Dear Hadley

Dear Hadley,
You are the most adorable baby.  It is hard to imagine our family before you were born.  We all love you so much and can't get enough of you.

Right now, you like to think you can walk down stairs.  Needless to say, this doesn't always go so well :)  Your other new obsession is putting on everyone's shoes.  Add that into the stair mix and things definitely end poorly.  You are a busy, busy girl.  You are always moving, always exploring, and always wanting to try things yourself.  That usually results in lots of messes and lots of crying when you don't get your way.  You LOVE being outside.  Absolutely love it.  You love going for walks in your push-along car Grandma and Grandpa got you for Christmas.  You love baby dolls and stuffed animals.  When you get out of your crib in the morning, usually courtesy of Macy, you head for Avery's room and choose some stuffed animals to lug around for the morning.  You also love real babies.  When your cousin Connor was here for a month in the summer, you couldn't get enough of him.  You did your best, but he definitely got clobbered a few times when you were loving on him.  Everyone loves to watch you dance in the car.  You shake your head and wave one arm around.  It is pretty adorable.

After our experience with Avery being allergic to dairy, we had our suspicions since you stopped nursing.  I put you on a different formula and that seemed to help.  When you turned one, we tried milk and it did not go over well.  We decided to put you on Almond Milk instead and that has worked out much better.  No screaming and writhing in the night, no trouble with your poops, no nasal congestion, and no flushed, rough cheeks.  The only downside is that most kids get their fat from dairy.  You didn't gain weight the last three months, so the doctor and I are keeping an eye on that and I'm trying to pump you full of other fatty, non-dairy foods.  We will see how it goes.  You are an excellent eater and you eat a TON to make up for all those missed calories most kids drink.

Since we took you off dairy, you sleep through the night like a champ.  I am very grateful to you for that!  That makes it a lot easier for me to be a happy, calm mother.  We tried to train you from the beginning to be an independent sleeper and you seem to have the knack of it.  We just put you in bed with your blanket and bear and you go to sleep.  We took away your binky when you first turned one. That was only hard for a couple days.  We decided to do it because when we got home from a trip, no one could find your binky when it was time for a nap.  Kate found one the next day, but I figured we were already halfway there so we would tough it out.

You love reading books.  Or should I say, you love bringing us books and looking at a few pages before dashing off to grab another book.  You absolutely are in love with your baby cousin Paige.  We all think you'll grow up to be good buddies.  She seems to like you too :)

Your siblings all love you.  They are always anxious to make you happy and none of them, Macy especially, can handle it if you are crying.  We love your sweet loves and kisses.  I love how whenever I carry you, you hang on to my arm with no intention of letting go.  I also love when I'm putting you down for a nap how you snuggle into me for a bit before you go down.  Your smile and ensuing dimples melt my heart.  Your laugh is contagious and makes it difficult for anyone to ever stop playing with you.

I love you so much sweet, little Hadley.  I am so grateful that I listened to the promptings of the spirit and went through another rough pregnancy.  You were worth every single second of awfulness.  You are a testament that God's plan for us is always better than our own plan.

Love, Mom