Smiley Hadley

Hadley Jayne is a very smiley little girl. Our Nikon has helped us catch her sweet smiles from the time she was born until now, and we've accumulated quite a few. Since there wasn't really any other post where I got to show off most of these pictures, today's post is just an opportunity to share them with you. 

Even before we left the hospital, Hadley began cracking her first smiles!

The first month or so we saw a few random smiles here or there, but we really began to see her responding to us more in May.  We would talk sweetly to her and gently tap on her chin a little with our pointer finger to get her face to break into a toothless baby smile. This made it so easy to get good photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By June she had the art of smiling perfected. All we had to do was just say something sweet to her and a gummy grin popped to her face.

 

 

 

  

In the mornings, I often say "Good morning, Hadley" and watch in expectancy as a beautiful happy expression appears. What a way to start the day!

Recently, she has even learned to giggle a little. Sometimes it's because she's being tickled, but other times she'll just laugh like she thinks something is funny. I just love those happy baby sounds! 

 

 

While she usually smiles for pretty much anyone who talks to her, she really lights up for my mom, Dave, and me. However, Caleb seems to be the person who makes her smile the best. Even if he isn't really paying attention to her, just being near him can make her happy. If he talks to her or even just acknowledges her a little she will often grin from ear to ear.

 

Keep smiling, Hadley Jayne!

Family Drive-In

While we're on the topic of movie theaters, we had another unique movie experience lately - a trip to the "Family Drive-In." Growing up, I loved for my parents to take us to the drive-in in Stephens City. Snuggling up in the car with lots of pillows and blankets plus snacking on pickles, popcorn, candy, and a shrimp basket made for a special night - not to mention the playground!

Last year we talked several times about taking Caleb, but something or other always came up and we never made it. Two weeks ago when we considered going, the heat was too intense to have the kids out. This weekend though was much more pleasant. In order to beat the crowd and get a good spot before they filled up or sold out, we got there early to buy our tickets for Ice Age 4 and Brave. The prices are great in my opinion - $8 per person for a double feature and kids under three are free. Plus, you can bring in your own food unlike most theaters. I'm always excited about economical family excursions.

Before the show and at the intermission between movies, the kids can play on the playground right underneath the large screen. I love that they still have the same classic equipment I played on as a kid.

Popular spot! Everyone loves the drive-in.

 

Lots of space to run!

 I remember waiting in line to ride these swings.

Years later, Caleb patiently waited his turn too.

 I helped Caleb with the big slide the first time around.

 Then Mr. Big-Britches tried to do it by himself.

 Daddy still helped at the bottom. 

 The jungle gym was his favorite, but it was the scariest 

for me. I kept worrying one of the bigger kids were 

going to jump down right on his head.

We decided to take a break from the playground to go back and get ready for the movie. Caleb was impressed with the speakers after I showed him how they worked. We learned from the pre-movie announcements that this drive-in is one of the few that still have the classic speakers. You can tune the movie in on your radio too if you prefer that way, but I love the old time feeling they produce.

 

Hadley was more excited about this outdoor theater than the Alamo. She was happy to play with us out in the fresh air until she got tired and even caught a nap in the back of the Pilot

 

We got our camping chairs set up and spread out a quilt and some pillows. The back of our SUV was much more comfortable that the Toyota Camry we had when I was a kid, and it was easy to make sure everyone could see.

 

Finally, it was time for the movie to begin. Dave pulled Caleb off the playground and I headed for some snacks while the intro played. While we could have brought in our own food, the concessions help to provide funds to make sure this nostalgic hang-out for families stays open so we wanted to support it, especially since the admission price basically only covers their cost for the films themselves. They have to raise a large amount of money this year to go digital so that the movie companies will continue to work with them; we wanted to make sure to do our part to keep them in business......Ok, and I have to admit that I love movie theater popcorn! (Although Dave (who said he didn't want any) and Caleb ate most of it while I was nursing Hadley - those boys!!!!!!)

 

 

 

 

Several family members had suggested the drive-in as a great place for a date night because the kids usually fall asleep and you can enjoy the movie. Not my boy! The movie started at 9:00 or so and he stayed up for the entire thing. We decided not to stay for the second feature, but he didn't even fall asleep on the car ride home! I think it was 11:30 before he finally hit the sack. Surprisingly though, he was up the next morning like normal and made it through both Sunday School and the Worship Service at church without melting down. 

There just seems to be something magical about watching a movie in the night air. I gave me feeling of contentment, taking time away from all the chores we have to do and enjoying time together.That coupled with the surroundings of one of the few places where you really feel like you've flashed back in a time when things were simpler and slower made for a great night.

We're off to the movies!

My friend Shannon mentioned to us several weeks ago that a nearby theater called The Alamo offers some free movies for kids during the summer. Almost every week they have a film playing at 11am Mon.-Thurs. Knowing how much Caleb loves watching movies at home, I thought this might be something fun and different to check-out. The extreme heat wave we'd been experiencing in June, which kept us from going outside to play much, made this idea even more appealing. So, the first week these movies were offered beginning at the end of June, we decided to visit the theater.

I know some theaters have age restrictions, sometimes turning away children under the age of five. However, I checked and found out kids of all ages were accepted at this one, and so, we were off to the movies!

I figured that Caleb would be able to sit through the entire film, but I wasn't sure about Hadley since babies are unpredictable. For that reason, I was afraid to try the adventure by myself. I could just see in my mind a big commotion if Hadley started to cry and I had to make Caleb leave the movie before it was over. Thankfully, NaNa wanted to be there to see Caleb's reaction to his first time in a movie theater, so she joined us and was a lot of help.

 

We saw the movie Babe, which was perfect for my farm-animal-lovin' boy. The theater filled up quickly, so when we arrived just a few minutes prior to the show, the only seats left were in the front row.

 Caleb glued to the movie.

 Hadley: Why are we sitting the dark?

 Caleb was a wiggle worm, scooting from NaNa's 

lap to Mommy's lap to his own seat.

 The theater is also a restaurant, so we 

had our lunch while we watched.

Both kids were very well behaved throughout the whole film. I thought the sound was turned up way too loud, which left me covering Hadley's ears for most of the movie, but she didn't seem too concerned. I think my mom may have taken her out one time for just a bit when she got a little fussy but otherwise it went smoothly. Caleb stayed focused until almost the very end when he started to get antsy. Still, for his age and attention span, I was impressed.

I don't think we'll go back this summer because there aren't really any more movies offered that we're interested in. Plus, I don't like to make Hadley sit in the dark for so long with such loud speakers blaring. But, I am glad we went at least once and look forward to checking it out again next year.