I am a planner.  I like to have everything planned ahead of time and scheduled just so.  When we take a vacation I like to plan each day out with where we will be going and what we will be doing.  Rich on the other hand is a spur of the moment type of person.  He’s a “hey, let’s go to Disney World tomorrow” type of a person.  (We don’t live anywhere near Disney World, by the way).  I, on the other hand, am a “let’s plan a trip to Disney World for next year so that I have time to research every little detail before we go” type of person.

So last Saturday morning when Rich said, “Let’s go to the zoo this afternoon” I said, “No way, we can’t go to the zoo today.  When are we going to do that?  It’s not in my plans.” 

Rich said, “We can go this afternoon.”

To which I responded, “This is why everything must be planned ahead of time.  I am going grocery shopping this morning.  Then I need to feed Hailey her lunch and then she has to go down for her nap at 1pm.  After her nap (which usually goes until about 3-3:30-pm) I must feed her a snack and then go to Target.  Then I will be hurrying home to get dinner ready.  The zoo closes at 5pm.  How in the world will we have time to go to the zoo?  If you had told me ahead of time that you wanted to go to the zoo we could have gone this morning.”

I went to get ready to the grocery store.  I started thinking about how much Hailey would love a trip to the zoo, she thinks animals are fantastic.  I thought if her nap was cut short so we could go that afternoon it wouldn’t really be all that terrible. 

So, guess what I did?  I changed my plans, at the last minute.  And I only twitched a little bit. 

I got the grocery shopping done.  Rich fed Hailey an early lunch and put her down for an early nap.  When she got up we went to the zoo.  We had a blast. 

After the zoo we all went to Target and got home in time for me to fix dinner and still eat at a reasonable hour.

Imagine that.  Last minute plans and things still went smoothly.  Who knew?

Ya know what’s really weird?  A couple of weeks ago, maybe a couple of months ago at the most, I brought home this little, teeny, tiny baby.  And now today- she’s 18 months old.  Whoever is playing tricks on me by speeding the time up really should stop.

So, here I am doing another update (every 3 months now, instead of every month) to tell you what Hailey has been up to.   And can I just say- I love this age.  I have had a lot of fun with Hailey ever since she was born, but this stage she is in now is so much fun. 

Hailey does lots of cute things now and keeps me smiling and laughing everyday with her little sense of humor.  She loves to laugh and she loves trying to find ways to make us laugh.  Hailey loves to read books and loves to have anyone read to her.  She will sit for pretty lengthy time periods to listen to as many stories as I will read her.  Hailey enjoys doing art activities and I try to do several with her each week.  She has also figured out how to climb up on all of the furniture- so she keeps me on my toes as I am constantly trying to catch her.  Hailey is doing a lot more talking and she tries to say anything we ask her to try.  She is just starting to put three words together to say little sentences.  Some of the most common ones she says are “Look-it-dat” (look at that), ”I clow dow” (I close door), “Dare ya go” (there you go). 

So, there is a little update about what Hailey has been up to.  And here are some pictures I took of her today. 

Hailey is 18 months old!  She is doing her usual pose with Tigger.  You can see Hailey posing with Tigger during our previous monthly photo shoots by clicking here.

We had some beautiful weather today, so we Rich got some yard work done while Hailey and I played.

Hailey helping pick up the leaves that Rich had raked up.

Putting the leaves in the garbage bag was so much fun (for Hailey). 

And then it was time to come inside for lunch and a nap.  As you can see Hailey did not want to come in. 

This age is so much fun, tantrums and all, I just wish it wasn’t going by so fast.

I am happily living my dream right now.  Ever since I can remember I have wanted to one day have a baby and to be able to stay home with my baby.  So, being a stay at home mom to Hailey is a dream come true. 

Of course when I was dreaming of being a stay at home mom I never realized how much work it would be.  That picture over there on the left?  No- my closet didn’t throw up.  And no, I didn’t just return from a trip that required lots of clothes.  That’s just the clean laundry I have been avoiding.  I don’t know why I hate folding laundry so much.  But, I always put it off until it piles to the ceiling. 

For some reason before I was actually a stay at home mom I had these visions of my baby sitting quietly and playing while I worked on my scrapbooking and cross stitching.  Of course, reality set in very soon after I brought my little bundle home from the hospital and I’ve learned that being a stay at home mom is the hardest job I’ve ever had. 

I have a shirt that perfectly describes my life.  I would model it for you because I love it so much, but that will have to wait until I reach my goal weight.  But, this picture over here on the right- that is what is on my shirt that I got from LTDChix.  The laundry shirt is perfect for me.  But there are lots of other choices and I’m sure you can find one that would describe your life.  LTDChix has choices for working moms, minivan driving moms, moms who cook, moms who clean, and so much more.  I personally love my shirt- it’s the perfect choice for me as it seems my piles of laundry are never done.

But while being a mom is the hardest job I’ve ever had, it’s also the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.  The smiles and giggles and hugs and kisses that I get from Hailey make it all well worth it.  So, even though my life isn’t exactly as I dreamed it would be, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Do you know what I put in Hailey’s Easter basket this year?  I think that lots of moms out there will be shocked when I tell you that we put some playdough in Hailey’s Easter basket.  I know what you’re thinking- it is just so messy- why would anyone ever give their child playdough?

Having worked in day care and pre-k, I do know that playdough can create quite a mess.  But do you know what else I have learned about playdough?  It can usually buy several minutes in a row of quiet play. 

So, since last Sunday Hailey has been walking around carrying sealed containers of playdough.  She has been quite excited with just that, so there was no need to even open them.  But, finally on Thursday I decided it was time to be brave and let her, you know, actually play with the playdough.

And of course I took just a few dozen pictures.  Don’t worry, I won’t share all of the pictures with you. 

First things first- “I must taste this.  I mean mommy did put me in my chair after all and usually when I am sitting here she gives me things to eat.  So, I guess that is what I am supposed to do with this new squishy stuff she just gave me.”

“Well that tasted terrible.  Probably another one of those things they call ‘vegetables’ that mommy is always trying to make me eat.”

“Now this is fun.”

“It feels so weird.”

Obviously Hailey loved the playdough.  And do you know how long she sat there and played with it?  Quietly?  For almost an hour.  And then it was dinner time, so I had to take it from her so we could eat.  And she cried and didn’t want me to put it away.

Even though it might have seemed like a crazy idea initially it was definitely one of my better ideas.