Miscellaneous

Here a few pictures I've taken but haven't posted yet.  Thought I'd throw them into one miscellaneous post instead of separate ones.

Tate is usually pretty good about going to the store with me when needed.  Every once in a while he will need some extra "incentive" to go during a show he likes or if he's in the middle of playing.  Times like these, I find the promise of a donut to be extremely effective is convincing him to abandon whatever he's doing and go.  During one of these times, he chose a chocolate donut at the store and after he had eaten it, you can tell how much he loved it.  Isn't there a saying out there that the more you love it, the more you wear it?  If not, then there should be.  And this kid could be the poster child.

After a long time in a crib, we decided it was time to convert it to a toddler bed for our big boy.  We have done it alot sooner for both the other kids and decided that it was time.  He loves it and thinks it's the best to be able to get in and out all on his own.  Of course we were excited for him too, until we realized that he can get up whenever he wants now and most of the time that is 6:30 in the morning!!!  Now we're wondering if this was such a good decision!

Here are our 3 after getting bathed and cleaned up ready for some popcorn.  They were all so cute, we just had to take a picture.  Nothing puts a smile on your face like the promise of popcorn!

Just a few pictures of our every day life.  What would I do without these 3 monkeys to keep me smiling?

Hailey's 1st Grade Grandparent Program

I love school programs.  It's so fun to go and see the kids perform.  This year Hailey is in 1st grade and their class, along with 3 other classes, did a Grandparents Program and invited all of the grandparents to come and see it.  Hailey was so excited and could hardly wait for the day to arrive.  We walked in and spotted her right off.  She was so excited to see us all.  Unforunately, one set of grandparents lives far away and couldn't make it, but we knew they were there in spirit with us.

She is so cute, she just makes me smile.  

Nana and Papa came down to see the special program and Tate had fun climbing all over the two of them the entire time!

I loved the program they put on.  They had so many fun songs and actions, they had us laughing the whole time!

Hailey kept her special part a secret and was almost bursting by the time the day arrived.  The cutest part was that she was to hold up the "T" in the word Grandparents, but she got so excited, she held it up sideways!  It was so darling!

After the program, the grandparents were invited back to the classrooms for a special treat and to be presented with a special card.  We loved the cookies they had for us and Nana and Papa loved seeing Hailey's classroom and her desk.

Tate snuck into the last picture at the last minute, so we decided to do another with just Hailey and Nana and Papa.

And of course, one her and each of them separately.

These pictures turned out so darling!

Thanks Nana and Papa for coming all the way down for the program!  We love you!

Easter 2013!

I'm a little behind in getting some of these recent events posted, but I'm trying to catch up!  We had a very fun Easter this year.  The kids were so excited for the Easter Bunny to come and leave them all sorts of presents and candy. 

Zach loved all the fun things he got.  

He tore into his basket before I could even take a picture!  His favorite thing (besides all of the candy) was the new MP3 player he got - complete with arm band so he can listen to music while mowing the lawn - just like his dad!

Hailey was a little bit more careful and we were able to reconstruct hers before I took the picture.

Hailey's favorite thing was all the candy of course - she's a sugar-a-holic!  But she also loves the MP3 player she got.  She didn't need an arm band, but she was so excited that it was red! 

Tate wasn't sure about all of the presents, but he loved them all.  He was really excited about his new sport ball sheets to go on his crib/toddler bed. 

He also got some headphone and a fun sprinkler to share for the summer.

They all loved all of their gifts!

Once the excitement of the easter baskets died down, we started the easter egg hunt.  The easter bunny always leaves filled plastic eggs around the family room for the kids to find.  Hailey decided to put on her bunny ears for the hunt.

Tate did too and was so excited every time he found an egg, he had to show me each and every one!

After we got ready for church, I had the kids sit down for a quick picture.  They are getting so big and I'm feeling like I'm not taking near enough pictures of them!

How I love these three!  Hope you all had a Happy Easter too!

Crazy days!

Some days are just crazy in many ways.  Some days when the kids are at school and daddy is at work, the little one will amaze me at how he entertains himself.  Tate's been obsessed with pulling games out of the closet to play with, just like his older brother and sister.  He was in there one day and happened to spot the parachute and he would not leave the closet without it.  Even though I wasn't exactly sure how he was going to play with it by himself, he amazed me once again.  He spent the first little bit running around with it like a cape.

Next thing I knew, he had it on his head and was running around looking through the mesh center.  As you can tell from his expression, he thought this was AWESOME and so, so very funny!

I admit that I'm addicted to that smile - how can you not smile back and be happy?

He was definitely entertained for over and hour and managed to keep his mom entertained as well.

We love this little boy and can't imagine life without him!

Zach's Birthday - 2013

We had another birthday.  Yep, Zach turned 10 this year - when did that happen?  He keeps getting older and older and I keep wondering where all the time has gone.  Seems like with his birthday in March, the start of the new year is the start of another countdown until his birthday.  Zach's birthday was on a Monday this year and when we ended up going to Nana and Papa's house for a couple of baby showers the Saturday before, we decided to throw in a birthday party with the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins while we were there.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the presents, fun, and crazy looking cupcakes I made for the day.  But he had a blast and loved being together with the extended family.  

When the actual day of his birthday came around, we had a small party with just our little family.  We went to dinner at IHOP and I think Zach has found a new favorite restaurant - breakfast of any kind?  He's sold.  He had a plate of 5 LARGE pancakes and polished the whole thing off, including part of Hailey's pancake (I don't want to even think about how much he'll eat when he's a teenager!).  After dinner we headed home to open our presents to him.  

Tate gave him a football.

Hailey gave him new scout stuff for moving up into Webelos.

His dad and I gave him a set of books (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series), 

 A new Lego Ninjago Lego Set, and ...

A longboard.

Yep, he was pretty excited.  He's been begging for one of these for years.  After opening the presents, he headed outside to try it out.  

After we pulled the kids back in and got them bathed, we decided to have a little singing and candle blowing ceremony.  Since we didn't have any cupcakes left, Zach decided he wanted banana bread as his "birthday treat."  So we stuck some candles in, sang "Happy Birthday" and ...

He blew them out.

Not a typical birthday, but I think it was a hit.  He kept telling me all night that it was the "best birthday ever!"    As long as he's happy, then I'm happy.  So traditional birthday or not, it seems he had a great one this year!  We sure love you Zach!

Zach's Basketball Season - 2013

We love the first part of the year because it means Basketball Season is finally here!  If you know anything about our family, you know how much we love basketball.  This year, Jeremiah was able to coach Zach's team and it was so fun to have the two of them working together.  

I loved looking down on the sidelines and seeing them standing together either talking or watching the game.

Zach is just like his dad - he can hardly get enough basketball.  He was so into it this year, it was fun to watch.  He has really come a long way in his skills and abilities on the court.

He loves to pass in the ball, something that just makes me laugh.  You'd think he'd like to have it passed into him more, but he tells me that's not the case.  I was really proud of him though, he would always try to make sure he passed it to everyone so that everyone got a turn bringing the ball down the court.

He was really quick up and down the court too - at the end of almost every game, he would be drenched in sweat - a sure sign of how much running he was doing!

He was one of the tallest on our team and most of the other teams, so he was able to catch a lot of rebounds.  He's also not afraid to get in there and fight for the ball.

A couple of teams had some better players and it seemed they almost always put them on Zach to guard - they knew he was a good player and wanted to try to keep him in check.  Sometimes it worked, but most times it didn't.  He kept moving around and those defenders spent most of the game trying to keep up with him.

He scored quite a few points this season.  I lost track after the first couple of games, but in the first game alone he scored 7 baskets!

He is just looking so grown up, I can't believe my little boy will be turning 10 this year - he isn't so little anymore!

I had to include a picture of the two others rooting their brother on from the stands.  Every game, Tate would talk and talk about how he was going to play basketball just like his brother when he grows up.

Well, another season is done and we had a wonderful time watching and cheering from the sidelines.  Way to go Zach, we sure are proud of you!

Hailey's Birthday - She's Now 7!

The week after Christmas is a fun time for us.  In addition to playing with all of the fun toys from Christmas, we are able to have another celebration before New Years.  We have Hailey's birthday and we love all the excitement of a birthday for our little princess.  

This year we had a full house for the celebration.  Papa (Nana wasn't there because she was sick), Taylor, Kylie, Jedd, Libby, and all the way from Oregon - Uncle Bubby, Afton, and Little Cooper.  As if she didn't have enough presents, she got a ton more!  (Tate was really involved as you can tell.)

She loved every single present she got!

She was darling.

Jeremiah was in charge of pictures, hence the wonderful picture of his feet and Hailey with her eyes closed!

After presents and dinner, we had dessert.  She decided she wanted brownies and ice cream this year.  I definitely wasn't going to complain because it was easy and required very little effort.  Although her piece of brownie barely held the 7 candles for her!

Happy Birthday Sis, we are so proud of you and can't believe how big your growing!  We love you!