Hailey - sweet sixteen

Hailey is now sixteen months old and as evidenced by this months photos, way too busy and interested in things other than Mommy and her camera. I was so excited to get some shots of her wearing this cute little vintage sweater that I wore when I was her age - she was having none of it. I still think these shots are cute, but I wanted to see her face. She owes me big time next month.







She is walking all over the place and is getting into EVERYTHING! We had to barricade the dining room plant with a chair on its side so she can't dig dirt out of it. She constantly gets into the cupboard where we keep the boy's cups and gets them out and carries them around with her. I have to wash about 12 cups a day. The funny thing is when I unload the dishwasher, she is always underfoot wanting to help. I will give her those cups and she puts them away right where they belong. She stacks them and everything.

She loves being outside. She will walk around the front yard and pick up the rocks that surround our bushes and put them in the grass or a bucket if she has one. She would do that all day long if I let her. She likes to splash around water in the sand and water table. There is only a little bit of rain water in there now but just wait until we fill it with more water and actual sand - she will be in her glory! She is still a little terrified of the grass. The non level surface of it intimidates her a bit and she is not sure about how it feels to touch... even as nice as our lawn is - thanks to Daddy the yard pro.

Playing in the basement is another current love of hers. If the boys run down there and she is left behind, she will stand at the door and cry to go downstairs. I don't know what it is about the basement, but the toys down there keep her attention way longer than anything that is upstairs. Maybe I need to do some rotating.

I can see her third top tooth (fifth overall) poking through her gum. The opposite side is not far behind - she has been fussy at night and I think that is the reason. She has been making different sounds lately that are starting to sound more like actual words. She says "mamama" a lot but I am not sure if it actually means mama, more or mine. It seems anytime she says it, any of the words would fit the scenario of what she wants.

She is very smart. She may not talk much, but she understands anything we tell her. If I tell her to go and get something in another room, she comes back with it. If I say anything about brushing her teeth, she will go stand at the gate waiting to go upstairs. She is a big fan of having her teeth brushed! She has started to give us kisses. Most of the time they are still the typical baby open mouthed slobber fest kiss, but sometimes if she is in the right mood, she will pucker up and make the "MMMm" sound when she gives a kiss. It is the cutest thing!

She is starting to "play" with her baby dolls. She will carry them around a little and pretend they are crying and bring them to me to cuddle. She has been sleeping with her "gloworm" that lights up and plays music. If she doesn't have "globaby" she will cry pretty hard and not go to sleep. She is a fickle little girl though because at some point globaby will be tossed from the crib. I have yet to see a day where globaby has made it in crib the whole night.


She still has some major clingy days. It is strange how she can be so willing to walk around and explore and destroy everything, yet ten minutes later, she won't let me put her down. These are extremely frustrating moments - especially since they seem to occur when I am trying to make dinner or make a phone call or break up some sort of skirmish with the boys.

She is terrified of the vacuum. It was pretty comical tonight with me trying to vacuum up the dirt she had dug out of the plant (despite the chair barrier) with one hand and me holding her on my hip with the other hand as she cried hysterically. I don't know if she was crying because of the vacuum or me sucking up her precious dirt.


Oh, Miss Hailey, everyday is a new adventure with you!