You’ve always been, and will be our our little girl but you are growing up so fast. With the arrival of your little brother you are no longer the smallest one in the house. You know big from small, but what a great time to teach what “medium” means. We taught you that Brady was small, mom and daddy were big, and that you are medium. As we should have expected you took your knowledge to a whole new level and put your own Hailey spin on it.
The other day we were talking about Brady’s bouncy chair. When I told you that you could not sit in it, before I could finish my thought you said “Daddy, I can’t sit in Brady’s chair because I’m too medium sized?”. A few days later I asked you to get your cup off of the counter. When you failed to reach it you said “Daddy, please get my cup. I can’t reach it. I’m too medium-sized”.
So there you have it. Now anytime you are too small or to big for something, you now just use the one-size-fits-all phrase “I’m too medium sized”.
This evening you and I went for a walk and tricycle ride. The clouds rolled fast and just as we got to the front porch it started to rain. The temperature was about 90 degrees and there was no thunder or lighting. Not missing a fun opportunity daddy took your tricycle inside and you and I played in the rain for about 15 minutes. Running, twirling, and splashing in the puddles. We were soaked to the bone and you had a BLAST! I truly cherish moments like this with you.
As of today, we have new nicknames for you and Brady, courtesy of….you! For some reason you decided to start calling Brady Doodle. Once that started to take with all of us you then decided you wanted to be Noodle. So, in addition to Monkey and Hailey Bear, you will also be known as Doodle. And in addition to Bubby, Brady will now be known as Doodle! We love it!
You finished up your 10 days of swim lessons and did GREAT! Many nights you were hesitant to even get in the water, but once you overcame that initial fear and made it into the water, you would do awesome….and even had fun! We went to IHOP for dinner a couple of nights before swim lessons and your favorite food was frashbrowns…aka, hashbrowns! HA!
We celebrated Lauren’s 3rd birthday at her swim party today. We all had a fantastic time and it was obvious you were much more comfortable in the water than you were before your swim lessons…you even jumped off the diving board unprompted!
You have recently started expressing an interest in being “the leader”. For example, when we are going up the stairs you will say, “Mommy, I am the leader – you follow me”! There are also multiple other times in different circumstances when you announce yourself to be the leader or the one going first. You are also very quick to give out instructions. For example, “you open the door” or “you sit by me”. For the life of me I can not figure out where you get these traits from?! 🙂
We had a family fun day at Six Flags this week. You had been one time previously for my work party and very hesitantly rode a few of the kiddie rides. This time you were all about it! We started in the kiddie section with the swings and airplanes then moved on to the semi trucks and tea cups. You enjoyed the tea cups so much we decided to give the big ones a try. Much to our amazement – you LOVED it and could not go fast enough! We went back to the kiddie section and rode the balloons – once with mommy and once with daddy. Then you asked if you could ride the roller coaster! I could not believe it – even though it’s in the kiddie section, it was still a pretty good sized coaster. So you and I loaded up and rode the coaster. Though you looked pretty terrified the whole time, you wanted to ride it again! So you and daddy took a turn. It was an amazing day with many firsts and your dad and I had a blast!
Though you’ll probably not remember it, you had an amazing 3rd birthday! We spent it with our friends at a place called Pump it Up….a bounce house place. Though they had many bouncey offerings, the ginormous slide seemed to be all the rage and the place where most everyone spent the majority of their time. After an hour of exciting play, we enjoyed pizza and your Dora themed cupcake cake. A good time was had by all and you received some pretty fun/cool gifts! The bounce house from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bruce was a HUGE hit…and will get many years of use! Daddy and I were able to attend your at school birthday party – we brought cupcakes and helped serve the entire class. They sang to you and everything — I think we had the most fun though! You are maturing so fast.
You are starting to vocalize cause/effect….for example, if one of us comments that our shirt is dirty you will say “we should probably wash it”. When we use the last of the milk you will say “we should go to the store and get some more”. Or the other day daddy was having trouble getting out of the car since he was so close to the wall and you said “maybe you shouldn’t park so close”. You are also learning extended colors like golden, hot pink, and silver. Though you are one of the youngest in your class you’d NEVER know it – you are almost a head taller than the other children and you are right in line with them in your learning abilities!
You recently started having “night terrors”…sounds way worse than it is…at least for you. About 1-2 times per week, within a few hours of you falling asleep, you will start hollering for mommy/daddy. When we go in your room you are sitting up in bed mumbling incoherently. The first couple of times we got you out of bed and tried to talk to you about what was going on: Bad dream? Something scary? etc. After talking to the doctor at your 3 year check up we realized the best treatment is to leave you in your bed, verbally console you in a calm voice, and gently put you at ease by rubbing your hair or your back. So far, it’s working! You will usually fall right back to sleep within a few minutes. Speaking of your 3 year check up! You weighed in at 36 lbs and were 3′ 3” tall – placing you in the 95th percentile for both height and weight! Not that it comes as a surprise to any of us, given your gene pool! However, based on these results we are considering moving you from dance and gymnastics classes to soccer and volleyball lessons! 🙂
Though you love to play outside, and have even had a couple of play dates in the pool with dad this summer, you have an irrational fear of bugs and flying critters. Even just the sight of the prettiest of butterflies will evoke a shrill of sheer terror. We are working hard to help you understand those critters can not hurt you but mom’s ridiculous fear of bees is not helping to set the best example. We’ve taught you to say “shoo fly” when you see a scary bug and that seems to help since their presence is usually brief. That fear extends to loud noises like lawn mowers and forklifts at Sam’s Club. You’re our overly cautious little lady!
You are also learning manners and will often say “scuse me” when you want mommy/daddy’s attention. You are good about saying please/thank you, and you cover your mouth when you cough.
You love to watch Dora, Diego, Scooby Doo, and your all time favorite – America’s Funniest Home Videos! Oh and the cutest thing ever — when one of us says something or makes a sound like “tsk, oooohhhh, yikes, oh no, gasp, etc” you will say “Mommy/Daddy, why you say _____”? It’s not so much what you say, but how you say it, that’s so cute!
On a whim, I bought you a pair of slippers while at Target the other day…and you LOVE them! You hair is getting sooooo long….it hangs almost to the small of your back now but you rarely want to wear it in a ponytail or any other type of hair holder. You seem to like it best when it’s unrestrained and hanging loose….and the person who tries to tuck a strand behind your ear will most certainly get a scolding.
You continue to do great with Brady – you are still enamored with him. Your father and I just try to cherish those moments knowing full well the day will soon come when you are clawing each other’s eyes out! If the next 3 years are as fun at the first three we are in for quite an amazing ride!
Oh Monkey, I can’t believe it – you will soon be 3 years old! Where has the time gone?! We’ve got your 3rd birthday planned out…and are looking very forward to it. You are an absolutely amazing young lady and bring so much joy to our lives. You are growing and maturing every day and are sooooo smart.
You are enjoying school and like your new teachers. You are in gymnastics and dance classes. It took you over a year to start participating in dance class and unfortunately, you are just a hesitant in your gymnastics class. We are currently trying to bribe you into participating. 🙂
You are adjusting quite nicely to life with a brother. You absolutely adore Brady and are constantly giving him kisses, sharing your toys with him, and even attempt to console him when he is crying. You are such a kind soul.
At some point in your life, I think the number 149 will mean something to you. For whatever reason, that is the number you come up with anytime a number is in order — when you measure something or respond to a question about a number. It’s really kind of funny!
You LOVE to dance and are quite fond of music/singing. You got all into watching Dancing With the Stars the other night and often request we play music so you can dance. Your most recent love is cheering. You’ll shake the pom poms and tell us to do the 2 Bits, 4 Bits cheer. While we are cheering you will jump around shaking the pom poms…it’s soooo cute! You also love all things out doors – playgrounds, hitting/kicking balls, tricycle rides, etc. It’ll be soooo much fun when we can get in the pool this summer!
Well, Brady has been home for almost a week now and you are adapting to the change rather well! Though hesitant to get too close, you have taken a true liking to him. You are always interested in knowing where he is and what he is doing and you LOVE to give him kisses on his head. You don’t seem to have developed any jealously or negativity towards him…for now. 🙂 The fact that we have tried really hard to keep things status quo for you – making sure to pay as much attention as before, do as many fun things as before, etc. might be contributing to that. It’s very important to your father and I that you know just how special you still are…and always will be…to us. I would say we are doing a pretty good job of adapting to being a family of 4!
Didn’t think it was possible, but you are getting more beautiful by the day! Your hair is stunning, it appears your eyes are going to be hazel, and you just have a certain presence about you that draws attention – even from strangers. We dressed you up Saturday and went to an Easter egg hunt. We had got your dress and shoes about a month ago and you loved it! You kept spinning around so your skirt would fly up – you would say, “My dress is moving”! You even busted out some of the dance moves you’ve learned in dance class. It was sooooo cute! We ended up taking you to the park for the egg hunt and some play time. You had a blast! We got lots of good pictures – in many of them you were even hamming it up for the camera!
You are doing well at your new school. You adore your teachers and have already learned many new things. It’s just hard to believe you will be 3 in just a few short weeks! Where has the time gone?! I miss my baby girl…but am greatly enjoying the young lady you are developing into. You are such a blessing in our lives and we cherish each and every moment we get to spend with you!