Hailey

I am so crazy in love with my sweet little Hailey these days. Wow - she has just matured and grown in so many ways lately, and she is already growing into such a wonderful, kind and funny person. She has shown so many signs of her bright intelligence, and her vocabulary has skyrocketed in the recent months. She is so kind to both Drew and Greta, and always looks out for them. She so kindly helps Drew put his shoes on the right feet, since he seems to get them backwards most of the time. Also, I can tell that she is such a thinker, always processing what is going on, asking questions about it, and then talking about it again at a later time. I think she is going to be a great problem solver, because I can already see how she assesses a situation, and then acts on her ideas. I am also especially drawn to her these days, because I can see so much of myself in her. She is an independent little girl, and loves to learn and figure things out on her own. It is delightful to watch her as she does this. She is dressing herself, using the little potty, and can get her own milk out of the fridge, do puzzles by herself, set up the train set and even control the mouse on the computer to advance through photos. (scary!)

Here are a few funny and smart things she has done lately:
- The other day, Drew got his ball stuck under the couch. He sat there whining about it, and then Hailey promptly got up, went to the pantry and grabbed the long flyswatter, and then got on her knees, and pushed until the ball came out. I thought that was such great thinking!

- Today, I had all three kids at the doctor, because Greta had a fever. I told Hailey she could bring her new Dr. Seuss book. Then we were reading it for a bit while we were waiting. I said, "Now the doctor is going to come in, and you guys have to be quiet while I talk to her." Hailey said, "Is it Dr. Seuss?" I laughed out loud at that one!

- Sometimes when we go somewhere without all 5 of us in the family, the twins will say "We forgot Daddy," or "we forgot Greta." The other day we were all taking a walk, and Greg, Drew, and Greta walked out the door without us, because Hailey and I were still putting on shoes. She looked at me with big eyes, noticing that the others had already left, and said, "We forgot.....US!" It was so cute!

Other things about Hailey:
- She has a very bad sweet tooth! She lives for the occasional cookie, and drools over anything that resembles C-A-N-D-Y. Today she had M&Ms for the very first time, and she was in heaven. She is still talking about it and telling me which colors she liked best. She went to sleep tonight and said, "Mommy, I am a chocolateaholic."

- She is sooo into her baby dolls and stuffed animals. She also loves books. Some of her favorite books she has memorized, so you can turn the pages and she already knows what they say. Her love for kitty cats is still holding strong. She is a very good helper, and always wants to help me cook, water my plants, fold clothes, work on the computer and even clean. She figured out how to spray the Windex bottle, and then proceeded to clean all of my bathrooms for me! I didn't stop her!

My favorite thing of all is that both she and Drew say "I love you, Mommy," a hundred times a day. I never get tired of hearing that. I wish I could bottle that up.

We love you, precious sweet Hailey Grace!