HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My sweet baby girl. You turned TWO this weekend!

...and boy was it fun. We threw you a party. But not just any party. It was an ELMO party. Because - quite frankly - you wouldn't have had it any other way. So there were Elmo balloons, Elmo streamers, Elmo cake, Elmo plates and napkins, and an Elmo tablecloth. And you got Elmo cards and Elmo games and Elmo videos. Really? I can't believe you aren't Elmo'd out yet. I am.

But we also had a pinata filled with candy. You and Neva, Ellary and Ainsley weren't quite sure what to do. You tried to hit it, but I think you were a little uncertain of what the result was going to be. Finally daddy took a good THWACK at it and all the candy fell out. Even then you didn't know what to do until I told you it was OK to have a sucker. Pretty sure that's the last birthday party where you don't bum-rush the candy.

At one point during the party, you, Neva and Ellary started chasing each other through the house while SCREECHING! I had yet to actually witness you participate in this female phenomenon. I don't really understand it, but according to Nana it is another stepping-stone in your development. It was even funnier when one of you would fall down - the other two would immediately turn around and give hugs before continuing. Girls are so darn cute! Such nurturers we are.

So now we are racing against the clock to move you downstairs. Daddy has your room painted and your bed set-up, but we don't want to move you until it is all put together. Hopefully it will all be ready by this weekend. I can't wait!

iloveyoumadly.
mama

The Yin and the Yang

THE YIN:
You pooped in the toilet for the first time two nights ago! We were so proud. So were you. And then scared, as you backed away from the toilet. It was pretty funny.

THE YANG:
You threw an unbelievable amount of temper trantrums yesterday. I mean throw-yourself-on-the-ground-and-bawl temper tantrums. Over such things as not getting to use my favorite peppermint lip gloss or being asked to wear socks. Your will actually became so strong that your father - the one who thinks I'm too lenient and casual with you - gave you Jelly Bellies to get you to stay in your crib when he was putting down for bed. That's right. JELLY BELLIES. BEFORE BED. AFTER WE BRUSHED YOUR TEETH.

I take it all in stride. The good with the bad. The beautiful with the ugly. The Yin with the Yang.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Inauguration Day

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States this morning.

It's also 75' outside without a cloud in the sky.

I think the two are related, don't you?

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Twenty Three Months

Well look at that....I completely skipped Twenty Two Months.

A lot sure has happened in the last two months!! Your vocab shot through the roof! We took a trip out to San Diego to visit Gramps, Grammy and Uncle C Bones for Thanksgiving and that's when we first started to notice all the new words. And it just grew from there. My favorites? "Ma Poon!" (translation: my spoon - a very important item to you right now)' "lalellow" (translation: yellow); and "lahve lu" (translation: I love you) You even said the last one without being prompted to Ba the other day. I almost died.

We started potty-training you last weekend. It was.....interesting. We had to put our plans on hold, however, as the Tod 1 classroom doesn't have a toilet, and therefore our efforts weren't being reinforced at school. You're moving up to the Tod 2 rooms in two weeks, so we'll start up again. But you spent the last weekend running around in your Elmo underwear (you love Elmo so much it's hysterical), leg warmers, fleece slippers and a t-shirt. It's a look for the runways, for sure. I hope I took a picture..... Anyway, your Uncle Dero (which you've started pronouncing Diwi) and Aunt Mags came over. I thought for sure you'd end up peeing on one of them, but you didn't. You did, however, poop all over yourself and your bedroom carpet which you didn't care for. Me either - daddy was out on a ride and I was all by myself trying not to get poop on me or the walls! It still smells like poop in your room. Thank God we're getting new carpet soon.

You've also become more interested and affectionate with your soon-to-be-baby sister. You kiss my belly, and smile whenever we mention her name. Which, incidentally, is Berit. We haven't decided on a middle name yet, so we'll see what happens there.

You're so precious, baby girl. I treasure everyday. Even the crabby difficult ones (they're more frequent these days). Because you know what? I am completely in love with you. And at the end of the day, I am so proud to be your mama. You are a complete and total gift.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Who's Your Daddy?

Can you find your daddy in this photo?

TWENTY ONE MONTHS - Craziest month yet!

WOW! So clearly I once again missed the official date. But read on - you may just forgive me after you see what this month has been like.

So today was the big day. We all work up early, had a nice leisurely breakfast, got you to school just before 8, and daddy and I drove down to Denver for our half-way ultrasound. Guess what my love..... you are going to be blessed with a BEAUTIFUL BABY SISTER! As an older sister myself, I cannot tell you how special this is. I don't have any "major" expectations that you will adore your baby sister the way I adored (and still adore) your Aunt Ba. But I have hopes that you see in her the best friend little sisters can be. I expect you to be frustrated with her, annoyed that she gets some of the attention you once got, but I also expect that my sweet and affectionate Hadley will immediately understand how your life is changed forever with the arrival of this special package. I know you will understand how precious she is, and I know you will love her with all your heart. Now you just need to help us decide on a name!

I also wanted to talk to you about what happened two weeks ago, how your father and I and millions of other people across the country helped elect the first African American president. I have never been more proud to be an American than I am today, and when you are old enough to understand the significance of this election, when years from now you ask me where I was when I found out that Barack Obama had won, I'll tell you that while there were millions of people dancing in the streets and gathered at parties (like your Aunt Sonja and Uncle Matt in Manhattan!), I was sitting on the couch next to daddy, holding hands, tears streaming down my face, the two of us alone with the cats asleep at our sides. The television showed complete and utter chaos, but we sat there quietly absorbing the moment, worried that if we blinked we'd realize it was all a mistake. I finally feel like we may have the momentum to change and fix so much of what has gone wrong — from economics to the environment, to health care and raging wars — that instead of leaving your generation with a burden almost impossible to climb, there is hope that we may in fact leave you with a world that is better than the one you were born into. I know I am not alone when I say that my vote in this election was as much for his vision as it was for you and your sister's future.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Twenty Months

So you're twenty months old. That's ALMOST TWO! Almost two. Wow. And yet you're still not really talking..... hmmmm.

You're very communicative though. Daddy and I know pretty much what you are saying, even though it doesn't always sound like English. I think that may be why you're not actively increasing your vocabulary at the rate at which we wish you would. We enable you by giving you what you want when you grunt. ENABLE. This is a dirty word in many respects. And by mentioning it here, I can already see the therapist's office 15 years from now. "Ginna and Nels, you are ENABLING Hadley."

Even though you don't use specific words all the time, you are very expressive and make it pretty clear what you want. I've mentioned many times what an easy baby you are - you sleep well (most of the time), you eat well, you share well - you are a wonderful child. You even tell me when it's time for a bath and when you're ready to stop playing and crawl in your crib to go to sleep. Just the other night we were rocking in the chair, speaking quietly about the day, about your new pajamas, about Peef - and nothing in particular. All of a sudden you sat up, pointed at your crib and looked at me as if to say, "I am tired woman. Put me to bed and leave." It was pretty funny. So I put you down, kissed you good night and told you I loved you (very important steps that if skipped, you tell us we didn't do it right). As I shut the door behind me I realized that even though you don't use your words very often, you have never failed to communicate to us what you're thinking. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you are brilliant.

iloveyoumadly.
mama