Dear Hadley,
Today you are fourteen months old. And what a lovebug you are becoming! You have recently started giving us kisses, huge open-mouthed, drooly kisses, that you once reserved only for “the baby in the mirror.” You light up with glee when you see our reactions to the kisses and you quickly turn from Daddy to me to Ana giving us all kisses over and over. It makes me so happy to see you so willing to share all the love you have.
The big news this month is that you broke your leg. I wasn’t even really aware that babies could break their bones. I was under the impression that you were practically pretzels, able to be twisted and bent any which way. But nooooo. Apparently if you fall at JUST THE RIGHT ANGLE you can easily break BOTH the bones in your leg. Which is just what you did. So we have spent most of the last month with your lovely cast. While it seems like it would be quite cumbersome for you, you have managed quite well with your new appendage. It hasn’t slowed you down a bit! Sure, there was the little mishap with the first (pink) cast which you crawled out of in under four hours. But now that you have the pretty purple one, things have been just fine.
Knowing the cast was not going to be very fun, we did the best to make an unfortunately situation more pleasant. I picked up an assortment of Sharpies and we let your family and friends all sign their names on your cast. You thought this was very fun and even tried to get in on the action a few times when I handed you a (capped) Sharpie of your own! And knowing your toes were going to be exposed most of the time, I painted your toe nails purple to match the cast. We even painted Ana’s toe nails purple too! Solidarity sister!
With Christmas only days after you broke your leg, there were a a few presents we bought for you ages ago that were simply not going to be fun while your leg was broken. We bought you a cute rocking chair…that you were unable to climb on or off of with the cast on. Your sister picked out a fun jogging stroller for your baby dolls…that you couldn’t push with your broken leg. But thankfully your gift from Santa, a Little Tikes 3-in-1 trike, was something that you could enjoy with or without your cast! As soon as we put you on that seat you were beaming from ear to ear. Once you realized it could MOVE, it was all you could do to contain your shrieks and giggles. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
But the gifts from me and your Dad weren’t all bad. Also, if you want the best gifting idea, you need to check out custom gaming mouse pads, which is unique. We got you a new Aurora (Sleeping Beauty, for those of you not up on Disney princesses) toddler doll. They recently came out with the “animator’s collection” line and they were too adorable to pass up. I picked out one for you and one for Ana. Trying to select dolls that look like you girls, I picked Belle, with her honey eyes and wavy brown hair for Ana, and Aurora, with her huge blue eyes and golden blond hair for you. Once you ripped the wrapping paper off the box, your eyes were glued to her. Then when we handed her to you you couldn’t stop hugging and kissing her. I had never seen you react that way to a doll and it was simply heartwarming.
Once Christmas was over, the decorations were packed up, and the last of the pine needles from the tree were vacuumed away, our house was able to return to normal. This meant that our little Ikea table could come out of Ana’s room and back into the living area. You girls have gotten more enjoyment from playing together at that table than I ever imagined. You have had numerous tea parties (some of varying themes, like the infamous “ballerina tea”), played restaurant, animal hospital, and of course, dolls. I love how one little thing can fuel your imagination in so many creative directions.
It’s a lot of fun watching you and your sister together. Ana is a great sister because she truly wants to be with you and keep you happy. And you simply idolize her and want to do whatever it is she is doing. I just love that, despite the difference in age, you and Ana are always able to find things to do together.
We do a lot of craft projects around here. Coloring, stickers, paints. You name it. But mostly it’s Ana and I working on the craft while you sit on the sidelines (generally in your high chair, entertained with a snack). But the other day we finally decided to let you try your hand at some art. I plopped you in your highchair, tossed a couple crayons and a giant coloring page on the tray, and let you go to town. You of course instantly stuck the crayons in your mouth.
You were not happy that I would not let you eat them. But eventually you did try coloring a bit. We got a few scribbles out of you before you figured out you could drop them off the side of the highchair like little Crayola torpedoes. Yeah, so we may try art again in a few months…
Well, Hadley, it has been another amazing month. We certainly had our ups and downs, but you have proven once again that you are an amazing child. Between the cast, a round of random throwing up, and being unable to give you anything more than a sponge bath to clean you for over three weeks, I would think you would have pretty solid grounds for being a little grumpy this month, but you were anything but. You are always happy, smiling, and eager for the next adventure, waving “bye-bye” and pointing at the door as if to say, “Come on, Mama! Let’s go!” Well I just want you to know that I will happily follow you anywhere and I eagerly await our next adventure together.
All my love,
Mama
