Frank, George & Brown

Brown

Old Frank

Now George

Frank

Brown taking a ride in the stroller.

Brown having some milk in a sippy cup.

Last year when I decorated the house for the Fall & Halloween, Hadley was enamoured by several of the decorations. She got into Christmas too but Halloween was by far her favorite. One of the things she loved the most was a nerdy-looking Frankenstein. We called him Frank, back then. Frank has several adventures including having his diaper changed.

This year The Kendalls have a new Frankenstein courtesey of Cracker Barrel and this one sings "The Monster Mash." Hadley calls him Frank and last year's Frank has been renamed George. I have no explanation.

Finally, there is a black cat that we had last year (I have actually had it for several years) and Hadley also likes the cat. Last year she wasn't into it much; this year he has already been given a ride in the stroller, the shopping cart and was fed milk from her Cardinals sippy cup. His name is Brown. Again, no explanation. All I can say is that the decorations have been up for 3 hours and there have already been a number of fun times in the house.

Little Girls and Fancy Cars

On Sunday we went to a neighbor's house for a bbq. There were 5 little girls under 3 at the party and they had a blast playing together. One of the kids has a Cadillac Escalade car. The girls had a great time driving it around the cul-de-sac. It even has a working FM radio. OMG!

Before & After

We went to the zoo on Labor Day. What a zoo! The place was crazy. Hadley did have a lot of fun! Here are some before & after zoo pictures! Too funny! I guess she was a little tired.

Picaso Hadley

Hadley got a new coloring book at the grocery store that you can use with paint. She was very excited and concentrated with her work. She painted a couple of Wonder Pets and impressed mom & dad.

Business Woman Hadley

Hadley is very infatuated with her cell phones. A couple of Saturdays ago we found her in our room with an "office" and she was having a meeting. I guess we're raising a future CEO!

Park Date

There is a great park in Lake St. Louis that has all kinds of great toys to climb and play on. We have never been before so we decided to get up and have a "park date" after breakfast this morning. Hadley had a blast running around the castle-like park, swinging and climbing!

Jumping Bean

Hadley has been wanting to jump for months now. She has been able to bounce but her feet were still on the ground. A month ago she started in gymnastics class and the trampoline has helped her to learn to jump for real. Here she is in her proud moment doing it for the first time!

We Heart Chicago!

This past week we took a little trip to Chicago. Hadley did a great job traveling in the car especially thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Toy Story and Finding Nemo which played on the DVD player.

While we were in Chicago we went to the Disney Store, American Girl (where we got a Bitty Baby named Renee), Shedd Aquarium and a boat tour on the Chicago river. We also had some Giordano's pizza and Potbelly sandwiches. All in all, Hadley loved Chicago or Cago as she called it and wants to go on another trip soon!

Transportation Museum, Finally!

Back in May we tried to take Hadley to the Transportation Museum for her birthday. Unfortunately, the day we went was still on the winter schedule and we missed the train schedule. We decided to postpone our visit until another date and today was that day!

It was a perfect time! We had plenty of time to catch the tram and then the train and to tour the museum. Hadley was very impressed with the old cars and trains and ran up & down yelling "ooh, what's that? Cho-cho!!"

Afterwards we took her to lunch and she ate A LOT! I guess all that running around made her hungry. Here are some pictures of her at the museum and at lunch.

Happy 4th of July

Hadley decided the 4th of July is a holiday to go total Diva! She decided to rock the day with her red/white Cardinals dress, purple tutu and Todd's navy blue slippers. Plus, she rode her pink horse. I mean, if this doesn't say Happy Independence, nothing else will!

Circus Flora

In June, our firm sponsored Circus Flora and ticket prices were extremely cheap for associates and their families. We decided to take Hadley to her first circus and overall it was a success! She really loved all the tricks that the animals did and mom & dad liked the acrobatics! Here is our family picture outside of the circus since pictures were not allowed inside.

Pool Time!

This weekend our neighborhood pool opened and we were able to do some swimming there on Sunday afternoon. Todd seemed to think I had "overprotected" Hadley in her swimming gear but she seemed to enjoy it just fine!

Walking In High Heels

One of Hadley's many fascinations is her mommy's shoes. She just LOVES shoes! One night after work she decided to try on the stilletos. Very cute but bad for the hardwood floors!

You Are Two! Love, Mom

Dear Hadley,

This past Thursday you turned TWO! It was a very exciting couple of days and as I write this birthday letter, it is the close of my 2nd Mother's Day. You have been all excited about your birthday, telling everyone that it is coming and reminding me and daddy that you want cake. (P.S. We really remembered! We got you one on your birthday and grandma made you a lady bug for your party! Both were delicious!)

So, as I reflect on the past year I think it gets summed up in what happened after bath tonight so let me tell you the story. Today we spent a lot of time together going to lunch, planting flowers and hanging out. By the end of the day you were DIRTY!! So I gave you a bath just like always; afterwards I wrapped you up just like always and then we had a special little moment.

Most nights we are in a hurry because we have so much to do before bed but tonight we took our time and I am so grateful that we did. We snuggled in the towel. We did fish kisses and eskimo kisses and you smelled so good. We played our little game where I guess if you are different objects, foods or pets and you say no for which you get an exaggerated sigh of disbelief from me that I have guessed it wrong again. This always makes you giggle and you get more into the game with every guess. :) At the end, I ask, "well, then what are you?!" and you respond "I am Hadley!" Tonight, you responded "I am two!" and wrapped your arms around my neck. That moment summed it up. You are not a baby anymore for which I am so proud and sad at the same time.

This year has been a year of firsts. You learned to walk and now you run. You learned to bounce and now you jump. You learned some words and now you form sentences. You really got into your sense of humor and now you like to tell jokes and play tricks. You learned to dance, to give squeezes (aka big hugs), color, read books, dress yourself, brush your teeth, help with dishes and laundry, take care of your babies and eat with silverware! You are quite the dicotomy at times. You love shoes, purses and all of my "beads" and you also love diggers which includes contruction equipment, big trucks and tractors. You are quite the clown but can also be shy at times. You love dogs but sometimes that is only in theory if they are too big or really excited.

You have become quite the mommy's girl which I love even though it exhausts me. You say cute things like "I hold you" when you want me to hold you or "mommy rock" when you want me to put you to bed and sometimes you put yourself in timeout even though you have done nothing (that we know of!) to deserve it. You are so smart and you have a huge heart and while you have my lack of patience you also have perserverance and courage. You try new things, meet new people, adapt to change and love to learn. You are everything I ever dreamed of and everything I never knew existed.

You ARE two now and I love you so much for the two-year old that you are! I am proud and grateful to be your mom and I have loved this past year with you. As I look to this next year I am excited to learn more about what you think, hear about your stories at school and continue to teach you about the world around us. I love you, Hadley! Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day and a blessed two years!

Love,

Mom

Crazy Hair

Hadley and Grandma decided to be really "fancy" with Hadley's hair the other night after bath. What a surprise for mommy! Hadley was very proud of her hair do!

Bucket Head Cutie Pie

Hadley really likes putting her block bucket on her head like a hat and walking around the family room. It gets a little dangerous when she doesn't pay attention and gets close to running into the walls. Here are some pics with and without the bucket on her head.

Bubbles

Last weekend it was absolutely gorgeous so Hadley got a chance to play with some bubbles. She was actually able to blow a few of them!

Shopping Til' You Drop

Today Hadley and I went on a mommy/daughter shopping trip to the mall and Target. It was a lot of fun and we even had a special lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! By the time we got to Target, Hadley was quite worn out and decided to use the cart as a bed. I don't know whether to be proud of how cute she is or embarrassed that my child had to sleep in the cart!

Ready For Work

Hadley is really into raiding mom and dad's closet to try on our clothes and shoes. She isn't biased; she wears both our stuff. She is particularly into dad's ties and likes to hang them around her neck. The other night after work, Todd tied it into a knot and Hadley was VERY proud to be wearing this fashion accessory around the house. You can see the pride in her eyes!

Hadley Has a Sense of Humor

I don't have any pictures to accompany this story as it happened in the car on the way to school yesterday. Hadley: I burp. Mom: What do you say when you burp? Hadley: Buuurppp. Mom: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well, technically speaking, yes that is the sound you make when you burp. It's polite to say excuse me afterwards. Hadley: Excuse me. It's a good thing we were at a stoplight because it was pretty funny and I might have had to pull the car over. God love her, she has a great sense of humor!

Go Cards!

Even though the Cards had a loss today, the cuteness of my two fans wasn't lost!

The Many Faces of Hadley

We have had some issues with our camera uploading photos into the computer so our blogging came to a hault. I got some to upload this evening and wanted to highlight the many faces of Hadley. She has been working with Todd to practice Happy, Sad, Mean and Funny. Enjoy in no particular order!

More November & December