the glance and he and Gray exited stage left.  Up top is what Am chose for her wedding and then we had full dressing rights in Christina's wedding so he wore the below sear-sucker suit with a purple argyle tie to match the colors.  Oh and yes, Hazie Haze was looking her finest for both events :).

Just as a side note - as I was posting this Gray pulled up a chair next to me and took one look at the top picture and proceeded to announce, "OH, HE'S CUTE, MAMA...HE IS CUTE!!!!" - we struggle with self confidence around here.

Gammy and her youngest gam-daughter.

See post below for one of grandma and her grandkids!!  There are more to post..they are coming!!!

A grandma and her babes (& 2 months of living)

I get it - I'm so backloaded on blogs that it seems impossible to catch up.  So, with that in mind I give you this - Grandma Brock and all her grandbabes.  Can't get much cuter than this, folks.

Oh and here's our littlest babe showing off her 2 months of living.  I will also post a 1 month because I just realized I never did that.  OH and for the record, her 1 month has no proof it's her one month but just trust me - this was schweetz at 1 month. 

2 months:

52 pounds in 52 weeks

To all my closest friends -

Hazel here. That's right, guest appearance from yours truly.  I just felt so tired that all this talk was going on about me and I really, so far, have had no say.  Well, folks - that all ends tonight.  First, I want to thank all the folks that sent me cards for my 3 week birthday this past Thursday.  You guys don't need to do that EVERY week of my life but I sure have appreciated the elaborate gifts and money that has been sent my way in honor of aging.  Seriously though, can you believe I'm THREE weeks old?  That means the next Thursday that comes I will be able to tell people my age in MONTHS and no longer in weeks - unreal.  The bad news about my 1 month birthday is that if I read the blog correctly, it's about a month in which I go really pale, my hair falls out and I get bad baby acne - MAD calls this the awkward baby stage. 

Exhibit A - Grayson around 1 month

I'm not afraid though.  One thing I have going for me that Gray didn't was that I have hair in the back long enough to pretty much hold a french braid.  Mom braids my hair often (as you can imagine) so even if I lose everything up top - I'll still have this 'party in the back' to work with and style as I please.  Oh the joys of being a girl!!!

So far so good around the house.  I mean, what's there to be bad from my perspective? I cry and I get either a) a milkshake or b) picked up and cuddled.  Wow, tough life.  I poop and my butt is wiped in a matter of seconds and people "oooh" and "ahhh" over me constantly.  NOW, if you ask mom and dad their opinion of life right now, they MAY have a different story :).  I think I heard mom describe me the other day as "needy" - if that's not the pot calling the kettle black!  Listen, my hands move without me controlling them and I slap myself in the face constantly when left uncuddled in someone's arms.  It's a big world out there and I'm just a little girl - can I help it if I prefer to be bundled and safe in the arms of love rather than thrown to the wolves (by wolves I mean Daisy and Grayson) and left unprotected in the bouncy seat or the swing?  Mr. "I don't want to touch my sister" sure has gotten a little more brave in these last three weeks and I'm not about to take my chances with him if I don't have to.  For all I know, he could go for my pony tail!!

About the subject line.  Here's my goal for the year - 52 lbs in 52 weeks.  All I know was that in ONE week of my birth I was successfully able to gain a full pound.  The doctor walked in the room with mom and I and the first words out of his mouth were, "well, congratulations, mom - you definitely are successful at nursing her!"  I personally think I should have been congratulated but whatever, Dad already taught me life isn't always fair.  So, I made a goal to keep up the momentum and gain a pound a week from there on out.  So, I was 9 lbs after a week, add 51 more weeks to that and I hope to be 60 lbs by age 1.  I'll keep you posted as to my progress after each doctors appointment.

Okay, it's been 15 minutes so I have to go back to sleep but let me leave you with some highlights.

1. Apparently I pee more when getting my diaper changed than my brother.  I just feel the fresh air and my whole body relaxes.  Good news is that mom's face stays dry when it happens - bad news is that the ottoman that she's changing me on does not.

2. I have made up for the fact that I can't shoot my pee at MAD with the fact that I have been able to shoot my poo at MAD.  I say that's even better.  Yes, it was the middle of the night and yes, I was on their bed and yes, their comforter will now be forever stained, and yes, mom laughed so hard she cried.  Trust me, they have already thanked me.

3. Grayson is getting much more brave with me.  He even will ask to hold me.  He's still very sweet with me!

4. I can smell mom as soon as she enters within a 20 foot parameter of my whereabouts and it can literally wake me out of a deep sleep.  The other day Dad had gotten me to sleep and placed me in the bouncer (so tricky of him to wait till I had fallen asleep) and mom simply came downstairs into the hallway when I got a whiff of my next meal.  I gave them my best "pop-eye" showing I was aware of her presence and Dad immediately banned her from the hallway and the kitchen so that I would not be wakened.  Gray apparently never had a nose like I do but I'm not afraid to wake up if I think food is on it's way to be delivered - do you REMEMBER my goal from above??

(if this picture below isn't the look of "feed me" I don't know what is...- also, notice arm that is flying out of the picture uncontrolled by me - do you understand NOW why I want to be held?)

4. I'm a sweet, sweet girl and although not always convenient that I appreciate physical touch, MAD say they wouldn't have it any other way (85% of the time). :)

(This picture below is part of the 15%)

  

Wow, blogging is exhausting.

hugs and kisses,

Hazel