Life with our almost 3 year old

Now that my birthday has come & gone, the girls are eagerly anticipating the next birthday in our house--Miss Hadley's! It is crazy to me to think that Hadley is almost three! She is our baby, how could she possibly be turning three next month?! I went back and re-read {THIS} post I wrote about Shelby when she was around this age, and it was so fun to see the things that she was doing & saying...so I figured I better jot a few things down about Hadley otherwise I'll never remember!

When I think about Hadley right now, the first thing I think of is a chatterbox. She literally talks non-stop and has something to say about everything. When Hadley was younger, she would fuss a lot in the carseat after dropping Shelby off at school. She didn't like being in the backseat by herself, so she was constantly whining or asking for a snack or something. But then she got a little older, and car rides with just me and her were so blissfully quiet--I could actually hear myself think!! Oh, those are days gone by for sure!! Now when it's just me and Hadley in the car, I am provided with a constant running commentary of anything and everything that Hadley sees (even more so after we turned her carseat forward facing last month!) or that pops into her crazy little head. "There's a big truck, Mama! He's really dirty, so make sure you stay away from him. There's workers over there. What are they doing? They shouldn't be in the road! Why are they in the road? Make sure you don't drive in that grass, Mama." It is literally never-ending and beyond exhausting! But it is so Hadley. Derek can't help but laugh b/c Hadley loves to nag him even though she of course has no clue she is doing it, which makes it even funnier to us. "Daddy, you forgot to push in your chair! Daddy, we don't wear shoes at the table!" The best part is she loves to shake her pointer finger back and forth in his direction while she nags him as if to say "no, no, no!" It's hilarious.

Hadley absolutely LOVES going to visit Derek at "worky turkey," and the escalator is always a big hit!

Potty training was an absolute breeze with Hadley! We still keep her in a diaper for naps/bedtime since she's still in her crib, but lately she's been telling us she doesn't want to wear a diaper when she sleeps b/c she's a "big girl." ;)  Too bad we're not ready for her to be out of the crib quite yet, so diapers it is for now!

I have no idea where Hadley learned to do this b/c no one we know has this habit, but Hadley chews her fingernails incessantly in her crib. She used to do it a bit in her carseat too, and I would occasionally go to unbuckle her and would realize she was swallowing something. Of course I would panic b/c she didn't have any food, and then I would realize she was swallowing  her fingernails. Are you kidding me?! She knows she's not supposed to do it anymore, which is why she only does it in crib. Hopefully we'll be able to break her of this habit soon, but in the meantime I will admit it's nice having one less set of fingernails to trim. ;)

At the ages of almost 3 and almost 5.5, the girls are everything sisters should be. They are the best of friends, and they drive each other absolutely crazy. Hadley continues to be an expert on crying on cue to get what she wants, and Shelby usually bends over backwards to keep her happy. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic between them changes as they get older! But they each other something fierce and embrace each other with the biggest bear hugs you've ever seen when they've been apart for more than 5 minutes. ;) 

Hadley always wants me to read her a story before we leave for school on MWF mornings, but I simply don't have time b/c Hadley gets up so late and I'm trying to get us out the door. On this morning, I was helping Hadley with her shoes when she requested a story. Before I could finish saying no, Shelby offered to read the book to her. Usually when Shelby offers to do things for her that I typically do Hadley balks at it, but on this day she was sooo happy to have Shelby read to her! :)

When Hadley turns 3 next month, she is slated to move out of the church nursery and into the 3-5 year old room where Shelby is. Shelby literally cannot wait for this to happen! Every Sunday she talks about how she can't wait to introduce Hadley to her friends & teachers and show her what to do.  I'm anxious to see if they stick together or if they end up doing their own thing in there.

Snuggled up next to her bumper pad :)



And her feet propped up on the opposite side of the bumper pad :)

Hadley Mae, we love you so much!!!!! You love being read to and would read stories all day long if you could. You adore your big sister & can hold your own with the big kids. You are the perfect mixture of sassy & sweet, and we couldn't be happier that you're ours!