Hawkitos

Hawken is the tiniest 2 year old around, with the biggest ideas.

He can climb anything and - much to my dismay - he does. He isn't afraid of anything.

He almost always has dirt on his face and a stick in his hand.

In a recent conversation with Paul, Hawken informed us of his name preferences, since he has so many nicknames.

P: Do you like to be called Hawk or Hawken?

H: Hawk!

P: Do you like Hawk or Hawkitos?

H: Hawkitos!!!!

Who knew that Paul's silly nickname for him would be his favorite. But all yesterday and so far today, he will only answer to Hawkitos.

bike

This boy needs a bike. A real bike. This bike belongs to a kid (that we don't know) at the park. He asked to ride it while he was already climbing up into the too tall seat.

He petaled it around like a pro. I didn't know the days of riding a trike were nearing the end, but I think they are. Maybe for his next birthday he might get a bike.

Grandma Evie

While in Wisconsin, Lullaby got to meet 2 out of 3 of her great grandmothers. It was really nice. This is my mom's mom, Lullaby's great grandma Evie. Isn't my grandma beautiful?! I love these pictures of them together, especially the last one. Classic Grandma Evie face, so happy.

I also got a 4 generation picture. We are all the 1st daughters of our mothers. I love it. :)

It was so nice to see her while I was there visiting. My grandma is a VERY busy lady, so it worked out well that she had a free morning that lined up with me. She gave me some good tips for starting a garden too, which I STILL have to do... I love you grandma! and so does Lullaby!

Happy Easter!

Our family had a quiet early morning watching "He is Risen", then the boys realized their basket of empty eggs was GONE, so they ran outside and started the hunt for their now filled eggs. Then after a few pieces of candy, we got ready for church in the outfits Paul's mom got for us when she was here.

Claude is here now visiting, so we got him to take our family picture. Then we went to church and came home to take a nap. We all slept. :) Then we drove up to look at the temple. The gate was locked, so we couldn't walk around the grounds, but the outside was very pretty. I got a few good pictures of Lullaby, but the boys were not as cooperative. After that we came home, Lullaby and the boys went to sleep and Claude, Paul and I made an Easter FEAST, including sushi just for Claude. :) It was a good day. Happy Easter.

reunion

Lullaby was very happy to be reunited with her auntie Jolie. She tried to kiss off Jolie's face. And by kiss I mean totally devour. Her kisses are open mouthed, fairly aggressive, very wet kisses. It was adorable. They were both so happy to see each other again.

Thankfully Jolie is a sucker for babies and loved every second of it. :) But who would love to be covered in gummy baby kisses?

St. Patrick's Day gifts

Grandma got her St. Patrick's Day present that the boys made for her.

Before Lullaby and I left for our trip, the boys were busy making St. Patrick's Day gifts. They made their own list of people to receive them. Don't feel bad if you weren't on the list :) there's always next year! I cut out rainbow shaped paper, they colored them in like rainbows, put on a leprechaun sticker, and then I taped on a Rolo candy for the gold at the end of the rainbow. Cute, right? They boys had a blast making them and they were simple enough to hold their attention long enough to make them all. This was their list of people:

1. Grandma Kim
2. Alexandra
3. Grandpa Chuck - thank goodness I was already going to Wisconsin, shipping these would have been a challenge.
4. Grandma Stacy
5. the mailman
6. Hawken's nursery teachers in church... I still don't know their names.
7. Lindsay - one of Matix's sunbeam teachers and also the singing time teacher who I forgot the name of.
8. Heather and Mike - our neighbors who the boys LOVE

First flight

Lullaby went on her first airplane ride a few weeks ago. Here we are packed and ready to go. Stacy got in to Atlanta and was with the almost sleeping boys while Paul took us to the airport.

We flew into Wisconsin, and she was PERFECT on the plane. Just as I suspected. She slept most of the time and I even fell asleep for a bit too. She flirted with the pilot and he let her take a picture with him... I guess they aren't allowed to do that much anymore, but he said it was okay. Hooray. How cute is she?!

We slept at my mom's house the first night and even though it was a new place, I brought all her favorite blankets, so she did pretty well, although she did wake up a few extra times throughout the night.

lately...

The kids lately are... wonderful. I have been thoroughly enjoying being their mom. It hasn't been the smoothest or easiest, but it has been rewarding. Hawken has been waking up from night terrors. Matix has been having a hard time sharing, anything. Lullaby still wakes up 3 times each night to nurse... BUT, when I stop myself from getting frustrated and remember how silly and loving and wonderful they really are, it makes it worth it. I know Matix will learn to share, and Hawken will get over his night terrors, and Lullaby will grow up and won't need me in the middle of the night, so for now I will enjoy these three just as they are, the good and the bad. I realized I hadn't posted a video in a long time, so here are some recent clips. Here is the rundown of a seemingly random video:

Clip #1 - Matix plays a game with me where he says, "How much do you love me mommy?" and I answer, "I only love you tiny." and he says, "No! You love me BIG!" and he raises his arm high and I tickle him. Sometimes he runs before I can catch him.

Clip #2 - Hawken loves to sing and sing and sing. His favorites include I am a Child of God (from nursery), This is Halloween and The Pumpkin King (from The Nightmare Before Christmas), and Tomorrow (from Annie).

Clip #3 - Lullaby always wakes up happy - really, ALWAYS. She is such a sweet girl. This is how she always greets me when I go in to get her out of her bed.

love

This daddy loves his baby girl... Can you tell? :)

Valentine's Day Party

A few days before Valentine's Day we had a few friends over - The Moody's (minus Bryce because he was studying), the Rogers family and the Wallace family. We had a little kid's table set up with heart shaped sugar cookies, frosting and lots of sprinkles and other decorations to add. The boys were pleased to be able to taste test everything before the others got here.

I was horrible at taking pictures that day, but it was really fun. The kids after snacking went upstairs to the playroom and played (mostly) nicely with each other while all the adults got to talk. Gina (a friend from the island) got to come with her kids and it was so much fun catching up. It's weird to see all our kids together in this new setting...

Matix and Hawken were so happy to have some of their friends here.

And a Happy pre-Valentine's Day it was!

Lullaby and Sakina

Back in February is when Lullaby first started to really notice Sakina. She would watch her and track her around the room. I hope she grows up to love animals like the boys do.

family pictures

I wanted to get a few pictures of what our family looked like when we first got here, but I am just now getting around to it... 3 months later. :) Anyway, here they are. Our adorable little red brick house, our amazing shady tree, and our cute little family of 5. I love it.

Lullaby's paci

Lullaby has figured out how to get her own paci into her mouth. She is such a smart baby. She had done it a few random times in the previous weeks, but now she can do it more smoothly and easily. She always seems so pleased with herself after doing it too. I love it. Good job baby girl! You're so clever.

fun with friends

We went to the "Yellow River Game Ranch" with a few friends from our ward here on the dollar day. It was crazy packed and we only stayed for a little while, but it only cost us a dollar, so I think it was worth it. It is sort of like a petting zoo, but HUGE. The boys got to feed deer and bunnies and goats. Very cool.

Afterward a few of us went to the park. The boys went down to the playground and ran around in the big ditch full of leaves for a bit while the girls napped and then ate a little picnic snack on the sidewalk.

I tried to get a picture of all the kiddos lined up together, but we all know how my boys HATE to pose for pictures. This is the best I got.

Hawken was busy flirting with Allie... Look out. By the way, how cute is she? I can hardly wait until I can put Lullaby's hair into little pig tails like this.

And this little doll baby is Gabby. Adorable, right?

But I think this one is cutest. Lullers. Too bright to open those sensitive blue eyes of hers. :) Held by Megan, my new friend.

the babes

Pictures of the wee babes. I love them so much. It is so much fun to see them interact and love on each other. So sweet.

update

After lots of deliberation, Paul and I have decided that it would be best for him to quit medical school. This was a hard thing to decide, but it is all too time consuming, and he really isn't getting enough time with us. So, as of Monday, he will no longer be a Ross student, but rather a SUPER good April fools joker. Are you kidding me?! Of course I am joking... Paul most definitely did NOT quit school. Did I fool anyone? Happy Sunday!