A hurried post, written at 11pm.

PURE JOY!
**Thanks to my cousin Katie for the great photos.
Since I completely SUCK at blogging now (seriously, still haven't written about Redfish or my birthday), and since I lost all short (and long) term memory after having a child, I decided I just needed to do a random blog of things Hadley's been up to. I seriously worry that I won't be able to remember all the funny things she has been doing.
Here goes:

- She still calls other kids "babies" and always tries to hug them. Most kids are completely put off by this, but every now and then a kid (usually right around her age) will give her a hug back. She'll say, "Awww Baby!" and pat their back. So sweet!
- She is amazing at saying the entire alphabet and can count to thirteen all by herself. She recognizes about 80% of the alphabet by sight and can point out letters throughout the day. Because we now almost exclusively watch Netflix, she will see the big red screen on the TV and say, "N. E. T. F. L. I. X!" She also spells out STOP when she sees a stop sign. She may have a speech delay, but she'll be reading before we know it!
- She loves her toddler bed now. It was a nightmare getting her in there, but now we can't get her out! These past few weeks she's been sleeping in until 8 or 9 (she's a night owl and stays up with us until 9:30ish) and then she takes at least an hour and a half nap. We've been loving this and she wakes up chipper and ready for the day. I found some great white bedding from Target and I'm starting to plan her "big girl" room, but for now we have stripped her bedroom of nearly all toys or other distracting things, so she can just go in there and relax and quickly fall asleep.
- She is into singing a little more and can mumble along to the Dropkick Murphys' song "Rose Tattoo." She likes watching the video and there's a part that shows a picture of a guy named "Nuf 'Ced McGreevy" who is an old-timey looking guy from the early 1900s who rocked a sweet mustache and when the picture comes up she says "Papa!" because she thinks it's Levi's dad Brad, who also rocks a mustache. So freaking cute!
- She has become EXTREMELY clingy. I'm worried that people will be offended when she runs away from them, but really, she's just become obsessed with Levi and me always being in her line of sight.
- She has started to secretly put rocks in her mouth and when I catch her and say, "Hadley, no! That's yucky" she spits them all out (sometimes as many as 3 or 4) and laughs like a crazy person.
- She is still extremely picky and will still only eat a select number of foods (this is because of her sensory problems) but we are making some ground, like yesterday when she took a bite of string cheese! Small victories!
- She loved going to the pool this summer and we're going to be sad to see them close next week. Seriously, I need some ideas on how to keep her busy this winter. I'm not sure how much the YMCA's pool is for non-members, but I'm going to be looking into it.
- She LOVES going for bike rides with us. We put a bike seat on the back of our new tandem and she loves sitting behind me. Whenever she (or I) get restless in the evening, we get the bike out and go up and down all the streets behind our house.

- Hadley is still in absolute love with my mom and often cries when she leaves our house. She calls her "Mama" and me "Ami".
- She still loves Wilson, which is always funny considering Wilson is a typical 11 year old, who doesn't spend his day playing with toddler girls. She always wants to hug and kiss him and I love watching him squirm away from her!
- Hadley LOVES books now and my Barnes and Noble heart is singing! She has many of them memorized and makes me read them over and over again. Believe me, I am NOT complaining. When she first started speech therapy, she wasn't interested in books at all and never pointed at anything in them. Now she spends minutes on each page pointing at all the details and making me repeat the lines PERFECTLY.
- Her first multiple-word phrase (besides "Thank You") is "Where Are You?", which just sounds like, "AreYOU?" We'll take it! Also "All done" sounds a lot like "I down" which usually works too :)
- When left in just a diaper, Hadley will instantly get it off and run around naked. I don't mind, except the breezy air makes her pee EVERYWHERE. Still cute though to see her wandering around the backyard naked.

There are so many other things I want to say about Hadley, but this is a short glimpse into our amazing toddler's world. We love her so much and I can't wait to see what else she discovers!

Early Summer Update

Wow, I really suck at keeping this blog. I have lots of things to say, but then I never have the time, or if I do have the time I can't remember what I wanted to say.
I have nothing in particular to write about at the moment, so I'll just write an update. Since the last entry about Levi's baptism, we've been working away and having a fabulous summer. Elder Womack went home shortly after Levi's baptism, but we've kept in touch with him through the miracle of social media and will be seeing him in July while he's up here visiting. It has been so fun being a part of the church with Levi. Hadley has started to be a little clingy, so when Levi takes her to nursery, she tends to cry for five or ten minutes and then is fine for the remaining hour and a half. She always has a huge smile on her face when I come pick her up and she's usually drawn a pretty picture for me (how the women in nursery can get her to hold still for one second to color is beyond me!)
I was called to teach the 5 and 6 year olds in primary and I LOVE it. The kids literally say the darndest things and I come home each Sunday filled with stories about the kids. I love singing the primary songs that I grew up with and I like reading the lessons and learning the basic fundamentals of the church. I find myself as fascinated with the pictures that are used in the lessons as I was when I was in primary myself. Levi was called to scouts and has really liked it so far. He also likes attending Young Men's a couple times and month and really enjoys hanging out with the men of the ward. He even went on the ward campout, which was originally a fathers and sons event, but then got opened up to all the men in the ward, since our ward is so tiny. We love our ward and we love how accepting people have been. The missionaries kind of dropped out of sight after he got baptized, and we haven't had any lessons since then, but we are doing okay and learning things together. I think they thought that because I was raised LDS that we wouldn't need any more lessons, but that is far from true, as I'm still finding so many things that I don't know or can't remember. We have made some really great friends in the ward and enjoy spending time with them and their children, who are Hadley's age, as much as possible.
My work has been busy, despite a year full of bad news for the company. I'm just riding it out and seeing where it can take me. I actually got a nice bonus this year, so it can't all be bad, right?
Levi's shop is busier than ever. We are so blessed!! He hired a great guy named Matt, who used to work with his at the last shop, and the two of them are super busy and having a great time. The perks of his job can't even be numbered...there are so many! I still can't believe how lucky we are and we just hope that business continues to grow and Levi reaches his goals.
Hadley has been in speech therapy for over three months now and we're seeing lots of progress. We have a speech and an occupational therapist that come from the state to our home, and then once a week we take her to a great place called Kaleidoscope where she gets 45 minutes of speech therapy and 45 minutes of occupational therapy.
Initially both the state and Kaleidoscope's evaluation of her was so disconcerting. At 25 months she had the expressive and receptive skills of a 12 month old. At the time, Hadley had a very hard time concentrating and didn't seem to understand anything we were saying. Now, she has such a bigger vocabulary, saying about 30-40 words without prompting, and her attention span is so much better. She definitely has some sensory issues (SPD), and doesn't do well with sudden noises, babies crying, etc. and also has sensitivity to taste and touch, hence her picky eating. We have also been taking her to a physical therapist about once every ten days, who discovered that Hadley's head plates are tight, which is common with kids who were in the birth canal for too long, and this could be a big source of her sensory issues. She has been doing some cranial therapy, which basically looks like she's just resting her hand on Hadley's head, but we've already seen a lot of improvement since the first time we saw her. I'm confident that we will look back on this time with all of her therapy and be so grateful that she was able to overcome her problems. She is so perfect and I have a hard time thinking that she's struggling with anything. She is surrounded by so many people who love her and want to see her happy, so I know that she knows she's supported. I have relied heavily on faith and prayer to get us through this and continue doing the right thing for her.
So far this summer we've had fun taking Hadley to the zoo, swimming, going on lots of bike rides (Hadley LOVES sitting in her bike seat and pats Levi's back all throughout the bike ride) playing at the park, filling up her swimming pool in the backyard, playing in her great playhouse, and many other things. We've had visitors this summer, like my niece Rachel and my sister Laurie, and we're planning to go to Utah in August for Labor Day weekend. I'll update again soon and talk about my amazing anniversary and birthday, Redfish Lake, the building and completion of Hadley's cottage, and many other fun things.
Until then, here's some fun pics of our summer so far:

Levi's Baptism

Just like the last post, I feel like I've been delaying writing this because I don't have adequate words to express how I feel. On May 4th, Levi was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by Elder Womack and was confirmed the next day in Sacrament Meeting by Elder Smith. Wow. The day was so filled with emotion for me and everyone else there and it was so beautiful. I think somewhere between 50-60 people came, though it may have been more, I wasn't exactly sure. Scott and Athena, Bonnie, Curt, Morgan and Maddie, and Laurie and Justin and their five kids came up from Utah and it was so great having them there and knowing they came at the drop of a hat. Most of Levi's immediate family was there too and they were so kind and supportive. I really am lucky that he came from such a loving home and already had such a great religious foundation. We had lots of friends from both our ward and Heather's ward come too, as well as Levi's bosses, Ryan and Curtis. It was just incredible.
Again, I'm not sure how to explain it, but seeing Levi in the water with Elder Womack was life changing. He looked so perfect and it felt so right and the two of them looked as if they had known each other for years and years, and perhaps they have, just in the pre-existence. We felt that way about Elder Smith too. When we met him, it was as if he was an old friend and we were just catching up that day.
I suppose I should give a little bit of background to Levi's decision to get baptized and my decision to return to church. Starting last fall, we decided that Hadley needed to start going to nursery at church, mainly to get her around other toddlers and to see how she could do being on her own for a little while. In the beginning Hadley did terrible and we thought that it was going to be a lost cause. Also contributing to the "lost cause" notion was the fact that we felt so behind in the Sunday school class. I haven't been active in church in over thirteen years and I loved the feeling I felt when we started to go, but I felt confused at the lessons.
In the meantime, we had started to see more of our ward friends outside of church and we found everyone to be so nice and accepting. We were told that we could try out the gospel principles class, which is more of a "beginners" class and we found that we LOVED it and it was a perfect fit for us. We have an amazing teacher and the pace is just right. Also, Hadley was starting to behave a little bit better in nursery and we started to be able to stay for more than an hour of church.
Around the end of February/first part of March, the missionaries showed up on my doorstep while Hadley was down for a nap. Elder Womack and his partner at the time, Elder Alvarado, were so nice and I found myself inviting them to dinner, much to my own surprise. Levi was totally cool with it and we had a great first couple of dinners with them. Levi said that he wasn't sure about taking the missionary discussions, but didn't want to turn it down outright.
Towards the end of March, Levi and I were working in the backyard when we heard a car pull up in the front. Levi was going to be chopping down some bushes in our front yard, so as we walked up front to see who was there, he had the machete still in his hands. I'm sure he was quite a sight for the new Elder Smith, who was stopping by with Elder Womack to say howdy. It was his first official day out and he was just a blast. Like I said before, it felt like we already knew him and we just really hit it off. Levi told them how we were going to be starting Hadley's enormous playhouse soon and they volunteered to come over the next Saturday (the day before Easter) to help us get started.(I will do a separate post one of these days about the playhouse becoming a conversion tool for Levi. It's such a fun metaphor, and I can't do it justice right now.)


Anyways, after Easter we started having Smith and Womack over regularly and we began the discussions. I think we both knew that we wanted a life in the church, but we just wanted to hear more and make sure we were clear. Heather bought us a great book called, "Mormons: An Open Book" which lays out the basic ideas and history of the church. We have devoured that book. It's been awesome and the missionaries have loved it too.
At the end of April, after an amazing discussion, the missionaries asked Levi if he'd be interested in being baptized. I think that this moment is just a little too sacred for me to share all the details, it's something that I'll probably write and keep private for Levi and me, but needless to say Levi said yes and we all, nearly literally, jumped for joy.
May 4th came quickly upon us and we found ourselves giddy with anticipation. Levi has been such a rock through this whole process and never once questioned himself or wavered in his faith. He is so solid and so confident with his decision, and I am SO blessed to be married to such an incredible man. The baptism itself was breathtaking and Elder Smith's confirmation of Levi was unbelievable. These two young men have changed our lives and we will soon be able to be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity and we owe so much of it to those brave missionaries.
I may not know much yet, (over a decade away from church will rust the brain, as well as the testimony) but I am absolutely positive, without a shadow of a doubt, that the LDS church is true and Levi and I are going to see so many wonderful things happen by returning to the gospel. We already have so much to be thankful for and we are so happy to be able to begin serving and inviting a good spirit into our homes. I do have a strong testimony of missionary work and of eternal families. I also have learned so much about what faith is and how it means to hope, not necessarily to know. I can't wait to see where this road takes us and Levi and I have never been happier.
Thank you to everyone who cheered us on from the sidelines all these years. I know that I always said I'd come back eventually, but I never thought I'd be so lucky as to have my amazing husband so excited to join me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!




**I also needed to add that Hadley now LOVES nursery, but hates going to Sacrament Meeting. Someday we'll get her to love it all!

May 4, 2013

I can't believe that tomorrow is the big day. Levi is getting baptized and joining the LDS Church! I have been thinking about what I'd say on my blog about this, but am still at a loss for words. I'm unbelievably happy, hopeful, and cannot WAIT to start our lives together in the church. The idea of an eternal family is so meaningful for me and I can't believe how lucky I am to have a husband who wants the same things I do. We are so grateful for our missionaries, our family, and our ward, who have made this decision so, so easy. I have never been happier in all my life and seeing how happy it's made Levi is even more of a reward.
We couldn't have made it this far without the amazing Elder Womack and Elder Smith, who have not only led us back to church, but have become dear friends of ours, who I know we'll stay in touch with for as long as we can. I wish I could clone these two and spread the joy that they've brought into our home.
I can't wait for tomorrow. I can't wait to see my family and to see Levi join the church. I am so emotional, I can hardly stand it.
Love you all, and the next time I write the world will have a new, amazing, sweet, kind LDS member!

The amazing Womack and Smith

Elder Womack

Elder Smith

We found that feeding the Elders good food, like Big Jud's, kept them coming back.

Levi's new church shoes.

Funny girl!

I saw this idea online and thought it would be fun to try for Hadley turning two:

Hadley's Second Birthday Party!

What a blast! I thought taking Hadley to Chuck E. Cheese's for her birthday would be considered tacky, in this day of overdone, perfect DIY/Pinterest parties, but we stuck to our original plans and I'm so glad we did.
Hadley had so much fun running from the rides to the games to the slides. Thanks to everyone who came! It was such a great day and Hadley was most definitely spoiled. Hadley got some great gifts and we also got gift cards to Home Depot to start her giant playhouse (post regarding that beast will soon follow.)
So here are some pictures of Hadley's big day (there were a lot of people there I didn't get a picture of...sorry!) We love you all!