Doughnuts for Dads

On Wednesday Hadley had doughnuts for dads at school. 

Daddy got to take her to school, walk her in, have doughnuts and play in the classroom with her! 

He said when y'all got there, you grabbed him by the hand and said, "I'll take you inside daddy". Soooo sweet!! I wish that I could have been there to play with y'all and see you so proud to show off the school that you love to your daddy!

He said you proudly walked him in until you got in the hall and looked at all the people and then up at him and said "hold  you!"  Y'all dropped your backpack off, picked up some doughnuts and OJ and went back to your classroom to play. 

 

He said you are the doughnut in about three seconds and then starting showing off your favorite toys. A camera and dump truck topped the list. 

You started taking photos of everyone and everything! 

Your friends Wils and Elle came in with their daddy and you pulled up a chair next to them and sat while they are their doughnuts! 

When it was time for daddy to leave, you started to get upset and wanted to him to sing hush little baby! So he sang it and then gave you to ms heather. 

Daddy had so much fun and I was pretty jealous that I didn't get to go! I have to wait until May for Muffins for Moms!!

When I picked you up, ms Shannon said she gave you an m&m after daddy left and it made you feel better!

She also said that you went potty at school!! She gave you another m&m and celebrated you at circle time! I am sooo proud of you!!!!! 

Hadley's First Day of School!

September 2nd

Today was Hadley's very first day of school! 

She is in the ones class with 11 other little ones and 3 wonderful teachers. 

Charlie and I both were able to take her on her first day. I was so nervous for the days (weeks, months) leading up to it! I was worried about sending her to a school a couple mornings a week right after Ella was born would make her feel like we didn't want her around!! We had been talking about school

For a while, reading books about going to school and teaching her the teachers names. She was so excited to wear her backpack but had no idea what was coming. 

We woke up and made her a yummy big breakfast, dressed her in her school clothes and said a little prayer for a wonderful first day (for all of us)! 

When we first got there everyone was taking cute pictures on the steps... This was ours ☺️☺️

For the first couple of weeks, the parents are supposed to walk them into the school and stand at a gate in front of the classroom. The teacher comes over says hello to them and takes them from the parent and we are supposed to leave quickly and not linger. They called it the bandaid effect. I had Ella in the sling so Charlie carried her in. I gave her a hug and a kiss as we were walking up to the school. I was sooo nervous!!

We got to the classroom and mrs Mel saw Hadley and came to the gate. She was so so so sweet to Hadley as Charlie handed her over. We said we loved her and she turned and looked at is and started crying! We had to turn away and keep walking. It was sooo sad!! We got to the end of the hall and Charlie turned around and went back to look through a little window and look at her! He came back and said she was sitting in mrs Mel's lap and not crying!!! Yay!!!!

Charlie and I headed to chick fil a and then home. I did not shed one tear, but I felt like it!!! We watched tv and counted down the hours until we could pick her up!! Charlie ended up having to go to work so I went alone to pick her up.

To pick up, i went in the school and her teacher brought her out to me. Hadley was so so so tired but didn't cry and was happy to see me and Ella. The teacher said she did really well and was just sleepy. 

She sent us the pictures above and I LOVED seeing her happy (kinda??) at her new school. The rest of the day she talked about her teacher. I love her school so much and I hope she loves it just as much as I do!!!! She did tell me multiple times, "Haddie cried at school".  I hope she will be ok with going back in a few days!!! 

Happy Second Birthday Hadley!!

August 30, 2015

Today, you turned TWO!!!!!!!!!!  

We had such a fun day starting with singing you happy Birthday in your crib! You were sooo excited and had the biggest smile on your face. 

Then we decided to have Waffle Time on the beach!! It was so pretty and so fun to be at the beach in the morning for breakfast. You loved seeing the waves and putting your feet in. You normally run straight for the waves but today you had fun being the sand and walking with daddy.

Daddy took you to see a fisherman and you loved seeing him with all of his gear! You also got to see a "really big boat"! So you loved that too! 

We left the beach when it started to rain a little and headed for the park. As soon as we arrived it stopped raining and we got to play. You went down a "really big slide" and loved it! You also really enjoyed watching the trucks go by and picking up "really big pinecones"! 

We then headed to Grammy and Dats so they could give you your birthday presents. You got some cute clothes, bitty baby accessories and  and adorable pink kitchen playset that was fully loaded with play food! You LOVED it!!! 

It was then time for lunch!! We went to your fav, Pine Lakes! You had so much fun as the birthday girl and all eyes were on you! We even brought another cake so we could sing happy birthday and celebrate! 

After nap we headed to nana and buddy's for a yummy dinner and MORE presents!! They surprised you with a whole room in their house that is just for you and Ella when she gets older! 

It has a grocery store, double doll stroller, basketball goal and even a princess four wheeler that you call your motorcycle!! ☺️

We had so much fun playing in your new room! After dinner we had ANOTHER cake that had Spider-Man, memo and Cookie Monster on it!! It was AWESOME and you loved it. 

We came home and rocked you extra long on the night of your second birthday. We had a fun filled busy long day and it was son nice to rock, read and pray with you. You and your sister are the greatest gifts God could give your daddy and u. We are so blessed to have you in our life and you make us better people. We had so much fun with you today and are so. So proud of you and ALWAYS will be no matter what. 

Some quick stats about you on your second birthday!!

You weigh 26 pounds (45%)

You are 34 inches tall (70%)

You are in size 4 diapers with a little bit of interest in using the potty.

You wear size 18-24 month clothes and 2T.

You can say a million different words and are starting you form pretty long sentences. 

You say, "Hold you", "Rock you", "help you" when you want any of those things. It's pretty much my fav thing!

You sleep from 7-7 and take a 2 hour nap from 12-2. 

We are so in love with you! Happy happy birthday sweet girl!

Hadley's Second Birthday Party

August 29,  2015

The day before Hadley turned 2 we had a "Bubbles and Brunch" birthday party at Grammys house. It was sooo much fun and a day I will always smile thinking about.

We started off the party with breakfast foods and of course doughnuts!  Hadley is OBSESSED with doughnuts so i knew they had to make an appearance at her 2nd bday.  I had a doughnut cake made from charleston and Hadley got a little doughnut tower of her very own. I think it was a hit! 

Ella and Hadley had matching "bubble" dresses that were so cute. When Hadley saw Ella all dressed up she looked at her and said "Ella pretty!!!"! She is the cutest! Then when Hadley put on her matching dress she was patting it saying "Ella" and smiling so big. I love the way Hadley's loves Ella! 

After some yummy doughnut time, we had a quick wardrobe change to the cutest shirt aunt Liney got and headed out to the bubbles!!!

There was a bubble refill station, a bubble wrap dance party, a giant bubble pool, a "bubble" ball pit, a water table with bubble bath inside, and her teepee complete with Spider-Man, a shark, and choo choo train!!  All of the kids had so much fun and the adults had fun watching!!

Our families, Lillian, Decklan and Davis, Wils and Elle, Caroline Page, and Caroline all came with their families and had so much fun. I loved seeing Hadley play with all of the other kids and it actually made feel a lot more excited about school starting this week. 

One of the funniest moments of he party was when Charlie was putting Hadley inside a bubble and she plopped down and started trying to swim in the little pool of bubble mixture! It was sooooo funny. She stood up, was soaking wet and took off running to the next fun thing to play with. Eventually we had to empty the bubble pool and fill it with regular water so Hadley could play!

Wils and Elle took over the bubble wrap dance floor and did some pretty amazing dancing and singing to frozen songs! It was the cutest thing to watch!!  The ball pit was also a huge hit and they all loved belly flopping in!!

Hadley played and played soooo hard and had the best day. My heart grew a little bit when everyone was singing her Happy Birthday and she had the biggest smile on her face. She even (almost) blew out the birthday candles on her own. It was such a fun day and I wish we could do it all over again and have so much fun! 

The Night Before Your Second Birthday

Sweet Hadley,

Tomorrow you will turn TWO. Daddy and I can't believe you have been with us for two whole years! (I'm sure we will say this  every birthday no matter how old you are!). These past two years have been, without a doubt, the best years of our lives. You have brought so much joy to us and to our whole family. 

This time last year we were so nervous but so so excited for your arrival. We knew you would be coming soon so we were doing our best to prepare! We had no idea how our lives were about to change. 

In just this past year alone you have blossomed into a smart, loving, kind, generous little girl. You have the best personality and we love seeing you change each day. We never know what you will say or do next but we knew it will bring a smile to our faces. 

You have taught us how to be parents and that's one of the greatest lessons we have ever learned. Seeing you with your little sister makes us both feel whole and complete. You are so sweet to her and we can tell that she already loves you just as much as you love her. 

You are the cutest little girl with hazel eyes and the sweetest light brown curls. You are so smart and can somehow count to TEN! But more importantly than those things, you have a gentle spirit and a kind, loving, and giving heart. The lord has blessed us so much with you and will continue to bless us as you grow. It is my prayer, in your second year, that you will understand that Jesus loves you so much. That mommy and daddy will always be there for you no matter what, but when we aren't physically with you, know that Jesus is always with you. I pray that you will put all of your trust, worries and fears in him. I pray that you will learn to thank Him for this wonderful life he has given all of us. I pray that you will continue to have that gentle spirit and loving heart. 

Hadley, you are one of our greatest accomplishments and we are so beyond thankful for you. We love you with everything that we have and are looking so forward to watching you grow. 

We love you sweet girl,

Mommy and Daddy 

Fall Festival

Today was a big day for you little girl!!

You went to the nursery at church for the very first time and went to a fall festival!

To start our big day off, daddy made us a yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon!

It was soo good and you LOVED the eggs!!

We were hoping you would get a good long nap before church but you always have a way of surprising us!!!! Your nap was pretty much nonexistent this morning despite our best attempts!!

We headed off to church a little early and saw Grandbuddy before taking you to the nursery. You didn't want to leave him at all!

I was so nervous to leave you in the nursery because it's a new environment for you and I didn't know how you would adjust. We kissed you and left without you knowing. 

I sat in church clinching tightly to the pager so I wouldn't miss it's vibrating in case you needed us!!

After church we all headed to pick you up and you did pretty good. I could tell there were some tears and you were sooo tired. I think you gave your teachers a run for their money!! But it will get better each week and you will make some amazing friends!

After church we went to lunch with nana and buddy and had some more eggs!!

Then we headed to the fall festival at brookgreen gardens. We built a scarecrow and walked around the zoo. It was a lot of fun to be with all of our famy and celebrate your dad's favorite season!!!! 

We had a great day with you today and we look so forward to many more!!

(I haven't been updating as much as usual because you decide you like to sit up to fall asleep while I'm holding you and it's kind of hard to type on my phone without distracting you!!)

Walking Girl!!!

When we were at the lake a few weeks ago for my birthday, you took your first steps! You took about three steps in the basement and we FREAKED OUT!

Then took a couple more steps upstairs and we continued to FREAK OUT!

But you hadn't really taken anymore steps since then. 

Until today...

You just up and decided today was the day to WALK!

We were cleaning up in your room and without be prompted, you just started walking over to the chair! While holding a hanger with a dress on it.

We went over to nanas house and you continued to take some steps. Then this afternoon instead of crawling to get something you just stood up and walked to it!!!

I can't believe how fast you are growing!

Well, I guess we have to start wearing shoes now!

The night before your First Birthday.

Tomorrow morning I will wake up and be a mommy to the sweetest little one year old. 

I have no idea how that happened. I still think of you (and call you) my tiny little newborn baby.

On this day last year, at around 3 o'clock, I found out that you would be making your grand entrance tomorrow, August 30th. I was experiencing high blood pressure and the doctor told us to be at the hospital at 4:30 am to be induced.

I was excited, nervous, scared, panicky, and in complete shock! I thought I still had 15 or so days to prepare for your arrival. We left the doctors appointment and couldn't believe that we would be meeting you the very next day. On Labor Day weekend. Your daddy couldn't get over the fact that we had to be there at 4:30! I couldn't get over the fact that I would be delivering a baby the next day!!

We called all of our family. They all couldn't believe it and were so excited. Your Aunt Sis freaked out. She was in Charleston and immediately came home! 

We set up your bassinet, made sure everything was in our hospital bag, and tried to stay calm and focus on how happy we were to finally meet you. 

We barely slept at all that night. I slept for a little bit but I don't think your daddy got any sleep. The next morning, we had a light breakfast and headed off to the hospital. 

It's amazing how fast our lives changed that day. So many things happened before we finally got to meet you. But seeing you and holding you (no matter how brief) made all of the craziness of the day melt away. 

You have changed my life in more ways than I thought possible. You have made me the happiest and luckiest person in the world. Your daddy loves you with his whole heart and is always trying to make our lives the best it can be. You have changed us. Forever. You have made us parents. And that is our greatest and most important job. 

You have grown from this tiny, sleepy baby to a sweet little girl who loves to explore, climb and cuddle. You have learned so many things in this last year it's hard to comprehend what all you will learn in the next.

This past year has been the hardest, most rewarding, sleepless, greatest year of my life. This year has taught me patience, understanding, compassion, and so much more. I have learned so much about friendships and relationships. Your daddy and I have grown in our relationship in this past year.  We have learned how to forgive each other better and love on a deeper level. This is all because of you. You have already changed so many people lives in your short little 12 months with us. 

As I'm rocking you to sleep on the night before your first birthday, I can't help but think of how I felt holding you when you were so tiny. I loved you so much then, more than I thought I could love anyone. But as I hold you now, I love you so much more and my heart is so full it could literally burst. I know as you start talking more and showing your sweet little personality, my heart will continue to grow and I will continue to love you more and more. It's so amazing what our hearts are capable of. 

I hope you have the sweetest of dreams tonight as you sleep. And even though you pretty much sleep through the night now, I won't mind it if you wake up so I can come rock my tiny little newborn again before you wake up in the morning and turn One.

I love you my sweet baby and look forward to what this next year holds for our little family.