Hayes is 4 years old!

IMG_0627my favorite picture of our Hayes from the past year

Dear Hayes,

How is it possible that you are four? Up until two months ago, you were still our little baby. I still saw my tiny little toddler every time I watched you sleep and you would still let me cuddle with you. You have grown up a lot lately.

You’re becoming such a sweet big brother. You know that James Walker is so tiny and you’re so careful with him. But there are also times that you’re a little over-eager and not super careful, so we have to remind you to calm down a little and remember that James Walker is so tiny.

You love life and you are just wide open! You play with full force. You run and jump and laugh and whatever you do, you are all in. I love that about you! We all joke that when you’re grown and on your own and come home for holidays, we’ll all be arguing over who gets to sit next to you at the dinner table. You are so much fun!

You and Hudson started sharing a room around Christmas and it has gone so well. You’ve learned that bed time is bed time and you have to be quiet when the lights go out because you don’t want to keep Hudson awake. Hudson is a lot more of a rule follower than you are, so it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for you, but you’ve done so well. The lights go out and you settle down immediately and drift off to sleep.

With the change of sharing a room, though, you dropped your nap. You were not thrilled about being in your room to take a nap knowing that Hudson was not in there napping, too. You’d just get in there and cry or play or jump on the bed. So we gave up the battle and gave up the nap. But there are a couple days a week where you just drop right where you are and crash. It takes you getting very very still, but you just crash. We have a lot of funny pictures of the places where you’ve napped.

Your vocabulary is huge and your speech has come such a long way! It’s hard to even remember the day when we struggled to understand your speech. You’re so smart, too, Hayes! You don’t sit down and focus on educational things often, but you shock us all the time with what you know. You recognize words and all your letters and numbers. And it’s just something that you seem to have snuck in while you’ve been running and playing so hard.

Our sweet little Hayesie. We’ve actually had to be a lot more mindful of how often and where we call you Hayesie because your classmates were starting to call you that. And while it’s a cute nickname for now, we didn’t want it to be something that you were stuck with your whole life!

You love pancakes and waffles and French fries. But you aren’t the best eater. We know you’ll come around someday. You love ninja turtles, make believe, playing outside, baseball, riding your bike. And you can entertain yourself so well. I’ll hear you having little conversations between your toys and it’s just so cute how much you love to play.

We are so thankful for your sweet little tender heart and your loving spirit. You’re definitely the most fun person in our family and that is a trait that I know you’ll have forever!

I’m so excited to see what God does in your little life over the next year. He has big plans for you, Hayes, and we’re just so thankful for the time that we get to spend with you and watch how He guides your path.

I love you, sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy

 

when Hudson and Hayes met James Walker

A few weeks before James Walker was born, I was on Facebook and noticed that one of Hudson’s former preschool teachers was going to start a new business taking every day photos of children. One of the specific events she said she wanted to photograph was siblings meeting for the first time. I immediately messaged her to see if she would be willing to come to the hospital the day of the c-section to take photos of Hudson and Hayes meeting James Walker.

I knew that I’d be stuck in the bed for a few hours and wouldn’t be able to take pictures, and I wanted Todd to be able to enjoy the moment. And Logan agreed to come take pictures! I am so glad we did this because the emotion on the boys’ faces is just the best! I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

If you are local to Columbia, definitely reach out to Logan Fowles for children’s photography. These pictures are just priceless to me! (Email Logan at LoganFowles@yahoo.com)

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Hayes is 3!

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Dear Hayes,

We woke you up this morning to sing happy birthday to you, and brought you downstairs to open your presents and have a donut fiesta. You were so excited. It’s like you couldn’t believe that today was actually YOUR birthday. Finally!

We all call you Hayesie. Your classmates, Hudson, and all the teachers, too. So sometimes when we ask you what your name is, you’ll say, “Hayesie.” It’s hilarious, but then sometimes I think we should stop so you don’t grow up thinking your name is Hayesie.

Being your mother is one of the sweetest privileges of my life. You are my sweetheart. You are the little light in this house that is always shining. Always beaming. Always laughing and looking for the party.

When someone is sad, you hug them. When someone is laughing, you tell them how funny they are. You greet everyone you meet with a smile. When we have visitors at the house, you want to take them around and show them your room and your favorite toys. You want everyone to feel as welcome as possible, and I just love that about you.

You’re our little wild card. Sitting still is not your favorite. You love to move and dance and do anything physical. You talk all the time and you don’t have a mean streak in your body. You’re not always obedient, but you are always sweet. I could cry just thinking about the way you hug using your whole body. And the way you grab my face to kiss my cheek. Totally unprompted… just because you’re you and you’re so loving.

If Hudson taught me how to be a mommy, you have taught me how to slow down to enjoy every single day. You’ve reminded me what a gift it is to be a mommy and what a joy it is to be your mommy and Hudson’s mommy. You love to enjoy everything for what it is. We take walks and hold hands. You soak every little thing up.

Even though you’re always running, you’re never actually in a hurry. When we opened your presents this morning, you wanted to stop and savor that first present. You weren’t ready to see what was in the next one. I get all teary thinking about what a good friend you will be and I just know that you’ll be the kid that everyone wants to be around because you treat everyone like they’re special.

I’m so thankful for your sweet little spirit and I’m so thankful for the way you rub off on the rest of us. I look at you and I still see my tiny little baby. Watching you grow up has been tough because I know you’re still really so little, but the time sure does go by quickly.

There aren’t enough words for me to tell you how wonderful you are and how much fun you are. But I will love you, love you, love you for as long as I live, and because of you, I’ll slow down a little bit more every day. You are such a light. Happy birthday, my sweet baby boy!

Love,

Mommy

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our Hayes

These pictures from this weekend could just speak for themselves, but I just wanted to write a little bit about my sweet Hayes.

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When Hudson was 2.5 years old, Hayes was 6 months old. 2.5 is such a great age, and it has been fun to experience this age without also caring for a baby. Our Hayes is such a delightful little guy. He’s completely silly. He is flexible. In many ways he fits the stereotype of the second born child.

He wakes up smiling. He doesn’t hold grudges. He marches to the beat of his own drum and is generally a happy guy. He is strong-willed and has a bit of a temper, but he gets over things quickly.

Hayes is extremely active and physical. Always jumping. Or running. Or climbing. Or taking a flying leap off the furniture. It’s slightly frightening, but I do love his personality.

He loves to dance and loves to sing. He pretends to conduct his own orchestra.

He’s doing what he can to assert his independence. Resisting having his hand held to cross the street and attempting to do everything all by himself.

My favorite time of day with him is when we read to him at night, without Hudson, and he is fully attentive. The boys are great together, but I love that time with just Hayes where I know he’s listening and know he’s not distracted. He’s so still and so present.

Hayes lives to make Hudson laugh and wants to make Hudson happy so badly. And if we ever need an interpreter to help us know what Hayes is saying (his speech has improved by 120%– it’s incredible, but there are still times when he’s talking a mile a minute and we have no idea what he’s saying) we always go to Hudson. And Hudson always knows what Hayes is saying. That may be my favorite thing about their sweet relationship.

He’s incredibly sweet and gives the best hugs.The kind of hug where he wraps his arms around your neck and fully rests his head on my shoulder. I’m in complete denial that his 3rd birthday is only a few months away, and I have big plans to keep him a toddler forever. He’s our bull in a china shop and our sweet, gentle boy all rolled into one.

He makes me so very happy.

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