Butterflies and Dragonflies: March 2012

four is the number today...

my baby girl turns four today

...and she couldn't be more excited

she was so excited to show me four when taking pictures last Sunday afternoon

it really was the perfect day to take some pics of them outside

it has been awhile since I took a few pics of them and I think they forgot

that "mama goes overboard in how many she takes"

because I took a ton...
I mean a whole lot of pictures
{smile}

but we had the best time

lots of laughter

silly dancing

a bit of craziness and stress at some points during the pictures when Hayley decided she was done

"done taking photos mom"

completely done she said:)

I don't blame her because I'm the first person to jet when people start taking photos

As I was going through the photos in the wee wee wee hours of the night

I liked around 67 of them

yes 67

some were of just Madison too
which I'll save for her birthday

because how can you not take photos of both of your sweet girls

anyhoo...

Hayley Elisabeth is four today

yes four

{I keep typing that I know...perhaps I'm in denial just a little bit

...thought you should know that}

I feel a bit rusty at writing since it has been awhile

but I wanted to blog today

to celebrate Hayley

she is my sunshine

who has a true gift of humor and silliness that I just love

we dance silly all the time together

whether in stores

at home

or in the car

it's our fun thing we do together

to make one another laugh

Hayley loves to share her gift of making others laugh...especially with Madison and I

she makes us laugh all of the time

so when she is in trouble

she makes me laugh on purpose because she thinks I'll forget and let it slide

and there it goes...I of course laugh and can't hold it in

completely not effective when you are trying to parent just letting you know

so when I have to get it together to talk to her
without laughing,

I start laughing all over again

and then its pointless and I'm not effective

she runs our house if you can't tell

on the way home from my grandparents a couple of weeks ago

she was so goofy and if you know Hayley this is a normal thing she says

and is so proud of the fact that she toots

yep I said it

she started praying this prayer in the car on the way home probably 50 times

not kidding

so Madison's reaction was the best...after the 50th time

H: "Dear God...thank you and bless me for tooting because I'm a tooting machine"

so after about the 50th time in a row of her praying this prayer

M says: "Dear God...please have Hayley stop praying that!"

it was so cute

she calls herself the Queen of Tooting

and she even has a King of Tooting and his name is Parker

almost on a daily basis she reminds me of these titles that Parker and her have
{King and Queen of tooting}

I told her I'm going to remember this story when she starts dating 70 years from now
{yes they are not dating until they are 76 and 74}

this week she's been saying..."and now I will be four just like Parker"

so you can see what is important in her world:)

what I loved most about that prayer...

she was just being her... silly, fun, and cute

but most of all a kid

Hayley brings so much sunshine and kindness to us

she always has a compliment and sweet things to say to Madison and I

I love her heart and all that comes with it

her favorite color is purple

although she loves yellow and red too:)

and as I brought cupcakes to her school yesterday

all of her friends asked imediately and without even thinking about it...

"are they all purple Hayley???!!!"
she said "yes, YES!!! they are"

Hayley is our sweet dragonfly

and we are blessed every day that we have her

she is fiesty

most definitely independent

but she also has to be around people

all.of.the.time

she loves to go on a run with me and play outside

she loves her taekwondo class

Hayley is a summer and beach girl most definitely

with the brightest of blue eyes

She doesn't know a stranger as she talks to anyone she meets

especially the people that work at Trader Joe's

she was upset one day because she forgot to tell the checkout guy this last detail of what she was sharing with him and then goes..."what was his name mama? I forgot to tell him____"

this was after being home 45 minutes she was still talking about it

my dad calls her NST

{non stop talker}

which is very much appropriate

she even told the dentist the other day she had 12 brothers and sisters

the hygenist immediately came out to verify with me

and I had a horrified look on my face when she asked me

that the hygentist laughed pretty hard at my reaction alone

she is so proud of her sister Madison

I couldn't ask them to be any closer...they are besties

everyday as we pick Madison up from school Hayley cannot wait to run up to Madison to give her a hug...it makes me smile

she is a lover of vanilla cake and vanilla ice cream

just like her mama

she loves my homemade macaroni with fancy cheeses

feta on her salad

mahi mahi

{I think she likes to say mahi mahi more than anything}

and always is ready for dessert after dinner

{that's from her daddy}

I can't hardly wait until she wakes up this morning as I have her room filled with balloons above her bed {only like 10 but her room looks filled when they are all above her bed...
and yes they are purple}

four of the ballons have notes tied to them

about things we love about her