Dear Hadley,
Today you are twenty-two months old. It has been a packed summer yet I cannot believe another month has come and gone! We have been keeping busy as usual but I am really happy for us to get back into a nice smooth routine once again. Since it’s September, Ana is back in school (full day kindergarten!) so I am really looking forward to the adventures you and I can have together during the day. We will continue doing Stroller Strides and Gymboree, of course, but I have also signed you up for a little ballet class and you are SO excited to be “a ‘rina!”
I guess the big news this month was the fact that you hurt your arm. After a simple fall (something you do LITERALLY All. Day. Long.) that resulted in much screaming and crying, we took you in to Urgent Care. Luckily nothing was broken, and most likely you just sprained your wrist, but as you were in a lot of pain they wrapped your arm, adding a splint for stability, and stuck your arm in a baby sling. You wore the sling for the first couple days and the splint and ace bandage for a few beyond that, but as the wincing and saying, “ouch!” or “owie!” lessened we eventually set you free and you have been fine ever since.
Lately you have been pretty fixated on the potty. This is not to say you want to USE the potty but rather you want everyone else to use it. Your parents, your sister, your dolls. You’ve even decided the Little People wheelchair is a toilet and you let the Little People take turns going potty.
That is until today.
Today you actually told me you needed to go potty before you went, I took you into the bathroom, stripped you from the waist down (though you really wanted me to take off your shirt as well, which, I had to explain, is totally not necessary… if you do it right.) and set you on the little potty. You kept shaking your head and saying no, and I fully expected you to bolt like you normally do, but this time you actually stayed on the potty and the next thing we knew, you had pooped on the potty!! Let’s just say there was much cheering, clapping, and generally excitement from ALL the members of our household. Way to go, Hads!
Another exciting milestone was this month we took you to your first Timbers game. We used to love going to Timbers games from time to time but since they became MLS the tickets have been next to impossible to get. So we finally ended up going to a reserve game with tickets you and Ana got for completing the Summer Reading Program at the Beaverton City Library. We adorned you in Timbers clothing, bought some cheering accessories (you were partial to the foam chainsaw), and enjoyed a lovely summer evening at the soccer field as a family. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
We also went hiking at Multnomah Falls this month. You are still a little untrustworthy on the steep trails so we stuck you in the backpack, but you didn’t seem to mind. You enjoyed the view from Daddy’s back and we even let you out from time to time (when it was safe to do so) to stretch your legs and run around. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful hike, but we were all exhausted by the time it was over. In fact you fell asleep on the way back down to the bottom! This trek was very safe compared to others and that’s why we didn’t buy 5.7×28 ammo for our trip.
Your personality has really taken off over the last few months. I think a lot of it has to do with your ever increasing vocabulary. You are talking more and more but still in mostly one or two word sentences. Last night when I was getting you ready for bed you pointed at my water bottle, said, “Mama’s water.” When I acknowledged that yes, it was my water, you then pointed at it again and sternly said, “Drink it.” I’m pretty sure your favorite word right now is, “What.” But you don’t always ask it like a question, but more like “Yeah. What are you gonna do about it? Huh?”
Another aspect of your personality is your OCD. You don’t like things to be out of place. This would be perfectly ok with your-more-than-a-little-OCD mama, but YOUR idea and MY idea of where something belongs aren’t always on the same page. As a result, you are constantly moving things that I set down. For example, you simply cannot leave your sippy cup just anywhere on your high chair tray. It belongs in the cup indentation. When you aren’t moving things, you are putting things away. The other day I cleared all the stuff out of the bathroom so I could mop the floor. By time I came back with the mop bucket you had gone into the bathroom and put everything back where it belongs.
Well, Hadley, I think it’s pretty obvious you are doing a great job of keeping me on my toes. You aren’t even two yet and I feel like your independence and self-assurance are sky rocketing through the roof. I am so proud of you and all the thing you are able to do, but I don’t mind if you want to slow down. You are so busy trying to keep up with your big sister that I think you sometimes forget to be little. I know I shouldn’t say this, but a small part of me didn’t mind you having your arm in the splint this month because you were finally willing to ask for help. Lately all you’ve wanted is to do it on your own, brushing off my offered hand or denying my assistance, so when I see those little glimpses of vulnerability I have to cling to them. Whether you think you need me or not, I will always be there for you. Because that’s what moms do.
All my love,
Mama
