Membership to Montshire Museum

Earlier in the summer, Hadley and I had a girl's day out to the Montshire Museum.  We had so much fun that we thought we would take Daddy so he could experience it as well.  It was just as big of a hit this time as the first time.  Hadley ran from exhibit to exhibit, exploring and learning.

This time the outdoor water activities were open as well.  Hadley enjoyed splashing in the water and trying to get Mommy and Daddy wet.  We had such a good time that we purchased a year membership to the Museum.  We thought it would be the perfect place to visit during the long Vermont winters.  We have a four person membership, so anyone in the area is welcome to join us on one of our visits for fun and learning.

Playing with Daddy

Say Cheese!

Carrying a step stool to the next exhibit

Malia's Nursery

After a lot of work this summer, mostly done be Gideon and Frank, Malia's room is finally ready.  Now all we need is for her to make her appearance.  I am definitely physically ready for her to come, but I think mentally I would be fine for her to wait until her due date or a few days after.  I have been having a few minor contractions, but nothing substantial, so I do think she is willing to wait as well. 

As for her room, it went from a dark green paint with off-white trim (or really dirty white trim) to a light tan with white trim.  We decorated with wall decals and curtains.  We are still looking for a lighting fixture as there is currently an outdoor fixture in her room.  I am also going to paint wood letters to spell out her name, but Walmart didn't have all of the letters that I needed. 

Before

Door to her room

View from doorway

Crib

Dresser/Changer Combo

Santa Land in July

I had seen fliers for Santa Land, so we continued our summer vacation focusing on Hadley by driving to Putney, VT.  Putney is a very small town, and Santa Land is a small amusement park for toddlers and preschoolers. 

At first we were a little disappointed as the first half of the park was basically a playground with a few animals, including miniature ponies, emus, pigs, and geese.  Hadley did really enjoy feeding grass to the ponies through the fence.

After lunch, we went to the other half of the park and were much more impressed.  Hadley loved the carousel, along with the few other carnival type rides that they had.  Hadley and Daddy went down the alpine slide and then we took a short train ride around the park.  We ended up in the deer park and then headed home.  Overall it was a fun day and Hadley enjoyed herself.

The Adventures of Frank and Hadley

It has been a little over a week now since our nephew Frank went home to Illinois.  We all miss him, but I don't think any of us miss him as much as Hadley.  For the six weeks that Frank was with us, he and Hadley were almost inseperable.

Now whenever you ask Hadley what she wants to do for the day, she says she wants to go on a plane ride.  And even though she hasn't been able to express it, I'm pretty sure she wants to go on a plane ride to see Frank. 

While here, Frank and Hadley had many adventures together.  They spent a lot of time in the backyard playing, played with her Little People, climbed all over at Playground 2000, went to the balloon fest in Quechee, and visited Boston.  Frank was always a good sport, even willing to climb through Hadley's tunnels which are designed for toddlers, have Hadley "help" him put her puzzles together, and play pretend with all of her toys. 

We miss you Frank and can't wait to see you again.

Playing in the backyard

Quechee Balloon Festival

Playground 2000

4th of July in Montpelier

Frank's last night

A very sad Hadley saying goodbye

I can do it!

Hadley's first grammatically correct sentence was "I can do it."  It definitely defines the attitude that she now has about everything.  We have had many fits from her trying to do things herself that were just a little too much for her. 

Today though I just didn't feel like arguing, so when Hadley insisted on picking out her own clothes, I caved.  This is the results.

Minnie Mouse tank top over plaid dress

More Puzzles!

I know everyone thinks their kid is super smart, but I have to tell you that mine really is.  For Hadley's second birthday we bought her 3 preschool puzzles, two 4 piece puzzles and one 5 piece puzzle.  At first she didn't show much interest in them, but early June she started to take notice of them.  After only a few days she learned how to put all of the puzzles together on her own.

Grandma Sheila had sent her a check for her birthday that we hadn't used yet, so I told Hadley we would get her more puzzles when we went to Burlington.  For close to a week, Hadley told everyone she saw that she was going to get "more puzzles in Burlington." 

In Burlington, we got her four more puzzles.  There was a three pack containing one 4 piece puzzle and two 5 piece puzzles.  We also bought her a Winnie the Pooh puzzle that was nine pieces that I thought would be a little advanced for her.  Within less than 3 hours of opening the puzzles, Hadley had learned to do all 4 puzzles on her own without any help. 

We have now turned to Amazon to buy her more puzzles as we have pretty much purchased all of the puzzles available locally.  Here are a few pictures of my amazingly smart, beautiful little girl working on her puzzles.