Introducing Tate Kayin Hawks

That's right, after a long 10 months of pregnancy, we are please to announce the arrival of our 3rd child Tate Kayin Hawks. Tate means happy and Kayin is an African name meaning long awaited child.

He was born at the American Fork, Utah Hospital on Thursday June 3rd, 2010 at 7:01 am. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs, 8.5 ounces and measured 19 inches long. That's right, we have a big boy on our hands and man is he ever cute! In case you don't believe me, we got a picture as they weighed him.


Just minutes after he was born (c-section), we were able to get a picture of the 3 of us in the operating room.


Right from the beginning we could tell he was going to be quiet tempered. His cries were not loud or extreme at all, in fact he acted like he cried more out of a sense of obligation than a need.


Here's a good picture to show you how chubby he is - no little scrawny baby for us!


And he has long fingers and long toes. I think I've heard that exact phrase from each doctor when all 3 kids have been born. His little toes are the cutest - see for yourself!


As expected, he's spent most of his time sleeping and through almost any noise - which is amazing if you know our Hailey and how much she loves to talk!



It's hard to look your best after delivering a baby - regular or c-section delivery, but I wanted to get a picture of me with my new little miracle. Don't mind me, we only had to be at the hospital at 5:15am that morning and my looks were definitely not on my list of worries (obviously).


Here he is with his handsome Dad. We're lucky that he's inherited Jeremiah's good looks.


After some time in recovery and Tate getting some needed checking in the hospital nursery, we were finally moved to a room on the Mother and Baby floor. We were quick to call Nana and Papa that were staying with the kids so that they could bring them right over to see their new little brother. Zach was so cute, he was so concerned about his little brother and wanted to make sure he was ok and kept kissing his little head about every 30 seconds.


Hailey was a bit reserved at first. Not because she wasn't excited, but I think the idea of seeing me in the hospital somewhat confined to the bed was a little worrisome for her. She relaxed after being to see us a few times and concentrated on her most important task - asking 100 questions a minute about the baby, me, delivery, hospital, etc. You name it and she asked it. But she couldn't get enough of holding the baby and held him about 20 times each visit.


Nana and Papa both had to take their turn holding little Tate as well.



Aunt Kylie and Uncle Jedd drove down to see the new little one. Kylie's due with her first little one in October, so this was good practice!



Later that evening, Uncle Bubby and Aunt Afton also came down to meet little Tate.



We were lucky enough to be able to go home yesterday afternoon after only 2 days in the hospital. We are adjusting to our new schedule and feel so blessed to have little Tate home healthy and happy. The kids are loving their new little brother so much and don't leave his side for very long. Although they don't quite understand why he cries and what he needs, they are the first ones to help out when needed. They are such a good big brother and big sister - we couldn't ask for better. They are always checking on him and kissing him - it just makes me smile.

We are quite proud of the newest little member of our family. We have waited such a long time for him and we are enjoying every minute of having him. He's such an angel and we just love him so very much.



We all love you little Tate! We're so happy to have you in our family!

Getting Ready for Baby!

Remember when I posted about us making a countdown chain to help us countdown to the baby? Well, seems like just yesterday, but that was almost 40 days ago! Needless to say, we are getting really close to having the baby. In fact, here's an updated picture of our countdown chain - that's right, just 5 more days to go!


As much as I hate having my picture taken (especially when pregnant), I thought I better put a few pictures on here of how big I'm getting.


I'm feeling very pregnant these days - I'd be lying if I said I felt like anything smaller than an elephant! So you can imagine that I can't wait until the blessed day comes.


That's right - our little active baby boy is right in there, just waiting to join our little family.


We've been busy getting things around the house ready. The first item on our list was to rearrange Zach's room so that there was room for the crib, changing table, etc.


I think it looks so cute in there with both of their beds. Even though the baby won't actually be sleeping in there for a few weeks, we wanted to get it all set up so we were ready. Can I just say I'm so grateful we built a house with BIG rooms?


This is the quilt my Mom made for the baby - she makes a special pieced quilt for every grandchild. Hailey went to the fabric store with us to pick out all the material (that's a whole other story, but I'll not get into it) and she informed us that the new baby really wanted green. So we found some pieces with green, blue (to match the blue already in Zach's room), and brown. I absolutely love it!


Other than the boys' room, you pretty much can't go anywhere in our house without running into something we've done or set up for the baby. The family room has the pack and play (that we use for naps and changing when the baby is really little), the bouncy chair, and


the baby swing.


Up in our bedroom is the baby car seat (which has yet to be installed in the car - but will be this weekend!) and


of course the bassinet.


And of course you can't leave out the baby book we bought to document the first little bit of our little one's life. I was so happy to find a baby book with the exact same colors as the baby quilt my Mom made for the baby - it couldn't go more perfect with it! You can't tell from this picture, but the part that wraps around the spine is brown, so it has all the colors that the quilt does.


And I couldn't help but take pictures of all the diapers I've been stocking up on lately. I forgot to take a picture when they were all stacked in my closet, so now there are some in the downstairs closet,


the boys' room,


and the boys' closet. Don't worry, these aren't all Newborn sized diapers - I remember with my last two that we were in size 1 diapers quicker than I thought, so I made sure to buy a few packages of Newborn sized, but the rest are sizes 1 and 2. Needless to say, we won't have to buy diapers for quite a while! Honestly, I think we have around 25 packages of diapers and the baby's not even here.


Getting things ready has been so much fun. We are lucky that our two boys will be born close enough in the year that we can use all of Zach's clothes that we saved from when he was little. It's been fun pulling out all the baby stuff and clothes and remembering when Zach wore them or used them. The best part has been telling Zach and Hailey about how they both use the same things that our new baby will. They both think that is really neat.

We are scheduled to have the baby C-section on June 3rd - it's been a bit of an up and down past couple of weeks with having a few minor problems in the pregnancy (darn that blood pressure and swelling!), but everything is holding steady and it looks like we're going to make it to the 3rd! As hard as it's been at times, I'm really grateful that we've made it this long. I feel so much better knowing that the baby will be 39 weeks before he's born and shouldn't have any problems.

Little baby, we can't wait for your arrival! As Hailey continually reminds me, it's taken forever for you to grow in Mommy's belly! We're so excited to have you come out and join our family, we love you so much already!

Patriotic Program Highlights

On May 26th, Zach's 1st grade class, as well as 2 other classes, presented a Patriotic Program for friends and family to see. After working for over 2 months on songs, actions, and speaking parts, Zach was so excited for us to come and see him perform.

Here he sitting in his spot, just patiently waiting to get started.


For their costumes, each class was in a certain color (Zach's class was obviously in red). They decided to do class shirts as a keepsake for the year. Each child drew a picture of themselves, then they put them all on the shirt.


Zach's was dead center - the perfect spot! Loved his rendition of himself - especially the ears!


Nana and Papa came down for the special event - which made Zach's day! Here they are with Hailey, patiently waiting for the program to get started.


Here's a picture of all 3 classes so you can see how neat it was to have them in red, white, and blue. Zach is on the bottom row, about half way in the red section.


A little ways into the program, they sang "It's A Grand Old Flag" and as they were singing, they moved into position, making the flag with their colors. It was really neat to see them make the flag!


They did a ton of fun things with the program including slideshows of each class, a tribute to family members serving in the military, etc.

One of the things Zach was really excited about was doing the wave - so we got it on video.



Each child had a part to say in the program. I was really impressed with how quickly Zach memorized his part and said it so well during the program.



During the program, each class had a turn to get up on the stage and perform a number. Here's Zach's class performing theirs. He's in the back row, which made it hard to video, but you can see him in the middle doing all the actions and being so cute!



We had to get a quick picture with Nana and Papa afterwards - we were so happy to have them come down and see the program with us!



And of course a quick picture of our little family. Don't pay any attention to the huge pregnant lady who looks like she's about to burst!



Zach, we had so much fun coming to watch you in your program. We are so proud of you for doing so well in 1st grade - you're getting so big and we can't believe you're going to be a 2nd grader!

WE LOVE YOU!

Soccer Pro

We have been looking forward to soccer season for a few months now. We love being outside and rooting for our favorite little soccer player - Zach. He absolutely loves playing sports, especially soccer.

I have forgotten to take the camera to more games than I'd like to admit, so these pictures and video clip are courtesy of Jeremiah who took them a week ago when I wasn't able to go. Funny how I remembered to send the camera when I wasn't going to be there!

Here's Zach protecting his goal. Technically, they don't have goalies at this age, but his coach is still teaching them to help protect the goal when the ball is down there.


Here's our little number 12 getting instructions from the assistant coach. We've been so proud to see him listen and follow the instructions that they give to him.


And here he is chasing down the ball. He really has some speed when he decides to kick it into gear.


And here's a little video clip of him in action.



He has really done well this year. It's been fun to watch him add new skills to the ones he's already learned in past years playing. He scored 4 goals his first game and at least 1 per game since then. I think he's really having a fun time playing, I know we sure are having a fun time watching and cheering for him! GO ZACH!

Our Little Dancer

These last few months, Hailey has been going to a 3-4 year old dance class at the local Community Center. And after 4 months of learning to dance and practicing their dance number, they had a dance recital last Thursday for family and friends.

She looked so cute in her little dance outfit.


And of course, we can't forget about the make-up she was wearing. Her teacher told them in one of their classes that they should wear some make-up when they did their performance. So Hailey had been WAITING (not so patiently) since she found out to wear her make-up. A little bit of eye shadow, blush, and lipstick really made her feel wonderful.


I was worried that she'd get nervous up on the stage since it's the first time she's done something like that, but it didn't faze her at all, she got right up there and wasn't afraid at all.


I was amazed at how well she remembered all of the dance steps.


They did their dance to the song "I'm a Big Big Girl." It was the perfect song for their dance and the cute little dancers.


Here she is in 1st position (or 1st pedition as Hailey calls it).


Moving side to side while waving her arms.


Shaking her arms to the sides.


I know I'm biased, but she really was the best and cutest one there. She remembered every step and was right on cue with every new move.


Here are a few video clips to see the best dancer in action:





Afterward the performance, she got flowers from her Dad. She was so excited since it was the first time she had ever gotten flowers. Daisies and a single red rose - one that stood out amongst the others, just like she did that night.


And our little family with our favorite dancer of the whole night.


I thought I had, but I guess I didn't take a picture of everyone that was there to support our little dancer. Thanks to Nana, Papa, Great Nana Bybee, Aunt Kylie (Awa), Uncle Bubby, and Aunt Afton for all coming down to be a part of her special night.

It was such a fun night to see Hailey all excited and happy. She had a permanent grin on her face all night. She did great and we all can't wait until the next performance!

Hailey, we are all so proud of you and want you to know you were the cutest dancer there!

WE LOVE YOU!

The Question Is ...

Seriously, how on earth did I end up with the cutest girl ever?


Not only is she darling, she's got a personality that rivals no one I've ever met. She can be sassy and onery one minute, then sweet and caring the next. It amazes me sometimes at how fast her mood can change. But despite all of it, or maybe even because of it, I love her so much I can't even express it with words. There's no one like my Hailey.