phases, kind of like the moon

ok, so i have been thinking about hadley and the phases she goes through. i've come to the conclusion that there are two. two phases that she goes through, mostly on a daily basis. and this very well might be the case for a lot of toddlers her age, in the 2-3 year age range. it has to be. (pretty sure i was just trying to make a justification excuse right there in case i am wrong)

phase 1

the 'oh. my. gosh. she is so flipping adorable' phase. i could eat her up. i could breathe in the very tiny words she says in her utterly sweet toddler voice. words as simple as ok and yes, to the more stumbled upon big words like sunshine (shunshine) and spaghetti(sgetti). love how she says them. seeing the world again as everything is brand new. loving the simple things like playing in the front seat of a car, picking wild flowers, throwing rocks, and jumping on beds and in puddles.  i love how one blue m&m can take 5 minutes to eat and completely turn her thumb and pointer finger blue. oreo mustaches are like a million times sweeter on her face (and more socially acceptable!). milk dripping down her chin as she eats cereal from a spoon on her own mesmerizes me. love it.  love it all. the way she watches, admires, and learns from her big sister is probably one of the things i cherish most right now about hadley. her eyes are filled with wonder and admiration with everything caroline does. then to see her try to mimic it all, to be like just like her. hadley glows when caroline is near. glows, people!  there are just so many amazingly wonderful things that i get to view every day as the mother to a toddler. i treasure them all knowing very well this passes so quickly. it already has. she's growing so much. every single day. she makes me smile all over.

phase 2
the 'oh. my. gosh. i wish i was a heavy drinker about now so i didn't feel all this pain pulling my hair out' phase. she is such a stubborn, tough child. so set in her ways. so independent. ok, so your thinking, "and why is that a bad thing?". it is just tough in the moment when you want the girl to just get dressed and not scream at the fact that you are trying to put shorts on her because all of her skirts are still in the laundry. just wear the shorts already! or does not want to put on a shirt that is any color but blue. it is tough when you just want to sit down and eat dinner as a family. that's it. that's all i want you to do. sit down and eat your dinner. that rarely happens. she doesn't want to be in a chair at the table eating dinner when fun stuff could be going on in the playroom. she doesn't want to sit down in a chair at a restaurant, even once the food arrives. she would rather be her leisurely self and run rampant around the restaurant. this girl has like 10 different pairs of shoes. i kid you not. and she wears one pair. the same pair. every day. and even that one pair takes me 3 tries to get on her feet perfectly. not too tight. not too loose. we are talking velcro pulled just the right amount kind of perfection here or the screams come. pajamas! what's that? this girl does not sleep in pj's. ever. in fact, she runs in the opposite direction from the pj's. she sleeps in either her regular shirts and undies or the full on outfit of shirt, undies, and a skirt. she doesn't distinguish between night and day clothes. and now that we are potty trained (woohoo! i'll post more on that another day) she doesn't want a pull-up on at bedtime. come on already. please, just put the pull-up on so i do not have to wake up at 2 in the morning to change your bedding since you had a normal pee break in your deep sleep like every other potty trained toddler. just put the ariel pull-up on. please. what? you're hungry as you lay in bed about to go to sleep feeling all crabby and cranky because you didn't eat your dinner again? no. i can't get you a snack. don't scream and swat at me. you really just need to eat your dinner like you are supposed to.

being the parent to a toddler is tough. so many struggles happen on a daily basis. some that make her laugh (at me more or less). and some that make her cry a river. you never know how it will end. she lives in the moment. she makes the family crazy sometimes. she wears us all out. she keeps us all on our toes. she is so very haddie gray. every day.

every read the "olivia" books?  they remind me of our hadley.