Make a Face!

We have so much fun with Hayden between the time we finish dinner and when we put her to bed. We play with her on the floor, or watch the Backyardigans, or teach her how to make funny faces.

Hayden thought that putting her fingers on her cheeks was "making a funny face" and she had us cracking up.

Funny Faces

Pool Time

Pool Time

Temperatures have been in the triple digits lately and we've been taking full advantage of our pool. The water has been between 80 and 85 degrees and it's so refreshing.

Each time we get in the pool we practice Hayden's swimming for about 10 minutes and then we hang out, explore, and relax the rest of the time. Matt and Hayden love to check out the waterfall and look at the "baby starfish" on our baja step. Hayden also loves it when Matt tosses her up in the air.

Yard Work

A few weeks ago Matt was outside early on a Sunday morning doing some landscaping work. I took Hayden outside to watch and right away she wanted to help out. Matt gave her a pair of work gloves and she helped him pick up all of the trimmings from the bushes.

She was very good about keeping her gloves on and was so excited to help. Let's just hope this continues until she's a teenager.

Yard Work

Hayden Swims

This is the second year that we've had Hayden take classes through ISR. ISR stands for Infant Swimming Resource and the program teaches Hayden to float and then swim, should she ever fall into a pool.



Toby was her instructor last year and came back again this year. We love Toby! She does a great job with Hayden and is so patient. She came to our house every day (M-F) and spent 10 minutes in the pool with Hayden.

It took Hayden a few weeks to get comfortable being in the water again (and a lot of tears and whining) but by week three she started getting the hang of it. By the end of week four she was a pro and done with her lessons! Take a look at the video of one of her last lessons. She's dressed in full play clothes and shoes!

Communicating with Anabelle

The other night we asked Hayden who her baby sister was. She said "Baby Anabelle"! Then she blew raspberries on my belly. I think it must be her way of communicating with Anabelle. She thought it was hilarious and so did we. I wonder what Anabelle thought?

U-S-A

Unfortunately, you can't see Hayden in this video but you can hear her chanting U-S-A with Matt before the fireworks start. Cute enough to listen to. :)

Road Trip

Fourth of July

On Sunday afternoon we drove to Prescott (north of our house about 90 minutes) to enjoy some small town fireworks. We really wanted Hayden to see fireworks and thought that a little road trip might be fun. Plus, it's about 25 degrees cooler in Prescott so I was very excited about that.

We got a late start because we wanted Hayden to get in a good nap. She took one of her best naps ever (almost three hours) so we didn't leave until about 3:30. The drive should have taken us about an hour and a half but ended up being a little over two hours. We stopped three times so Hayden could use "the potty". Two of the three times she wouldn't even get near the toilet. But, it was a good lesson for us and what traveling with kiddos will be like for the next 18 years. (SOOO looking forward to that)! The whole time we were driving Hayden kept asking, "on trip?" and I'd say, "yes Hayden, we're still on our trip."

Anyway, when we finally arrived at the place where we could park and then take a shuttle to the carnival and fireworks, we were told that the shuttle stopped running and that it was "Park and View" only. What?! It was only 6:00 and the fireworks didn't start until 9:00! Not only did we have an energy filled toddler in the car, but one hungry pregnant woman. Needless to say, we did not "Park and View".

We ended up driving into Prescott and parking near Whiskey Row. We found a brewery and had a great dinner. Hayden had hot dogs (what's more American than hot dogs on the 4th?) and she did really well at the restaurant (her behavior can be a little bit of a crap-shoot).

After dinner Matt used the iPhone to find a "back way" to the fireworks display. We parked in an empty field, opened up the back of the SUV and laid out a blanket. It wasn't long before we attracted at least 10 other cars of people. They had no idea that we were guessing we'd be able to see the fireworks from our spot. Hayden and Matt got out the flags and started chanting U-S-A and I sat in the back of the car enjoying the cooler temperature.

The fireworks started a little after 9:00 and lasted about 20 minutes. Hayden was interested in them for about 3 minutes but we're still so glad she got to see them. We put Hayden in her pajamas and headed back to Phoenix. Hayden and I slept most of the way home and Matt made it home in record time. It was so nice to be able to sleep in our own beds.

Even though our trip didn't go exactly as planned, we had such a fun trip.

More Postings to Come

We've (I've) decided that we really must post to this blog more often than once a month. So much fun stuff happens in our every day life that I'm worried that if we don't write it down those memories will be lost. Not to mention that "pregnancy brain" is a real thing and sometimes I don't remember what I ate for lunch, let alone what happened a month ago.

For those of you dedicated blog followers, you're in for a real treat. We're going to try to blog a few times a week and keep you posted on what's going on in our life. For those of you that check our blog every now and again you'll be in for a lot of extra reading.

So get ready internet! The Wolach family is coming at you full speed ahead!

(Note to readers: there is a small possibility that I'm feeling very motivated and inspired today and this great idea of mine will only last for a week. If that's the case I promise that Matt will come back to the site and continue with our monthly blog posts. This could be a good thing for you - he's a much better writer and his titles are always catchy).

Hope you enjoy Pachelbel's Cherubs! xoxo Savannah

Baby Anabelle

Baby Anabelle

Yesterday we were 28 weeks along and only 11 weeks away from meeting our sweet baby girl. Hooray!

We've spent the last several weeks trying to decide on her name and finally came up with a name that we love. Her first name is Anabelle and we'll call her Elle or Ellie for short. We're still finalizing a middle name and have it narrowed down to a few that we like.

She's been moving around a lot lately and I notice the most movement after I eat something sweet, drink cold water, or lay down to sleep. Sometimes it's just little jabs and other times it feels like she's a little ninja in my belly. I love every movement though because I know that she's growing in there and is healthy.

It's been really hot here so we've been spending more time in our pool. It feels great to relieve some of the extra weight from my back and cool down my swelling feet.

We scheduled a repeat c-section for Monday, September 20 and we're eagerly counting down the weeks until her arrival.

Summer Begins

June 2010

In June Hayden started her second year of swim lessons with Toby. At first she wasn't very excited about the lessons but after a few weeks she started to look forward to Toby's daily visits. This summer she got a refresher on rolling over and floating and also learned how to swim under water. She got two stickers from Toby at the end of each lessons, plus an M&M (her choice of color) from us. Perhaps the bribery helped her excitement for the daily lessons?

At the end of May we started serious potty training with Hayden. We expected it to take a few days of being in the bathroom every 15 minutes, but quickly learned it would be a longer process. Hayden has good and bad days but seems to be catching on and will have it figured out (hopefully) before the new baby comes. :) Her favorite part of the potty training is flushing and washing her hands.

Our good friends Heather and Fermin moved to Seattle. Heather found a new job with a hotel there and moved to join Fermin who was already there looking for a job. We were so sad when they decided to move but so excited for their new adventure. We made them a "going away book" to chronicle some of our favorite times together and also met Heather for dinner and frozen yogurt.

This year Matt celebrated his third Father's Day. Hayden helped him make homemade waffles for breakfast. The rest of the day he got to spend relaxing and watching the US Open.

In late June we flew to Denver for a quick weekend and to attend the wedding of Matt's cousin Kellie. Hayden stayed in Phoenix and had a sleepover with Uncle Ash and Aunt Afton. We had such a fun time and really enjoyed having a "grown up" vacation, though we also really missed having Hayden with us. We shared a suite with Beth and spent time with Matt's parents and Aunt Nina. We attended the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and then the wedding on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding and the brunch following the wedding was delicious (especially the cupcake wedding cake). That afternoon we spent time relaxing at the hotel, had a family dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and then we met Savannah's high school girlfriend Katie for drinks. Before our flight home on Sunday we met family at Diane and Brian's house for homemade green chili burritos. It was a great weekend!

Some of Hayden's latest developments include her being able to say her first and last name, saying and showing us that she's "two", and basically repeating every single thing we say.

We hope you're having a great summer! We'll post more pool pictures soon!