Hailey Gayle Turns Two

On January 27th, little Miss Hailey Gayle turned two. Most people talk about the "terrible twos" but I love this age. Don't get me wrong.....Hailey's no angel. She gets into everything, gets frustrated when she thinks she's communicating perfectly but we are struggling to figure out what she's saying, and she most definitely is developing her own opinions .....some that don't coincide with those of her parents. But all that aside.....I love this age. She laughs at silly things, thinks splashing in the tub is the most fun thing ever, says, "Dad, I cute" when she gets dressed in the morning, tries to read books like her big sister, loves to watch "Dora the Explorer" and tries to speak Spanish. It is great fun.

Since it's just her 2nd birthday & she doesn't really grasp the concept yet we kept it very low key. Todd took the girls to the store so Maiya could pick out a present to give to Hailey. Maiya chose the "Little People Princess Treehouse" (because every good princess has a treehouse?!?). Hailey, however, had her sites set on something else. For about 6 months now, every time we go down the Target toy aisle she picks up this small babydoll with a beanbag body and plastic hands, feet and head. We let her carry it around the store but we never buy it. We make her put it down at the checkout stand. Well, when Todd tried to do this on her birthday, she would not hear of it. She had a death grip on the doll that I don't think the jaws of life could've pry open. She gave Todd the look of "it-my-birthday-and-I'll-be-darned-if-I'm-going-to-leave-without-this-doll." So, needless to say the doll and the Princess treehouse made it home.

That evening we had birthday cake with candles. The cake was shaped like a ladybug....which is very appropriate since we call her our "Hailey bug" or just "the bug" for short. We have a couple more years of low-key birthdays with her before she fully understands what is going on.