Santa! I Know Him!

We took Harlow over to Grandma Lori's swim and tumble school to meet Santa for the first time. This is Daddy and Harlow waiting in line to get their picture taken.


My darn camera didn't focus right the first time, so the real first meeting (which was the cutest) came out blurry! stupid technology (better yet, stupid me, who couldn't get it right!)

I sure do love that it started to focus better just in time to get the crying shots. The picture above it a classic first meeting of Santa and Baby. Pretty funny :)
Second try, we waited a few minutes for her to calm down before we tried again in hopes of capturing a better picture. Too bad the picture came out better but no smiles or eye contact with the camera.

Whoa, who are you?

Daddy calming her down afterwards.

Cousin Amelia, in the cutest handmade Christmas outfit.

Harlow in her Christmas outfit.

Aunt Jessi and Harlow.

Harlow's first meeting with Santa didn't go as bad as I thought it would. She is usually a really happy, social baby. What is it about Santa that makes kids cry? Even the happiest of kids seem scared of him. Oh well, maybe next year there will be no tears. For the record, she smiled at him for about .5 seconds before the tears started. I don't think she could make up her mind on how she felt about him. Maybe by next year she will understand why its important to be on her best behavior with Santa and not cry...

8 Months Old

Harlow turned 8 months old a few days before we left for Hawaii. So instead of snapping some pictures of her in the dreary Fresno weather, I took along her outfit and did them on the beach in Oahu!

She has gone through some pretty important milestones in the last month.

She learned how to crawl!

She can pull herself up to her knees when holding onto something.

She can get from her hands and knees back to a sitting position (sometimes).

While in Hawaii, she cut her first tooth. And I am proud to say that it didn't seem to bother her that much. I've heard that its awful when they get teeth but so far so good!

Harlow went to the beach for the first time.

Played in the sand and ocean for her first time and did really well. She really loves the water. Not some much the sand in her mouth.

She also figured out how to express herself a little more (or louder, should I say?)

She had her first full-on temper tantrum. She had a piece of Velcro in her mouth and when I pulled it out she had a complete melt down, with screaming, red face and tears. It was pretty funny actually... but only the first time.

She is getting so big that she can kick up both of her feet on the car seat rail. It looks like she's got her feet up and relaxing.

Oh! And she says "Ma Ma" now, I'm sure it's just a sound that she makes but that is one step closer!

She can wave to say "hi".

And she finally fits into a size 2 diaper. And can finally wear some of her 6-12 months pants.

I got a little spoiled when we were on vacation, I miss getting to spend every day, all day, with her. When I went back to work on Monday I was pretty bummed. I love her so much, I don't want to miss a minute with her!

Crawling

Harlow figured out how to crawl on Wednesday morning. Pete and I were getting ready for the day, and I was sitting on the floor in front of the mirror putting on my make-up. She likes to get my big brush. I turned around the see what she was doing and she took about 5 forward crawls in a row without stopping towards the brush. Pete and I both froze, I don't think either of us could really believe she finally did it. We grabbed the iPhone and video taped her next attempt. Not quite as graceful as her first try but you get the idea. She has gotten better each day since then.

And today she learned how to pull herself up onto her knees while holding onto something. She is getting smarter, faster and cuter each day! I wish there were words that could adequately describe just how much I love her!



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Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas!
From, The Hafens

My awesome and talented sister-in-law, Brianna, took our pictures for our Christmas cards again this year. They turned out amazing.

Enjoy the pictures.
(and the bloopers, like the two below) :)

Note to self, don't take away her toy.

I love these pictures and can't wait to get one blown up and hung in our house.