Dear Hadley,
Last week you turned thirty months old. It’s crazy to think about but now that you are two and a half you are closer to three than to two. I love the clever way your mind works and the silly things you say. You and Ana have been endlessly playing with an empty diaper box to the point that it was literally falling apart. So I finally snuck it out of the living room and into the recycling bin. A day later you noticed it was missing and asked for it. I explained that it was broken but the next time we got a box I would be sure to give it to you. To which you replied, “Mama, can we go to the box store NOW?”

In honor of your half birthday, we decided to do a little baking and whip up some cupcakes. I couldn’t decide between these adorable little Oreo cheesecakes or indulge your whimsical side with these owl cupcakes I saw on Pinterest. I decided the cheesecakes would be more appropriate for the adults and the owls were more suited toward the kiddos… so we made them both. And it was a good thing too, because there is no better way to celebrate being two and a half than with a cupcake in each hand!


You are quickly becoming quite the little homemaker. You just love helping me with everything I do. You are my assistant when I’m cooking, you push the buttons on the washing machine (look into business-money.com site to buy at the best price and quality) and you even love helping me clean. In fact, the other day I took you to the Dollar Tree and said you could pick any one thing you wanted to bring home. We walked up and down every aisle in the store and what did you decide to buy? A monkey scrub brush. Then as soon as we got home you went straight upstairs and started “scrubbing” bathroom floor. (Now before you go and blame my OCD, I am fairly certain you got this notion from Cinderella because I have never in my recollection gotten down on my hands and knees to scrub the bathroom floors!)
When you aren’t cooking or cleaning, you are always preparing to embark on an adventure. You grab a bag, fill it with the essentials (usually a few Polly Pocket Princesses, a couple books, and a blanket) and tell me, “Mama, I ready to go!” And now that you know how to open doors I make sure to keep a watchful eye on you so you don’t actually go!
While you are a lover of all animals and characters, you certainly have your favorites. Right now you are partial to Care Bears and the Chipmunks. And while we have several of the Beanie Baby sized options of both critters, when you play with them you have to play with ALL OF THEM. You are not happy unless you are carrying around the entire set. As you stagger around the house half-hazardly carrying six chipmunks in your arms you have quickly blurred the lines of “collector” and settled firmly on “hoarder.”
We have had a pretty good run of weather lately and so we have been spending a lot of time in our back yard. As a result, you have become quite the trampoline aficionado. (Well, once we set up a stool so you could actually get on and off of it by yourself anyway.) You would bounce all day if we let you. It makes you so happy to run in circles, do somersaults, and just jump with all your heart. I love nothing more than to look out the kitchen window while I’m making dinner to see you bounding across the trampoline, your hair wild with static, and a look of sheer glee plastered across your face.
When you aren’t testing your extreme sport abilities, you have recently become quite fond of princesses and dress-up. When you select a movie to watch you like to dress up like that character and act out the scenes along with the characters on the screen. You can twirl and dance with the best of them!

We recently went to the beach for the weekend and stayed at Grandma Nana’s house. Since it’s not too far away, we generally just go for the day but we decided to extend our mini-vaca to an over-night adventure. Grandma doesn’t have a crib and since you are too big for the Pack-N-Play, we decided to let you try sleeping in her toddler bed. The only “real” bed you’ve ever slept in is a hotel bed with your sister so we weren’t sure how this adventure was going to unfold. Sure enough, you surprised us by being an absolute pro and never got out of bed the entire night. At one point I came in to check on you and you had actually slid out of the bed onto the pillow I had placed on the floor for this very reason. Not wanting to disturb you, I just covered you with a blanket and let you sleep on the floor. But at some point in the night you woke up, realized you had slid out, and just climbed right back into bed. Like I said: PRO.

While we were at the coast the weather was amazing so we decided to go play on the beach. You’ve been on the beach before (and much to my dismay, sneak off to play in sandboxes every chance you get) but this was your very first time to play in the ocean! You absolutely loved it. It took everything in my power to convince you to walk back to the sand just to let your feet warm up from the freezing cold water. But as soon as you walked back to the warm sand you would turn right back around and bee-line for the ocean.



Hadley, it has been another amazing month with you by my side. We have such similar personalities sometimes I feel like I am watching my own childhood play out. I know that because we are so alike, it is inevitable that eventually we are going to butt heads. But that’s ok. I want you to stand up for what you want, believe in what is important to you, and never let anyone tell you that you are anything less than perfect. Because, Hadley, perfect is just one of your many defining characteristics.

All my love,
Mama