Dear Hadley,
Monday you turned thirty-two months old. And since you never miss a beat, you will probably have noticed I never got around to writing your thirty one month letter. I’ll be honest, the month got away from me. We were super busy making sure you had the best possible time, filling every minute with adventures, momentous occasions, and puppy kisses. So I am sure you will find it in your heart to forgive me.



Even though it’s summer time, I am doing my best to keep you on your regular routine. You are still taking a ballet class, going to Gymboree, and keeping up with our regular play groups. And man do you look forward to the activities that are geared toward YOU. You love that you have classes to attend, schedules to follow, and places to be. Anytime we drive by the Cedar Hills Rec Center (where you take dance) you always point out the window and shout, “Look! There’s my school!” with pure pride.


The big news last month was our new puppy, Lucy. You and Lucy have bonded in a way I never expected. I didn’t think you’d like the fact that you were no longer the baby in the house, but you simply adore her. Maybe it’s that you two are the littlest, maybe it’s that you are both blondes, whatever it is, it’s adorable. You are always looking out for her, playing with her, and even though she will (VERY) quickly be bigger than you, it’s obvious that you guys are best buds.



You want to be involved in every aspect of Lucy, from potty training, teaching her to walk on a leash, or even just playing, as you call it, Tug-A-Rope. If Lucy pauses at the door and even starts to utter a wimper, you throw open the sliding glass door, walk her outside (often in your pajamas and without shoes, but whatever) and before I have even slipped on my shoes I hear you cheering, “Good girl, Lucy! Good potty!” I think I owe a lot of her potty training success to your doting behavior. Now if only you would show as much interest in your OWN potty training, that would be impressive.


But that isn’t to say that you ALWAYS like Lucy to be around. As with any best friend, you often need time apart. And you are quick to tell Lucy to go away (with your words, or just by pushing her away if it comes to that) if you need some space. We also found out that you don’t deal with watching Lucy eat or seeing her poop. Both events will cause you to instantly start dry heaving, and if we aren’t able to distract you in time, you will vomit. Yeah. We learned that one the hard way.

Last month our family went to the Tigard Festival of Balloons. We got up at the crack of dawn to watch the balloons launch in the morning and stuck around to check out a few of the balloons. We waited in the Longest. Line. Ever. but your patience was rewarded because you were able to actually go up in a hot air balloon! It was tethered to the field, so the risk was minimal, but the experience was beyond anything you can imagine. I wasn’t sure how you would react to being that far off the ground, but you just looked around in amazement with the biggest smile plasted across your face. Needless to say it was an amazing day.




Last week was the 4th of July, which in our house, reaches a level of excitement on par with Christmas. Since the weather was perfect, we were able to go to the beach, play in the sand, jump around in the waves, roast marshmallows, then relax around the campfire as the fireworks explode over the ocean in front of us. Yeah. It’s as perfect as it sounds.



It’s already been a fun-filled couple months, and the summer is only just beginning. We have many adventures ahead of us, experiences to treasure, milestones to meet, and love to be shared. I am so happy that we are blessed to have the life we do, where we are able to spend so much time together as a family. No matter what is ahead of us, as long as you are by my side, I know everything will be perfect.

All my love,
Mama

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

Dear Hadley,
Last week you turned twenty-nine months old. And man are you becoming a character! You have started making the most exaggerated facial expressions. I sometimes find myself just looking over at you and laughing out loud at the different faces you make at me. You also have a variety of voices you still talk in, ranging from very deep and serious, all the way to high pitch and whimsical. I just never know what you are going to do or say next. You always manage to keep me on my toes!

The big news of the month was that you got your very first hair cut. I wasn’t really planning to cut your hair, but Ana was begging to cut her hair with such enthusiasm that you asked to cut your hair too. I am a firm believer that it is your hair and so you can do with it what you like (within reason), so I was not about to stop you from getting your hair cut if it was something you really wanted to do. After all, it is just hair. So we headed over to Pigtails and Crewcuts. On the way you said, “I no want to cut my hair. It hurts me.” And it was such a silly thing to hear you say, that Ana and I just started laughing. Then you looked all confused and said, “It not hurt me? It just tickles?” So we reassured you that it would not hurt at all and you were once again excited about the milestone you were about to complete. And the haircut happened without a hitch. You sat perfectly still, mesmerized by whatever Disney movie they had playing, and graciously accepted the Dum Dum they gave you for being so well behaved with a polite “thank you.” I could not have asked for more.

(Above is the wispy “before” borderline mullet.)

We recently had your Uncle Jesse over to help us paint our master bathroom. You were adamant about helping Uncle Jesse paint. You watched him as he did all the prep work, gathering supplies, and readying the space. He gave you a paint brush to play with and to you, this meant you were just promoted to assistant painter! So when it came time to apply the primer, he marked off a little square of the wall, instructed you to “try to stay in the lines” and let you go to town painting! You were delighted to be his special helper.

Over Spring Break we took a quick trip up to Seattle. It was perfect weather so we seized the opportunity to enjoy being tourists in the beautiful city! We rode the Monorail, walked around Pike Place market, and went to the top of the Space Needle. You loved the monorail and were particularly impressed with the elevator ride up to the top of the Space Needle (though you were a little disgruntled that you didn’t get to push the buttons for the elevator.)

While we were in Seattle we made time to visit our good friends and meet their newest addition. You had a fun time playing with their oldest daughter, Juniper. It was fun to watch the two of you interact and it was one of the first times I saw you really break away from the parallel play and actually play together with one of your friends. You played dress up, had a tea party, and even watched Ana put on a puppet show.

Since we were so close to the only American Girl store in the Pacific Northwest, we had to drive a little further north to really round out our family trip. You quickly befriended a Bitty Baby and carried her around the store. But when you grew tired of lugging around the doll that was almost as big as you, I spotted you sitting off to the side reading a book to your (freshly re-sewn at the Build-a-Bear store) Mama Monkey. As a self-proclaimed book lover, it melted my heart to see you confidently sitting there reading a book. (I also love that it looks like Mama Monkey is legitimately enthralled in whatever story you are reading her.)

When we got back from Seattle, it was practically Easter! We started off the celebration weekend with an Easter Egg Hunt at Ana’s school. They had divided the hunts into different age categories and you were fully prepared to represent for the “2 & Under” crew. You were very excited about the prospect of gathering as many eggs as possible and you did quite an impressive job considering at the time you didn’t even know they were filled with treats!

Then once we hunted the eggs and made some crafty Easter crowns, we went out to the front of the school to enjoy the sunshine and blow some bubbles. I was worried you were going to end up wearing most of the soapy mixture (or spilling it all over the pavement) but you surprised me once again and showed me just what a pro you are at bubble blowing. You would load up the wand, expertly blow some bubbles, then giggled and excitedly chase them around.

Then it was finally Easter morning! The Easter Bunny hid your Easter baskets but left a trail of clues for you to find them. You were so excited by every single thing that was happening, from discovering the remnants of the chewed carrots left by the Easter Bunny to finding the clues hidden around the house, I couldn’t help but get consumed by your infectious attitude. Everyone in the house was giddy and giggling, just the way Easter morning should be.

You also started your first swimming lessons this month. Daddy is the super trooper who steps up to take you to lessons (and actually gets into the pool with you) and I think it’s great the two of you get a chance to do something together. But Ana and I didn’t want to miss your first lesson so we camped out in the bleachers and watched the entire class, making sure to wave every time you looked up, scanning the crowd for our smiling faces.

You are also still taking (and loving) ballet class. These days you don’t have any problem with me dropping you off and waiting out in the hall during class. You still periodically ask me if I am going to be outside and when I say, “yes, the class is not for mommies.” you nod knowingly like you are just making sure you understand exactly what is going on.

If I had to ask you who was your favorite person, I know with all of my heart that Ana is, hands down, your favorite person. Ever. You love her so much I feel like at times it consumes you. That is not to say that you don’t get into each others space and fight from time to time, but more often than not you are always asking, “Mama, where Ana?” and when I tell you, “She’s at school.” you always respond by asking, “We go get her now?” You don’t like to be without her for long so as soon as you wake up from your nap you always ask, “Is Ana home now?!” If it’s a day that Chloe brings her home, you run downstairs and the two of you hug like she has just returned home from war.

As a self-diagnosed OCD mama, I have a great sense of pride at how you are so good at cleaning up, putting things away, and throwing away your own garbage. At our house the kitchen garbage is baby proofed (we keep cleaners in there) so to access a garbage can, you have to go upstairs. You always throw things away in my bathroom (and on your way there walk past TWO garbage cans: one in your bathroom and one in Ana’s room) so I’m always finding little trash surprises like tiny yogurt covered raisin boxes or empty squeeze apple sauces. Every time I discover one of your garbage deposits, it warms my heart.

Hadley, you are such a sweet and wonderful child. You are so silly and bring more smiles to my day than I could attempt to count. The things you say and do always make me laugh and brighten my day. Every morning I can’t wait to see your adorable face and get one of your famous “hug you face” snuggles. Thank you for never failing to make everything around you that much better.

All my love,
Mama

Dear Hadley,
Last week you turned twenty-eight months old. When I think about how little you still are, I am shocked at what a big personality fits inside such a tiny body. You are growing so fast and changing so much each day that I have to remember to sit back and enjoy you as you are today because tomorrow you will be another day older, bigger, and wiser.

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this yet, but you are totally and completely obsessed with Diego. Every morning you wake up and the first thing you want to do is cuddle on the couch with some hot chocolate and watch “Go, Diego, Go.” I think it says a lot about your personality; you are adventurous, brave, and love animals. And I’m kind of happy that you didn’t go the traditional Dora route (because I logged more than my fair share of Dora when Ana was your age). Rather than being all butterflies, princesses, and fairies, Diego is into extreme sports, exploring the world, and helping animals. I think those are wonderful things to aspire to and so I totally support your Diego habit.


I’m not sure I should admit this, but I am not a fan of “kid music.” I feel like between television theme songs and commercials we are already inundated with enough of the annoyingly-catchy music which when actually sung by children sounds like it belongs in a horror movie. Shudder. Anyway, I digress. I was able to keep this genre from you for quite awhile but last week in a desperate attempt to keep you awake in the car (lest you fall asleep and foil all hopes of a real nap) I plugged in my iPhone and played “Go, Diego, Go Live!” music. Just as I expected, your eyes lit up with delight and you shrieked with contagious glee. The good side? I managed to keep you awake til we got home. However the down side is that now every time we are in the car you tell me, “I no like THIS song. I like Diego…”

You have become quite the animal hoarder. You are very fond of a particular set of stuffed animals who are lucky enough to be permitted to reside in your crib. You have named the monkeys Dada Monkey, Mama Monkey, and Baby Monkey, and the lone cat in the bunch is called Little Brad. You are constantly trying to carry ALL of them around with you and they are always the first toys brought down to cuddle with you on the couch while you watch Diego.

But just because you like Diego and animals does not mean you aren’t still all girl. You love to accessorize like it’s your job. You spend a lot of the time we are home walking around in high heels and about half of that time you are either sporting a backpack or have a purse dangling off your arm.

You also love to draw and “do art.” The other day you were drawing on the big dry erase board in Daddy’s office, working on your latest masterpiece. I asked you what you were making and you pointed to your picture and said, “That my eye… That my other eye… That my mouth… And that my scribble.” Good to know you are keeping it real.

I am constantly amazed at what a keen observer you are. You have perfect hearing and pay attention to everything. Just this morning you wanted to pick out a movie for us to watch. After briefly debating Tangled or Puss in Boots (which for some reason you call Buttons in Beeps) we finally decided on Monsters, Inc. You quickly said, “I get it!” then without hesitating for even a second, you pulled open the third drawer of DVDs, reached between Megamind and Monsters vs. Aliens and pulled out the correct DVD case. I know I shouldn’t doubt your borderline savant memory, but I was totally floored.

You are also all about doctors lately. Whether it’s asking to go to the doctor’s office, pretending to be a doctor with one of our many doctor’s kits, or reenacting recently watched episodes of Doc McStuffins. Around here, we are all doctors, all the time. You are very aware of every single scratch, hang nail, or bruise on any member of our immediate family. You love to examine our “ouches” and “doctor us” then ask, “you feel better?” (Ed. Note: Yikes. Have you ever read a paragraph that said DOCTOR so many times? I feel like I need to add “doctor, doctor, doctor” just to make sure.)

Hadley, I know everyone always says the current phase their child is in is their favorite, and  I am not any different. Every day I marvel at how much I love this stage of development. Everything you say is adorable. Witnessing you go from saying, “It’s me turn!” to correctly declaring, “It’s MY turn!” Watching the way you walk, dance, or even sleep is mesmerizing. Even as you throw a typical two-year old temper tantrum (say that five times fast!) I watch your shockingly blue eyes fill up with tears, and your chin quiver with emotion, I just think about how I want to wrap my arms around you and just hold you close to me. And I plan to do just that…for as long as you will let me.

All my love,
Mama

Dear Hadley,
Yesterday you turned twenty-seven months old. It’s funny because sometimes you do things and I have such a hard time believing that you are only two. You seem so mature, well-behaved, and peaceful. For example, yesterday at Stroller Strides all the kiddos were circled up and the majority of the kids (who were actually awake) were either whining, begging for something, or screaming and throwing a fit. I  looked over to see you sitting calmly in your stroller, munching on your snacks, and just watching all the chaos unfold around you. I wanted to scoop you up right then and there and tell you how simply amazing you were, but I’m smart and I know not to mess with a good thing. So I just beamed with private pride and continued with my workout, motivated by your awesomeness.

But then you go ahead and do something that is very two. Very terrible twos. Temper tantrums of such monumental proportions that all I can do is simply step back… breathe… and get my camera to take pictures of you laying prostrate across the floor because I wouldn’t let you climb onto the counter to get your own snack out of the cupboard.


You are one stubborn and determined child. You don’t let much get in your way and that is obvious. I see so much of myself in you and even though at times I get so frustrated with your fight for independence I have to admit that I am secretly very proud of you. It may kill me to have to wait idly by while you climb slowly up the stairs to get your blanket (“I get it MYSELF!”) when I was already standing beside the very blanket you wanted. But I respect it because I probably would have done the exact same thing. If you know someone interested in special educational needs resources, you can send news from this article resources to keep them informed.

But it’s not all battles of will or declarations of independence. I love watching you discover and relish the simple things in life. A couple weeks ago you discovered that your jeggings had real pockets and you could put both of your hands in those tiny little pockets. You just walked around with your hands glued to your butt, shouting, “Pockets!” while I hovered close by and prayed you didn’t trip and fall (because we all know you have had more than your fair share of emergency room visits in your short existence). I just love watching you get excited about all the little things we adults take for granted. Like pockets. It just doesn’t get much better than pockets.


It’s been a slow process, but you are starting to show more of an interest in potty training. You are getting better at telling me when you want to go to the bathroom and I think a lot of that has to do with rewards. We have a jar of M&Ms that are strictly for potty rewards. You get one for trying, two for peeing, and three for pooping. It works when you want it to work. But there are still times when you go into the bathroom, hide behind the door, and fill your diaper. Like I said before, stubborn.

But the interest is there. In fact the other day in the car I heard you talking to Minnie Mouse encouraging her to use the potty. I looked back to see that you had opened up your Minnie Mouse flip phone and was letting her use it as a toilet. Clever, my dear. A little gross, but still clever. (I also like that you lifted up Minnie’s dress for her to sit on the potty. I’m just going to pretend that wasn’t an accident.)

I’ve also learned not to be truly surprised by anything you do. As you become more capable of rearranging furniture, placing toys in specific places, or setting up elaborate games that no one will understand but you. Like this. I came into the living room to find you had spread out a blanket on the couch, placed an empty diaper box on the blanket, and climbed inside of it. Why? We will never know. But you wanted it to be that way and so it was.

Over the last month you have started taking a ballet class at the Cedar Hills Rec Center. It’s different from the class you were taking before because this teacher prefers NOT to have parent participation. She likes to slowly wean the children from their mothers (or for some, I think it’s the other way around). She lets the parents participate in the first class, then sit off to the side in the second class, and by the third or fourth class the parents are sitting out in the hallway and come back in only when class is over. This has been quite a source of stress for you. Often times we will be driving in the car and out of nowhere you will say, “You no go outside.” to which I respond something like, “No, it’s cold and rainy today. I think we will stay inside.” Then you clarify, frustrated at my inability to instantly know what you are talking about, “At ballet class. You no go outside.” And then I get to explain that the class is for YOU, not for mamas. The mamas get to sit out in the hallway and wait for the girls to finish their class. I was a little shocked that this was bothering you so much. You are normally so independent, refusing even the littlest bit of help, but you really did not want me to go. I was torn between being frustrated (See all the other girls are having fun without their moms being there!) and flattered (You DO still need me!). You would do ok for the majority of the class, but about two thirds of the way through you would get upset and I would have to come back in and sit on the mats in the back of the studio. But this week you finally did it. You had fun through the entire class and I never had to even step back into the room until it was time to sign you out.

Your performing isn’t limited just to dance class. You also really like to sing but since you are still learning all the lyrics, you generally just pick one line from the song and sing it over and over. Like in Will.i.am and Britney Spears’ “Scream and Shout” you just repeat “oh wee oh wee oh!” Or Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together” you chant “never, ever ever, never!”

You are quite the silly little monkey. I never know what is going to come out of your mouth. Anytime I give you grapes I hear you saying “eat like apple” over and over. Then I see you taking little nibbles around the tiny grape and looking thoroughly pleased with yourself.

Hadley, you are such a wonderful little girl. I am so proud of all the things you are now able to do. While I love that you are growing up and able to do more things, I also have to make sure I don’t forget to let you be little. I treasure every time you climb up onto my lap to snuggle or read a book. I love the feel of your tiny hand in mine as we walk across the street together. I enjoy kissing your owies and making you feel better. These are just a few of the things that I only get to do for a short time, so I am going to enjoy every one I can get.

All my love,
Mama