Dear Hadley,
Yesterday you turned eight months old. As I write this letter, you are currently upstairs taking a nap. Moments ago you looked up at me, gave me a smile that melted my heart, and then closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep. And that pretty much sums you up right now. You are a very easy baby and an incredibly happy child.

You love nothing more than being surrounded by your family. Literally. You love being in the center of everything that is going on. Whenever we are sitting on the couch just hanging out you twist, scoot, and wriggle yourself into the middle so you can be touching as many of us as possible. And from what I’ve witnessed, there isn’t a single person in this family complaining about that! You have such a happy personality that everyone is just drawn to you.

Mobility, or your lack there of, is your biggest irritation at this time. You are trying SO hard to crawl. It’s actually pretty entertaining to watch. First you get into “plank” position…

Then you get up on your knees and rock for a bit…

Then after you have scooted around backwards for a bit, you finally give up in frustration. But don’t worry. You will figure it out eventually and when that time comes, there won’t be anything holding you back!

During the last month we took a little mini vacation up to Seattle and to Great Wolf Lodge. This was your very first time to leave the state! Wahoo for Washington! We had a great time visiting our friends and then playing at the water park. While you typically love water (bath water, drinking water, you aren’t picky) you were more impressed with the wristbands than playing in the water. Having a chew toy literally attached to your body was the best entertainment ever. I’d consider picking up some for every day, if it weren’t for all the drool that came with it.

Over the 4th of July weekend, we visited our family in Seaside and you finally got to meet your Uncle Greg and his family. It took them so long to meet you because they live in Arizona, so we were ecstatic that they came up here to visit. You were very happy to see him because you have a great fondness for big guys with a beard and glasses.

Since you are pretty dedicated to your 8pm bedtime, we opted out of going and watching fireworks this year. But we did do a few of our own at home. You weren’t exactly sure what was going on. There was a lot of noise and smoke and occasionally some pretty lights. All you knew was that your sister was happy, so that made you happy.

The other big news this month is that we recently introduced you to finger foods. This pleased you immensely. We figured since eating came so naturally to you, you would probably do pretty well with some food you could feed yourself. And we could not have been more right. You have been desperately trying to grab food off our plates, with little success, so you were quite shocked when we handed you a teething biscuit. As with everything else you come into contact with these days, it went straight to your mouth. Then your eyes lit up with delight when you realized it was something you could EAT! You sucked, chewed, and gummed it all up, only gagging a couple times, until there was nothing left. Pretty impressive for a first try!

As I’m sure is the case with most younger siblings, you want to be wherever your big sister is, doing whatever she is doing. I can already tell that you two are going to be thick as thieves when you grow up. Ana tells me on a regular basis how much she loves being your big sister and I can tell by the way you light up when she walks in the room that you love being her little sister.

Hadley, I just love you so much. I feel like saying those words is going to start to lose it’s meaning because I can’t help but tell you all the time. There are just so many things I love about you. I love the way you lay your head on my chest when you get tired. I love the way you stretch and stick your little belly out every time I set you on the changing table. I love the way your hair tickles my chin when you sit on my lap. I love the way you lunge forward, like a striking cobra, when you try to grab something. I love the way you wiggle from side to side in your car seat when you get excited. I love the way you laugh and the magical effect it has on our entire family. I love the way you rest your hand on my face when you look into my eyes. And these are just a few of the things I love about you. I could go on and on listing all the little things you do that make you amazing and special and absolutely perfect in every way, but that’s what the rest of our lives are for. I will spend every moment loving you and all that you are with all of my heart.

All my love,
Mama