But the real news is that Layla finally has a “name” for Hayden!  A couple of days ago at day care I picked her up from her classroom and had to go back out to the van to get something before we got Hayden from his classroom, and she started saying, “Aa-ddy, Aa-ddy.”  I started to realize that she was trying to say Hayden, and she was letting me know I was forgetting him!  “Hayden” has proven to be a difficult word for a toddler to say, and we’ve tried to think of other things she can call him like Haydy or Den or Denden, but she really hasn’t been calling him anything until now.  I guess the real question is how long has she been calling him Addy and we’ve not understood or I’ve thought she was saying Daddy.  Now that I’ve caught on I get her to say it a lot.  I’m starting to hear more of an H in the beginning now, so it’s more like ha-DDY.

Her language is getting better all the time, as it does with this age.  She had ear tubes put in this month because of recurring ear infections, and that is also helping I’m sure.  She even repeated “butterfly” pretty clearly last night.  But apart from her speech, she understands so much.  I have to be careful now what I say.  Today I told Hayden he could have some candy if he would go to the bathroom (which he CLEARLY needed to do – when will he start listening to his body and responding on his own?!), and Layla got all excited and went up to the candy jar (even though she hardly ever has candy).  It happens all the time, that I will say something to someone else and she will respond in a way that I realize she knows most of what I am saying.  Pretty cool!

The kids are usually with me as I am getting ready in the morning.  Hayden will sit on the bed and watch cartoons, and Layla will watch cartoons for about 1 minute and then get down to see what needs to be done with her babies.  When it comes time to brush my teeth, lately she will look at me, point to her mouth (well, really she actually puts her finger in her mouth), and walk off down the hall.  If I don’t make the connection of what she is trying to tell me, she will walk back into my bathroom and make some sort of annoyed noise, turn around and walk down the hall.  She goes into her bathroom and waits by the sink for me to hand her her toothbrush.  Then she “brushes” her teeth for quite a while (while tending to her babies).

The girl knows what she wants, and she definitely knows what she doesn’t want.  She has been doing this “no” head shake thing when she says no, and she is really getting her head going back and forth and whipping that hair all around.  Recently I was at Grandma’s trying to get her to lay down with me for a nap, and every time I said, “Layla, lay down and close your eyes” she would just shake her head and get that hair swinging.  I think after a while she actually forgets she is saying no and she is just enjoying watching what her hair is doing.

She really likes juice, and she’s getting good at saying “orange juice.”  It kind of sounds like, “ajjjjjjjce,” but it’s clear as a bell to us what she wants.  Her favorite word has to be apple, though.  She can’t walk into the kitchen without saying apple, and without doing her darnedest to get her hands on one.  I never thought I would tell my kids they couldn’t have any more apples for the day, but she would always have one on the go if I would let her. Toddler hands have to be clean and dry at least some of the day!

As I’ve already alluded to, the girl loves her babies.  Before bed we are always searching around the house for wherever her babies might have ended up last, because she can’t go to sleep with fewer than two babies, and a blanket.  She loves to push her babies in her little stroller that she keeps upstairs (she will also load that sucker up with anything she can find from our bathroom drawers, and seems to have equally as much fun moving it back from the stroller to the drawers, thankfully).  She also loves to put her babies to sleep, and what I find so funny is she will put them to sleep face down, and then pat their backs.  She likes to sleep on her belly (with her legs pulled up under her usually), so she must just think that’s how everyone does it.  That’s fine, but to the untrained eye it looks a little like she’s trying to suffocate them. 

We tried to make the most of Christmas time by taking advantage of all the special events.  We went on the “Polar Express,” which was a train ride from the neighboring town of Fishers up to “the north pole” (Noblesville, one town up) to pick up Santa.  We did our annual neighborhood Cookies with Santa, and Hayden got to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas (trains, trains, and more trains, because he “really loves trains” – as the month went on we were able to convince him to ask for some other things since he already has a truckload of trains).  Meanwhile, Layla got to show that she is at the exact right age to want to have nothing to do with the big, strangely dressed man, even if he does wield candy canes.  We went to a big Christmas model train exhibit at the Eiteljorg museum in Indy which was really remarkable, and right up Hayden’s alley since it encompassed his two very favorite things – Christmas and trains.  We went to the Children’s Museum “Jolly Days” Christmas experience.  One night a couple of days before Christmas we did what I hope is becoming a tradition since we also did it last year – ordered pizza and ate it on the couch while we watched the movie Elf.  Yes, a 4 year old eating pizza on the couch, I am a wild woman!  I couldn’t bring myself to let Layla loose with pizza sauce and furniture, so she was in her high chair, but I moved it so it was aaaaaalmost in the family room. 

Hayden would have a lot of fun listening to Christmas songs in the car.  He would always ask for Christmas music if it wasn’t already on.  He liked to sing jingle bells or Rudolph – my mom was babysitting for us and I got a text that she was enjoying listening to his sweet voice singing Rudolph and jingle bells over the monitor while he was supposed to be sleeping.  Even Layla started doing her own singing along to jingle bells after a while (her version of singing is mostly singing “eh eh eh” to the tune, and every once in a while throwing in a word that sounds about right).

We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa and Dusty and Andy and their respective families.  Christmas morning we spent at our house unwrapping presents and eating cinnamon rolls.  Hayden was really quite good with it all considering the amount of waiting for other people to open and not really being able to play with everything right away.  I remember last year it really became too much for him after a while.  Then in the afternoon after Layla’s nap we went to Grandpaman’s and did some visiting with Grandma G’s family.

The whole Christmas thing was really great.  John and I also had nearly 2 weeks off work, and it was such a joy to just spend tons of time together as a family.  It was really hard to go back to the routine this week.  But, I guess if we could do that all the time it wouldn’t feel as special.

When he’s eating he’ll demand that I watch him eat something.  Daddy watch me eat this cracker, daddy watch me eat this apple, etc.  No idea why, but it’s kind of funny.

Hayden is getting very expressive with his facial features and his hand gestures when he talks.  He does this changing the light blub like gesture (vs. Coldplay dancing) with his hand when he’s saying stuff.  It feel very philosophical!

He loves going on bike rides right now, even though it’s cold.  The other day he even chose a bike ride over playing video games!   He still has his training wheels but we’ll work on that in the spring.  He likes going really fast and is starting to get a good sense of balance but the use of the brake is still very optional but at least he normally takes his foot off the pedal so when he crashes it had less impact.  He has also worked out to head towards the grass if he loses control.  He doesn’t really care if he crashes so that also help.

He is getting over apologetic!  He’ll say “Oh sorry” about 50 times a day right now and I’ve spotted a couple of themes.  Firstly nothing is his fault!  If he knocks something over then “oh sorry it wasn’t my fault it just did it all on its own”.  Secondly he never meant it.  So if we are just correcting him, something simple like can you hand me the yellow pen and he gives me an orange one, “oh sorry, I didn’t mean to.”  It’s funny.

The other thing that is new with Hayden is that everything is cool or silly or funny Daddy.   I’ll try to give an example conversations.  “Daddy I want to eat my cupcake with my eyes closed as wouldn’t that be silly daddy.  It would be so funny.  And if I did that I might drop it and it would break on the floor and that would be super silly daddy.  And maybe the cupcake would have green on it and that would be really cool wouldn’t it daddy.”

I’ve noticed recently that Hayden also has three running styles.  One which is full out running.  Used for example at a bounce place where he is really excited.  Two is the skip.  He does this when he is really not that interested inn what he’s doing and generally in la-la land.  Three is the shuffle.  When he kind of glides across the floor like he is ice skating on tip toes.  Generally reserved for when he is really excited about something and is generally accompanied by a giddy expression.

Starts with when they both share my cereal each morning.  Cue Hayden “I want the first bite because I was here before Layla”.  Then some others that come up throughout the day:

• I want to get in the bath before Layla.
• I want to get my coat on FIRST.
• Lift me over first, before Layla.
• I want more water in the bath because I’m older than Layla.
• I want to get up the stairs before Layla.
• Why did Layla get up before me, I want to get up before Layla.
• I am faster than Layla
• Layla doesn’t get as much ice cream as me, because I’m bigger than her
• I get more presents than Layla because I’m bigger
• I got the most, I got more than Layla

There is no end to this competitive streak – today when he was going to the toilet he told me that he has more pee pees than Layla!!

Layla is becoming a big chatterbox.  Her vocabulary is developing by the day.  She is starting to join some words together and in general seems to be able to communicate well with us.  She certainly understands a lot and knows how to communicate basic yes and no commands to us.  The no is typically a very dramatic shake of her every growing hair which is adorably cute.  She hasn’t mastered her own name or Hayden’s yet, but knows important stuff like baby, mine, apple, banana (nana), mumma, dadda,  juice, more, etc.   Basically she gets what she wants with these words

Layla is showing to be a real lady. She just loves walking around with a bag or purse on her shoulder. It looks like she is out shopping all the time.  She is also completely obsessed by her babies.  She has to be carrying them around most of the time (not one, but at least two, and a blanket, and some bottles for them).  It’s funny sometimes when you come into her bedroom when she’s waking up, and she’ll already have all her babies accumulated up and be carrying them waiting for us to lift her out of the crib.   But she just  loves babies, for Christ,mas she got a stroller and also a toy crib and high chair and she also makes sure her babies get full use of her baby accessories!   If her babies are out of reach though we hear about it, she will screech ” BABEEE” over and over again until we do something about it!

If I tell her go crazy she does a very cool crazy shake similar to what Hayden used to do.  It’s very impactful with Layla because of all her hair.  She would make a great rock chick!   Talking of her hair – it’s a good job Kara is always here to repair my feeble attempts at pig tails or pony tails.  I just don’t think it’s my DNA to figure that out!  Her hair is great thought and continues to grow so Kara can give her a different hair style everyday.  I can see the days of the future where they spend hours braiding or plating their hair together.

Layla loves the dogs (and Abbey to be fair.)  Whenever she is close to any of the animals she will lower her head and give them a kiss, or a cuddle, or try to go for a ride (dogs don’t always appreciate the last one, and often get straight up which sends her flying!).  She is forever just laying down with them, and generally loving on them.  It’s nice to see.   Especially Stella (which is Larry and Gretchen’s new puppy).  Layla and Stella are just best friends and are always running around together and following each other.

Now Layla is clearly no Hayden Mark II.   It’s funny that we spend all this time blogging and we never go back and look at those blogs, but it just feels like she is so different to him in personality.  Once she gets warmed up (she can start very shy, especially if her mum is around) she is very confident and likes to own the room.  She knows what she wants and is very assertive to take it.  If someone messes with her, or takes something away from her, she will make her feelings know (whether it’s a bite, push, verbal assault – whatever it takes!).   But she does share some attributes of Hayden.  She understands jokes, and loves being funny.  She is very loving to us.  Love her bed toys.  Is a pretty good eater and an excellent sleeper.

Layla also really knows how to shake her booty!  Every time there is music out playing she will just break into her own little dance, that largely involves ducking down her shoulders some (a move I’m convinced she must have learned from me as that was how Kara always made fun of me dancing!) and sticking her bottom and literally shaking it from side to side!    Very funny.

One of my favorites though that has nothing to do with our culture differences is X-Ray. Because there are so few words beginning with an X you’ll be surprised how often this comes up in ABC books! Anyway, instead of x-ray he says “x-er-ray”. I tried to correct him once but he put me back in my place and told me that while I might say “x-ray” he says “x-er-ray” and that was the end of that!

He celebrates doing a poop by telling everyone. A couple of times of late we’ve been ate reasonably nice restaurant and he will run from the toilet back to the table shouting about how big his poop was! Sometimes that is just Layla and Mum (lucky me gets to hang out with him.. “I want daddy to help me do a poop”. It’s part of the downside of being number one in Hayden’s world!) other times there are many tables or waiters near by to hear his over graphic details!

A few nights back when we were singing bedtime songs when we got to wheels on the bus we mixed it up like usual and had various different people on the bus (grandpa, grandma, auntie chelle, dusty and robby)… His five different versus were. Grandpa on the bus said give me more poop, grandma on the bus said go do a poop, auntie chelle said I like poopy, dusty said I did a poop in the potty, robby said poopy poop poopy”… I think you get the idea!

We blame it all on grandpa for the record!