I. Love. This. Girl.

The past few weeks have been rough for Hailey. There has been a lot of whining and crying at our house. There’s a lot that has been going on, so I’m not sure what to blame, except maybe myself.

During March and April we had quite a few visits from family. My family and Kyle’s family took turns coming and going from Provo. While it was super fun for them to visit us, Hailey’s schedule wasn’t always consistent during this time.

Then we moved. Hailey flew to Kennewick with Kyle’s parents a few days before we left Provo. This was extremely helpful to have Hailey away, so we could focus more of our time on packing and moving.

Now we’re in Kennewick, living with Kyle’s parents, with the majority of our belongings in storage, and working to adjust to our new temporary life. Which means we’re working on getting Hailey’s schedule back on track.

Through all of this Hailey has also been teething and flinging herself head on into full fledged toddlerhood. Luckily I think we’re through the majority of the painful teething. Poor girl had 4 back teeth all coming in at the same time. She had some pretty massive bumps on her gums for a little while. Hailey has also now reached 18 months and is inching herself closer to 2 years.

I really don’t know if some of her behaviors are related to all of the changes going on, her growing need for independence-with a lack of good verbal skills to communicate what she wants, boredom, or a lack of constant attention from me-which she used to get regularly. Or a combination of all of the above.

I’m starting to become frustrated, not knowing what to do with her to keep us both happy while we’re living in limbo. My parents keep telling me that I'm lucky and have a super easy child. Makes me wonder what I was like… (Sorry about that Mom.)

Really, in Hailey’s defense, she is a pretty easy going kid. She has no issues with bedtime/naptime, sleeps through the night, is super friendly and generally very happy.

Anyway, today I was wondering how much longer this was all going to last, or is it just going to get harder? What can I do as a mother to help Hailey? 

  

And then I came across these pictures I took last week. What a stinking cute girl I have! What an infectious smile and personality she has! I am so lucky to have her. Yes, we are having a few difficult weeks, and maybe they are here for the long haul, but what a blessing she is. And maybe we both have lessons to be learned.

I need to buck up, enjoy the journey, seek for inspiration from my Heavenly Father, and enjoy every minute I have with Hailey. She’s not always going to be this little.