March 13.

Our family celebrated Babe's fifth birthday in the traditional way...birthday balloons and powdered donuts. :)

It was a bit of a hectic morning:  it was my first day back at work after Thatcher's birth, Ben had "trial week" at work, and we were surprised to find that Emmy had thrown up in her crib (and her hair) at some point during the night...

We got it together, though, and were able to give our very favorite five-year-old girl the best birthday breakfast ever.

 The kids were pumped about their donuts (and yes, we let Emmy eat one...)

 and Hadley was so excited about her gifts from the family (new underwear and a "Brave" dress).

After breakfast, Ben took Hadley to school, where her classroom was decorated with a "Happy Birthday, Hadley" banner.  She was stoked!!!!!  She also took (more) powdered donuts and apple juice to share with her class.  (Evidently, our kids think powdered donuts are the best thing ever!)

As soon as we got home for the day, Had immediately changed into her new princess dress and hopped on her horse, "Jenna."  Of course, she had to ride "side saddle'" because of her dress...

She's most definitely a princess. :)

Happy Birthday, Hadley Anne!

Celebrating Five.

In true Hadley style, she chose to celebrate her birthday by having a "Girls' Day Out" at the "toenail store."  And so that's exactly what we did. :)

We started the afternoon with cake and gifts at our house.  Babe chose a handful of her "best girlfriends" to share in her special day.  She also requested a "Cinderella" cake.  Because the party started at 3:00 and we had such a small crowd, cake was pretty much the only item on the menu.  It was perfect!  

The girls played for a little bit (and us moms spent some time together!) before we sang "Happy Birthday."  Homegirl was in heaven.  I'm not sure I've ever met a child who enjoys the spotlight as much as she does. :)

 For all the sass this girl has stored up in her little body, she's got double the sweetness.  Catch her on a good day and she's the most pleasant child in the world.  But catch her on a bad day...

Party day was nothing but good. :)

After the cake, presents, and party favors (nail polish!), we loaded up and headed down the street to my very favorite nail salon, where each girl was treated to a full-on pedicure.

For the record, I don't think I had a pedicure until I was twenty years old.  Hadley has now had two. :)

It was so much fun to watch each girl choose their polish, explain their plans (certain colors on certain toes), and marvel over the finished product, which included flower designs on their big toes!

 My most favorite moment, though, was when Babe said to her technician, "Don't cut off my toes, okay?"

This was a close second:

We all went our separate ways once the pedicures were complete.  Babe and I were lucky enough to come home to this gift from Granti, Auntie, and DB:

There are no words.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Harris is playing t-ball this year.  I'm talking for real, rec league, with practices, t-ball.  Up until this point, all of our athletic experiences have been through i9, where teams meet once a week, at the same time every week, for one hour.  Perfect for our family.  We've played soccer, t-ball, and flag football with i9, but now that Harris is in school we decided to bite the bullet and move up to the big leagues so he could play with his classmates.  I was nervous.

And then he had practice and I remembered what it was like to spend Saturday afternoons at the ballpark as a kid.  My family practically lived at the ballpark, especially during football season.  We played hard on the playground and cheered on our teams and spent time with friends and ate those suckers that are like sweet tarts on a stick from the concession stand.  And it was so much fun.

And so I embraced t-ball.

And Harry has, too.  Now, my Harris is not what you might call the athletic type.  He's just not.  (His strengths seem to be much more intellectually-based.)  But he enjoys playing sports and always has a desire to be a part of something, so we go with it!  In fact, Ben gave him three rules for this season that we recite before every practice and every game:  "Be brave.  Have fun.  Try your best."  And so far, Harris has.

We've been blessed with the most reasonable, kind, and patient coach.  He's been a perfect fit for Harris.

And so, at least for this season, we're a baseball family.  Granti, Auntie, and DB have made it to both games so far and Cody, Mo, Raven and Sam came out for the first one.  Hadley is in her element on the playground and Emmy practices walking all over the place during the game.  Thatch just hangs in his car seat, but I love the excuse to do something together, outside, as a family.  At least on the warm days.

On Opening Day, Harris hit the ball twice off the Coach's pitch and once off the tee.  The second game didn't quite produce the same results, but he didn't seem to notice...

In fact, when I told him he played well (after he struck out!), he responded with, "Yep.  I played good, alright."

I love his innocence.  And his self-confidence.

And I love him for trying something that's out of his comfort zone.  He's got courage, that kid.  His timidity is so often in direct contrast to the aggressiveness of sports, but he gets out there anyway.  I admire that.

And I love what this season is going to teach Harris...and me.  We're going to enjoy the journey and work hard to remember Dad's three rules, even if we're not the best on the team. :)

(That statement is so much more for me than him.  My Harry could care less about being the best.)

This boy has my heart.

A (Quick) Fifteen Month Update.

At fifteen months...

You weigh 21 lbs. (21st %) and are 29.5 inches long (23rd%).  You are, without a doubt, our "little" girl.

You've also (finally!) decided that you prefer to walk rather than crawl...and it was a VERY obvious decision.  For whatever reason, on March 8, you just took off on those teeny tiny feet of yours.  There's been no looking back. :)

You're my climber.  If a big kid can do it, so can you.

And you're my clinger.  You're not a snuggler by any means, but you love to be held.  And you prefer that the person holding you be standing.

Favorites this month include rocking in your rocking chair or on your small rocking horse, reading, coloring, and mess making.

Love you, girl!!!

Around Our House Lately...

Let's see...

Emmy's new favorite thing to do is color/draw/write.  And if she can't color/draw/write, then she prefers to simply pretend.  And make a mess.  I find her with crayons and/or markers absolutely every day.

She's also my climber.  I don't remember Harris and Hadley climbing nearly as much as this little monkey does.  She has no fear.  And a very hard head. :)

Thatcher continues to become more and more aware of his environment and is captivated by his toys and/or his reflection quite a bit of the time.

The biggies celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday at school by wearing pajamas (and their "thing" shirts!), reading and watching lots of Dr. Seuss books and movies, and eating green eggs and ham.  They were in heaven!

Here are a few more shots of the littlies simply laying around.  That's a pretty common occurrence these days.

Homeboy can't fight the tummy time nap.

This past Saturday, I took the girls to a birthday party for a classmate of Hadley's while Ben took the boys to Harris' first baseball practice, followed by an afternoon of "Cars."

And then Ben and I got to have another night out to celebrate the wedding of one of my college roommates!

Lots of exciting times these days!!!

Thatcher's Baptism.

We celebrated God's great love for Thatcher last Sunday (February 24) at The Way by having our littlest baby baptized.  It was such a joy to be able to share such a special time with (most of) our family.

Thatch with Pop...

and with me before worship began.

Harris and Hadley love talking about baptism and what it means.  They also love hearing about when they were baptized and about what the symbolism of that act means for our family (God loves us and chooses us, even before we're able to understand what it means to choose Him!).  They also remember Emmy's baptism and were so excited to get be a part of Thatcher's.

You can tell Babe felt like a superstar.  Homegirl loves attention!

Mimi was able to find the outfit that Ben was baptized in, so Thatcher was able to wear something super special for his big day.

We attempted to get some family pictures after the worship experience.  Emmy was more into the band than the camera...

Four generations.  I have a picture just like this of all my children as babies.  I'll treasure these pictures forever.

Mema and Thatcher.

Pop and Granti.  They enjoyed sitting with each other during worship. :)

Thatcher with Mimi and Poppa.

And the whole family, minus Tyler and Cody and his family.

And last but not least, Thatcher with Auntie and DB.  Auntie was so wonderful to take pictures of everything and was relieved to finally get her own picture with the star of the morning.

After church we headed over to Los Hermanos to continue the celebration.  After all, nothing says "Jesus loves you" like a little Mexican food.

Thank you, God, for Thatcher!!