May 2012

Where does time go?! Seriously! Crazy nuts, that's what it is... May is always especially fast with a million and one things going on (school ending, play off games, graduations, birthdays--was I the only one NOT born in may?!) and this year was no exception! Our big month consisted of adjusting to a whole 'nother person crammed into this teeny weeny 2 bedroom 1 bath house with two adults, an energetic two year old, &; two dogs, putting together my sister Hayley's wedding, &; preparing for a visit from our Virginia family. But, as usual, I just take a million pictures of it all hoping I can have 2 seconds at some point to soak it all in and reflect, and then maybe, just maybe, it won't seem like it flew by cuz somehow we had time to do all these things... If that doesn't make sense, I apologize...either way, prepare for snapshot overload!!! Let the reflection begin...

We FINALLY got around to filling up Addy's Christmas sandbox, and it's been a hit! She likes getting her feet buried and making them wiggle and pop out over and over and over and then some more! On the right, Brother's post bath "fro"(as Travie calls it).

Our genetically engineered boy--he must be, cuz it's down right impossible for him to just happen to be so darn cute, right? Not to mention, he has the disposition of a little cherub angel as long as he's fed and held. &; It's no secret that he prefers his mommy:) which is just fine considering I CANNOT get enough!

Enjoying Hayley's reception, which turned out really cute. The flags above the soda counter were my contribution, and Travis masterfully put together their slide show--he doesn't like to brag, but I think he does quite a nice job.

Hudson and his Great Grandma Reichert.  That was going to be his middle name, and then the heavens opened and he was born the day grandpa Hafen died... so I told Travis its only fair my next kid get named after my family. We shall see...

Little Reese took quite a liking to our Hudson. I think she needs a little brother Aunt Pammie ;) She would definitely be an attentive big sis! And I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to have a five generation picture with my sweet Great Grandma Clara...and I'm so glad we took this cuz it was the last time we saw her. She passed away at the ripe old age of 97. And believe me when I say you have never met a spunkier, sweeter soul. She was so adventurous, fun loving, oh so stylish. Always perfectly pedicured with matching jewelery to boot. &; She still walked everywhere with her adorable pink walker. I LOVE this woman. I hope I can grow up to be half the woman she was. And as much as I will miss her smile and happy laugh I am glad she finally got to return home to the people she loves. Thanks for sticking around as long as you did grandma.

The day after the wedding we just had to hit up Sand Hollow--cuz that's what Aunt Pauline does when she comes to see us. I told Melissa when her mom passes away, many years from now, there better be a set of flippers on the display table at her funeral next to all the pictures, cuz that's just what reminds me most of her! We had so much fun with little Adrianne and Jackie-Lou! Wish they lived closer so we could play more often!

Addy stole her brothers hat, silly little miss...

Nope, still couldn't bring myself to cut his hair! It's a novelty, what can I say?!

Splash padding with our pals Melanie and Sam! It's always much more fun with friends!

Addy pretty much idolizes her little friends next door. So when Archie started wearing his bucket as a hat, she, of course had to do it too. Pretty darn cute you silly girl.

Cute kisses. Most of the time she wants kiss him all on her own without being asked. Do you like Addy's "pee-cess" (princess) pull-up? She will go in the potty just so she can wear one of these bad boys and then the just pees in it all day long like she would a diaper. So darn frustrating, especially because I know she knows how to use the potty. I really think she's just decided it's an inconvenience for her. Too smart for her own good, that one..

So sad we did not get more pictures of us at Travis's yearly Awards banquet. He looks all sharp in his "class A" uniform

Toddler Time at the Library is where its at! We spend a lot of time there so our night-shifter daddy can get a small break from the pitter patter of little toddler feet on our squeaky wooden floor while he attempts to get some beauty rest. It takes a little creativity to get bro around in the wagon, since he cant sit up, but we manage:)

Its magical to be able to ride a carousel horse just before heading into dreamland. We feel tremendously blessed to live within walking distance of a spot where we have been able to create so many special memories.  A young family literally could not ask for more.

 

Am I ready for nursery?! Psh. The question is, is nursery ready for me?!  

She, of course, never looked back, and didnt bother to say good-bye. Thats my uber independent little lady. Wonder where she gets it:)

 

We LOVE passing these stifling sunny days at the City Pool. Mom always has to stay within arms reach of fearless Miss Mae, whos convinced she knows how to swim.

Addy sits on that tire swing all day at Pinto, whether someones pushing her or not. Which usually guilts me into pushing her more, even when I feel like my arms are gonna fall off--Shes got it down! As usual, she knows exactly what shes doing!

Such a beautiful and content little man.  I catch myself staring at him all day long, completely dumb founded as to how I got to be such a lucky mama.

These are some of my favorite shots of this most precious little lady. Shes our little ray of sunshine.

We lost someone very dear to this family during this Hafen reunion, and it will never quite be the same. Im pretty sure there can be no greater tribute to someone than the willingness of his cousins to dig out his resting place, by hand, in the hard-packed desert clay of the pinto wilderness. It was an act of love.  I could only hope that when my time comes that I leave such an impression. Thanks to the knowledge we have of the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can say with peace in our hearts, we know we will see him again; but waiting is the hard part. He will be missed.

Did u ever know that ur my Hero? haha just teasin travie

Jeepers! Its TJ's B-day!

 Okay, cheesy title, I know. But it really was ALL about the JEEP. We took her on her maiden voyage to Pinto town...and it was an adventure to say the least.

Everyone's all strapped in, and ready to giddy up on outta here.

 

In case you can't tell, Addy didn't appreciate Zoey sharing her seat-which, I have to say, surprised me a little. After Addy kicked her out of her nest, Zoey, unbeknownst to us, spent a good portion of the ride sitting on little brother's lap-which might as well have been his face, considering they're about the same size....So how many cops does it take to figure out the reason the Jeep won't start may just be that it's OUT OF GAS??!! Unbelievable waste of a precious hour we could've been in Pinto...geez...

The unofficial "who's manhood is biggest" contest. For the record, Mike won.

What would Pinto be without a round of Horse Shoes?

Everyone who turned up to show their love--or maybe they just came for the cobbler. Guess we'll never know. But heaven knows I wouldn't blame them :)

The Fam. Travis's sisters were sure to enlighten everyone about the joys of growing up with him...Let's just say I'm awfully glad I wasn't his kid sister.

Travis caught with a true, honest-to-goodness, genuine smile-a rarity when you're as tough as he is:) I really think he enjoyed himself. & here's the soon-to-be newlyweds.

Addy stayed on that tire swing long after she was alone and in the dark. She's a swinging fool, that one. Just like her mother before her-just ask my dad.

Travis was gifted a wicked awesome cake that was meant to be a representation of the incredible knack he has for finding illegal substances--if you didn't know that, he just looks like a druggie. Such a cool thoughtful gift-Mike and Julie are awesome. And you can tell he sincerely liked it. It was also Hudson's first trip to Pinto! (And I know we have many a picture of him with pink blankies/binkies/stuffed animals-they're all Addy's. I'm not just trying to immasculinate him.)

We had a grand ol time. And Addy really liked cruising in the "lellow truck!" What can I say, she was made for Pinto town.

April: a smattering of snapshots

On top: his first tub bath. Below:big yawns during general conference-his hair is getting so light!

Daddy got a new baby(...and I don't mean Hudson) which means he left Mommy home alone with the ankle biters over conference weekend while he went to OREGON to pick it up. Nice, real nice... & Addy celebrated her lack of usual tight supervision with a make-over--I actually have to give her credit for staying in the lines!

I was super proud of my son's hair, that is until the girl at the pediatrician's office called it a MULLET! Can you believe?! The nerve...humph. Now she's got me all paranoid that everyone else secretly thinks the same thing. But I just can't bring myself to cut it! It's just so...unique...that's the word.  Maybe he could use a trim. Anywho, here he is with his cousins just before Easter.

The Easter baskets our ever-talented great Grandpa Patterson made for the kids. It only took mom a year to paint Addy's. Our girl loves taking the deer for a ride at grandpa's house--while signing "deer," of course--that's the best part :)

Walks to town square have become part of our daily routine--It's the best solution when ya got a teeny tiny house, a girl on energy overload, and a sleeping bear named daddy that worked all night in the next room. Nobody wants to sit home and be quiet all day, where's the fun in that!? & between the splash pad, library, carousel, good eats, and all the festivals, how can we resist? We just may be down-towners for life. And in scorching St. George, all the big trees don't hurt either:)

Addys first Easter Egg Hunt. Who needs a fancy Easter dress when you've got a Rabbit suit, seriously?! This is one of her favorite outfits. She gets mad and signs "Rabbit" whenever you're getting her ready for bed and, heaven forbid, you ATTEMPT to put her in different pjs...let's just say, it's a good way to go deaf. If you value your hearing, better make sure they're clean.

I don't think she quite got the concept...I fully expected her to go hogwild. But instead she would pick up one, spend five frustrating minutes trying to unwrap it, give up, find another one and do the same, and so on... This girl wasn't waiting. If she sees candy, of course she's going to eat it! So needless to say, our haul wasn't very big.

She was happy as a clam with her handful of sweets.

Snack time with Auntie Morgan's Easter card. If anyone thinks little kids don't give a hoot about cards, I beg to differ.  She carts them around the house for days.

A little man of many faces.

"Dump! Dump!" Currently her favorite thing to at her grandmas' houses.

Apparently a nice picture of these boys in their cute, matching Easter outfits from Grandma IS too much to ask for. Next thing we knew, Addy wanted to get in on the action, (she spent all of her time running away from the camera til we started taking pictures of someone else besides her--i.e. Brother) and it was all down hill from there...silly kids.

This is the epitome of our typical, everyday Addy. Outside, in boots and little else, in our ugly hole of a backyard-which she thinks is an adventure-pushing something, usually with her mouth covered in dirt. And I wouldn't have her any other way.

The cradle sweet great Grandpa Patterson made just for her. (She thought it was for her in the literal sense, not the baby dollies.) Also, a highly rare and beautiful moment when both of momma's angels are asleep...AT THE SAME TIME! Don't blink, you might miss it:)

I've learned this lesson, I swear I have, but every now and again I need reminding...If we go to storytime at the library, which is in very close proximity to the splash pad, just plan on her getting wet. Cuz swimsuit or not, it makes no difference to her!

Why am I not surprised that this little gal already has an opinion about what she wants to wear?! She makes me smile. The outfit on the left is an outfit completely of her own design. And once her mind's made up about what she wants to wear, don't even try to convince her otherwise. It gets really loud and goes nowhere. Can't imagine where her stubbornness comes from:)  It's cute some days, unless you're headed somewhere respectful, like church.The picture on the right should give you an idea about what a great big sis Addy is: you probably can't tell, but she's loaded him up with about six blankies. She takes good care of him.

Great Grandpa Patterson. He's a sweet old man.

We found Hudson with dolly's bottle propped in his mouth--I think Addy's ready to babysit! But joking aside, she's always trying to put his binky in his mouth when he's crying. And when that doesn't work you'll catch her squatting down trying to get her arms around him cuz she knows he wants to be picked up. She's a good sis.  & on the right, Mr. Hudson with his buddies, Camden and Sam.

A typical Thursday starts with a trip to the Library for Toddler Time.

And next it's over to Judd's for some yummy, one of a kind soup and breadsticks. (And you can pre pay for a sucker, or Addy can steal it when you're not looking, but either way she's walking out with one!)

After lunch we take a ride on the "See-Sees"(horsies) and end with a little splash pad fun, which wouldn't be complete without a bucket. All less than a block from home. I call Addy a lucky lil girl.

Addy's snack of choice on our way to the splash pad :)

I love that she doesn't mind sharing her day with him. She's always been social, and even though he might not be too terribly exciting yet, I think she enjoys just having him around.  My cute boy fell asleep during tub time!

At the Dixie Kite Festival. Other than the fact that it was hotter than hades, and there wasn't a tree in sight, (and the breeze or lack there of wasn't helpful either) it was a really enjoyable day! Addy loved chasing the kite.

But mostly she kept pointing at the train/tractor ride-and she DID NOT want to get off when it was over!

Then, on a whim, we headed over to the Virgin River--which is more like Virgin creek at the moment--and had a grand ol' time. The water was absolutely, perfectly warm! We also had the place to ourselves. Couldn't have been better.

Travis' family joined us at the end.

"Mee-Ma,"as Addy affectionately calls her, and some of her grandbabies at the splash pad.

I love to watch Addy play with her little bro--which mostly means she gets right up in his face and says "Hi! Hi! Hi BUDDY!" a lot, head butts and pushes on his tummy, or pushes his chair along the floor. We just have to remind her now and again to "be soft!"

Addy's room was actually clean, so I had to hurry and capture the moment. I really do love her room. When we move someday that's one thing I will truly miss. It was built just for her, from absolute scratch, with loving hands.

I had her name on the wall in cute white wooden letters above her crib. But apparently she didn't like it there cuz as soon as she could reach them she ripped each letter off the wall and chucked them at the floor and broke them...so much for that...

Daddy always has to have a kiss from his little girl before he leaves. I'm convinced he physically can't make it through the night without it. She usually obliges willingly, or sometimes when he leans in she laughs in his face and tears out of the room. It's one or the other.  & here's Hudson with his cousin Ella. She and him, along with Greyson, could all be in the same grade at school someday.

We love our little boy. We have a mommy and a daddy and a sister and a brother. On some level it feels so complete. Like we've come full circle. We are so lucky and so blessed.