Haddie Mae: 1.5 years old

Dear Haddie,
At 1.5 years old...

• You weigh 23 pounds and are in the 25th percentile for height (up from 15!) and in the 50th for weight. Bigger than brother was at this age! But still a little thing :)
• You wear size 4 diapers and 18 month clothes (still 12m in pants)
• You sleep from about 7:30pm-6:45am and take one nap at 1pm (usually 2 hours). For the most part you are easy to put down and fall right to sleep
• You love condiments and dipping, you get really mad if we eat chips and salsa but don't offer you any salsa
• You are very adventurous! Not much phases you when it comes to climbing, sliding, or any other playground activity. You will climb up tall slides that Titus won't even go down and just go for it without even blinking!
• You HATE having your teeth brushed
• You love waving at strangers, but you don't really want anyone to talk to you. Such a flirt!
• You call your pacifier your "ba" and you like to carry around 2-3 at any given time. You also go to sleep with one in your mouth and one in your hand (plus a couple more in the crib!). Generally, we are trying to keep the pacis to bedtime, sick days, or car rides.
• One of your favorite activities right now is opening drawers and pulling things out. You like stacking cups, emptying toy bins, playing in my makeup drawer. Anything you can explore, you will!
• You love playing in the backyard and especially love the slide we have. You also recently learned how to jump on the trampoline
• You have started saying so many words! Cat, dog, Bosco, momma, dada, bubba, Nanay, Mimmy, Mamaw, mine, more, down, please, thank you, moo, ROAR!, wheee!, uh-oh, bye bye, hello...
• You started going to Mother's Day Out two mornings a week so I can work on Etsy orders and they say you have a great time! Sometimes you get upset when I drop you off, but you are always playing and happy when I pick you up
• You walk around "talking" on my cell phone saying the cutest little gibberish
• Your love to paint, draw, color, stamp... anything crafty (and messy, of course!)
• You are not phased when it comes to fit throwing. You threw a 20 minute fit on our walk yesterday because the neighborhood cat didn't want to play with you.
• You love giving me kisses, but not nearly as much as I love receiving them!
• You like to pretend to eat my toes and then I gasp and you giggle hysterically 
• We change your clothes probably 3 times a day because you are ALWAYS dirty, either with food or literal dirt
• You pretend to write things on Titus' writing board just like he does and then you "tell me" all about what you wrote (a lot of very concentrated gibberish)
• You still hate vegetables but you will eat pickles and baby food pouches. Some of your favorite foods are cheese sticks, pizza, crackers (basically any bread or carbs), bananas, waffles, apples, yogurt, and meat
• You love your Dada and get excited every time he walks in the door, I think you will be a Daddy's girl
• You never want to hold my hand except if you really need help going downhill or something. Other than that you are Miss Independent! 

Haddie Mae, you are the best. You are hilarious, sweet, adventurous, flexible, laid back, independent, sassy, and just plain adorable. You love your brother and ask for him as soon as your light is on in the morning, but you also know how to stand up for yourself and push him or runaway when he is picking on you (that's your red hair coming out!). You are a cuddler by nature and love to sit with mommy or daddy and just curl up for a bit. I love rocking you to bed at night because you lay down on my chest and stroke your blanket while I sing you hymns, I think I could live in that moment forever. We are so incredibly grateful for your sweet smile and loving spirit, I don't know what we would do without you. We love you so much, Baby Love!

Titus: 3.5 years

Dear Titus,
At 3.5 years old...

• You weigh 30 pounds and wear 3T clothes, although they are still pretty big on you
• You like to ask me questions you know the answer to just so that I will say, "I don't know Titus, why does _________?" and then you will tell me.
• Sleep is a battle. Now that you are potty trained you use that as an excuse to get out of bed. We have been fighting you for sleep for the last few months, you are so stubborn! 
• You have started skipping the occasional nap which is so sad for me. Both because it means you're growing and because it means I'm losing my mommy time :) But most days you take a nap around 1:30 for an hour or so.
• You are so proud of being potty trained and you wouldn't wear pull-ups at night time even at the beginning.
• You love going to Mother's Day Out ("School"), and you said your favorite part is playing with play-doh
• You are very concerned about stoplights. You alert me what color it is when we pull up and panic when I turn right on red (how do you describe that legal maneuver to a 3 year old?!)
• You are actually very concerned about rules in general. I hear a lot of, "no Haddie, we don't eat rocks." or  "No Haddie, we don't touch the lamp, you could break it." You are definitely my firstborn rule follower. It is not uncommon for you to correct other kids too!
• We have worked a lot on "having a happy heart" instead of a bad attitude and Daddy showed you what your face looks like when you throw a fit (mean eyebrows) vs. what your face looks like when you are happy (happy eyebrows). You LOVED this little trick (daddy's best parenting move to date!) and frequently tell other kids to have "happy eyebwows" when they are throwing fits
• You really have gotten so much better in the areas of respect and discipline. Generally speaking, you have transitioned into an easier phase of obedience. It definitely took some hard work and growing pains to get us there, but I am so thankful of how much you are trying to do the right thing.
• You really like "writing songs" on your writing board (sort of like music notes) and then singing them to me. When you are finished singing it to me you will say, "do you remember it? Sing it back to me." And I never do it right!
• You are currently obsessed with a marble erector set that we bought you. Every day you want to build new marble runs but you get really frustrated when it doesn't work the very first time you try it
• You are an easy laugher just like your daddy. I have prayed so many times that you would have a joyful heart just like him and I love how you both find the fun in little things.
• We are really working on not freaking out and throwing a fit when something doesn't go right. I will hear you screaming from the other room and assume you have broken a bone and when I get there I'll realize that you couldn't get your Q to look right on your board.
• Your favorite activity is playing "Gater Gowf," you ask to go play like 5 days a week
• You are somewhat of a picky eater, but you will never turn down a burger, pizza, PB&J, pickles, or string cheese. Right now you are obsessed with eating tomatoes!
• Your favorite book right now is called The Prince Won't Go to Bed
• When Haddie wakes up in the morning you are the first one in her room and tell me "I can't get her out of the crib because I'm too stwong" (because when you've tried to "get her out" before you just ended up squeezing and squishing her in the crib)
• You have learned to say a lot of the words you used to say incorrectly which makes me so sad because I loved your baby lisp! But you still say "bwu-yew" for W, which makes me smile every single time
• You are really interested in the solar system right now
• You love to hold my hand when we are walking or go places or even when we are just watching TV. You also ask me to give you a hundred kisses before you go to bed at night
• We recently started reading I'll Love You Forever and you will whisper in my ear when I tuck you in, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be." Definitely makes me cry!

I couldn't dream of a better big brother for Haddie than you, Titus. You are so protective and sweet and considerate of her. You hate to hear her cry and when she gets hurt you will hug her or give her your favorite toy or put her paci in her mouth. You're adorable together and you say she is your best friend. Every time you hug her I think my heart might burst! But even outside of being a big brother, you are just such a wonderful little boy. I love how much you are concerned for everyone's safety and every single thought that comes out of your brain makes me laugh or feel impressed that you could even imagine it up. You are also stubborn and fiesty and passionate (I describe you as "emotionally vibrant" because everything you feel you FEEL), and all of it makes me feel so incredibly blessed that God chose me to be your mommy. Seriously, I don't say that lightly. I look around some days and can't even fathom how I got so lucky to be yours forever. I love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond, forever and ever.