Derby Day

For our anniversary this year, we decided to cross an item off our Bucket List and get grandstand seats at the Kentucky Derby. Neither of us had been before and living so close made it too hard to pass up this year. With work schedules and child care we weren't able to make it to the Kentucky Oaks on Friday but we were able to leave for Louisville Friday evening and take our time getting to our hotel. Everything fills up far in advance and is very expensive for the weekend so we ended up staying on the Indiana side just over the bridge into Kentucky.

We sort of slept in a little on race day and headed to the track by 10am. We received lots of tips from friends to park in the University of Louisville football stadium parking lot and walk over so that is what we did. It was full of tailgaters and party buses and was just a short 10 minute walk over a bridge to Churchill Downs. It was everything I expected and more! So many people from the fanciest of the fancy to the very casual. The weather was perfect, even maybe a little hot by the afternoon. I borrowed an awesome hat from my moms Derby party collection and we fit right in with the crowd.

Our seats were along the straight part of the track, about 10 rows from the front so we were able to walk around, see all of the areas of the track and watch a lot of the races. Once it was time for the actual Derby race it filled up quickly and everyone was standing on the bleachers so it was near impossible to see other than on the giant video screen. We placed a few winning bets early in the day to test our luck but my picks for the big race were terrible. Karl ended up about even but it was amazing to see how much people would win and lose with each race. We weren't playing with big money but there were a lot of people that were. We could not have asked for a better day and while we went just the two of us we did meet up with a few friends that were there. We are definitely making plans to do this again and gathering up a bigger group for next time!

Ally was having her own Derby Party before we left!

Happy 1st Birthday Hadley!

 

On March 23 we celebrated Hadley's first birthday with some family and friends at our house. It was a big day and Hadley loved opening presents and digging right into her yummy cake! Hadley is a very happy girl and checked off a lot of major milestones before her first birthday.

1 year stats:
20.8 lbs and 30.25 inches tall
4 teeth- 2 top and 2 bottom
Took her first steps on March 1 but still prefers to crawl or walk holding hands
Curly hair in the back but straight on top
Can drink from a soft sippy cup but still prefers bottles
Never had formula and made the switch to whole milk 1 week before her birthday
Attends day care full time and is the class favorite
Much improved nap routine which usually includes an am and a pm snooze for about an hour each
Turns into a pumpkin at 8:30 pm on the dot
Bedtime routine includes PJs, sleep sack, bottle and rock with blanket
Usually find her sitting up in her bed around 7:15 am, happy as can be
Very particular about her blankets and likes to hold them close to her face like sister
Very smiley :)
Eats or tries just about anything you put in front of her but favorites are cheese, chicken, eggs, pancakes, yogurt and goldfish
Loves her sister and her dog so much
Very minimal trips to the doctor, just 1 ear infection but teething really gives her issues
Vocabulary includes mama, dada and yes

Overall, Hadley is a very happy and healthy girl. In many ways so different from her sister but similar in many ways as well. From my lack of posting and lack of photos compared to Ally at this age, clearly she is the second child. Looking forward to warmer weather and some big changes as she gets ready to move to the 1 year old room at day care, expands her vocabulary and become a more consistent walker.

Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day

First Steps

On March 1 Hadley took her first real steps. She did it a few times across the living room and of course decided to get distracted the time I tried to actually capture it with my camera. She hasn't really tried it much since because she can crawl so fast. She also loves carrying things in her hands which isn't easy to do when you are struggling with balance.

Months 10 and 11

We have been very busy the last few months so I have been lacking in the photo posts.  Hadley now has 4 big teeth you can see (2 top and 2 bottom), thicker curly hair and the cutest giggle. She has moved on to only table foods and holds her own bottle. Working on walking and mastering the cup. Hard to believe she will be 1 very soon.

I'm 10 Months Old!

I'm 11 Months Old!