Hadley Monthly

1st edition :)

Hadley is 13 months old and there are a lot of things to remember from this past month...

She started walking around her birthday and it didn't take long for her to start making laps around the house. And she is into EVERYTHING. We are having to babyproof things we never even thought about keeping Tucker away from. Her favorite spots are in the kitchen... sprinkles, ziplocs, the dishwasher, and tupperware of course. This makes cooking dinner... well, let's just say impossible.

She's a great sleeper for the most part and she's starting to love her little "dee dee". She plays with the tag ("flag in Tucker language) just like her big brother and she still sucks her index finger...so sweet.

This girl seems destined to be a tomboy. If she plays with toys at all (remember, she loves all things kitchen cabinet related), she always goes for Tucker's favorite things... cars, diggers, balls, etc. And oh, if we can ever get Tucker to share... willingly. :)

This is just these two in a nutshell. Tucker-- still, focused, calm... Hadley--standing and ready-to-go :) She does like her chair and will sit for a few minutes at a time. And it's so adorable to me when they want to sit beside each other.

Hadley seems to be pretty attached to me but she does love her Daddy. And lately she's full of snuggles for everyone. It's nothing for her to walk up to you and lay her head down on you to let you know she wants to cuddle. It's strange since she's so busy all the time but when she slows down, she's usually pretty sweet.

Enjoying naked time in the doctor's office... oh the joys of keeping a 1 year old content in a 10x10 room... especially when the most obvious thing to play with on her level is the trash can.

This picture cracks me up. I walked in one morning after her morning nap and she had completely taken her pajama shirt off. How? Who knows. This girl is spirited, determined, and at this point I wouldn't put much past her... yikes!

Hadley, you are so fun at this age! HAPPY is the word-- always laughing, smiling, playing games like peekaboo--you seem full of life and excited to see anyone that you come across. You are loved by your big brother even though showing you that is sometimes a shove or a tackle. :) You are more interested in Grey lately and we're trying to teach you "gentle". You still drink 3 (6-8oz) bottles a day (pretty much holding it on your own) and you eat anything we put in front of you. At 25lbs, you are certainly not hungry :) You dance and move to music when you hear it and you love to be outside. You're babbling a lot and I can't wait to hear what you're trying to say. We're thankful for this stage with you and would be perfectly fine if you stayed just this size :)

12 month stats

We had Hadley's well check yesterday and it appears as though our girl is happy and HEALTHY!

Weight: 25 lbs, 6 oz (a whopping 97th percentile)

Height: 30 inches (75th percentile-wahoo!)

Tucker Monthly

Tucker is 39 months old!

And in the midst of a lot of tough 3 year old moments, we still get great smiles, laughter, and sweetness from our boy. But oh, it is hard to be three?!? We are being tested on obedience, sharing, keeping hands to yourself, and just plain 'ol attitude these days. We're trying to remember that all of our efforts will be worth it some day and hopefully that day is coming soon!

We've enjoyed a lot of outside days this month which is hard to believe since it's January. This has been perfect since Tucker got a scooter for Christmas - is he Mr. Cool or what? He's getting better and better and has learned how to stop without falling all the way down. :) Hadley loves to tag along in the stroller and I'm thankful for some unexpected vitamin D this winter!

Tucker had some fun GiGi time this month around Hadley's birthday. These two are "tight" as Tucker likes to say.

Speaking of Hadley's birthday, it was fun to watch Tucker celebrate her that week. He enjoyed a lot of birthday treats and wasn't too jealous of her getting gifts.

It's amazing how Hadley is now doing things parallel to Tucker now... watching a show in her chair, playing with toys, WALKING, dancing... This makes me excited about them actually being able to be playmates.

One of my favorite things about Tucker right now is the way he says wrong words instead of correct ones--and he's pretty confident of the "wrong" word. Like, "allergy" for "algae" or "dreams" for "beams" (for building a house of course). One of the funny ones recently was when he was talking about cars in the movie, Cars 2 (typically an all-day affair) and he kept talking about the "bazillion" race car. I thought, wow, where did he learn that high of a number? I eventually realized he was trying to say "Brazilian" race cars :)

And speaking of Cars, well, that is what he's "into" these days. He got some hand-me-down cars from his buddy Taylor and he plays with them all the time. His new favorite show is Octonauts-- a new show on Disney Jr. This show is all about the ocean and the creatures in it, hence, him saying "allergy" for "algae". :)

Tucker is still loving preschool and every night when he prays, he lists all his little friends (in the same order mind you) as he thanks God for things. We LOVE his teachers and the things he's learning!

Tucker still loves to read-- 1 book at nap, 2 books at night :) He's still a good eater most of the time and when he's not, it's clearly a power struggle. He hates for good things to end and he absolutely must watch a show until the DVR stops it. He's skipping naps every other day pretty consistently but will hang out in his bed regardless. He's wearing size 4 clothes and still loves his dee dee.

We are thankful for our determined, methodical, silly, energetic, thoughtful boy!

12 months old

12 months old and HAPPY!

Party!

We went with a pink elephant theme...

This peanut butter ball was the hit of the party food-wise - recipe here!

Animal cracker party favors

Thank you Gigi for all your help!

Hadley is walking here... this week she officially took off and it's made her really feel like a ONE year old!

One of Hadley's little friends, Sage- I love this picture of them actually trying to play together...

This picture is CLASSIC Hadley in the highchair-- in mid-scream because she wants more food. If only this picture had volume...

Yummy strawberry cupcake!

I love you Hadley girl! It was fun to celebrate you all week long. You are loved by many--family and friends-- and as we look to this upcoming year of your life, I hope you keep the same joy, curiosity, determination, tenderness, and outgoing spirit about you.

We love you!

Hadley's Birthday!

We had such a fun day celebrating Hadley!

I love this picture because she's standing on her own while she's opening her present--she's suddenly steady on her own two feet!

Little People :)

Happy girl!

Cupcake for lunch!

Mmmm....

Tucker was happy that Hadley's birthday meant a cupcake for him :)

Sweet brother...

Love Hadley's smile!

Sit & Spin!

Yogurt for dessert after dinner... She cried between each bite here because we couldn't give it to her fast enough!

Love this one... and think they actually look a little bit alike here

A Year of Hadley!

Today our sweet Hadley is ONE! As people always say, this year has flown by! I can hardly remember those weeks leading up to her birth when I was so ready to no longer be pregnant but scared to death of tackling 2 kids at the same time. Then, on the morning of the 17th, my water broke...or trickled actually :) I headed to the hospital for what ended up being a much quicker labor and birth than what I had experienced the first time. It was a girl! We were so surprised and grateful for a little pink in our lives!

Those first weeks were bliss as we got to know our little girl...

And then the struggles came. The first 6 months were full of challenges-- colic, crying, question marks, weariness, snuggling, bouncing, pulling our hair out, lots of tears, and a crazy elimination diet for me... that actually worked!

Around the 6 month mark though, we turned the corner and Hadley didn't look back. She turned into such a happy, content baby and it was easy to forget all of our frustrating days that were in the recent past.

We enjoyed lots of beach time in the summer...

and time outdoors in the Fall.

Hadley's personality began to shine through. She proved to be much busier than her brother--always moving, bored with a toy after 2 minutes, and determined with whatever she happened to be going after. She kept up with her brother at an early age, crawling just before 6 months and taking steps at 11 months.

Hadley, my heart was so full today as I thought of how much I love you. It's hard to imagine life before you were here and life certainly has never been dull since you arrived. You are loud, passionate, and energetic. You are sweet, tender, and curious. You remind me of myself in some ways, which makes me know we will get into some good arguments in our lifetime :) A quick glance your way produces the most amazing smile on your face--whether it is someone familiar or at a perfect stranger. You've never met anyone you didn't like. You are loved by many--family and friends nearby and far away. You are interested in everything around you and somehow have managed to find every nook and cranny in our house. You adore your brother, get excited to see you Daddy, and seem to love your Mama the best most of the time. I am so grateful for the time that we have spent together--from hours in your chair, to the carpet with your toys. I look forward to many days and years of friendship with you--my girl-- and I pray for you daily--that you will come to know the One who made you--the One who created you wonderfully and beautifully, just the way you are. You are deeply loved by Him Hadley. And we sure do love you too.

We look forward to this next year with anticipation... it is sure to be a wild and busy ride!