I Just Can't Get Enough

Early in Hadley's life, there were days when I had had e-n-o-u-g-h. Enough poopy diapers (ah! There! This is an official mommy blog now that I've said "poop."). Enough night wakings. Enough feeling like such a rookie. But now...now I cannot get enough. I cannot get enough of her funny faces, her curiosity about her world, her sweet snuggles, growing vocabulary and her fabulous disposition.

I cannot believe she has only been in the world 16 months and a few days. It would be fantastic if we all grew and learned in 16 months as much as brand-new people do. There are plenty of 16-month increments in my life when I didn't change much, but Hadley, well, Hadley has learned the following:

--How to tickle carrots. Tonight, when I suggested she eat a carrot, she put her hand in the bowl and said, "Tickle, tickle, tickle."

--How to pretend to feed a picture. She likes to have a photo of Grandma and Grandpa in front of her when she eats dinner, and she feeds them. Tonight, it was ketchup. Two nights ago, apples. A well-rounded diet.

--How to dismount. Hadley likes to play in our bed--rolling around on the pillows and pretending to go nigh-night. When she's done, she positions herself near the edge, slides around onto her belly with her legs behind her and slides down.

--How to feed herself ice cream. Her technique: one spoon for each hand.

--How to dance. Very important in our world.

--When to say such things as "oohhh" and "whoa" and "uh-oh" and "ta-da." She identifies a "mess," says "bless" if someone sneezes and is eager to "pray" before dinner. I'm amazed.

This age is my favorite. Even though Hadley is exerting her will and choosing when to obey us, she's so interesting and fun that I just love our time together. Human development is fascinating, isn't it?

Makes me feel like I should adopt a new skill (sewing, I think) or brush up on my French or at least finish a crossword puzzle from time to time--you know, use this brain I've got. Clearly Hadley is using hers (and I'm afraid that before long, she'll be able to outsmart me).

On second thought, I think she already has. Those carrots she tickled? She didn't eat a one, and we were so amused, we didn't think twice about it (until now). Chalk one up for the Hadster.

And now for some photos from our most recent trip to Naples, where we celebrated Auntie Ana's soon-to-arrive baby and spent lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa. We even managed to visit with some of our old friends:

"Do you think Papa will share his toy with me?"

"Get DOWN party people! Why are you all so old?"

"Colton, do you know the cha-cha?"

Hadley: "This is great!" (The other) Colton: "If she moves one centimeter closer, I'm outta here."

"Really? We're STILL taking pictures?"

Just plain happy.

We managed to get a good one!