Hadley Sue is 2!! Yee-Haw!!!

You know when you look at a child and they all of a sudden look older?  It is such a weird thing...

And even more bizarre when it is your own child because you see them everyday!  This has been happening to me with my first born baby girl, miss Hadley Sue, a lot lately...

She turned 2 on June 18 and really doesn't look like a baby anymore...

She is a full blown toddler full of personality!  Part of me is sad my baby girl is growing up so fast, but the other part of me loves it because each new phase is so fun (and challenging), and it is so fun to interact with your child in new ways as they understand more and become more independent.  I love when she runs up to me or her dad, throws her arms around us and says "Rove Roo"(love you) along with a big smooch.  Melts my heart.  I don't, however, love when she says "Mommy, (insert demand) NOW!"  I'm not sure where this demanding has come from, but it is kind of funny (after I tell her to say "please" instead of "now").

Other phrases I love of hers right now:
"Oh, otay.  Alwight."
"Oooh, NOOO!" (really drawn out) or "Oh, MAN!"
"Dare doe!" (there you go)
"Mommy (or anything), YAR YOU?" (Mommy, where are you?)
"Cool dudes!"
"Wah-woah me baby brudda!" (Follow me, baby brother!)
"Mommy hold choo!" (mommy hold you)

We had such a special day celebrating her.  To be honest it kind of snuck up on us this year with everything else going on....but we made the most of it!  In the morning, we made her a "pancake cake" and let her blow out a candle.  She doesn't quite have the technique down to blow the candle out, but it is really cute to watch her try!

 One of my best friends, Ashleigh, has been back for the summer from teaching in Korea and she stayed the night and helped us get ready for the party!

She helped so much to make it such a special day for Hadley...she is a great "fake" aunt as I like to call her...Thanks so much Aunty Ashy!

We made fun, colorful cupcakes...

 Played with fun balloons from Grandma Holly...

Had a great classic BBQ meal of hamburgers & hot dogs...

And Hadley had her own special BIG cupcake...

 She loved it all!

Especially the cupcakes...

 and the frosting in particular...

Hadley was blessed by her family and friends with so many wonderful presents...

 Especially her beloved "Dizzy Poop" as she calls her new "Cozy Coupe" from Bumpa and Grandma...

We really should have waited until the end to bring this out...

 Because she wasn't leaving it for anything...even to open the rest of her presents!

Here is the whole gang minus some friends who left before we got around to this pic (notice who's in the dizzy poop)...

But don't worry, I got pics of the ones who weren't in the big group pic!  Here are our dear friends the LaSalatas with "Baby Vincent" as Haddy calls him...

And our other great friends (and 2-min-away neighbors) Sarah and Justus!

 Chris didn't let the rain stop him from being the grill master!

It was a day we will never forget!
And even though she's growing up, she'll always be our baby girl...

Here are some fun videos from her birthday...

The first one is of my Grandpa Frosty giving Hadley a special "Yee-Haw Attaway Cheer" - he started the classic "Attaway Cheer" (as far as I know) with his football teams over 30 years ago and decided to create a special "Yee-Haw" version for Hadley's bday!  HILARIOUS!