Awww! Remember when she looked like that? My sweet, energetic, imaginative girl is 3 years old now! She had a birthday last Monday. Her gifts this year were some new puzzles and a balance bike!

I can hardly make the connection between these precious pics of a tiny human I was just getting to know and the little girl-lady Hadley is today. We know every nook and cranny of her 3 year old character now. She's an enthusiastic greeter (shaking hands with everyone at church) with her own language and a huge imagination. She loves to run up and say hi to everyone she sees while shouting their name, whether they really exist or not. (Mom! Dad! Grandma! Mickey! Sophia! Tinkerbell!) She always acts like it has been ages since she has seen you. She's also a skilled actress and doer of puzzles. She's got a great memory and a deep love for her baby brother, wearing sunglasses, chips and salsa or guacamole, and fruit of all kinds. This summer she's a busy little camp-wanderer and just discovered somersaults and Sophia the First. A few of her numerous interests are books, capital letters, mail boxes, traffic lights and stop signs, animals, gardens, all kinds of produce at the grocery store, balls, babies, flowers, lotion, and anything at a desk or in a kitchen. Some of her current catch phrases are:

"Booyah!"
"Pixie dust, away!"
"Mom? I need... hmm... let me think..."
"Ohh, so nice!"
"Chap-oss!" (Casper)
"Uh-oh, I gotta go potty."
"I so much!" (I missed you so much!)
"Mom, can I have have apple ee peanut bubba?" 
"Sing Jesus Wuve Me So"

She's the best! I love her.

Hey girl,
You're the best. You really grew up a whole lot this summer. When we moved out to camp, I still thought of you as a baby. But your daddy and I have realized lately (especially seeing you in the tub) that you are such a kid! New words come bursting out of you every day, although the syllables are often backwards, which is really cute. ("Stop!" is "Pots!" to you) Last night on the car ride into town you told us every time you saw a stop sign. That's the first time you've ever done anything like that. At bedtime now, you like to pray "Dear Jesus" and squeeze your eyes shut so tight. You always point out the little brown mole on my forearm and ask, "Uhh, ball?" I tell you, "Oh, that's just mommy's mole." And then you say, "Oh." and giggle, like you made an awesome joke. You and I do this probably 15 times in a row, over and over, and you think it's hilarious every time!

Your hair is almost always in a pony tail now and your legs and feet are summery brown. Your fingernails grow like weeds and are hard to keep clean. You're tough. You've skinned your knees on the sidewalk countless times this summer, but you always get back up and want to keep going. Your little limbs are stretching and filling out so much that you feel heavy sometimes. You can hit a ball like a champ and are trying so hard to learn how to jump. And you're all into snacks and Curious George and Elmo and playing outside, just like a real, honest to goodness toddler.

You loved to play with your cousins Josie, Symone, Chloe, Thaddeus, Winston, and Atticus all summer during camp. And now you love to gently pat baby Filippa on the arm, too. You have so many friends out here at camp (Justin, Sterling, Ryan, and all the kitchen girls), but they moved home yesterday and we are really going to miss them.

Thanks for being so loving. You are good about saying you're sorry, helping Mommy, cleaning up any messes you make, and putting away the things that you get out. You're also dependable for kisses, hugs, pats, and sweet things in general. You're our good little girl, and we're working on learning so many things together. It's been the best ever to watch and help you grow this summer.
Loves,
Mom

This one's for her grandmas and my grandmas, who I hope might be reading today. A peek at this little lady, wearing her first ponytail.


Let's see.. what else can I tell you about her life nowadays?
She wakes up around 7 am and goes to bed around 7 pm.
She likes to take my hand and lead me to the kitchen.
She is very quiet (except around Mommy and Daddy), thoughtful, and careful.
If she sees an apple in the story we are reading, she runs to the fridge to get an apple for a snack.
She likes to wrestle with Daddy and laughs the hardest when he tackles her/her stuffed animals.
She'll be 21 months this week.
She is good at recognizing and matching letters.
She's practicing using a fork by herself.
She loves olives and pickles.
She gets excited to get her coat on, take a bath, go to the basement, grab her own bowl from the cupboard, paint at the big table, and hide from Daddy when he comes home from work.
She understands a lot of what we say and likes to join in when anyone else is laughing.
She likes to "dance," which usually involves spinning and pumping her fists.
Oh, and she loves to watch the first 10 minutes of the movie Sabrina, which was my favorite movie growing up. Like mother, like daughter.

Hey, happy girl. I love watching your eyes lately, because they are understanding so much. You're figuring out where things belong and how they work and who mommy is talking to on the phone. I am amazed at how smart you are! Your hair is long enough to be bed-headed and you're starting to look more like a little girl than a baby, but you still smell babyish... mmm. Lately you are:

getting your first batch of teeth, lifting the heaviest possible things you can find, taking awesome naps, using a whispering voice when you're deep in thought, putting a pen to paper and pretending to write, pushing a pink stroller around the living room, stirring and handing a cup to mommy, being so gentle with everything you touch, and hugging. and always smiling.

hey, girl.

you're really cute. you're good at playing, pursing your lips, whispering to your toys, holding your spoon, waving, and standing up next to the couch. your cheeks are irresistible, you're not quite eight months old, and you're the best.

can you talk more about Hadley? you are so sweet. thanks for caring. i feel like there are so many people that already love my little girl. she is shooting me a smile as i type this, just so you know. we'll say it's for all of you :) so, honestly, i could talk non-stop about miss Hadley. but i have been keeping the spotlight soft as Grant and i decide how much exposure we want her to have. it's just a personal thing. i will be sharing bits and pieces about her i'm sure, but we are still figuring out what feels like it belongs on the blog, and what belongs with us. i know you guys understand, because you are great like that.

Hadley actually has her own blog now! it's a private one, just a little spot for us to stash photos, videos, and leave her notes and document little things like today we read goodnight moon for the first time. it's so nice that we live in a time where there are such things as blogs. i would never get anywhere with a baby book. i don't even get photos developed anymore.

are you going to post your birth story? the answer is yes! i know, i love hearing how other girls experience the biggest event ever. and i am excited to tell you what it was like for me! the reason you've been waiting so long is two-fold: 1. i've been afraid to tackle it! birth is huge. and personal. knowing what to say and how to mold it into a post is tricky! 2. a story takes time. something i am not rich in right now. it also takes concentration.. a little hard to come by also :) but don't worry, i'm working on it! i've already got the timeline all written up.

any more questions for me? ask away! leave them in my comment box or send me a formspring :)

and we are loving wearing cardigans and plaid!

although we will be changing into a tshirt and flip flops later, because it's going to get to 80 degrees today. :) hey, the mornings are still chilly. that's my kind of fall. i will be giddy whenever the first snow flies.. which, historically, could be any day now, but for now i will take the hot sun! and of course, my bare feet. the day i have to give up my flip flops is a sad day indeed. have you gotten any cider-smelling candles out yet? you know that i have.

isn't our little pumpkin looking so grown up? she will be 4 months in a couple weeks!

we're headed out for a walk, where i will be going out of my way to step on crunchy leaves.
happy tues!

hi friends! i've missed you! i've tried to imagine how to start this post a thousand times. my return to blogging post. but i can't think of anything dazzling, so i'll just jump in and keep doing what i normally do. just another post. :)

thank you guys so much for your sweet comments and emails and cards and thoughts and everything that came pouring in during my "maternity vacation" this summer. i am a happy girl to have such friendly and devoted readers! seriously. i was surprised (and honored) by the stream of requests to start blogging again. thank you! you guys are the best. and now that our sweet summer break is almost over.. and it has been the biggest summer of my life, of course... i think it's time. i am back. and i'm a mom!

so, to catch you up.

we just moved home from another awesome summer at camp shetek, and since moving home we've been getting back into the swing of things and introducing hadley to all the good things about august. we settled back into our house (which means a few carloads of stuff from camp), bought groceries for the first time in months, made tacos and fresh salsa, ate sweet corn from the farmers market, celebrated a couple birthdays, started football season, strolled hadley around the neighborhood, bought a new couch, rearranged the living room, ate a watermelon, sat in the sun, went to the county fair, worked on the new landscaping wall in the front yard (grant), watched 3 new movies, and made kettle corn 3 nights in a row. oh, and did i mention nursing and laundry? we do those things too! and hadley is two months old! she is awesome. and hilarious. i am amazed everyday at how she changes and gains new tricks. we spent the summer learning and loving and growing and enjoying our little girl and what an incredible summer it was. and it's not over yet! yay.

and here's what you really wanted out of this post. a bunch of hadley faces! here is my tiny little girl with the bright eyes.


more soon! so happy to be back with you guys:)