18 Months and Fabulous

This past weekend our dear friend Aunt Lisa took some awesome photos of us down on the St. Charles riverfront. She captured some great family shots and also some of Hadley being . . . well, Hadley! Here's to Hadley who is 18 months old and fabulous and to Aunt Lisa for being fast with her camera!

Hadley & The Mexican Restaurant

We went to our favorite Mexican place on Saturday night for family dinner. Hadley had a great time and took advantage of the empty chip basket. Apparently she wanted to wear the sombrero and this was her way of telling us. I guess this is what happens when your daughter is born on Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Halloween!

This year Hadley went trick-or-treating as a pumpkin. She really got into it! She wanted to walk up the houses like a big girl and was completely worn out by the end of the night. Here are some highlights!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

This past weekend we wento the pumpkin patch at Rombachs. Hadley enjoyed it but was very busy. She spent time picking up pumpkins, climbing on hay bales and NOT posing for pictures. Here are a few attempts at getting her to pose.

October Happenings

October has been a very hectic month! It started with Hadley's first haircut. We waited until she was 17 months old before getting her hair cut even though she has had a ton of hair since birth. After the squirt bottle was over, she was very good and enjoyed sitting in the train and watching Elmo. The result is so cute! Her hair is so pretty and with 3 inches less in length, no more food is in it!

Hadley has also been a big talker lately. She is saying short sentences and learns a new word every day. Today she said, "I right!" Great. Now I will have to argue "rightness" with both her and Todd.

Edward Jones Founders Day

Each year our firm sponsors a founders day at a local venue. This year it was at Grants Farm. We went to the farm last year but Hadley was just a baby. We thought this year it would be a blast especially since Hadley loves animals. As it turns out, she's at the age where everything scares her and she only liked the animals that were at 50 feet away. Here are a couple of cute pics of her enjoying (and not enjoying) the farm. Also, there is a picture of a camel that was quite the ham!

The Birthday Party!

Hadley's cousins, Keira & Lauren, have very close birthdays in September. Last weekend we went to their joint birthday party to celebrate Keira turning 3 and Lauren turing 12. It was a good time had by all especially Hadley, Keira and Cole!

Fun Times

It is only 2 weeks into September but the Kendalls have already been busy! The fall is usually one of our most busy and fun-filled times of the year. We are having a great time hanging out with Hadley and taking her places or just hanging out at home. Here are some cute pics of her enjoying the events!

Apple Picking Season

This past weekend we went to Eckerts for apple picking. Hadley was quite the picker and she was an even better eater! We had no idea she knew how to say apple or eat one! I guess she taught us more than we taught her! Here's a cute pic of her and daddy sharing an apple!

Elmo Slippers

Hadley is getting to be so big that it's hard to find footie pajamas so we decided to get her some slippers to keep her feet warm. Elmo is her newest BFF so it wasn't hard to decided which ones would be best! Apparently she agrees based on the proud look on her face!

Cooking with Aly & Keira

On Sunday night we spent the evening with the other set of Kendalls. They had a very fancy kitchen that Hadley took a liking to immediately. She was quite the baker! Aunt Aly let her wear her "A" apron and Keira showed her how to be an official cook.

Some Weekend Fun

On Saturday when mommy came downstairs from sleeping in, she found Hadley & daddy enjoying some time together in the family room. Hadley was reading the magazines and daddy was relaxing while watching some TV. Too cute!

Afterwards we did some shopping. Apparently the reading in the morning had worn Hadley out because she didn't make it 20 minutes in the car before taking a snooze.

Flash Backs

On August 3, Hadley celebrated her one year anniversary of attending school. We are so proud of all her accomplishments! She has moved into the Toddler room, she sleeps on a cot and has lots of friends (mostly boys!).

On August 14 she went to her first Rams game with mommy & daddy! We all had a great time even though we only made it until about halftime. She was quite the cheerer and everyone around us was getting a kick out her enthusiasm for football! She did a great job yelling "Go! Go! Go!" even during the cheerleaders dance!

Here are some "flashback" pictures comparing Hadley last year and this year.

Working Hard for the Money

Hadley has decided to go into construction which works out perfectly since they're are new houses being built around us every day! It's nice she wants to earn a little money for the family!

First Sleep Over

Hadley had her first sleep over at Grandma's house this weekend. She had a blast and mommy survived! Here are some highlights!

Crazy Sleeping Habits

Hadley has always been a crazy sleeper. Even when she was first born she was all over the place. We had to install a mesh bumper when she was 8 weeks because she was getting stuck in the slats of her crib. Now that she's bigger, she apparently is using her bumper to rest her legs on her slats. I have no idea how this could be comfortable but she sleeps through the night so I am not complaining!

Baby

Hadley has really been into calling all of her stuffed animals "baby" so we decided to get her a doll. At Target they have surprise newborn cabbage patch dolls. You don't know if you've gotten the girl or the boy baby until you get home. It is all very exciting!

Hadley got a girl baby with brown hair & green eyes. Her name is Kristie Alyce and her birthday is 7-24-10. Hadley LOVES her! She especially likes to carry her around by her hair and drop her on her head. Good parenting already!

To help with her baby care needs, she also got a doll pack n' play. It's super cute and she likes putting baby in her bed to rest. Here are some pictures of her getting her big girl present.

Sunday . . .Goodtimes!

So when mom and dad are trying to get things done around the house (like laundry), Hadley likes to do things too! This is what she was up to today!

Swim Time

Hadley took swim lessons back in January and she loved them. Now that we have the pool we have been trying to get up there at least once per weekend. Hadley is loving the pool. Here she is getting ready to go!

Back to Blogging

So the blog has been VERY neglected! It's been over 2 months since anything has been posted and we really apologize to our loyal readers.

Hadley is crazy busy these days. She seems to pick up a new word every day. Her newest ones include: big light, no, eye, thank you, kitty cat, hi, and bye. She is also walking like crazy. Sometimes she gets going so fast she almost runs but we're not quite there yet.

This past weekend Hadley accomplished learning to drink through a straw and climing up on the couch! She's on fire and insists on doing a lot of things herself. Here are some pictures from the past couple of months to catch everyone up!

To Hadley, Love Mom

Dear Hadley,

Today you are one! I am so proud of the person you are becoming and I thank God every day that I have you in my life! Your dad and I love you so much! We prayed and prayed that we would be blessed with a child and you are definitely an answer to our prayers.

You are by far the coolest person I know. You laugh at almost everything. You bring happiness and a smile to everyone throughout the day. You are happy when you wake up in the morning and are smiling as you go to sleep. I pray that you keep your optimism and your enthusiasm for life. That, plus an education, will take you anywhere you want.

You are so smart! You amaze me everyday with what you can do. I watch your brain at work as you accomplish more in a hour than some adults do in an entire day! I also love your courage. You are not afraid! From a mommy's perspective, that makes me work a little harder to keep you safe. But from a grown woman's perspective, keep going! Fear is ok if it makes you think and question; it's useless if it makes you stop altogether.

You are a loving person. And you have made the people that love you better people! You remind me everyday that ANYTHING is possible and I love you more than words can say for showing and reminding me of that truth. You also have a great sense of humor which is key in life. Always be able to laugh at yourself. It will make you humble and strong. It will also help you deal with the fact that you have my patience. For that, my words of advice are be patient with your impatience. Some days you will do better with it than others and luckily you will have people that love you unconditionally to help balance you out.

You have a wonderful dad. I watch the two of you together sometimes and it overwhelms me. You are so much alike and you are already great buddies. He would do anything for you and I love him so much for being the man that he is. I pray that you always have a special bond and relationship. He will teach you great things and crack you up and he will always love you.

You are my special little girl and I love you so much. I have enjoyed this past year more than I ever knew I could and for reasons I didn't know existed. I look forward to watching you grow and see the spirit in your eyes blossom into action.

Happy Birthday, Hadley!

Love,
Mom

My Loves

Enough said.