Haddie: 2016 wrap up

Dear Haddie,

At almost 3 years old...

• You weigh 33 pounds and are busting out of your 2T clothes. You are still petite, but you are getting too tall for most of your pants.
• You sleep from about 8:00pm-7:00am and take a two hour nap about half the days of the week
• Your favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, pickles, bananas, pizza, carrots, chips, and anything that you can dip (you love the "white sauce" *ranch* and salsa). You recently ate a bowlful of plain spinach, which was hysterical since you generally hate vegetables.
• You sing ALLLLL the time. When you wake up in the morning, I hear you singing in you crib and that's how I know you're awake
• You like singing so much you will pretend to know the words to songs you've never heard just so you can sing along
• You want to wear princess dresses all the time and have gotten much more picky about what kind of shoes or bows you wear
• Everywhere we go you take something with us. It's never the same thing, but you always need something by your side (today it was your piggy bank)
• You give REALLY good hugs. Like, squeeze your arms and legs around me and hold on super tight, hugs
• You're favorite Christmas present was the giant dollhouse you got and your favorite birthday presents were dress up dolls
• After months of being mortal enemies, you and Titus are now inseparable. It is not unusual for the two of you to go hang out upstairs for an hour while I'm cooking or cleaning
• You LOVED the Christmas lights. Every morning as soon as you got out of bed, you would march over to the tree and ask me to turn them on. You also loved driving around and looking at lights on houses
• You love going to school and walk into your classroom like a big girl
• At church you like to go sit with me and listen to the worship before going to the nursery
• You cry big tears really fast
• If you get scolded you will immediately burst into tears and you won't calm down until you're being held
• You love doing arts and crafts at school
• You are still in your crib and you love playing in it by yourself after naptime and in the morning
• You say you would like to potty like a big girl but when I actually try to get you on the potty you refuse.
• Your favorite show is My Little Pony but you also love Blaze and the Monster Machines, which is about monster trucks. You basically love whatever Titus loves.
• You still use a paci but only for naps and night time. Pacis stay in your crib.
• You get so excited to see Zi-Zi (Zion) and Connieee (Conner) when we go to school
• You don't have nearly as much interest in letters as Titus did at your age
• Your hair is still tinted red, but it looks much more blonde now. If your eyebrows weren't still reddish I might think you were turning into a permanent blonde!
• Because you are tall and Titus is short, we get asked about 4 times a week if you are twins
• You enjoy being the class clown. You love being silly and making people laugh. Right now, that's by replacing words in your favorites songs with the word poop ("twinkle twinkle little POOP"). We can thank your brother for teaching you that trick. 
• Sometimes I feel like you're talking to me like a grown up. You say phrases in the right context I didn't even realize you knew. It makes me giggle every time. 
• When Titus apologizes for hitting you he has to say, "I'm sorry for hitting you, do you forgive me?" But you never know how to respond, so he says, "say yes" and you do. Now when you want something, you try to pull that trick on me. "I have a popsicle, mommy? Say yes."
• You like to pat my tummy and say hi to the baby. You also pulled up daddy's shirt and patted his belly and said, "you have baby, too?"

Baby Love we are just thrilled with you! I can already tell you are going to be the goofy one in the family. You love making people laugh and you love laughing. Generally speaking, you are very laid back and enjoy doing whatever is the most fun. You are incredibly social (you make friends at the park all the time) and you love playing with anything you can cuddle or nurture (stuffed animals, dolls, plastic animals...). I have loved getting to watch your personality develop because I feel like you will be a lot like me (Grandma thinks so too). We love you so much, sweet girl!

Titus: Summer 2016 update

Dear Titus,

 At 4 years old...

• You must be going through a growth spurt because you are eating all the time. You are wearing 3T things and have outgrown everything 2T (which is a big deal for you!)
• You rarely take naps anymore (maybe once or twice a week) so we try to get you to sleep by 8/8:30. If you take a nap, it may be more like 9/9:30 before you fall asleep. 
• When you don't nap, I lay you down for 30-45 minutes of "rest" and you usually make up Rescue Bot stories with your stuffed animals the whole time
• You try the same excuses to get out of bed every night. 
1. I need to go potty
2. I'm still hungry (no matter how much you've eaten)
3. Wait wait wait, I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING! (it's never important)
• You like to sing, "Hangin tough!" because Daddy sang it to you once and you thought it was funny. You also sing the Nationwide Car Insurance jingle with Nanay ("Nationwide is on your siiiiide!")
• Your L's still sound like W's
• You refer to all kids and babies younger than you as "her" or "she" even if it's a boy
• Out of nowhere you developed this really thick southern accent. A lot of one syllable words have become two syllables for you 
• When you are getting in trouble you will start fake giggling and cover your mouth, I can't tell if you are doing it to be defiant or if you are trying to make me laugh so you don't get in trouble. Either way, it can be pretty infuriating.
• You talk about, pretend, watch, tell stories about Rescue Bots ALL THE TIME. As much as I get tired of watching the same show, I am glad you've found something you like to pretend when you play by yourself.
• When you pretend to be a Rescue Bot you call yourself "Hokeekeewah" and then transform into objects (car, boat, vacuum, drill...)
• You are really missing school and keep asking when we get to go back
• I overhear you trying to explain things to Haddie a lot and it's really funny ("No Haddie, we don't put the blocks on the kitchen set! The blocks go in the toy box, silly.")
• You love watching YouTube videos about tornados
• When you have to go to timeout or I get you in trouble you like to growl because you know you're not allowed to talk back. You are learning the hard way that is also considered disrespectful.
• Your favorite activity with Daddy is building our large USA map
• Your infatuation with getting under Haddie's skin has only gotten worse. You spend a lot of time playing in your room alone because you can't keep your hands to yourself. Or worse, you like to steal her toys and run away, teasing her because she can't catch you
• You LOVE swimming. Like, obsessively love it. Last year it still kind of scared you, but this year you've been so happy to wear the floaties and even jump off the diving board all alone
• You have learned to buckle yourself into your carseat and are so incredibly proud
• Your favorite foods are raspberries, PB&J, pickles, pepperoni, ice cream and applesauce
• Most of your stories include "My best friends, Brooks, Garrison, Maddox and Rozy"
• We are really working on "obeying the first time." I will tell you, "go back to bed please" and I'll have to repeat myself. Then when I get off the couch and you know  you're in trouble, you say, "I'm doing it now!!!" and hope that will keep you out of trouble. 
• I hear you tell Haddie a lot, "no ma'am!" because you love making her reinforce the rules
• You frequently pretend to be a Transformer named "Hokekewah" who transforms into a vacuum cleaner, car, drill, and many other things.
• You LOVED the beach so much! Your favorite activity was to put on your floaties and go with Daddy to where the waves were breaking and take them in the chest. Sometimes they would splash you in the face or even knock you over, but you loved every second of it!
• Your love to draw robots on your magnet board, along with lots of spelling and some "Spanish words" (which are mostly just scribbly lines
• You have developed a fear of thunder so now anytime you think it's going to storm you panic and run inside

I can't believe at this time next year we will be preparing to send you off to kindergarten! I'm still in denial. I don't know what Haddie and I will do without you around! The other night you spent the night at Mimmy and Nanay's house and Haddie kept walking around and checking all of our rooms, saying, "Bubba? Ty-tis?" Even though you don't always get along, she can't imagine a day without you and neither can I. I love seeing you use your imagination to set up pretend situations with your Rescue Bots, the way you draw marble machines and mazes on your drawing board, and hearing you suggest a plan for the day, followed by, "Does that sound like a good idea?" We love you so much, I am so thankful for this final year at home with you!

Haddie: 2 year update

Dear Haddie,

At 2 years old...

• You weigh 26 pounds, are 33 inches tall and wear 2T clothes (sometime still 18-24m because you're very petite)
• Your favorite foods are cheese, crackers, pizza, pepperoni, baby food pouches, bananas, waffles, cheerios, yogurt, fruit gummies, and carbs.
• If you see me with a Coke you whiiiiiiiine and whine and whine until I share with you
• You don't run, you prance. Sometimes I call you Fancy Prancy.
• You are finally doing better about dropoffs, you only cry occasionally at church or school
• You sleep like a teenager. You have been sleeping from 7:30-8ish and take a 2+ hour nap ever day. 
• you get VERY jealous when I'm holding anyone else, including your brother. If you're on my lap and he tries to join us you push him off 
• You are finally leaving your ponytail/pigtails in, yay! For a few hours at least, and then you pull them out
• You don't like for me to mess with your accessories. Coats and shoes must be left on at all times (including at school)
• You walked around the house drinking out of your sippy cup and spitting it on the floor. It is so gross but you think its hilarious. You also like to dump your yogurt shake on the table which earned you your first (and only) real spanking 
• You are pretty athletic. Not only are you not scared of many things at the playground, but you seem to run/climb/slide pretty easily!
• You love babies and point them out wherever we go, but you pronounce it like the French word, Bebe, which is so adorable
• You love finding my lip gloss or Chapstick so you can pucker up while and have me put it on you
• You only get your pacifier for sleep or the car and as long as you don't realize I took it away, it doesn't usually seem to bother you
• Your favorite toy is the water table outside
• If you find dog poop in the yard you will squish it in your hands (GROSS)
• You carry a purse around with all your treasure in it (usually a pacifier, lego baby, and a cell phone)
• Brother picks on you sometimes, but you've learned how to milk it. Even if he barely or accidentally runs into you, you start whining like he hurt you really bad
• You are in a real "mommy's girl" stage. You only want me to hold you and you cry if I even put you in the carseat and don't climb into the driver's seat immediately

Sometimes I just look at your Daddy and say, "look how adorable Haddie is! I just can't get over it!" But it's true, your sweet little dimple and big blue eyes frequently catch me off guard when I see you smiling at me in the rearview mirror. Grandma Susie says you like to "keep us busy" which is a sweet way of saying you are into everything! Which is true :) But that is one of my favorite things about you, how adventurous you are. It's pretty rare to find you a) bored or b) afraid to try something out. You will follow Titus around and do everything he does and more! And if you fall down, you usually just get back up and keep going. Plus you are very easygoing and rarely get demanding (unless you want your pacifier, then you are ruthless), so for the most part, not much seems to bother you. We love you to the moon and back, baby love!

Haddie: 2015 Wrap Up

Dear Haddie,

At almost 2 years old...

• You weigh 23 pounds and have finally moved up to 18-24 month clothes, although some of them are still a little big and pants are long on you
• You sleep from about 7:30pm-7:00am and take one nap at 1pm (usually 2 hours). You have started fighting your naps on occasion, but overall you are still an easy sleeper
• Your favorite foods are pickles, cheese, yogurt, broccoli, french fries, any type of cracker/carb, pizza and bananas
• You are climbing EVERYWHERE.
• You currently do not like taking a bath, mostly because you hate having your hair washed
• You have started repeating a lot more words and it's so adorable. I love hearing your sweet little voice!
• You think it is so funny to give me kisses for some reason. Every time you do, you burst out in giggles
• You are incredibly nurturing. Your favorite Christmas gift was the baby stroller we got for you, you push your baby around all day and feed her a bottle and kiss her. You also like to sit in the stroller yourself to watch tv!
• You still like to do anything that Titus is doing
• You really love playing on the piano
• You still get upset with I drop you off at school or the church nursery, but it only lasts for a couple of minutes
• You can be BOSSY! When you want something, you want it right. then.
• We still change your clothes at least twice a day because you are so messy
• You love dancing! Even if someone just says "let's dance!" you'll still dance without music. But anytime you hear music you start moving back and forth subconsciously 
• You want to be outside all the time, but don't understand the concept of being cold. You get so mad if I don't let you go out when it's raining and yucky!
• Your favorite show is Masha and the Bear. You do so much better sitting still for a movie or show than Titus did at this age
• At any given time you are usually carrying around 2-3 pacifiers
• You are still a little shy around strangers but when we see friends (especially Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Heather) you go up and give great big, cuddly hugs.
• Your favorite activity is definitely running around and being one of the big kids. If Titus and the big boys are chasing each other through the house you are running right alongside them, even though you don't know what they're doing!
• Your dimples are getting more obvious and they are so adorable!
• Everytime you touch something or climb on something you are not supposed to we tell you no, and then when you stop you start clapping and say, "yay!!" as if cheering for yourself will make us forget you were disobeying
• You will keep a bow clip in but you HATE having your hair in a ponytail or pigtails. Which is a real shame because it is so adorable!


This was the first year that you could really participate in the holidays and it was so much fun to see the joy that you and Titus had spending time with family and opening gifts. You didn't really care about the gifts at all, Titus actually opened most of yours, but you sure loved the Christmas tree and trying to take off the ornaments without getting caught! Every time you smile you light up the room, there's not a single person you've met that doesn't adore your sweet personality and shy little smile. Your big blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair are such a stunning combination and people comment on it allllllll the time. I guess you'll just have to get used to that, Baby Love! We feel so blessed to have you in our lives, thank you for multiplying the joy of our family.

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.