Halloween!

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend, celebrating NC's first Halloween.  NC was invited to her first Halloween party at her friend Lilli's house on Saturday.  The real fun started on Sunday morning.  We decided to go check out Burt's Farm and get a pumpkin (or two .. or four).  It was a beautiful fall day and we had a wonderful time. I was a little worried that it would be crazy busy but it was actually a great time to go.  We walked around and checked everything out (it was our first visit).  We took some pictures then picked our pumpkins.  And of course, we had to check out the hayride. :)  Unfortunately when we got home, we found out that NC had a fever.  She was a trooper though, carving the pumpkin and putting her costume on (for just a bit though).

9 months

Nancy Carolyn turned 9 months on October 15 (yes I realize that was TWO weeks ago) but we've been super busy.  We had our check up that day and she did really well.  The doctor said she was perfect (OF COURSE!).  Her stats:  16 lb 15 oz, 27 1/4" long, both in the 25%

She is getting to be quite the accomplished crawler.  She LOVES to chase our cat, Bailey too.  She squeals and talks to her (and Sammy too) when they are brave enough to come near.  NC is so funny too.  She makes funny faces and has the best personality.  I think her favorite thing to do  is to mess up the toys when they are all neat.  For instance, if we made a tower or stack up those nesting cups... she LOVES to get them and knock them down.  She's also starting to venture out on her own.  Such a funny, stubborn, brave and independent little girl who lights up our days!!!

again... sorry blogger

I have turned into the lousiest of bloggers.... There just never seems to be enough time.  In fact, I'm just now uploading videos and pictures from... well, a long time ago!  

Things are constantly busy.  We are constantly going somewhere or doing something.  Over the last month, Nancy Carolyn has flown for the first time.  We flew to DC for a triathlon.  She went to her first baseball game (Washington Nationals), her first BRAVES game, first trip to the zoo (Smithsonian National Zoo), has started crawling and is getting her first tooth!  She is one busy little girl!  Her little personality continues to shine and she is one funny little girl!  

Fisher Price

Today we had a Fisher Price House Party playdate!  I signed up on www.houseparty.com to be a host for their Fisher Price party.  I was chosen so they sent us 5 new toys, plus diapers and toys for my guests.  We had a fun time with our friends who were able to make it.  Here's a few pics from our fun time together!

a bad blogger

Things are busy around here... lots going on and just never enough time to do anything (including blogging).  I will TRY to be better!  I promise to try anyway :)
 
So, I am back at school full swing.  We're getting the hang of our schedule.  I do have to admit that I got very overwhelmed of the busyness of it and stopped my half marathon training for a while.  It was a nice break but am back to full time training (well, almost).  In struggling with it, Chris pointed out that the craziness would only last a couple of months and well, I can do anything for a couple of months right?  (even though I do hope to keep up with running on a semi regular basis). 

Selling Thirty One Gifts is going well also.  Two weeks ago, I had my first actual "real live" party.  It was an Open House/drop in here at my house (which I'm sure most of you know about it from Facebook).  It was really fun and the people that made it were excited about the product and quality of the product. 

We had some almost exciting news last week.  There's a home near my dad's house that has been on the market FOREVER.  We found out that it was going to go up for auction so we went and checked it out.  It's a nice home, just needs some updating.  So we quickly put an offer on it before it actually went to auction.  Unfortunately someone else beat us to the punch. BUT now, it has the wheels turning in our head about finding a larger home to grow in with a nice yard for kids to play in.  We love our little home, but it is a bit small and we really don't have anywhere for NC to run around.




Nancy Carolyn is growing like a weed and is so much fun.  She can sit very well and play with toys.  She's working on scooting around.  She can pull herself around a little bit on the hard woods.  She has a funny little personality that I am just loving getting to see develop everyday.

7 months

Last Sunday, our baby girl was SEVEN months old!  I can't believe it!  Time has just FLOWN and continues to do so.  Nancy Carolyn is SO much fun now and each day is more and more fun as she learns and masters new things.  The last month brought LOTS of changes to the Hartley house.  NC is eating more and more veggies and fruits.  She's a good eater and so far seems to enjoy everything she's tried.  She especially likes veggies, including sweet potatoes (of course!).  She also really liked the peaches that I made for her (fresh peaches that were pureed).  NC has mastered the art of sitting.  Every now and again she'll fall over, but it doesn't cause tears anymore.  She's TRYING so hard to scoot and crawl, but has figured out to reach toys she can pull the quilt and get the toy that she wants... or she can roll around and she'll eventually get it. :) She's resourceful, that's for sure! She loves to laugh and is constantly saying "ma ma ma ma ma."  I don't have "official" stats this month, but according to the wii, she's about 16 lbs.  She's also getting longer because we're starting to be too long for our 6 month pajamas.  Last night we wore our first 9 months pair!  

                                                                         Big girl!

                                         NC meets Bumba for the first time (my grandmother)

This was last Sunday.  She took a nap in her swing and I was amazed at how big she looked in it.  It prompted me to look back at old pictures to when she first started napping in the swing..




To the right is a picture from "week 2" of her life... just amazing.  When did she get so big???

Sorry blogger

I have been a horrible blogger as of late.  School started and I have NO time to blog.  I'm hoping that as we settle into a schedule and I get back into the groove of school that it will be easier and there will be more time.  School has been crazy busy, then I rush to get my Princess.  Once we get home, I want to spend EVERY waking minute with her until bedtime.  THEN, because it's too hot outside, I've gone to the Y for 3 nights a week to run on the treadmill.  Needless to say, it's 9:00 on Saturday night and I'm EXHAUSTED!  

I promise to blog tomorrow about my Princess.  She turns 7 months tomorrow, so I will brag and brag on how wonderful she is! :)

Until then... let me tell you about me.  Like I said, busy busy bee since school has started back.  Not only will I teach the gifted resource class, I will also be teaching the accelerated fifth grade math class.  I'm excited about both even though I would prefer to be at home with my baby.  Anyone want to pay me to stay home with her???  31 is going well.  I'm excited about the new products and hope the busy Christmas shopping season will add to my sales.  Training is going really well.  I've never considered myself a runner.  In fact, I've always said I hate running.  BUT I'm actually enjoying running (once I get going).  And that's it for now...