A Beautiful Day in March

Chase talking with Hattie

We had such great weather in March that we were able to play outside without coats and Daddy got the old mulch Removed to make way for the new stuff.  Hattie loved to ride in the wheelbarrow and
was content to just sit and watch what we were doing.  Chase helped out by pushing her around a little bit.  What a great brother.

Miss sunshine

My favorite little girl

Not happy!

Sweet cheeks!

Right Now Hattie is . . .

Right now Hattie is such a big girl! She loves being a helper and doing everything we all do.  When the boys go outside to play, she wants to go.  When they put their shoes on, she wants to put hers on, when they wash hands, she wants to do it too.

She wakes up between 5-5:30 and likes to have 2-3 books read before bedtime around 7:15.  She has been doing better putting herself to sleep, but often talks or sings the "Hattie" song.  Sometimes she cries loudly for Mommy and I go in and get her.  She likes her "hush" book (Goodnight Moon), "baby" books, which are a variety of books with baby pictures, Little People Lift the Flap and "Baa" book, "Moo, Baa, La La La".

For the past 4-6 months Hattie has been a pretty picky eater.  She would like something one day and not touch it the next.  If I put something on her plate that she doesn’t like or want she will point and whine and cry until I remove it.   She likes avocados, cheese, noodles, most fruit (but doesn’t always eat it), rice (at times), dipping food in mustard and ranch, cereal, yogurt with granola, oatmeal.  She doesn’t usually eat meat at our house, although at Amber’s she has been known to eat pot roast, a BBQ sandwich and all types of foods! 
Play time is Hattie’s favorite thing.  She wants to be outside as much as possible!  She likes to go for walks in the stroller, ride her bike, push a car, throw balls down the driveway, do bubbles and chalk, swing, go down the slide, play in the garden, etc.  She just loves the outside! 

When we can’t go outside we like to look out the windows for birds and squirrels.  IF we don’t see squirrels Hattie will tell me they are sleeping by doing some snoring sounds.  She signs “bird”.

When we are inside, she likes to play “Hide n Seek”, especially with her brothers, “chase”, babies (of course), coloring and getting into anything her brothers are playing with.

Babies are her favorite thing to play.  She likes to have them naked most of the time.  She puts them in the stroller, crib, tries to put diapers on and off, feeds them, puts a paci in and just loves them!

Hattie understands everything we say and I’m not joking. Her receptive language skills are amazing and Jeff and I are always looking at each other in awe that she knows what I’m talking about!

Her expressive language is coming along too.  She just started putting two words together and will say things like “Hi Mama” and “Mama Baby”.  Most of the words she says are words that have /p, m, b, d, t/ and vowels in them.  Probably my favorite word she says right now is “Bowl”.  The way she says it is so dramatic and funny. “Boooow”. She calls Owen “Owu” and Chase is “t” because we are working on the “ch” sound.  She doesn’t have any back sounds yet, but they will come.  She continues to sign the signs she knows and learns new ones too.

Hattie loves to sing and be sung to. She loves to dance and do the actions to songs. She loves to run around and is very very fast.  Her little feet and legs carry her pretty quickly.  She likes to do everything we are doing.  If I’m cooking she wants to help.  If someone needs a Kleenex, she’s the first to run and get one for them saying, “Ma, ma, ma” until she gets there and does it herself. “Ma” means “me or my”.

Her demeanor is very sweet, calm, patient and gentle.  She does not take “no” very well so we have to be gentle with how we say things because she will cry and cry like you hurt her feelings soooo badly.  Hattie is easily redirected most of the time, but lately has been taking the boys toys because she knows they like them. J  She absolutely loves to be held and carried and snuggled.  She loves hugs and kisses.  She loves to read books and sit on your lap.  Even though she likes all the snuggles, she is still very independent. She wants to buckle herself in her car seat, get her own shoes/coat/hat on.  She wants to go up and down the stairs by herself, which she can do. 

Front facing car seat

Hattie looks at mommy with her big Open mouth smile.

Hattie's first time in her car seat turned to the front.  She could watch tv with the boys now and thought she was pretty cool.

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

A Lot of Dirt

We had a huge pile of dirt and mulch delivered this week and the kids have been taking full advantage of the new fun!

 Chase is King of the Mountain

Hattie wonders where something is.

Bed Time

 This is our bedtime ritual.  Hattie and Mommy read in the chair, just like Chase and Owen did.  Hattie loves to read, "Baby" (pictures of babies), "Hush" (Goodnight Moon), "Baaa", (Moo, Baa, La La La) and several other lift the flap books.  

 I had to prop the phone up in her crib to take this picture, but am glad I got it!

Hattie the Four Wheel Driver

Big Girl Still Little

My big girl is still little, even though she is doing some pretty big girl things!

 The nice weather has broughtout the capri pants and a little pout.

 Big girl can drink from a can!

 She can smell and pick my flowers

 And wear a pretty pink outfit

And at the end of the day she can crash in bed, covered in her little lovey, holding on to her baby.

A Tree Swing

 Jeff made us a new swing right before Easter.  It is a hit and soooo much fun to see from my kitchen window.  Hattie and I were watching Jeff put up the swing from our bedroom window.  I got to see the boys try it out for the first time from way up there.

Chase and Owen about 20 months, Compared to Hattie

 Owen

 Chase

Hattie

 Hattie

 Hattie

 Hattie

 Hattie

Owen

Owen, very seriously, feeds the baby.

Owen feels like a big boy

Chase tells the baby "shhhh" which he learned from "Goodnight Moon"

Stuff they Say/Do and Things I want to remember.

 Owen still uses the term "big boys".  I love that. Makes him seem so young and innocent.

Hattie began running in December and runs really fast now!

She tried to jump over spring break.

She walked down the stairs on our porch last night all by herself without holding on to anything!

Hattie said, "Mommy" instead of Mama, last night for the first time.  She also says "Daddy" now. :)  (As of 4-2-15).   Sometimes messes up and we get a mada.

Fell down on 4-1 and got her first scraped knees. She didn't cry too hard.

Hattie so wants to do what big brothers are doing.  If they are sitting on the couch having a snack in a bowl, she runs, gets a bowl and sits by them and "yells" for a snack.

 

Chase and Owen are at such a fun age as they learn and discover new things daily.  They just love school and soak up everything they learn.  Each night they are excited to share their work-mostly Owen. Chase just puts his papers on the table, unless it's something very special.  They taught me about a specific kind of cactus that is as tall as the ceiling, always have facts to share and use words like "Folk Tale".  I love to hear them talk and learn from each other too.

 

At night Owen likes to pull out a notebook and draw and write in his room. I think it makes him feel like a big boy.  Chase is so tired he just lays there and falls asleep!

 

Hattie is having trouble when she doesn't get her way or can't communicate exactly what she wants. She will scream if someone does something she doesn't like (like sits in the chair she wanted).  It makes for lots of tears and crying lately.  If she's really mad she will go in the corner or by a wall, put her head on her hands on the wall and just cry. Poor thing!