Isaac, Marcy, Sophie, Aspen, Luke, and Hazel: Hazel's 2nd Birthday

On August 18th, Hazel turned 2 years old! Terrible twos, here we come. :)

We celebrated Hazel's birthday by inviting the grandparents over for cake. I made Hazel a puppy cake because she loves dogs so much. Every time Hazel opened a present, she would get so excited that she would run a lap around the house holding her new present. My parents gave her a new baby doll that she named "Rosie" and a stroller. That was a big hit.

Here are some things about Hazel:

Hazel still has trouble speaking. She was doing speech therapy until summer started and all the kids were home from school. Her speech therapist, Kimber, was super nice. But it seemed like a lot of money to pay for her to watch me interact with Hazel. And due to covid, we had to wear masks at the appointments, which I didn't think was helping much. But Hazel definitely has difficulties talking.
Hazel is a super happy girl. She smiles and laughs a lot. But she is also incredibly independent. She frequently pushes chairs over to the pantry or counters to get whatever she wants.
Hazel is really good at hiding :) She often calls me to find her in places like this.
She LOVES dogs. It is actually a little concerning. She really seems to show no fear whatsoever around dogs. She walks right up to them and grabs their faces. She pets them, but really isn't gentle. I'm terrified that one day a dog will bite her because she is too aggressive. But the neighbor's dogs are her best friends and she always wants to go outside and see Harlow.
Hazel is a mama's girl. I tried my very hardest to get her to become a daddy's girl, but failed miserably. She is constantly demanding that "mama do it". It is cute, but also really exhausting.
This girl can throw a fit just like Aspen used to. Her personality reminds me of Aspen as a baby in a lot of ways. They were both really particular, independent, and stubborn. Aspen has turned out to be a great little girl, but those are not easy traits to deal with in a toddler. She is constantly yelling, "me do it" about getting in and out of the car, picking her clothes, etc.
One Sunday, Aspen was helping my by putting Hazel down for a nap after church. Aspen had her sleep on the floor in the corner on her squishmallow. Ever since, Hazel has refused to nap in her bed. She yells "corner" until we let her sleep there. It's weird, but it's what she wants.
Hazel is super silly. It's hard to come up with specific examples, but she's just a funny little girl. She is frequently making us laugh with the strange things she does.
She is also the first kid who has shown interest in playing in the toilet. I feel like I avoided a lot of terrible disasters with the other kids, but she is causing chaos. I'm not sure if it's her personality, or that I am stretched in too many directions taking care of 4 kids that I don't have the ability to watch her as closely as the others. But this girl gets into trouble.
She is also my first naked child. She is learning to take her clothes off and I am always fighting her to put them back on.
Hazel has crazy hair. I try my very best ever day to do her hair, but it always looks crazy. She has a very strong cowlick in the back that makes it poof in the back. I've tried parting it on both sides and neither will make it stay down. It's also a little bit curly (a lot curly when we go somewhere humid). One side has more curl than the other, so it just looks a little wild all the time. Hopefully it will be tamed better as it gets longer.