Hazel's 18 Months

It's Miss Hazy's half birthday today. She's a whopping 18-months-old. Ava wanted cupcakes today but we'll celebrate with some zucchini bread instead. It's hard to believe that she has only been a part of our family for such a short time because it feels like she has always been with us. To me there is something so familiar about Hazel. I just look at her and I already feel like I know her. With Ava, everything is so new and unexpected she is constantly keeping me on my toes. They seem to be two sides to a coin that I love dearly.

Hazel is a busy girl these days. She loves her baby dolls immensely and strolls them around the house or outside in the wagon. She adores going for walks outside but unlike her big sister, she is not a fan of the stroller. At this point we need to let her walk just about everywhere which means there is lots of chasing and standoffs as to which direction we'll take. Hazel loves all forms of bike riding, as does her sister - I'll let you figure out where that came from. She will actually cry in desperation for the bike. She tries to water ski using the cat's tail which he surprisingly doesn't seem to mind much.

Hazel has become a big talker with a huge explosion of words in the last few weeks. She will give a good effort in saying almost any word you ask her to. Our new favorite is "crocodile" which is pronounced in more of a sentence fashion. A few other favorites: ka-ka = coffee, nake-nake = naked (as in, yea it's bath time), si-soo = sister (funny enough, she won't say Ava yet?), pa-ta = pasta. You get the idea. And we're just starting to get some two word combos, like "Daddy sleep". I have to say this age is completely adorable and it doesn't hurt that Hazel is such a good natured kid. Well, she bites and pulls hair, but I can overlook that.

Ah, love you kid.