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!

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.

Titus 2015 Wrap Up

Dear Titus,
At almost 4 years old...

• You are still pretty small for your age, which I think has helped me stay in denial about how old you're getting :) You wear 2T in pants and 3T in shirts, although those can be too big for you sometimes.
• You're really interested in directions right now. Are we turning right or left? Which direction are we driving?
• Your favorite toy is the marble tower we got you. You make all kinds of "machines" with the pieces and like to watch YouTube videos of marble runs that other people have created
• You also really like drawing "machines" on your drawing board and they are usually replicas of marble machines you have seen on youtube.
• Another favorite activity is anything that is arts and crafts. You got a paint spinner for Christmas and you ask to use it at least once a day every day (it's basically a piece of paper that you put paint on and spin it, then it turns into a tie dye pattern of sorts). You call it your "paint machine" because everything is a machine right now!
• Your favorite drink is chocolate milk and your favorite foods are pickles, tomatoes, pizza, french fries, almost all berries, cereal, waffle with peanut butter and popsicles (of course!) You have recently started being a much better eater, requesting things like salad, peas, broccoli, or other "vegabulls" (which generally means stir fry veggies). I have been very impressed with your willingness to try healthy food!
• You LOVE school (Mother's Day Out). You have been so upset over Christmas break that we haven't gone to school at all.
• You love to play a game called "You Better Run" with Daddy, where Daddy says, "you better run!" and then you take off down the hall and he tries to hit you with a ball and you fall down. Then you switch and try to hit daddy AND YOU BOTH LOVE IT.
• You have moved from fit throwing to whining, and I definitely think I might have liked the fit throwing better. I have learned that every new age has it's own stage, but this is one that I'm ready to leave behind!
• You really like to reinforce the rules with Haddie, it's like having a 3rd parent around (except you are even more strict than we are! ha)
• You still don't really like it when anyone sings or dances around you (especially if it's loud)
• You went through a phase where you were afraid of monsters and would wake up having nightmares, thankfully that has passed for the most part (sometimes there are still scary shadows)
• Your favorite movies/shows are Team Umizoomi, Little Einsteins, Curious George, Madagascar: Penguins Movie, and Horton Hears a Who
• You get VERY stir crazy if we don't get out of the house every day. I can already tell we are going to have to get creative this winter!
• Bedtime routine has gotten much easier but you are really fighting naptime now. You probably skip your nap at least twice a week so instead I let you have "quiet time" in your room where you either build machines with your marble run or play your letter apps on the iPad.
• You tell me that your best friends are Garrison, Brooks and Rozy
• Our current discipline struggle is learning to obey the first time. Especially when you are told to go to timeout, you try to run to the other parent and have them "save" you from timeout (all while screaming). Big no no.
• You are in an extra cuddly phase. You are always climbing into my lap or asking for longer snuggles at bedtime. Today I was doing my makeup and I heard you call out from the living room, "Mommy, will you come cuddle with me?" You literally want to hug and cuddle and snuggle on the couch ALL THE TIME. I love it forever.
• You still have trouble not losing control of your emotions when you are frustrated, but usually a hug, a deep breath and some "quiet time" on my lap or in your room helps you calm down. You have gotten better at expressing yourself with words instead of just exploding when you're upset
• Your favorite book right now is Dragons Love Tacos
• You say "chechup" instead of ketchup and it's adorable. I also love hearing you stretch your vocabulary and say things like "humongous" for the first time
• You have FINALLY realized it's nice to say "I love you too" in response to someone saying I love you. It's so cute and lovely and I try to squeeze it out of you at least 5 times a day

Before I go to bed at night I always come in and check on you (mostly because you rarely ever have the cover on and 50% of the time are sideways or upside down in your bed). But after I tuck you in I always push your hair out of your face and kiss your sweet cheeks. This is the only time where I catch a glimpse of the baby you used to be; the chubby little cheeks, the dimples in your hand, the way you curl up with your stuffed broccoli. Sometimes I slip my hand in yours and even in your dreams you squeeze my hand right back and pull me close to you. We love you to the moon and back, little man.

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!