32

Brad turned 32 yesterday.  We did most of our celebrating the weekend before.  His requests for his birthday were that he wanted to relax a little bit and then go out and do something fun as a family that we had never done before.

We surprised him and sent him out on Saturday to play a round of golf with some friends.  After that we went ice skating and out to dinner as a family.  Sunday was spent relaxing a bit more and we made him a special birthday dinner of from-scratch spaghetti and meatballs and an old-fashioned double decker chocolate chocolate cake.  (Did I mention I spent the time while he was golfing on Saturday preparing for all of these totally from scratch foods I had never made before?)  That chocolate cake recipe was the most intense I have ever made.  Making and melting all of the chocolate for the cake and the frosting.  I've made plenty of frosting recipes before, but never with the complex instructions and ingredients of corn syrup, whipping cream, and required ice bath before the frosting could be whipped!  It was definitely a labor of love.  I told him that unless it was the absolute best chocolate cake he had ever tasted I would not be making it again.  I haven't yet received an official verdict from him, but I think I am off the hook!

 (please ignore the finger smudges all over my giant mirror--have I mentioned I hate that thing?)

Boy do I love this man!  He is such a wonderful and dedicated husband and father and he is still SO much fun to be around--even if he is working like a dog.  The past few months have been pretty hard on him as he has had a lot of stress at work and not enough time at home.  I wish there was something I could do to make his road a bit easier, but I can only hope that when this residency life is behind us that we look back on it and say it is worth it.  We've had many discussions lately about how we never really understood just how hard it would be and how long it would take for him to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor.  I wonder if it wasn't for the mounds of student debt, if we would be willing to stick it out.  But Brad is certainly not a quitter and I hope our girls will see that attribute and follow his example.  He often puts in 90 hour work weeks and makes sure that when he walks through that door at the end of the day everything is exciting and he has the energy to play hard and have wild crazy fun with our girls.  Even if he is completely wiped out, he won't let the girls see that.  He always wants to make sure they know that they are the best part of his day.  I know I could never do what he does and I am certainly glad I get to just be his support.

Ella had been saying for weeks how she couldn't wait for Daddy's birthday.  We had so much fun showing him how much we love him.  We are all so glad he was born 32 years ago and is the most important part of our family.  Happy Birthday BRAD!

Ice Skating

We took the girls ice skating for the first time this past weekend. It was loads of fun--even if it was a bit difficult for the girls to get their balance and even with the few falls they had. The rink had these great little ice walkers the girls were able to use to help them stay on their feet. Ella got to the point where she would either skate super fast while holding on and almost skip along the ice, or she would push it away from her and then skate to it. Maggie started getting her balance figured out by the end as well--although she did have a bit more of a sore bottom. It was a fun night out with the family!

Not a great picture of me--but it at least shows that I was there!

Before heading home Brad had to show the girls how fast he could skate on the ice and decided to hold them all while doing it so they could get the full experience.  I thought he was crazy, and he did admit it was harder than he thought, but at least everyone made it back around the rink in one piece!

Half Birthday

Little Hadley Bear turned 6 months old!  We did two 10- minute photo shoots over the last two days (all I can seem to manage on my own with all 3 kids) to document her at 6 months.

Things I want to remember:
*Her new hair has come in and sticks straight up on the top of her head, creating the perfect layer of 1-inch peach-fuzz softness.
*How her eyes follow her big sisters wherever she goes, and smiles from ear to ear when they want to play with her or read her a book.
*She is now sleeping through the night (barely), although this makes her want to wake up just after 6. . .hopefully we can change that before to long.
*She hates the consistency of baby food (at least that is all I can figure). . . If I give her a soft, small piece of our food (rice, green bean, pea, bread) she eats it up and is very excited about it, but if I give her a bite of baby food on a spoon she gags and acts as if I'm poisoning her!
*She is completely sitting on her own now.
*I thought she was going to get her first teeth earlier than my other two (5 1/2 months), but she still has not had one break through yet--I can see two on the bottom that have looked like they were going to break through for months now, but still nothing yet.
* Everyone always comments on her big chubby cheeks and her bright blue eyes.  All my babes have had really bright blue eyes, too bad they seem to fade over time. . .
*Her favorite things to do are play with her toes, smack her lips, and talk to anyone who will talk to her.

To see more (grandparents) go to my photo blog here.

Just Because

No real reason behind posting this picture.  I just have a feeling that when I look back at it years from now it will remind me so much of who Maggie is right now at 2.75 years. . .AND make me smile!

Ready. . .

I'm ready for spring--better yet, summer! My dreams right now are consisting of long walks and bike rides through the neighborhood, long days outside at the park or by the pool. At least we made it out to enjoy a bright 60 degree day last week. I hope winter ends soon!

And little Hads is out of the sun, but not out of the fun!

Around the House

On a Saturday morning . . .

Maggie Talk

Oh, Maggie!   We LOVE your little lisp and the way you talk to us right now, but you are getting close to 3 now. . .when do we start encouraging correct pronunciation instead of enjoying the cute way you say everything that we've come to adore? 

Ella always spoke correctly from pretty early on (at least that is what our memory tells us) so we never worried about it.  I can understand EVERYTHING Maggie says, but not too many other people can.  We'll start her in preschool this next fall, and I obviously can't be there all of the time to translate.  It is also hard to understand because she always talks very fast with an excited voice.   I'm thinking it might be time to start encouraging her to make the correct sounds (she is especially bad with the letter "S"), but before I do I wanted to record some of our favorites right now in her language:  

(I'm listening to all of these right now as she plays with Ella in the room next door)

Tickle = ticko 

Myrolls = Smiles

    (As in "I tickoed Hads and she myrolled at me")

Gee-go = Giggle

Capridge Couch = Scripture Scouts

    (A BofM kid CD set our friends gave to us and the girls L.O.V.E and Brad H.A.T.E.S.--HaHa)

Modders = Monsters

   ("The Modders are cummin for our niked bums")

Picrick = Picture

   ("Myroll!  I'm takin a coot pickrick of you")

Bmembo = remember

Nosree = Nursery

Cuter =Scooter

    ("I got a cuter for Kissmiss")

Cozette = Closet
Lak = Lock
     ("I'm gonna lak you in the cozette!")

There's probably more, but these are the ones I am hearing and remembering right now. 

 

Rice Cereal

Hads is now a "real" eater.  We gave her rice cereal the other day--she liked it okay, but seems to prefer the well-cooked green beans and peas I have given her since.

She likes to hold the spoon and feed herself more than when she is fed by her sisters.

This girl is growing up WAY too fast!

Hads at 5 months

 Our Hadley Bear turned 5 months the day after Christmas.  She is pretty much sitting on her own now. . .not enough that I can leave her there, but enough that as long as I am sitting next to her to catch the occasional top-heaviness of her head one way or another she is good.

She has rolled a couple of times, but not enough to show that she is doing it intentionally.  She is still swaddled when she sleeps and has graduated to two long naps in a day with 2-3 hours of awake time in between.

I haven't introduced her to rice cereal yet--what's the rush til she hits that 6 month mark, right?  But I have given her a few nibbles of bread here and there, and let her suck on an apple slice every once and awhile and she has been thrilled with that.

She loves doing raspberries and has discovered her voice.  Instead of the aahs and oohs from a month ago, we get loud shreiks and yells when she wants our attention.
She has started REFUSING to take a bottle.  It put a bit of a damper on our anniversary plans after Christmas.  She was taking one earlier on, but I think we went too long without giving her one and now she wants nothing to do with it.  (And believe me, Brad and I gave it a valiant effort)

She is still SMOTHERED with affection by her sisters, especially by Maggie, who has yet to discover any type of boundaries with personal space.  For all my harping on Maggie about it though, it does make Hads giggle like crazy when Maggie's hair is all up in her face...

She is so fun to have around and we love her with all our hearts!

Love this "about to cry" face. . .no more pictures please! Her eyes are very watery, which seems to happen with her every time she gets a cold (she's on her 3rd one now, thanks to older sisters).  Her eyes are just constantly filled with water, never happened with my other babes, so it's new to me, but doesn't seem to bother her much!

Christmas 2011

We were able to spend Christmas in Utah this year.  We missed having Christmas morning in our own home, but traded that for the fun of seeing family at Christmas parties this year. 

We had a great Christmas.  Santa was generous, as always.  He brings 3 gifts for each girl, just like the wisemen brought for baby Jesus, and he fills our stockings (even Mom and Dad's).   He surprised all three girls by giving them a new kitchen.  He left a picture of it set up back home in Albuquerque for the girls to open.  They then had to wait to play with it until they got home.  Maggie also got a scooter and Ella got her "real camera" that she has been wanting for so long.  It was hard figuring out what to give Hads, but she did get some fun new toys and binkies on her first Christmas.

Mommy and Daddy gave the girls Minnie Mouse dolls and a trip to Disneyland in February.  The girls have been asking to go for a long time now and we're all excited for our first family vacation together!

This Christmas will go down as the year that Mommy didn't take many pictures---once Ella opened her camera (first I might add), she was the new family photographer! In the spirit of Christmas, I put mine away and let her document our day. . .

She took pictures of each and EVERY gift after they were opened.  She set it up on the floor and then made sure to get the perfect shot (I'll spare you the pictures of all the presents).  She took over 600 pictures, including ones of everything she ate that day!  It was fun going through them and seeing it all through her eyes, and what she thought was important.  I do think I need to teach her about the importance of holding the camera still and using a flash, but for her first photo shoot, I think she did a great job!

Once we got home the girls were able to play with their new toy kitchen (big enough for all 3 to play with, and there is even a grill so they can cook like daddy), and their dollhouse--a gift from Stan and Mel that has definitely become a favorite!