Kalleigh, you are nearly 3 1/2 years old. This summer, you took 2 weeks of swimming lessons and told the teacher you were 3 1/2. Since we have never told you that, I'm not sure where that came from. But it's not surprising that you think you are older than you are. Most days you act like you are 13.
Gone are the days when I loved when Chelsea was here, because the two of you would play happily and quietly for hours. Now, you play well for 45 minutes, tops, before you come running upstairs crying because "Chelsea smacked me" or "Chelsea put me in time-out" or you hurt yourself in some way. Yes, you get a hangnail and we experience a full-blown Broadway production. You are quite the little drama queen. I should clarify that while I am sure that Chelsea is not 100% innocent, most of the time you have not been smacked or put in time-out.
In the spirit of all good drama queens, you LOVE music. When a song comes on the radio, you are likely to ask, "Mommy, who sings this?" Because of you, I'm more up on Top 40 music than I have ever been in my life. Your obsession with Lady Gaga is pretty fascinating, but not surprising since you both share the drama queen spirit.
You are about 35 pounds and 38" tall. Your hair still just brushes the tops of your shoulders when it is soaking wet in the tub. When it is dry, it is still curly and cowlick-y and soft and fine and while I long for you to have a head of long, thick, luxurious hair, I think your short hair is oh-so-cute. You have asked for a ponytail "in the back!" a couple of times and it breaks my heart that most of your hair doesn't make it into the ponytail, but I do it anyway. What Kalleigh wants, Kalleigh gets.
That includes what you want to wear. 99% of the time, that means a dress. Especially this summer. Your little shoulders are brown as brown can be, despite the fact that you have been slathered with sunscreen for the last couple of months.
You don't seem to mention anything about a teenager yet, but you desperately want to turn 4. And you have since the day after your last birthday. In fact, since the day after your party, you started telling me that you wanted a princess birthday party "next year". And that you would be 4 on your next birthday. This may be the longest 12 months of your life.
You have adjusted amazingly well to having a little brother. I couldn't ask for you to be better with him. If you are awake, you want to be kissing him, cuddling him, tickling him or holding him. You bring me his bottle whether he wants it or not, you cover him up with your blanket when you think he is cold, you shake toys in his face non-stop. Daddy is always telling you to "get out of his grill!", but I know that you just can't stand to be apart from him for even a minute. I know, because I feel the same way.
Hayden, you have turned out to be such a sweet baby. For your first month of life, you were incredibly easygoing, but your sister was too, and I knew that wouldn't last. Sure enough, around 6 weeks, you stopped napping and started fussing. A lot. It was so hard to get you to sleep. It took about an hour or more of bouncing/rocking/shushing and a LOT of patience. And when I finally laid you down, you would wake right back up. Oh, that was a long month.
Around 2 1/2 months, I finally admitted to myself that you weren't getting enough milk from me, and I gave up breastfeeding. Just like your sister, you became a completely different baby. You nap regularly, going down easily and staying asleep for anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours at a time. You have always slept well at night, and you still always sleep for at least 6 hours in a row (occasionally 8 or 9 hours at a time). You are quick to smile, and around 2 1/2 months old, you started to giggle when we played with your lips or tickled you from toes to head. Your giggle is the sweetest sound. I can't help but grin from ear to ear and chuckle myself when I hear you.
You give me smiles every time I pick you up from your nap, and every time we change your diaper. And pretty much anyone talks to you or plays with you or smiles at you. You are such a happy baby, and there is no way I can describe how I feel about you. I didn't believe that I could love someone as much as I love Kalleigh, but here you are. And I love you more each day. My heart just swells with warmth whenever I think of you.
You LOVE your playmat and the star that plays music and lights up and changes colours. You giggle and flay about whenever you see it. You get a pretty good grip on those rings too! You are such a strong boy. You love to stand (supported, of course), and you have been rolling over, intermittently, since you were a month old. (back to front!) And you sit comfortably in the bumbo chair or propped up in the corner of the couch.
I can't wait to watch the two of you grow up and continue to change. As much as I would love you to stay little forever, I love watching you develop into the amazing kids that you are, and experiencing with you all the new things you are learning and doing.
