Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3.4

I have had so much fun with little Miss HC this month. It is so amazing to watch her transform into a little girl before my eyes. More and more she seems to be aware of herself and those around her. She seems to be getting our family and how we do things around here...and of course insisting that Annelise pick up the slack. Today she reminded Annelise to "take her hand out of her mouth!" My husband is a dentist, there will be no sucking of hands, thumbs or pacifiers around here! Actually it has little to do with teeth and everything to do with, wondering where her hand was before it went into her mouth? Yikes...

I know at any moment all bets are off, but overall we have had a wonderful time this month, with no major battles...just waiting for tomorrow to hit! For the last several months as we have worked through issues of sharing, I have encouraged Hadleigh to seek peace and not stir up trouble with Annelise, and to seek Annelise's happiness, and that as sisters they need to stick together. Of course I have heard Hadleigh remind Annelise, "Annelise, may I have that yellow car? Please Annelise! Annelise, don't stir up trouble!" Normal kid stuff, right? But in all those conversations we have been having and times we have spent praying and asking the Lord to give us strength to obey him, I have seen her grow. I know HC is a pleaser, so it is hard to see if she has grown in her ability to share and seek peace, or if she has grown in her ability to do things that she know will please me. I have my eyes wide open, always looking for ways to show her that I love her no matter how she acts, and yet to remind her how much our obedience truly pleases God. It is such a hard balance to walk...not only as parents, but also as a believer in my relationship with the Lord. That is another matter entirely.

Music is one of Hadleigh's loves. During bath time Dave always plays some classical music for the girls and HC will listen to it and name the different instruments she hears. So sweet! Now sometimes she insists on hearing a trombone when it really is a guitar solo, but hey I can't always distinguish the difference between different horns (not that a guitar is a horn, ah well). She sings constantly when alone. Last week were in CO with my family and Rubie always got a chuckle from waking up to Hadleigh's singing. Yesterday she was up in her room and sang everything from "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" to "There is a Redeemer" to the "Doxology" to the "Gloria Patri". Hilarious. As much as she will sing around us, she is shy to sing when she knows others are watching. One of the reasons we have taught her songs like the "Gloria Patri" is so that she can sing them with us in church. But this Sunday when we did sing it, she just listened and refused to open her mouth. I hope that will change. But in the mean time it is so fun to listen to her sing the day away.

Hadleigh always helps Dave work around the house and the car. She was helping replace one of my headlights on Sunday, she is going to have great mechanical skills! I am sure this will be useful because she loves cars, trucks, bulldozers, airplanes, helicopters, etc. I need to get a book that will instruct me in all the various dirt pushers because today as we drove behind one she insisted on knowing what it was. I now think it was a backhoe, but the only thing I could think of at that moment was a bobcat. So...what do you do?

Of course we have been working on the ever present poop issue. Will it ever die? Two steps forward and three steps back. I do not know what to say. We were getting somewhere, but seemed to have lost some ground due to our trip to CO. Blast!

Have I mentioned bugs before? Hadleigh loves them. She loves to come and pick up all the wiggly worms in my garden. Before our vaca in CO, HC was outside playing with one of my mother's helpers, Alex. They came inside and HC said, "Mama, I saw a worm". We then had a funny conversation that ended in Alex explaining that indeed they had not seen a worm, but a snake. No worries, it was not a poisonous snake, not that I would know, but apparently Alex is an expert in snakes and thought it was harmless...now I am thankful that my mother's helper is so knowledgeable about snakes and is not frightened of them. Anyway, she loves bugs and all other slimy animals. On a hike out in CO, Uncle Chris continued to find bugs to point out to HC. She was amazed and excited. She was able to pet a grasshopper, and see a ladybug, a butterfly, a caterpillar. She LOVES bugs.

I think that is about all I have time for at this point. What a fun little girl to be around, I cannot wait to see what more I will learn about my little girl.