41 Weeks
A Few Days Old
One Year Old
Two Years Old
Three Years Old
Four Years Old
Five Years Old
Six Years Old
Seven Years Old
Eight Years Old
Nine Years Old
Ten Years Old!
A decade. It’s been a decade since our sweet first born baby girl graced us with her presence, 10 days late, making us parents for the first time and changing our world in the most incredible way.
Hailey is 10 years old (double digits!) and it’s incredible to see her grow into the beautiful person she is. I won’t lie; on her birthday when she went to soccer practice I sat down on the couch and cried (at the passing of time and all that). But now I got the tears out and am left with gratitude for getting to be her mom and excited to continue the journey of watching her grow.
We started celebrating her birthday a few days before the big day. On Saturday we had our friends over to celebrate both Haileys, as they both turn 10 within a week of each other!
Sunday evening David and I surprised the girls with the big present: venturing into Charlotte for a fancy dinner and a show! We had dinner at the rooftop restaurant at Restoration Hardware in South Park and it was the perfect fit for us. It was a nice spot, but not stuffy, and the girls enjoyed feeling “fancy,” and chowing down on their double cheese burgers.
After dinner we went to Oven’s Auditorium to see WICKED! David and I saw it years ago in New York and I felt it would be the perfect first Broadway show for Hailey and Kaitlyn. I was right. Being that they are fans of the Wizard of Oz, they absolutely loved getting a peek into the “before” story.
I was wondering how they’d do masked the whole time, but they were too enthralled by the singing and storyline to care. It was a great evening!
Hailey’s actual birthday was on a busy Wednesday. We woke her up to us singing happy birthday, then after a breakfast of muffins and fruit, headed o co-op. We brought cupcakes for her class and everyone sang to her; it was super sweet.
We came home to open presents (a sewing machine! books! a necklace!) and eat an early dinner (the birthday girl’s request was marinated chicken and noodles). Then David took them both to soccer practice and I sat on the couch looking at pictures and crying.
After a walk with a friend I felt fresh again and was ready to welcome them back home with a snack (mac ‘n cheese and apples) and carrot cake! We finished the birthday strong, laughing at Hailey and Kaitlyn acting all silly (overtired and sugar will do that to you I suppose). Then we took pictures of Hailey at 8:48 PM and again at 8:49 PM (the minute she was born) to see if she looked older. She is certain she looks taller in the second picture ๐
Then we tucked the birthday girl into bed with big hugs for another wonderful year.
A few notes about Hailey at 10 years old to round it all out:
- She has the BIGGEST heart of anyone I know. As we tucked her in she hugged us and said “thank you for making my birthday so special.” She’s been working on making Christmas presents for everyone since August. She loves so deeply.
- She may come off as quiet and shy but once she’s comfortable around you, she is as silly as it gets. I love seeing her act goofy!
- She likes to read, play soccer, do art, and knit (especially while watching college football).
- Her favorite food is cheeseburgers and salad, marinated chicken and noodles, and Greek salad.
- She loves her sleep. She’s usually asleep by 9:00 PM and will sleep until 9:00 AM most days if I let her.
- Her favorite color is pink and her favorite animal is a dog.
- Her room is always clean and organized.
- She likes order and knowing the plan for the day.
- She wants to be a farmer when she grows up and grow and sell vegetables.
- She loves fall and the holiday season, so we are heading into her favorite time of year!
Happy 10th birthday to our girl; we love you SO much and watching you grow has been the greatest honor of my life.
Jamie Berger says
Wow! Happy Birthday Hailey! This also means i’ve been reading your blog over a decade – so crazy! Have a great weekend:)
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for being a friend for so long, Jamie! Hope you had a great weekend ๐
Kathy says
Happy Birthday Hailey!! What a sweet post!! I loved all the pictures!! Yes, time flies and this reminds me I have been reading your blog for OVER 10 years. Started reading before you had kids. ๐ Fun to watch them grow up. Have a great weekend!!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much, Kathy! It’s crazy how the time flies… ๐
Stacey says
She sounds quite a bit like my first born. Happy birthday, Hailey!
Brittany Dixon says
So funny how much I believe in birth order after having kids now. There is something to it!
Sammie says
I’m one week postpartum with my own September girl and now I’m about to cry! Happy birthday Hailey!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my goodness, congratulations!! I hope you are feeling well and getting a little sleep here and there ๐
Maria says
I remember when she was born! Oh my goodness how time does fly! She sounds like a sweet old soul <3 Knitting and fall and reading? She has excellent taste!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks, Maria! <3 ๐
Lindsay says
Happy Birthday Hailey!
I’ve been following along since before Hailey! I cannot believe that it’s been so long that I’ve been reading blogs. I am so glad that you’ve chosen to remain consistent with your blogging and not going to a blogger that does a million sponsored posts but instead continue to share about your personal life and the growth of your little girls. Also, I have to say that Hailey looks so much like David now that she’s getting older! โค
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks for the kind words and for being a long time friend! ๐ I love that you think she looks like David; so sweet!
Anne says
Happiest birthday to your Hailey. I canโt believe where the years have gone. It must have been almost 9 years ago when I googled white noise and found your wonderful blog which I have been following since!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks for being such a long time friend! Googling white noise… I love it! ๐
Sarah says
Happy birthday to sweet Hailey! And happy 10 year mama-versary.
Kate says
I love this!!!!
Would love a post about how you maintain a strong relationship while fostering privacy/independence as they grow. Maybe you arenโt there yet (my oldest is 5, so not sure what 10 years look like), but it is my biggest fear that our special relationships will grow apart.
Brittany Dixon says
I understand that fear! I don’t think we are quite there yet, but I can tell you that this age is really great. The deeper conversations are so neat but she’d still young enough to snuggle and play Barbies.Plus more self sufficient. There hasn’t been an age yet that I didn’t enjoy! <3
Kelli says
Happy 10th!! I canโt believe Iโve been watching her grow for ten years!! Thank you for always sharing. Looks like a wonderful birthday. Camryn turned four yesterday and they must be a little similar because after we put Cam to bed she came back out to tell us thank you and she loves us. So cute Hailey wants to be a farmer.
Brittany Dixon says
Happy 4th to C! What a sweet soul to come back out at such a young age to tell you thank you. Precious!
sherry says
Beautifully written. I wish I had written like that for each of your birthdays! What a treasure you are creating for Hailey as well as yourself!
Brittany Dixon says
You always did and still do make us feel so loved! <3
Stephanie says
Happy Birthday Hailey!!! I have read the blog now for over 10 years WHAT?! Time slow down.