4 years: little love letters

My favorite little baby girl,

YOU'RE 4!! You told Grandma, "It takes a long time to be 4!" You've been waiting ALL year for this! 

You're the smartest 4 year old I know. 

You've got the biggest heart for you little brother. You want to be the best big sister every. And you already are!

You have the sweetest spirit. You are so worried about doing what is right that even hours after you've done wrong you'll apologize. 

You love going to school. You love to learn knew things. Learning to write. You love books. 

Going to church is the highlight of your week. You love to talk about Jesus and Heaven. In fact, that's all you talk about every single time we are in the car together. 

You're going to do great things baby girl! You already have! 

Everyone gets a "birthday" in preschool. Even when it isn't their real birthday. Everyone is celebrated. You were last as you were the closest birthday to summer. Here is you on your "school birthday." 

Here you are on your actual birthday. We planned to celebrate at the Splash Pad, but it was a rainy day so we celebrated at the church instead. We did painting crafts, Popsicle, and bubbles outside. You didn't even miss the Splash Pad. You wanted a Frozen party. Of course...

One our your favorite presents was this little pool from Nanny Wanda and Papa Ronnie. 

Here are a few pictures from your year of becoming 4!

First day of preschool

First time at the Warren Theater seeing the new Cinderella movie. 

First pedicure with Mommy. 

First Girls Night Out with Mommy. We went for Sushi with friends. You had fried rice. 

Big snowfall of 2014.

Helping Papa Wayne rake the leaves. 

First time bowling. It was your last day of Preschool. Nanny Carol came with us, too. 

Going to a check up with brother. 

"Star princess" face paint from the Green Corn Festival. You look forward to the Green Corn Festival every summer. 

Swimming at Aunt Cindy's house. 

Preschool homework was "a lot of work." 

Once you got the hang of writing some letters, you wanted to write on everything. 

You wanted to learn to write Mommy and Daddy's names. You did so well!! 

4th of July. First time doing a sparkler. 

9 months: little love letters

My sweet love, 

You poor neglected second child. I haven't blogged a single post or love letter to you. I've written down your weight, height, stats, etc. But I haven't blogged about them. But that's because YOU KEEP ME TOO BUSY!! You're so nosy and into everything!! 

This is at your 6 month check up. 

May 25, 2015:
Taking "selfies" on Mommy's phone

May 29, 2015:
Check up for you ears. You've been having a problem with ear infections. You even currently have an ear infection (7/20/15). Hopefully, we can get this resolved quickly. 

June 6, 2015:
You enjoy sitting in the front seat "driving."

Aunt Cindy took this picture and asked if this is your "old man face" like sister used to make. 

Arm propped up. Trying to be like Daddy. Always. 

Talking with Papa Wayne. 

Relaxing with Punkin. 

June 21, 2015:
Uncle Dan gave you your own Oreo. You loved it. And you're now OBSESSED with Uncle Dan. Anytime you see him you want to be right with him. 

First Popsicle. You loved it. It was very cold so it didn't last much longer than this picture. 

June 30, 2015:
Superman outfit. Even comes with a cape!

July 2, 2015:
This was the evening of your 9 month check up. Notice we are BACK in the doctor's office. You were perfection fine for your check up that morning. Then you woke up from nap unusually fussy. For the next couple hours, you moaned and groaned. Refused to eat. Didn't want to be held, but didn't want down either. You're NOT a fussy baby. Ever. We knew something was wrong. Then I touched your ear and you came unglued. I rushed you to the urgent care because it was after office hours. There you have it - a double ear infection (mostly the right ear). We've been battling this infection since then. 

July 3, 2015:
This was the first time you pulled up to something to stand. Next thing you know, you did it twice in one day! You were so proud of yourself. You kept laughing. 

2 years: little love letters

Oh Hadley girl, 

I just realized I forgot to finish writing your two year old love letter. But with raising you as a two year old, who really has time to blog an update? I mean, really...?!!

As of June 26, 2013 these were your stats.

-Growth:

*24.6 lbs.

*36 in. tall

*Wearing 24 months and some 2T clothes. Sometimes 2T can still be a little big.

*Wearing size 5 1/2 or 6 shoe.

-Eating: Eating is a pretty serious event to you. Some of your favorite things to eat are:

*strawberries

*grapes

*cantaloupe & watermellon

*bananas

*steamed cabbage

*applesauce pouches

*popcorn 

...Then the other junk like:

*french fries

*sausage pizza

*tacos

OH! and your obsessed with tea. Sweet or unsweet. Doesn't matter to you. 

-Sleeping: Not much has changed here.

*We are still start getting you ready for bed at 8.

*You like to sleep in when you can, but we usually get up to go to work at 8 am. 

*You usually go down for nap about 2 or 2:30 pm until about 4:30 to sometimes 5:30 pm. 

*When you can sleep in, you'll sleep until 10 or 10:30 am. On those days you usually will not take a nap. 

-Developments/Events:

*Your biggest development since turning two is you're officially POTTY TRAINED! (and all the angels, in the heavenly chorus, sang!) You have been going on the potty off and on since you were about 14 months old. But you never had a real interest in potty training and I wasn't pushing the issue. Well, about three weeks after you turned two, you told us you had to go potty and you went. That afternoon, after nap, we put you in big girl panties and you've been wearing them since. The first four days of wearing panties, you would wet yourself enough to feel it, then rush to the potty. You've been potty trained now for about a month.

*You're still wearing a diaper at nap time and at night, but your nap time diapers are becoming almost unnecessary. Sometimes, you've even fallen asleep for an hour or so and not had an accident. 

*We are too concerned about the night time diaper, as it can be a little harder for you to get since you're asleep. You'll get there.

Other fun facts:

*You're favorite television show(s) is The Fresh Beat Band and Dora.

*You can apparently count to 8. You've never done it for me, but you do it for your Aunt Cindy. I know you know number 1 thru 8, but I've never heard you say them all in order. You usually get to 6, for me, then clap and say "Yay! Hadley!" 

*Your favorite Bible story is Adam and Eve. 

*You know Mommy's name is Heather. You know Daddy's name is Lee.

*You know your last name.

*You also know the name of your town. Well, I'm not sure you know that that is where you live, but you can say the name. 

*You love taking pictures of yourself on Mommy's phone. Actually, on anyone's phone that you can get your hands on. 

*You watched your first movie at home the other day. It was Monster's Inc. You LOVED it. Mostly because I told you it was Daddy's movie. Now you want to watch it all the time. 

That's all I can think of right now. Currently, you're watching an episode of The Fresh Beat Band and eating some popcorn.

Since turning two, I can really tell you're growing up. You're acting more like a "kid" than a "baby," if that makes any sense. All you talk about is wanting to ride a school bus and go to school. Slow down, you're going to be grown up and going to school before you know it baby girl. 

I'll love you forever and ever! I promise.

Love, 

Mommy

I'll leave you with some pictures of the day we went for your two year old check up. This was the first time I noticed you really looked like a big kid.

 

6/26/2013: She is getting so good at taking pictures

 

6/26/2013: Being silly while waiting for the doctor

12 months: little love letter

-Growth:
*You went in for you twelve month check up this month.
*You weighed 20 lbs. and 8 oz.
*You are 30 inches tall. You are officially over half of my height!
*You are wearing size 12 months and 18 months clothes.
*You are wearing size 4 diapers.
*We had to buy you new tennis shoes because you had out grown yours. I didn't realize your shoes were too small. Nammy took them off of you and said you almost had a blister because they were too small. I said "Oh, is that why she screamed when I put them on her? I thought she just didn't want to wear shoes today." Sorry, baby girl. Mommy didn't know. You're a little picky about wearing shoes, sometimes.
*At your check up you had to get SIX shots. It was terrible. You were so upset. You were so mad at Daddy and I, that we would let the nurse do that to you. Poor baby. Luckily, you didn't run a fever. You took a three hour nap that day. Then when you got up, I took you swimming, then you were ready for bed again. You were asleep by eight pm. Shots are exhausting.

-Eating:
*You are now officially only drinking whole milk. No more formula.
*You, also, gave up eating baby food and rice cereal around eleven months.
*Some of your favorite foods are: chicken, rice, carrots, peas, green beans, corn (on the cob), sweet potatoes, peaches, and bananas. But your absolute favorite food is tomatoes.
*Your favorite snack is goldfish.
*Your favorite drink (other than milk) is water. I give you apple juice here and there, but you aren't too crazy about it.
*You had your first experience with ketchup a few weeks ago. You weren't a fan. It's ok, baby. Momma and Grandma don't like ketchup either.
*You are really into eating off of your own plate. I mean, you are a big girl now.
*The doctor said we really need to break you of your binky and bottle by fifteen months. We will see how that goes...

Trying corn on the cob for the first time. You loved it!

-Sleeping:
*With summer days being longer, I feel like you are staying up later. Which is fine because you don't get fussy. And when you do get fussy, it is just our cue to get your ready for bed. No biggie.
*You still really enjoy your bedtime routine. Although, within the last month there has been a little bit of a change. Always before you enjoyed being rocked to sleep. Here lately your routine consists of: bath, bottle, rock for five to ten minutes, then lay you down awake. You woller around and play with your stuffed animals until you fall asleep. Apparently, being rocked to sleep is for babies. Not big girl Hadley. I only wish nap time was as easy :-/

-Developments/Events:
*You made the long eight hour car ride to Missouri this year, for the family reunion. You did so well, on the road. Once we got to Missouri, you didn't seem to act yourself. Then you started running a fever!! You didn't sleep well at night and you didn't really eat or drink your bottles.

Swinging at Aunt Sharon's house in Boonville, MO.
This is the swing that Mommy used to swing in when I was little. 

*After we got home from Missouri, you woke up covered in a rash. I took you to the doctor - Roseola. That explains the fever and no appetite.

You getting into everything at the doctor's office.

*You have been walking now for about three or four weeks. You walk everywhere. UNLESS you get too excited and fall. Then you take off crawling as fast as you can. You like being chased.
*You now sit in a big kid car seat. You weren't too sure about it at first, because we turned you around. You face forward now. It was a whole new world.
*You really enjoy singing now. Currently, your favorite song to sing is "Oh, how I love my Bible." You say "Oh, Oh, Oh.." Then you mumble something that sounds like you're trying to say Bible. It's so sweet. You have the sweet little voice.
*You have become very expressive with how you feel about things. You make the funniest faces around!! (That is a separate post to come, soon!)
*We had another visit to the doctor this month. The evening of your birthday party your eyes started getting gunky. They were slightly red and swollen, also. Nammy started to think you had pink eye. I wasn't so sure since you didn't wake up like that. They didn't seem to bother you so I thought that I could wait until the next morning to see how they were looking. WELL, the next morning your eyes were so swollen/pink/matted shut.

reaction to sunscreen roll-on stick

I rushed around to get you changed and fed and to Urgent Care. The doctor said it was not pink eye. She said you are allergic to the roll-on sunscreen stick that I had put on your face she previous day. This makes sense because this happened the previous time I put sunscreen on you. After visiting your primary care doctor, he does not think you're allergic to sunscreen, but maybe there is just one ingredient in the stick that you had a little allergy too. He said if you were allergic your entire body would have reacted, but it didn't. So for now. You can only wear a hat outside. No sunscreen on your face.

Hadley girl, Hadley girl - this has been one of the best years of my life. You are so fun. You are really starting to develop a funny little personality. You love to talk and wave to people, everywhere you go! You are the sweetest baby I know. You have such a sweet, kind spirit about you. You love people and you know you are loved. I love being your Mommy. You are my greatest joy!

I'll love you forever & ever. I promise, baby!

Love, 

Mommy

11 months: little love letter

Hadley Girl,

Us playing together on Mommy's phone. This is one of your favorite things to do.
You're obsessed with phones.

11 months old!!! It's so hard to believe you're almost a year old! You're getting so big. You are really turning into a big girl and less of a "baby." I love watching you learn new things every day.

-Growth:
*You didn't have a well-child check up this month. I'm not 100% sure about your weight gain and/or length.
*You are still wearing 6-9 months and 12 months sized clothes.
*We've had to move your up in diaper sizes this week. You've got a skinny waist, but a big booty :)
*On that note (of a big booty!): You have a 12 month sized swimsuit that fits you perfectly except that you constantly have a little wedgie because it hardly covers your rump!...and that's without a swim diaper! ;)

-Eating:
*You eat 3 bottles a day: breakfast, lunch, and bedtime.
*You now like to feed yourself your bottle. This has come in handy more times than I can mention. I don't know why you never did this before.

Feeding yourself and reclining in your stroller while walking around the mall.

*You really love your steamed veggies.
*Your favorite foods are: sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, and green beans. (In that order)
*Your newest discovery is cutie oranges and bananas. You love them and are obsessed. You will eat 2 cuties and 1 whole banana if I let you. Sometimes, I let you.
*5/10/2012: We went to Sam's to do a little grocery shopping. We got fountain drinks before we started. You insisted on trying to drink it. You had never been able to drink out of a straw before. Daddy and I have always had an agreement that we will always let you try to drink out of the straw. If you get whatever is inside then it was well deserved! WELL, low and behold - you had your first sip of Dr. Pepper. You hated it. You looked like someone just poured poison into your mouth. Well, the dummy that I am, I let you try it again thinking that drinking out of the straw was a one time fluke. NOPE! You got more Dr. Pepper and still hated it. All of that to say you've moved "up" in sippy cups. You now use a sippy cup with a straw, instead of a cup that you tip.

-Sleeping: There isn't really much change with your sleeping patterns.
*You start winding down around 8 pm. You take and bath, get into your jammies, then bottle.
*We've been having trouble the last few nights with getting you down. We have always rocked you until you fall asleep - then lay you down. I know..we've created a bit of a monster with this. But I think you're getting to the age/stage that you act as if you want to lay yourself down. The last 3 nights, we've rocked you until drowsy or until you first fall asleep then we lay you down. You have woken up before we even make it out of your room. But we watch you on the monitor and you woller around until you fall asleep on your own. Hopefully, we are on to something with this...

-Developments / Events: This was a month filled with many events!
*You went to your first babyshower this month. We traveled to OKC to meet up with friends then we all went to the baby shower together. It was a shower for my college roommate. She is due with a little girl in June.

You and Kelly (Mommy's college roommate) at the babyshower.

*You've gotten quite a bit of hair. We had a little lunch date planned with Nanny Carol and Papa Wayne to meet some of Papa Wayne's family. I decided that we would give the "fountain top" a try. (the spike as your Daddy calls it) You looked so cute! Luckily, you didn't bother it and you just left it there. You, now, wear it on a regular basis.

Fountain top ponytail! :)

*You were able to go swimming for the first time this month. You love the pool. I mean, really! It's possibly your favorite place on Earth. You think you can swim alone. I can't convince you other wise. You like to try and stink your head underwater. I'm not sure why. OH and you also love to have splashing contests with Daddy. You kick your feet as fast and as hard as you can to splash him. Then he does it back to you. You scream and giggle. Then it's your turn again.

Swimming

*You're walking more and more. You walk the most when we are at home. I think it's because you know the "paths" of the house better. You aren't too sure about walking with shoes on, but you're getting there. You really like to walk while holding someones hand. You're such a big girl.
*We had our first Mother's Day together. You (...and your sweet Daddy) got me a dozen pink roses and a card. You gave it to me early because Daddy is working a weird shift right now and wasn't with us on Mother's Day. Mother's Day was actually on Sunday so we got up and went to church. After church we headed to Grandma and Punkin's house for lunch. Bubba, Aunt DeeDee, Sierra, Dante', and Grace were there too. Grace just found out she had Strep so she didn't really get to play with you. I think you were a little disappointed because you kept watching Grace and trying to talk and play with her. But we had to be careful that you didnt' get sick.

We've had the best time getting to watch you explore new things each day. I love watching you get bigger. I'm so lucky and happy I get to stay home with you every day. You're Mommy's best little friend and we have so much fun.

I'll love you forever and ever! I promise!

Love,

Mommy

10 months: little love letters

Hadley,
You turned ten months old on Friday the thirteenth! How fun...and freaky!! :)

-Growth:
*You did not have a well-child check up this month. I am not 100% sure of your weight and length.
*You are comfortably wearing size 6-9 month onesies and pants. You wear the occasional 12 months. And when there is nothing left to wear you can still fit into your 3-6 months clothes, but the pants are too short :)

-Eating:
*You are only taking three bottles a day now: morning, afternoon nap, and before bed.
*You eat cereal mid-morning.
*When we eat dinner you eat a bowl of veggies that usually includes peas, corn, green beans, and sometimes sweet potatoes. You always eat them in this order: sweet potatoes (if you have them) corn, peas, and green beans if you have no other option. You just really don't like green beans that much.
*You have mastered drinking out of a sippy cup, finally! You drink water with your cup throughout the day. When you are really thirsty you drink it really well. When you are just drinking it because you like it, you drink it so fast that it all falls out of your mouth. You will spend 95% of the day soaking wet.

drinking water and reading a book while Mommy loaded the dishwasher

-Sleeping:
*You usually start winding down for bed around 8/8:30 pm. Bath-Bottle-Bed...
*Here lately, it is becoming near close to impossible to get you to sleep. You see, Mommy and Daddy made a big big mistake when putting you to bed for the last ten months. We rock you until you're good and asleep then we lay you down. Now we've created a little cute monster!! UH OH!!!!! Almost every night this week I've had to lay you down, AWAKE, after thirty or forty five minutes of rocking you. You cry, but eventually roll around and fall asleep.

Nap time: You're getting so long

-Developments / Events:
*(3/23/2012) You woke up with a few bumps around your lower lip and chin. I attributed it to all the drool from cutting another tooth. Later, I went to wipe your hand off from eating lunch. You pulled you hand away and gave me a dirty look. Thats when I noticed all the bumps on your hand! HAND, FOOT, AND MOUTH VIRUS!
*You new thing right now is dancing. I will say "Shake your booty. Shake your booty. Dance! Dance! Shake your booty." And you start movin' and groovin'. You also dance when your toys play music or when we are singing at church. One day, I'll tell you it's technically against our religion to dance. But until then...Shake your booty, baby!
*You've really been "letting go" a lot lately. You will pull up to something then just let go and stand there. You do it, unconsciously, when you are holding something too. You act as if you think the item your holding will hold you up? You've also tried standing up in the middle of the room a few times.
*Your newest thing is what we call "Old Man Face." You make this face when someone tells you no, takes something away from you, or something happens that you don't like. You give "old man face" to let everyone know your disapproval of what just happened. You're becoming very very expressive with your face and emotions.
*You had your first Easter this month. You wore a pretty poofy purple dress to church. After church, we changed you into the cutest little pink bunny costume. You enjoyed your first Easter egg hunt too. I think you loved all your goodies! :)
*I discovered you now have six teeth. You had two on top and two on bottom. But I discovered you have one coming in on both top and bottom. That explains the slobber and snotty nose...

"Old Man Face"
 NO ONE believed this was you when they saw the picture!

My sweet Hadley girl, you're turning into such a little hand full. But You're too cute and fun to complain! I can't wait to see you reach your next milestones. You get pretty excited for yourself, which is always hilarious! :)

I'll love you forever and ever! I promise!

Love, 

Mommy

9 months: little love letters

 -Growth: You had your 9 month "well-child" check up today (3/14/2012)

*You are weighing 18 lbs. 1 oz. 

*You are 29 inches long.

*You are in the 40th percentile for your weight.

*You are in the 93rd percentile for your height. 

*You're a big, growing girl. I, particularly, love your thick squishy thighs. They are so chubby and cute! You're hate it when your 17! HA! 

-Eating:

*You are taking only 3 bottles a day. Your, first, morning bottle is 8 oz. Then you have one before your afternoon nap and one before bed, both 6 oz.

*You eat rice cereal and baby food before your last bottle as well.

*You're mostly interested in "big people" food. Your current favorites are: (steamed) sweet potato cubes, green beans, peas, corn, strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes.

2/29/2012: a collage picture of you eating your steamed veggies for the first time

-Sleeping:

*You start winding down for bed around 8/8:30 pm every night. To give you a bath, change your clothes, feed you a bottle, and get you to sleep - all takes about one hour.

*During the day, I've tried to eliminate your morning nap. When you don't take a morning nap you take a really good afternoon nap! :) Although, it seems your naps only last for about an hour and a half or two hours these days... 

*This past weekend time changed. Spring forward, so we lost an hour. The time change has really messed with all three of us. Just a few nights ago you took a nap until 7:15 pm and you weren't even really ready for bed until 10:30 pm! YIKES! Although, you slept until 11 am the next morning!

-Play time:

*You are very much into playing with your toys now. Some of your favorites are: the music table, your new Elmo, your cellphone, and anything that makes a "rattle" noise. 

*I used to put you down and get a few toys out for you. Now that you're pulling up and trying to walk, you prefer to pull up to your toy basket and pull out the toys you want, by yourself.

*Sometimes you so adamantly want a specific toy that you reach so far that you dive into your basket head first. The first time this happened you were scared and cried. Now, you lift your leg and reach in hopes that you get into the basket to play. You really enjoy sitting in there and throwing the toys out. 

2/22/2012: This is your digging through your toy basket. 

-Developments / Events: Now that you're movin' and groovin' you've been able to explore and discover new things. Here are a few picture examples: 

2/23/2012: After a day of shopping, I decided to take you to the park for the first time. I thought I'd let you try out the swing. Your face says it all - you HATED the swing. You started shaking and crying. I think you were scared. When I sat on a swing and held you, you loved swinging. You weren't ready to try it solo, I suppose. 

2/14/2012: For Valentine's day Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day and Mommy's birthday (which is 3 days later). Nammy watched you that night. Just as soon as I left, Nammy sent me this picture with text that said "Look who figured out how to crawl up the step!" 

2/14/2012: This is a picture of your first bath without the infant seat. You  had been trying to sit up from your infant seat for a few days, so Daddy decided you were big enough to sit in your little bath. You LOVED (and still do) splashing in the water. 

-Funny / cute moments:

*We think you're working on talking / saying more words. When you play you move your mouth like you are saying something, but you don't actually use your voice. 

*You've been shaking your head "yes" a lot. You say it when people ask you questions or when you like something. 

*You had an ear infection, took antibiotics, and still kept pulling at your ear. We took you to the doctor to have it checked. Your doctor was out of the office, but you were seen by another doctor. You seemed to like him, but when he handed you back to us you turned and looked at him and said "bye!" He responded, "Oh, ok. If you're ready, then I'm ready." 

*You've really developed a little attitude this past month as well. You now: give dirty looks, roll your eyes (usually only at Momma), and when you don't get your way or someone tells you "no" you ball up your fists, squeeze them, and shake them out of anger. Patience, my little friend. 

*The other day, Nanny Wanda let us borrow a toy from her house. It's a little push toy that you can sit and play with the front or stand behind the back and push around. Daddy stood you up behind it the other day and you took off! You kept going back and forth from either side of the living room to the other. I think Daddy was pretty excited that he was the first one to see you do this :) 

It's been such a fun month. I'm sure I say that every month, but I love watching you grow and change. I can't wait to see you learn to walk and talk more. You're going to be so short and cute walking around :) 

I'll love you forever and ever. I promise! 

Love, 

Mommy