Letter to Hailey

Oh, Hailey.  Words cannot describe how you have blown all expectations I had for you.  Yes, they were archaic based on not a single fact.  You continue to live up to your nickname of  "Hurricane".  As I type this, you are removing every item out of another cabinet.  You have 3 favorite cabinets and your goal every hour is to remove the contents of each of them.  At the moment we have one barricaded...the boys are tired of cleaning your mess.  I think it is time to invest in cabinet locks.  I didn't want to, but you have exhausted your mom.

This face doesn't look too sorry!

"Uh Oh"  Busted!

Your speech is still coming along okay.  You have had several words for awhile...dog, dad, mom, papaw, ball, book, sock, shoe, cracker.  This week you added no...thanks to your big brothers.  They find it comical.  I don't.  You wrinkle your nose, point your finger and yell "Neh".  You will tell us "all done" and "more" as you sign them.  "What's this?" is a frequent question we hear from you.  Phones and ipods are frequently picked up and followed with a "Hi Dad".  You like to call your dad on the phone!  You have a few dozen signs.  You would probably have more, but mom hasn't had time to learn more herself. 

You are working hard on walking.  If I could move all of our furniture about 5 feet apart, you would probably never crawl, but I'm afraid your dad would think I was nuts if I moved the furniture all that close!  You walked 9 minutes on the treadmill at your last physical therapy appointment without stopping so I know you have the strength.  We just have to make you more confident so you know you can do it!

You love to cheer for yourself every 4 or 5 steps!

You are starting pretend play.  I love watching you feed your baby, hug and pat her back and then laying her down and covering her with her blankie.  You like to push cars around, sign car and make car noises.  Sometimes you like making your little people princesses dance in their castle, but I think you like watching them fly off when you do it too fast more :-)

Mmm...maybe I need a taste.

I'm amazed at your social skills.  Both of your brothers are social.  Brayden has never met a stranger and will tell anyone he meets everything he knows!  Ian is a little more reserved but by no means, shy.  You, on the other hand....oh my!  No matter where I take you, you bring smiles to complete strangers.  You make people laugh.  You make grown-ups make silly faces and play silly games.  At basketball games, you reach for strangers.  You jumped into the arms of one woman at a basketball game.  Turns out she has an 11 year old daughter with Down syndrome.  How did you know?   How do you always know these things?  You get cheerleaders to throw little basketballs to you.  You flirt with all boys under the age of 18.  You love men over 55 and occasionally you make passes at the group in between 18 and 55!  You make faces at a friend's husband the second you see him.  It is comical.  He is the only one you stick your tongue out at.  I've watched you try to get the attention of an entire boys basketball team.  You finally convinced one of the boys to hold you and you wouldn't come back to mom.  You only laughed at me!  I truly love watching you work a room.  You do love attention, but you truly love people!

I forgot to add "nosey"!  You are laying over the recliner trying to get your brothers' monopoly game.

We've changed our strategy.  We are moving toward an open cup.

You are funny and affectionate.  You like climbing on the furniture to sit beside your brothers or sit on someone's lap.  You love giving hugs and patting our backs followed by you saying "ahhhhhh".  You laugh at your reflection in mirrors, ipad screens, and windows.  Your giggle makes us all laugh.  One of your brothers recently said, it is one of his favorite sounds. 

This is what staying up until midnight the night before looks like!

As your 2nd birthday approaches, I can't help but reflect.  Reflect on how far we've gone.  How life has changed.  How we have all changed.  You opened a world that we weren't really a part of.  You opened our eyes to the world around us.  We are more aware of our surroundings and people.  More thankful for little things.  We take less for granted.  After waiting for heart surgery, after watching your child suffer through congestive heart failure....a lot of life's "big" things are truly little things.

Look at my big girl watching her brother's game

Some people look at you and see you as a "defect".  They might see you as a "mistake".  Others might pity you or us.  Some may see you as weak.  They don't know anything!  You are the strongest, hardest working, most determined person I have ever met in my entire life!  You practice and work to accomplish things that comes naturally to most children.  You never give up!  You never stop.  You are a blessing to our family and I will never stop advocating for you (or your brothers).  I'm looking forward to watching you grow and learn!  We are blessed to have you in our family.