Judgy McJudgerton

Apparently you have become very judgmental of others' appearances....mainly, your mother's. We were in the car this morning and in the rearview mirror I saw you squish up your face like something was bothering you, so I asked what was up. Your reply? "Your hair is really messy mommy."

Awesome.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

The Sweetest Thing....

We had a rough night last night. You aren't feeling 100% - you have a nasty cough and a really sore throat. Last night you just didn't feel like being alone. So I ended up sleeping with you for a good portion of the night. I should put "sleeping" in quotations. I didn't do much of it.

So we get up this morning - I barely made it through the basics of getting ready: washed my hair but didn't style it, threw on jeans, a long-sleeved T and a pair of boots, a little lip gloss and called it good. By no means did I feel beautiful.

We were all getting our coats on, rushing to get out the door, when you reached your arms up and asked for another hug. I obliged - of course! - because there's nothing better than one of your hugs. And just as I was pulling away from you, you put your hands on my face, looked me in the eyes and said, "You're so pretty."

You made my decade.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!

You're THREE!!!! Or as you like to say it, "FREEE". We're both right. :-)

We had such a fun weekend. Saturday was your fairy party. It was magical. We invited just a few of your closest girlfriends, and of course baby Bodhi. The girls all dressed up as fairies - wings, wands and all - and Bodhi came as a Super Hero. It was wonderful! You were all so precious and well-behaved. Daddy and I spent the night before making stars for the "Pin the Star on Tinks Wand" game, organizing stickers for the cup decorating and pre-making the Fairy Punch. You guys didn't want or need any of it. You were all so content to just play in your playroom, eat your lunch and of course, the cake and ice cream! We moved your little art table into the dining room so you could all sit together. It was fantastic. You wore yourself out so much that you were asking for Daddy to take you to nap before Neva Diva even had her coat on!

You've really take this big sister role to new heights over the past few months. I think it has something to do with the fact that Berit is so in love with you! She reaches out to hug and kiss you the second you get within arm's reach. You are always willing to share your most prized-possessions....specifically, anything related to your baby dolls. On that subject......we decided to take you shopping for your birthday to let you pick something out. We went to Grand Rabbits. On the way there, we asked if you had any ideas about what you wanted. After a few seconds of thinking you replied, "ummmm.....something like a baby doll." (You say this same thing when I ask you want to you want for breakfast...."something like oatmeal." It's so funny.) Anyway - we get to Grand Rabbits and immediately walked to the doll section. There were so many to choose from! After careful deliberation and examination of each of the dolls and accompanying gadgets (potty seats, bottles, pacifiers, etc.) you settled on a nice-sized baby that came with a diaper, bottle and pacifier. You promptly named her Becca. Precious.

You crawled up the stairs yesterday morning, realized that none of us were out of bed yet, and walked into our room (this is a new development for you - getting out of bed on your own and walking upstairs). When you crawled into our bed, Daddy and I started singing "Happy Birthday" to you. You had the funniest look on your face throughout the entire song...and then when we were done you said, "Guys, it's not my birthday. There's no cake."

Apparently cake is all you need to make your birthday spectacular.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Luscious

So you have this thing with lip stuff. Be it Cherry Chapstick, Burt's Bees lip salve or my $20 tube of gloss. You love it. And you are a bit OCD about it. One time, on the way to school, I gave you my lip gloss (because I caved. There - I said it.) And when we got to school you had a Krusty the Klown smile of raspberry scented lip gloss from the tip of your chin up to your nostrils. I let you walk into school like that.....but I digress.

You also have a habit of losing said lip stuff. There is no telling just how many lip balms and lip glosses and chap sticks there are rotting away silently at the bottom of some box you cannot live without (and have stashed in the playroom or your closet, or that corner of the garage where daddy keeps your bikes). In fact, I'm certain that one day we're going to find Jimmy Hoffa at the bottom of one of these boxes. And his lips are going to be very moisturized.

Thirty-Four Months

Inching ever closer to three.....

The major milestones are no longer looming over your head. You have reached and passed them with ease. The latest? You are now 100% certifiably potty trained. NO MORE DIAPERS!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you sense I'm excited about that? I think you were ready to ditch the bedtime diaper a long time ago. It was daddy and me that kept you in them. We weren't ready for the bed-wetting phase of life, especially since your sister was going through her "I've reached 6 months and I am going to completely screw with my sleep schedule" thing. But one night about 3 weeks ago you said you didn't want to wear a diaper to bed, and that was it. And no accidents so far!! Way to go, baby.

I asked you to entertain your sister the other day while I went potty. You were both hanging out on the floor in Berit's room. Without any prompting you sang her the ABC's - and you did it all by yourself! You were so proud. I almost cried.

Another big and exciting thing this month was the arrival of Bodhi Ray DeRoma on November 25, 2009. You haven't met him yet - he is only two weeks old. But you are so anxious to meet him! He is precious and I think all 3 of you are going to be lifelong friends.

So you are going to have a fun few weeks ahead of you. Grammy is coming tomorrow for one night to see you and Berit, Nana comes Monday to stay with us for a week and Grandma comes on Christmas day to stay with us for a week. And then Grammy comes back after New Year's with Gramps and Uncle C! How much fun. You are going to be so spoiled.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Pink Boots and Old People

We were in the car this morning on the way to school just chatting about life, like normal. You were commenting on how excited you were to turn three. And then you asked how old I was and I said "I'M OLD!!" And tried to explain what 35 was since I think you can only count to 20 right now. You sat there quietly for a minute, and then you asked quietly, "Are you going to go away?" I of course said "no" and asked why and you responded, "My kitties were old. They died." I felt horrible. You poor thing! You thought for that minute that I was going to die because I told you I was old.

You quickly recovered and moved onto the next topic: farm animals. We passed one of the farms on 75th and you saw the horses and said you wanted to go back to the pumpkin patch. I mentioned that pumpkin season was over, but that we were going to go to a farm soon to buy a Christmas Tree. I proceeded to try to explain what Christmas was, but you didn't really follow me at all until I mentioned PRESENTS! So I asked you if there was something in particular you thought you might want for Christmas this year, and without hesitation you answered, "Pink boots."

Ok then. Pink boots it is.

iloveyoumadly.
mama

Thirty-Three Months

My dearest Hadley. I mean Tinkerbell. I love your how your mind works. If only I could crawl inside your brain and take a peek at what you've got brewing up there. I opened up your school bag this morning and pulled out your daily art project. This one happened to be titled "All About Hadley." They asked you a few questions, and then wrote down your answers verbatim. (Oh to have been your teacher yesterday!) I'd summarize it here, but it's just too precious not to rewrite in it's entirety:

PAGE 1:
"My name is Hadley. I love Tinkerbell. I wear wings. I dress up and fly. My kitties died. My hair is long. I like Tinkerbell."

(reads a bit like a poem so far, don't you think?)

PAGE 2:
"Papa and Nana live in Minnesota. My daddy hurt his ribs. I have a sister, Berit. My daddy's ribs are better now. My mommy is Ginna."

(I have to say, I am impressed that a) you know your grandparents live in Minnesota, and b) when did you learn what my name was?)

PAGE 3:
"I like to go to the park and play with my family. I like to play with my friends. I like to read books. Isabelle. At home."

(You actually have "The Adventures of Isabelle" completely memorized.)

PAGE 4:
"When I grow up I want to be like Tinkerbell. I'll fly. That's all. I go have fun at the store. At the milk store."


At least you didn't say the "beer store."


iloveyoumadly.
mama