Our Hayden turns 8!

baptism dress  |  similar hair clip  |  necklace (awesome discount for you coming on the 27th!)

You guys! Somehow I blinked and this sweet girl is EIGHT years old! I cannot believe it. It feels like time has flown by, but at the same time it is hard to remember things before our little firecracker joined our crew. She has always had the most hilariously fun personality, with a little dash of spicy in there to keep us on our toes, and we couldn’t love her more! To celebrate her big day, today I wanted to share 8 things I love about my Hayden girl.

::SHE IS HILARIOUS

If you’ve been around Hayden for even 10 minutes, you’ve probably heard something hilarious come out of her mouth. She always has us cracking up and is definitely the funny one in the family. Some of our very favorite videos to watch are from when she was little because she has always been all attitude and such a crack up.

::  SHE IS STRONG WILLED

As much as this characteristic can be a struggle as a mom, I love it so much about Hayden. She knows what she wants and does not settle until she gets it. I can already see her determination and strong will is going to do big things for her in the future and I can’t wait to cheer her on.

:: SHE IS SO TALENTED + BELIEVES IN HERSELF

This girl. The talent that comes out of her little body is mind blowing at times. She is kind of a natural at just about everything she has tried, we just need to get her to focus on what she loves the most so that talent can grow. I think a lot of it has to do with her confidence. She is never too scared to try something and has so much faith in her abilities. It never comes off in a cocky way, she just truly believes in herself and pushes herself to be her best.

:: SHE IS SUCH A GOOD FRIEND

Hayden has always been such a good friend. She loves being around other people so being social has always been her thing. That being said, she does not put up with crap from anyone, and will walk away from a friendship if it isn’t worth the drama to her. To have that figured out at such a young age is amazing to me, because I think that is something we as grown women struggle with!

:: SHE IS SUCH A BIG HELPER

Hayden is totally in the big helper stage and I LOVE it! She loves to take the babies and play with them for hours. I know I can trust her to help me out with chores around the house and she is always willing to just be there and help me out!

:: SHE THRIVES ON ONE ON ONE TIME

As much as Hayden is growing up so fast, I love that she still lives for one on one time. She loves to hold my hand and go out just the two of us. Even if it is just a Target run or just the two of us playing a game, it is her favorite thing. It can be hard at times because she craves that attention so much and I have to split myself between everyone, but that one on one time is so special with her.

:: SHE IS ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING

Hayden is never one to sit around doing nothing or complaining she is bored. She is always going from crafting to playing soccer to coloring and she never stops. I love that she finds joy in so many different things in life and never limits herself to what she can do. It really makes her so fun to be around.

:: SHE IS A TOM BOY + GIRLY GIRL ALL IN ONE

As I mentioned before, Hayden doesn’t let anything stop her from doing what she wants. That includes things that are typically more gender specific. She loves fresh nails and lip gloss as much as the next little girl, but a skinned knee and dirty face from playing outside is usually just as common. I love that she is such a fun mix of tough and girly girl.

Now that I’ve shared a little more about our sweet + sassy Hayden, I wanted to talk gifts. Since I’ve mentioned her birthday, I’ve had a lot of requests for gift ideas for 8 year old girls! And since Hayden likes doing just about everything, I thought a roundup would be perfect!

. . . SHOP HAYDEN’S FAVORITE THINGS . . .

photos : aubrey taiese