3 Year Old Haisley

Where do I start with this precious little 3 year old baby girl?  The joy and laughter that she brings into our lives is immeasurable.  Some words to describe Haisley include:  talkative, stubborn, sweethearted, funny, sassy, and one-of-a-kind to say the least.  She is so grown in so many ways and I simply can't believe how quickly the YEARS are flying by.  

I'm having a hard time even knowing where to start to describe our precious little girl's year.  I guess I'll start by explaining a typical day for Haisley.  She wakes anytime between 6-6:30 (normally because of Benton), and has just recently started getting out of bed on her own.  This has just started the last 2 weeks or so, previously she would just call me to come get her.  I make her go potty, then she gets in bed with us if Benton isn't already awake, otherwise, we go eat!  She does NOT like milk, AT ALL.  She drinks water 98% of the time.  Some of her favorite breakfast foods are bagels (with nutella), waffles, eggs, pancakes, and bacon.  Next we have some playtime and we get ready for school or the gym.  We come home, have some lunch and nap from 1-3. When we wake up we eat a snack and normally go visit friends until supper.  This girl likes to stay on the go!  She wakes up asking which friends we are going to play with!  We play and then she normally goes to bed around 7:30 with no problem (knock on wood).  

Our sweet girl loves to cuddle, coloring, playing with Benton, reading, watching Miss Patty Cake, eating snacks, chew gum, and is recently into pretending with her babydolls.

Haisley does NOT like being told what to do, going to bed without a paci, or sharing with Benton.

Haisley had her 3 year old check up!  She did great!  Her stats:

Weight:  27 lbs, 9oz ~20%

Height:  36 inches  ~15%

BMI:  14.97

Some pictures of my sweet girl...

Benton Boy's 15 month stats

My baby boy had his 15 month checkup and did GREAT!  He had to get 3 shots, which broke my heart, but he was such a trooper.

Head Circumference:  18.75 inches ~70%
Weight:  24lbs  ~60%
Length:  31.5 in ~58%

Just for a fun comparison, here are Haisley's 15 month stats...

Weight:  19 lbs (about 10%)
Height:  29.5 inches (about 15%)
Head Circumference:  17.5 inches

Haisley and Benton's First Trip to the Dentist

The recommended age for going to the dentist is 2 years old.  I have been putting this doctor's visit off for a year for several reasons.  Haisley HATES when we brush her teeth, ergo, we don't always get to do a thorough job.  Secondly, she is absolutely, completely addicted to her paci.  We're talking about she wants it all day everyday.  I knew that once we went to the dentist we would most certainly also be taking her paci away.  Because we were going to her 3 yr old checkup, and I knew her pediatrician would ask, I went ahead a scheduled the appointment.  I suppose I felt so badly about taking Haisley so late, I went ahead a took Benton early.  We didn't tell her we were going until the morning of.  She cried a little bit, but she stopped soon and was such a big girl.  Both babies did absolutely perfect!  A lot of worrying for no reason.  The dentist did tell us what I was dreading, that we must get rid of the paci.  She has done surprisingly well with it.  She cried a good bit during the first few naps, but does great at night!  As a trade-off for not getting to use a paci, she has now taken up chewing gum.  We weren't going to allow her to chew gum until she turned three, but since we took her paci away before three, we let her have the gum early too!

Benton Boy is 15 Months

My precious baby is starting to look more like a little boy.  He appears to be growing right before my eyes!!  We love this angel more than he'll ever know!  He is 15 months old!  Goodness I can't believe it.  Here are some updates on our love bug!
Teeth:  He has 12 total, I am almost certain that more are going to pop out soon.  He has been an ill pill the last few days!
Sleeping:  Benton still takes 2 naps a day most days.  One very early, about 8, and one in the afternoon when Haisley does.  Bedtime is about 6:45 and sometimes he sleeps til 5, sometimes he sleeps til 3.  We never can tell!

Talking:  Benton is talking a bit more these days.  He says dada, mama, thank you, ball, and attempts to say others.  He is starting to ramble a little more too!
Size:  Benton boy is growing like a weed.  We go for his checkup next week, so I'll post his official stats then.  He is in a size 4 diaper and mainly 18-24 month clothing.
Tricks:  Benton is a big climber.  He is into EVERYTHING!  He cannot be left alone for longer than a minute or two or disaster ensues.  As pictured below, Benton loves crawling on his chair and looking out the window.

Eating:  Benton boy loves to eat!  He really doesn't turn his nose up to many foods.  I can say with certainty that he does NOT like grapes.  That is about it!  He goes through phases where he'll eat more or less, but overall he is an excellent eater!  It is so funny how many more foods I let Benton eat that I didn't let Haisley eat. It is amazing how much more relaxed I am with the second child than the first.  Benton still gets breastmilk and will until we run out! 

Benton boy is absolutely a joy to have at our house.  He almost always has a smile!  He is curious, adventurous and an absolute doll, in my biased opinion.  Here are some pictures of his month!

Playing with Abby Simms' puppies.

Benton's first spaghetti experience!

 Benton's official 15 month picture.  He looks thrilled!

Of course Haisley didn't want to miss out of the pictures!!

Family Bowling Outing

It was a nasty day out,  so I thought it might be fun to go bowling as a family, my 2 year old and one year old included.  It sounded great in theory, as most of my ideas do, but then we got there.  Benton wanted to run down the bowling lane.   Haisley was amused for a bit but quickly lost interest.   Luckily we had some friends meet us there for added entertainment!  

 They were so cute in their bowling shoes! 

 Benton's face is cracking me up!  He was amazed by all the balls! 

Christmas 2014

This Christmas was the BEST Christmas of my adult life.  Haisley was just old enough to "get" it, and Benton had a blast!  We are blessed beyond measure to be able to spend time with the ones that we love.  We had such a laid back day, it was perfect!  We have been praying that the babies would understand that we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus' birth.  I think Haisley understood, at least somewhat!  So....our Christmas week, in pictures...

I've always felt sorry for December birthday babies.  I mean, how could they possibly have a great birthday so close to Christmas.  We went to a friend's birthday party last week and it was precious!!  It was gingerbread man themed and couldn't have been cuter!  Of course, my kids LOVED getting to eat all of that candy!

 

On Christmas Eve, Mark had to go to work in the morning, so the babies and I played at Aunt Amanda's house.  When Mark got home we headed to the farm to spend time with Nana and Granddaddy.  

 Cece and Benton Boy hanging out.

 The only family Christmas picture we got, and it is not centered, H is picking her nose and Benton is looking elsewhere!  Oh well!

  

Benton's favorite toy of the day.  Actually, the box that the toy came in!

 I got some Cecelia love!

 

When we left the farm, we came home and made some cookies for Santa.  

 Santa LOVED the cookies!!

 FINALLY!!!  Santa CAME!!!  

 Benton LOVED the Barbie Dune Buggy that Pop and JJ gave he and Haisley.  Haisley, on the other hand, did not.  Hopefully she'll warm up to it and start liking it! 

 She enjoyed it from afar.

We had a fabulous Christmas.  Looking back through these pictures, I've realized a few things. 
1.  Our babies are so loved and got so many great toys.
2 .  Mark is clearly the picture taker in the family and we need to get more pictures of the family/him with the babies.
3.  I should try to spruce myself up a bit before Christmas morning pictures.

Merry CHRISTmas!