Dan and Elaine .NET

Well, this girl is something else! Seems like life just keeps getting more interesting and each new month brings so much growth. I guess that’s what happens with kids.

Some of our favorite Hailey lines:

Thank you, Daddy. That’s so nice!
Baby Brother Ham (she never pronounces an “s” at the beginning of a word)
I’m 2! Hailey Lorraine Hart
Mor’du scares me! (scary bear from the move Brave)
I’ve got a booboo from the fireplace (She has told at least one person this every day for the past month)
Harper hit me (let’s note here that I’m sure her friend Harper has hit her at school, and I’m positive Hailey has bitten her back, but Hailey tells us every day that Harper hit her and I know that’s not true. Kids.)
I do want it.

It’s amazing to me how all of the sudden Hailey has a rich imagination. I read online that’s typical for this age. She is suddenly scared of trains and bears because she can actually picture them coming to get her in her room. And she can give her animals and dolls time outs, take them to the beach, or pretend she is their mommy–nursing and all. And let me tell you, it’s a little creepy to watch Hailey nurse Elmo, but at least she knows to switch sides. Hailey also loves serving up apple juice from her kitchen, and often warms it up in the microwave first.

What does she think of her Baby Brother Ham? She adores him. She would smother him with love and poke his eyes out if we let her. I only found her sitting squarely on top of him one time, and Sam didn’t seem nearly as bothered as I was, so that was good. It’s hard to tell how Sam’s arrival has affected the rest of her behavior because this age seems to be a time with a lots of transitions anyway. She puts up quite the fight around bedtime and refuses to nap at home on her own, but maybe this would have happened anyway. Who knows. She’s definitely been the tough, unpredictable sleeper of the family, and Dad has bee a huge help wrangling this one while I leisurely feed the baby.

It’s hard for me to tell you what Hailey’s like compared to other 2-year-old since I’ve never been around others so much, but I can tell you Hailey is Miss Independent. She wants to do everything herself and doesn’t seem to recognize that there are things only grown-ups should do. This makes things like changing poopy diapers difficult, as evidenced but the “poop everywhere” nap that resulted from Hailey trying to “help.” She likes to call all the shots: the color of her dishes at mealtime, which chair she sits in, which clothes to wear, which vehicle to take to dinner…..the list goes on.

But Hailey is just so darn sweet. We love her hugs and please and thank yous. I love it when I tell her the dress she’s wearing is from CeCe or Nana and she offers an immediate “Thank you, CeCe Gramps,” or “Thank you, Nana, Papaw, Bobo.”

Some other tidbits about Hailey lately:

Still wearing a size 3 diaper and not fully interested in potty training. She’ll peepee potty but not poopoo potty.
Just now outgrowing the last of her 18 month clothes and fitting well in a 2T and size 6 shoe. What a shrimp! She’s our Skinny Minnie.
Loves going for walks, and will do quite a bit of walking herself. But she loves to run away even more. Thank you to Frozen for that.
Favorite
- Movie: “Elmo Mean Guy” (Elmo in Grouchland)
- Books: Anything related to Frozen, Word book, Animalia, Goodnight Moon, Dear Zoo,
- Music: Frozen soundtrack (been going strong since Thanksgiving). But she is finally singing along now, so it’s a lot of fun.
- Foods: Chicken wings, eggs, cupcakes, ice cream, potatoes, carrots, spaghetti and meatballs, fish sticks, mac n cheese, cheese sticks, Craisins, apples, oranges, and bananas.
- TV: Mickey’s Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Blues Clues (because that’s really all we let her watch)
- Activities: Gluing and cutting, painting, playing with kitchen, playing with dolls, sidewalk chalk, playgrounds.