Halloween has come and gone already! We had a fun day yesterday getting all sorts of dressed up and taking pictures. Hayden actually had several Halloween accessories (bow, hat socks, skirt, onesie, etc) and we had to take pictures in all of them. Will wasn't able to get home early as planned, so when he finally arrived we got her in her costume for some pictures. It didn't last long for several reasons. A) It was a little big. It was for 6-12 months, as most of the costumes I saw were. At just under 5 months, she wasn't quite there yet. B) It was hot. It was a thick costume with a headpiece. A costume like that doesn't last long in Texas. C) She's teething some and was tired, so she was grumpy and over having the camera in her face all day. It was nearly 7:00 by the time we got her in it. But, we did get some pictures. All you need is one, right? 
What other news? Will just got home after being on the road for ten days. That was a little challenging, but things are actually a lot easier now that Hayden is a little older. I'm more accustomed to the time, energy, and sleepless nights now than I was in the beginning. I basically function on very little rest these days, but it's become easier. She hasn't been sleeping all that great since we unswaddled her arms, but is doing better now so that I am only getting up about three times a night, instead of six. One fellow mom recommended turning off the monitor to resist the temptation of going in there at every little peep. While I thought that was some sound advice, I opted to turn the sound down very low instead of the full turn off. That way I can look at her in a click if I want to. It's helped. She's becoming more skilled at self soothing. Sometimes I even put her down awake and let her put herself to sleep. She still starts out in her swing, but goes to her bed after her first wake up; and sometimes back to her swing when she wakes up around 5 am or so, just to coax her back to sleep so she knows it's not time to wake up yet. Hayden recently started rocking herself in her bouncy chair, haha, she really gets herself going by swinging her leg up and down. It's the funniest thing. Some things she really loves now: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, belly kisses, rolling to her tummy to look at the owls on her crib bumper, and her BIG lovey Delilah (Daisy's big sister) with her satin lining.
Speaking of Daisy-- I don't think I've written about dear Daisy. Oh, Daisy. We had a miniature crisis involving Daisy. Daisy is a little pink rag dog given to Hayden when she was born by her Aunt Jennifer. We take Daisy about everywhere. Well, on an excursion to Michael's craft store a couple weeks ago, we of course had Daisy in tow. I was staying at my parents' since Will was out of town. We came home, watched most of the football game, and it was nap time. I get her all settled in and started looking for Daisy, who was nowhere to be found. I became frantic and went into a frenzy looking for Daisy Dog. Not in my purse, not in the diaper bag, not in the stroller, not in the truck, not in the crib.... I came to the conclusion that she must have been lost out in the big world. I jumped in the truck and drove as quickly as I could back to Michael's, which was over a half hour away. Of course I had called to ask beforehand, but they were not very helpful. Whoever answered, said, "We don't have it," and it seemed like they hadn't even looked; so I decided to go look myself. I scoured aisle after aisle, looking underneath in case it got kicked under the merchandise racks. Nothing. I was just sick thinking about some grubby kid picking it up and taking home something my kid has been chewing on for four months. That's just not right. I asked again, and again, "No, don't have it." As I was walking away in near tears, a lady said, "Yes we do! Someone turned it in! It was found in the parking lot!" What?? I can't believe someone picked her up and brought her inside! And we were in a strip center, how did they know we were even in Michael's?? I couldn't believe it!! I was so happy, I think I actually was crying when I grabbed her up. No one at home could believe I found her, either. I washed her as soon as we got home so I could give her back to Hayden. My mom said the real Daisy needs to stay home from now on, so we ordered Daisy Deux for public outings. We also got Delilah (a big Daisy) just for fun. Oh yeah. I've named all of Hayden's stuffed animals, in case you hadn't picked up on that yet. Haha. :)
