Pretty as a Princess

I wanted to do some fun pictures for Hailey's second birthday. So I made a tu-tu and then got some fun little dress up things for the pictures. I think I had more fun playing dress-up then she did.

My Little Girl

I think that these pictures make it official... Hailey is no longer a baby, she is now a little girl. I have noticed it not only through these pictures (which I look and and wonder when exactly she grew up) but I really notice it with her personality. Hailey is definately a girl that knows what she wants, and she can sometimes be a little demanding. A little while ago, it was a Sunday morning, which means that Greg and I try to sleep in as long as Hailey will let us. We could hear her moving around in her crib and then she call out "Mama... Dada" and Greg decided to tease her and yelled back "What do you want?". Hailey responded "Dada, get up!!!". I thought it was hilarious but I also realized what an attitude she has. It is that attitude that I love and it definately keeps my life interesting and can always put a smile on my face!

Family Pictures

On New Years morning I realized that I had a message from my dad, so I listened to the message and I was told that we were having family pictures that day. Great, so much for not getting ready and vegging out all day. So, we all had to immediately start getting ready to make it to my parent's house on time. With a family as big as mine is, I am really suprised that everyone was able to make it. I guess it was a good timing cause everyone was here for the holidays. It was a little chaotic while we were there getting the pictures done and a lot of the kids were tired, but in the end everything turned out alright. I look at these pictures and realize how much our family has grown and how much it is going to continue to grow and change over the next several years. I love having a big family and watching each family as well as individuals go through different stages. There is always something going on, and there is never a dull moment. I know that I am truely blessed to be part of such a great family!

Playing Dress-Up

Hailey has started to love playing dress-up. She will get her purse and her shoes and walk away from me and say "bye-bye mama". She has such an imagination, I wish I new what she was thinking when she starts playing. But I do love that I can communicate with her more and more everyday. It is amazing to me how much she has learned in two years.

Happy Birthday Hailey!

We had alot of fun with Hailey's birthday parties this year. I decided to try and make her cake look like a merri-go-round cause of how much she loves them. I thought it would be pretty easy, but let me tell you it took me forever!!! First, I made the cookie dough and cut out the horses. Then I had to make the icing to frost and decorate the horses. I made the cake and frosting (that was pretty easy) and then I had to melt chocolate to attach the cookie sticks to the horses. Oh, and I had spiraled ribbon around the cookie sticks and attached gum drops to the tops of the sticks. It made such a mess which was probably the worst part of all. But I got a lot of compliments on the cake and Hailey loved it, so it was worth it in the end.

Christmas Morning

The night before Christmas I asked Hailey if she wanted Santa to bring her presents and she told me "NO!" Then the next morning she had started watching cartoons while I finished getting ready so that we could go to my parents house early enough for breakfast. After I was done I couldn't wait any longer so I went in asked her if she wanted to unwrap presents and once again she told me "NO!". So after some persuasion, I finally got her to want to open presents. (Seriously, who has to entice their child to open presents?) It was so much fun watching Hailey unwrap her presents. Last year she would just move from one present to the next. This year she would unwrap a present and lose all interest in the other presents because she just wanted to play with the one that she unwrapped. It honestly took us over an hour to unwrap about five presents.

Christmas Time is Here...

Our Christmas tree is pretty small, but it works well for us cause we don't have a lot of extra room in our apartment. Hailey loved hanging up the snow men and helping me decorate the tree. She is constantly redecorating by moving the ornaments from one branch to another. Everynight she asks for us to turn on the tree lights and turn off all of the other lights. Watching her fascination with the magic of the season has made me appreciate it so much more. I love when she gets excited when it snows or when we drive home from Grandma's house and take the long way so that we can see more houses with lights and she will point out every reindeer that she sees. With all the chaos that Christmas brings it really makes me take a step back and take time to enjoy the small things that make this season so special. So, thanks Hailey for making this the best Christmas ever!