Happy Birthday sweet Hazel – I can’t believe you are nine years old today. My goodness does time go by fast. It feels like this year you really went from being a little kid to being a big girl. Maybe it’s the glasses, or how far you’ve come with your reading, or the new shorter hair cut you got a few months ago…or just the fact that this year you and your sister have really had to step up your responsibility as I’ve been traveling more for work and we’ve tested the waters with leaving you two home alone for little bits of time. Somehow, some way, this year seems like you’ve grown and matured a lot. It makes me both excited for what’s to come and a little sad to leave those baby/kid years behind us. But it just means we get to look forward to doing lots of big kid things together now.
Even though I feel like you’ve grown a lot, I still get little reminders that you are still my baby. You still ask me to sing to you every night before bed. We’ve been singing Hush Little Baby for so many years now I don’t think I’ll ever forget the words. Heck, half the time it starts to put me to sleep when I sign it. I lay down and snuggle you and start singing and by the second line I’m already yawning! You still call me “momma” or “mommy” (I hope you never stop!) and you still want a hug and a kiss from me every single night. Sometimes I think it’s a delay tactic but mostly I think you just need a snuggle. You are still the best hugger in all the land. My favorite is your full body hugs and I ask for one almost every single night.
Hazel, you are the sweetest little person I’ve ever met. You have a big heart, a big imagination, big dreams and I can’t wait to see where it all takes you. You say you’re going to be an artist when you grow up, or a dog trainer, and that you are going to live with Lucy and that you aren’t going to get married or have kids but that you want to have lots of dogs and lots of rabbits. You tell me that you are going to live in a house next door to Daddy and I and that it will shaped like a bunny and that the front door will be the mouth and there will be a red tongue rug for the entry way. It’s so specific and I love all of it! I love this little life you’ve imagined for yourself. Full of all of your favorite things and people.
Favorite Outfit: “The new outfits that you got me…the ones
with the cute shorts and shirts”
Just for the record, these are NOT special outfits you are talking about here. I bought you two pairs of exercise shorts from Walmart with matching tank tops to go with them. They are adorable on you…and I know they are comfortable…but your favorite outfit!?
I would say that your style has changed quite a bit in the
last few years. You used to LOVE a dress
or a skirt. Anything that you could twirl
in, you wanted it. A few years ago, now
we started having you and Abby both fold and put away your own laundry. An unintended consequence of that is that I
NEVER look in your drawers anymore. As
you can imagine, your folding and putting away skills are not quite to my own
personal standard. So, your drawers make
me crazy and anytime I open them I feel the need to separate, refold and
straighten them so you can actually find thing.
But you don’t seem to care so I decided I didn’t need to care. Now you pick out your own clothes each morning
(matching and cuteness be darned) and while it’s not quite how I’d do it…I end
up with a few less jobs each week. And,
honestly, Operation: Raise Capable Humans has really helped level up my own
life (thanks Ryan…it was his idea…not mine!).
Favorite Movie: “I don’t think I have one”
I sort of have to agree with you on this one. This is one of those categories that is a holdover
from when you were little – like your favorite foods. You and your sister don’t really have a show
or movie that you watch over and over and over again. I think some of it is the access to streaming
networks means there is always something new being served up to you. Some movies that came out this year – that you
LOVED are If and Inside Out 2. You
convinced Sammi (the summer nanny) to take you guys to both movies earlier this
summer, so I haven’t even seen them!
Favorite Toy: “Zoey and Penelope”
These two Hazel Village bunnies are by far your favorite of
all the toys/stuffies you’ve got. But
little do you know, your sister got you a third bunny to add to your collection. Her name is Julliette and she’s the same
color as Ned. I have no doubt that
tomorrow when you open her up that she’ll quickly be brought into the fold with
the other two and by next year, she’ll be listed right alongside these other
two girls. I hope they stay close to you
for a long long time!
Some firsts this year:
- First time at Lambeau – That’s
right! In the last year, you (and I) had
your first visit to Lambeau. We want
last pre-season with Grandma and Papa, and I can’t wait to do it again this
year (with Grandma this time though! She
had COVID last year and stayed back at the camper).
- Yellow belt and now orange belt – You started karate last year and both you and your sister
have moved up from white belt, to yellow and now to orange! I’d love to see you get a little more defensive
when you are sparring though and for you to try practicing your kata’s when you
are home (not just when we bring you to practice)…but hopefully some of that
will come down the road.
- Learned how to play the Recorder – You learned how to play the recorder this year in music
class. When Abby was in 3rd grade,
they started the kids on the ukulele (because it was COVID times and you know…lot
of spit with a recorder…hard to wear a mask).
But we’re back to normal days again and you kiddos are back to the screech
of the recorder. Shucks!
- Glasses – That’s
right, the whole family is now wearing glasses.
We knew it was coming. You almost
needed them last spring when we went for your yearly checkup. I gotta say, your little glasses are the
cutest thing! They are adorable and I
love the way you look in them. You are
so responsible and take really good care of them. I’m proud of you!
Fears: “Thunderstorms”
I was pretty surprised when you didn’t say “the bad pigs”
but, also not super surprised to hear thunderstorms. You have gotten nervous about thunder
lately. We had a big storm roll in super
fast a month or so ago and it came in so hard that there as water all the way
by your stairs before Daddy and I could get upstairs to get the window closed. You were up in your room playing alone when
it happened and I know it frightened you pretty good. Then…coincidently this morning, before I went
through these questions with you we had another line of storms roll in and you
were wide awake at 4:45 asking to play on your iPad so I know this particular fear
was feeling very top of mind when I asked today.
A sweet story about you:
Hazel – you have the sweetest little friendship with 5 other
girls in your class. You guys call
yourself the wolf pack and you have all kinds of traditions and code words you
use together. You make wolf pack necklaces
for each other, and I constantly get texts from the other mom’s about trying to
organize things for the little group of you.
I find it adorable that you’ve found a group of friends who accept you
for who you are. I don’t know if Abby’s
found a little clique like this yet – she will someday! You tell me all the time “I’ve got the wolf
pack but we always make sure we include the other kids too”. You’ve got your little “boyfriend” Aiden too which
cracks me up. The frankness with which
you talk about Aiden is so funny to me. “We
already said we love each other”. I’m
not too worried about it though. When I
ask you what it means to have a boyfriend you just tell me it’s having a
friend, who is a boy. I love the
simplicity there (it’s the perfect answer for a 8 year old – ok, 9 now… 😊).
Nicknames:
·
Magoo – This is 100% the nickname I call you most often. Magoo – Magoo-goo…some variation of this has
really stuck. You even correct me if I
randomly use it in reference to Abby. It’s
your nickname and I think this one might stand the test of time.
·
HayHay – Abby and maybe Stella and Lucy are pretty much the only
ones that call you this…but it’s another long-term nick name that has been on
these birthday posts for quite some time now – since Moana really.
Favorite Color: “Purple”
Accurate – it’s always been purple…never wavered…never changed.
Favorite TV show: “I don’t know. Wait, I like watching YouTube Kids”
Both you and your sister are currently obsessed with
YouTube kids! We recently reset both
your iPad’s to factory settings to free up some space and make room for the newer
stuff…and YouTube kids was part of that “upgrade”. I’m not totally sure that I’m ready for you
to have access to YouTube, but the kid’s version seems safe enough. But that being said, the crap you guys’ watch
is truly terrible if you ask me! I think
you have spent hours of your life watching other kids play Minecraft at this
point. The alure will never make sense
to me…but I think that’s what every parent has said about every kid at some
point.
Favorite Food: “Fruit and Candy…oh…Chili, I meant Chili”
Your answer this year cracked me up! This year Daddy and I aren’t with you on your
actual birthday. We’re at a wedding in
Indiana but we’ll be seeing you on Sunday when you get home. So, that means you are spending your birthday
with Stella and Lucy at Apple Canyon (thanks Jamie!). She told me the other day that she asked you
what you wanted to eat on your birthday, and you were adamant that you wanted chili
even though everyone kept telling you it was a winter food. So, Jamie is making
your birthday wish would come true, they’ve got chili planned for you (and
chili dogs for everyone else who is eating summer food at the end of June). I can’t wait to hear what you think about
chili dogs.
Bears or Packers? “Both…but I like the Packers a little bit
more”
Your answers always make me laugh. You’ve almost always said “both” to this one…but
this year I got just a little extra out of you, and you know that last part
makes me smile. We’re headed to another
pre-season Packer game in late August and maybe you’ve got some new Packers
gear in your future with an answer like that!
Who am I kidding?! I was probably
going to be buying some regardless.
Height: 4 feet and 2
inches
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