Hailey Update & Missing her Brothers

There is a reason God gave me three children.  Having Hailey here by herself for the last week has been exhausting.  Not to mention she misses her brothers and has been a "tad" cranky.  It is easier to run errands with only one, but I do miss my boys!  All in all, Hailey has been good with the boys out of town (They've divided their time between their two sets of grandparents.  Getting lots of time outside, and plenty of time with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.) 

I don't think I realized how much Hailey has changed and how much she is growing up until now.  Life with three can be busy :-)  One day, I dropped Hailey off at the child care at the gym.  I was talking with one of the employees and was watching Hailey.  She picked up a doll and walked straight to the baby swing, put the baby in it and started swinging her.  She found another baby and put her in the rocking chair and started rocking it.  She tried putting a baby in the exersaucer.  All of this fascinated me because we don't have any baby gear in the house anymore (as Hailey outgrows it, it's out of here!).  She was quite motherly with the dolls. 

Babysitting is definitely not in her near future!

Taking her baby shopping!

She always waves "good-bye" before she tears through the house with her shopping cart!

Hailey has also made progress with gross motor.  She isn't running just yet, but her walk is quite fast (try chasing after her!) and she moves her arms faster than some people run!  It is such a funny sight.  She has gotten good at changes in elevations (uneven sidewalks), up and down slopes and boy, can that little girl climb!  She has started somersaulting but she scares me since we haven't had the neck xray for atlantoaxial instability (AAI) which affects the top two bones of the neck.  I try to keep her from doing them.  Playing outside and trying to keep up with the big kids seems to be paying off.  She even did great walking in her flip flops (shhhh....no one tell her PT Abby!)

She was obsessed with these shoes this weekend. 

She looks like a girl on a mission.

I think the biggest surprise this week has been her speech and understanding of things.  Most of the time when we ask her a yes-no question, she has appropriately answered the question and added a head nod or shake.  She called one of the neighborhood children by name without being prompted.  She said it crystal clear (I had witnesses!!).  I needed to do dishes last night and I asked her if she wanted me to find a show on TV for her, she answered "Doc".  I asked "Doc McStuffins?"  "yesssssss" was her reply.  She's only watched it a few times so I was surprised that she said the name!  She has been adding a little diva to her personality, too.  However, since she has always been motivated with jewelry (to reach and crawl), some would say she has always had it in her.  She's just started covering her face with her hands when she gets in trouble.  She also started rolling her eyes at me if she doesn't like my answer.  She picks up her diaper and throws it in the trash.  I can ask her to bring me something and she will (unless it involves bedtime or medicine).  She does like to argue and negotiate. 

Maybe if I smile really big, she won't notice I'm emptying the wipes.

I'll cover my face now, she won't see me that way.

Dancing at the Mexican restaurant

She was so happy to FaceTime the boys!

We are never short on smiles in this house.

Even telling me "no" comes with a lot of drama!

This time with just Hailey has been nice because I don't think I realized how far she has come in different areas.  I've gotten more sleep without a certain 6 year old sneaking in our room every other night.  I'm definitely looking forward to the boys coming home tomorrow.  Hailey needs her motivators (and playmates) back and  mom is ready for the chaos, chatter and extra hugs...(I can do without the extra messes though!)