Hadley is Two!

Dear Hadley,

We made it to two!  I’m sure this will cause you to roll your eyes, but I will say it every year… SLOW DOWN!  I wish there was a pause button to keep you at this sweet, innocent, fun, spunky age forever.  That’s not to say that two hasn’t brought us some new challenges, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

You have grown SO so much in the past couple months that it’s truly hard to believe.  You went from a basic vocabulary with one word answers here and there to telling stories and repeating anything and everything your little ears hear!  The amount that you can communicate with us now just blows me away and is one of the reasons I am loving this age so much.  I think it’s helped your temperament a lot, too, as we have far more good days than bad ones lately.  {Unfortunately, I’m sure this will change once your little sister arrives next month sometime, but we’ll get through it!}  I want to remember some of the things you are saying/communicating with us right now, so I’ll just list them out.

• You know all of your colors (including hot pink!)
• Can count to 15 (with a little help)
• Sing: ABCs, twinkle twinkle, row row row your boat, itsy bitsy spider;
• You thank God for colors in our prayers, & list everyone you know
• Phrases: “carry you” = carry me; “momma (or daddy, nana, etc) show dat” = Momma look at this/I want to show you this momma; “whoopsies!”; “Momma, ‘mere” = Momma, come here; “No is?!” = That’s not what that is, or I don’t know what that is; “hard” or “heavy” – anytime something is too much for you to carry or figure out; “Whoa, what’s dat noise?!” (anytime you hear something out of the ordinary – you have great hearing!); “You otay??” (You say this to your babies – or some variation of it); “Momma? Are you?! (sometimes it sounds like “W’are you?”) – you say this when you wake up and I haven’t gotten you out of your crib yet.

You are so tender hearted.  Don’t get me wrong – you’re two, and definitely know how to test your limits, but overall  you are very sensitive to correction.  It breaks your heart if daddy gets on to you, and you willingly put yourself in timeout if I ask you if you’re being disobedient.  Hearing or seeing someone else upset or crying makes you very concerned. (This could get pretty interesting for us when we bring your baby sister home!)  You are also super nurturing and motherly.  You’ll tuck all your toys in with a blanket and pat their little backs while saying ny-ny and giving them kisses.  If your baby falls out of her stroller or you are pretending she’s crying, you’ll pick her up and hug her and pat her back saying “it’s otay…. it’s otay baby.”  I just love your sweet sweet heart!

When you are in your comfort zone, you love to put on a show, but as soon as you are in unfamiliar surroundings with new people, you become painfully shy.  Going to lunch with daddy and his co-workers has become so difficult because you will cry and bury your face into me for the first 30 minutes! 

You love to be silly and play and rough-house with daddy, but you are definitely in a “momma’s girl” phase.  (Although I think if I was replaced by Nana your world would be complete in your eyes… when she’s around, I’m chopped liver!) 

Words of affirmation is definitely one of your “love languages” right now.  You were so proud of the ornaments you made at school for our tree and just couldn’t wait for daddy to get home.  You’d run to the tree and say “Daddy, show dat” and I swear you would grow 6 inches every time he told you what a great job you did or how pretty your ornaments looked. 

Speaking of growing, your stats right now are:

Height: 35 3/4 inches (90th-95th percentile)

Weight: 29 lbs 10 1/2 oz – (75th-90th percentile)

Diapers (yes we’re still in diapers – I’m not pushing PTing until you are FOR SURE ready!): Size 5 or 6 depending on the brand

Clothes: Tops are mostly 3T with the exception of a few brands; bottoms are 24 month/2T – you’ve got short little legs for how tall you are!

Your current LOVES: Elmo, Violet, the iPad, looking at pictures, stickers, reading books (we read The BooHoo Baby and Llama, Llama, Nighty Night every night), puzzles, going on walks, playing with friends – especially “Binn” (Brynn)

Your diet right now consists of…not much. Grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, tortillas, rice, fruit & veggie packets (thankfully), fruit – strawberries, grapes, apples, mandarin oranges, bananas, PB&J sandwiches, pretzels, cheese & crackers.  You have decided you are a vegetarian who doesn’t eat vegetables.  Awesome.

Thankfully, after our rough transition to one nap and a little bit of a struggle with our schedule when we moved, you are sleeping pretty well now!  11-12 hrs at night (bedtime is between 7:30/8 and you wake up anywhere between 7-8a); 1 nap a day – anywhere from 1-3 hours; 2 hrs is pretty average.  You still use a paci for sleep and your bunny and you’re still in your crib.  Please, sweet girl, stay in there forever!  I am in no rush for you to be in a big girl bed!

It’s so strange to me that pretty soon, you will have no memory of your time as an only child, and these last couple weeks feel bittersweet to me.  The past two years have been the biggest blessing for me and your daddy and we couldn’t love you more if we tried.  When I ask you how much mommy and daddy love you, your response is “way way [more than you know]” and that is so true.  {We have a book called “I Love You So” and that phrase is in there – you call it the “way” book.}  I am so proud of the sweet little girl that you are becoming and I can’t wait to see you grow into your new role as big sister!  Happy second birthday baby girl!  I love you way, WAY, more than you know! ;)

Love,

Momma