Hannah's New Friend

Hannah's new friend is herself! She has discovered that she can see herself in the silver cap in the bathtub and she'll sit there and jibber-jabber and smile at herself-it's the cutest thing to watch. She has such a fun and happy personality and keeps her family (and herself) smiling all the time!

We're Still Alive...BARELY!!!

Since school has been in session for almost a month now, I figured I better take some time out of my precious hours of sleep to document what has been happening this past month. To begin, Jakob started 1st grade and is really enjoying it! It is amazing to me how much more work there is from Kindergarten to 1st grade, like more homework, studying for tests, and lots and lots of reading and how quickly Jakob has learned some interesting things from his peers that I'd rather him not know (like armpit farts), but I guess that is what happens at school on the playground! I should just be happy that that's the worst thing he has come home with so far. Having him in school and gone all day has made me realize what an impact your peers can have on you and how important it is to teach my kids the things they need to know to make good choices and to stress the importance that just because someone else is doing it, doesn't make it okay for them to do it to. Jakob's favorite part of the day is recess and eating lunch in the cafeteria. He said his favorite classes are P.E. and music and he is really looking forward to joining the "Milers Club" (this is a little club that meets before school with the P.E. teacher and run laps and earn rewards for each mile they run).
Mason (and Mommy) were really excited when preschool started. He gets to go twice a week and is really enjoying it. As we were prepping Mason for this little adjustment I told him he could take Jakob's old Dash backpack to preschool, he kindly informed me that he needed his own 3-year old backpack and that he wanted a "Smashing Hulk" one. Mason hardly ever gets anything new because he has an older brother, so I thought, what the heck-I'll get the little guy his own backpack and luckily I found the one he requested. The night before his 1st day, as I was tucking him in bed, I asked if he was excited to go to school and he said, "Yeah, but are you and daddy going to miss me while I gone?" I think he thought he was going to be gone all day like Jakob! He has learned some fun songs and loves the days when it's "Show-n-Tell".
Hannah is officially mobile. She has been trying to crawl for the past month and a half, and finally took off about 2 weeks ago! She discovered very quickly were the playroom is and this is what I caught her doing the day after she started crawling-playing in the closet with the puzzles! She loves being able to go where she wants and often crawls to wherever her brothers are.
So not only is she crawling, but is already pulling herself up! What the heck-isn't she too little to be doing this? The other day, it was just me and Hannah at home and I was trying to get ready for the day, so I put her in the toyroom while I did my hair and makeup. All of a sudden I could hear this banging noise and I thought what is she doing in there and I peeked around the corner to find her standing at the train table playing. I love that she is growing and progressing, but I feel like I got jipped out of the immobility stage. I guess it's time to start child-proofing!
Last, but not least I celebrated my 29th birthday on the 5th. Yikes-one year away from the big 3-0! I had a really great birthday this year. To start, two days before my birthday my sister and mom came over and my sister brought Olive Garden for lunch for mine and my mom's birthdays and we got hang out and visit (something we don't get to do often enough), then on my birthday one of my good friends treated me to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory-yum, yum! Then as I was picking kids up from school, I received a phone call from my friend wanting to know where I was and she came and found me and brought me a huge plate of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls on a cute pumpkin platter. That afternoon I kept telling Wade that I couldn't believe that my mom hadn't called me yet to wish me a Happy Birthday, surely a mother wouldn't forget her own daughter's birthday, right? Well it turned out that she never called, because as part of my gift, she surprised me by showing up to babysit my kids so that Wade and I could enjoy an evening out! I was so excited, Wade and I very rarely go out without the kids, so that was one of the best things my mom could have given me. Wade made dinner reservations for us at the Geisha Steakhouse, one of my most favorite places! Then we went and walked around some stores and came home and had some yummy chocolate pie with the kids (Mason's choice for my birthday cake)! Then another of my friends invited me and my kids over for pizza and we were able to visit while the kids played-it was really nice! So a big thanks to everyone who made my birthday a special one, especially Wade and my mom! Thanks for the wonderful gifts Wade, you really spoiled me and I love you with all my heart!

P.S. I made a promise to myself that when school started I was going to start getting up when Wade got home from work and going running before I had to get kids off to school-I must say that I have been pretty successful and have only missed a few days and was starting to feel really good-then I go and have a birthday and as you can read all I did for 3 days was eat, eat and eat some more, so now I am starting over-wish me luck!

One Last Summer Trip & Our Anniversary!

2 weeks ago Wade and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. We didn't get to do too much on our actual anniversary because Wade had to work, but the day after we celebrated by taking one last summer trip down to California to catch a Dodger game and hang out on the beach! Yes-we did take the kids, so it wasn't as relaxing as we would have liked it to be, but what do you do when you have a nursing infant? I guess we can just look forward to the many years ahead when the kids are grown to spend our anniversary alone!

It has turned into kind of a tradition for our family to take a weekender trip during the summer to see the Dodgers play and go to the beach and since we've had a busy summer, we almost ruined our tradition by not going, but we decided in honor of our anniversary, to keep the tradition alive and just do a quick trip. We left on Wednesday, August 20th and drove straight to Dodger Stadium. The boys were so excited and Mason kept telling me that this is so fun-I think this is the first year he really understood what was happening. Other than the fact that the Dodgers lost, the game was really fun and believe it or not I only had to go out 2 times with Hannah, once at the beginning of the game and then again towards the end! We let the boys go to the store at the stadium and pick something out-leave it to Jakob to pick out the biggest attention grabber in the whole store! He has always wanted one of these crazy hair hats, so this year we finally gave in and he thought he was the coolest kid in the stadium that night. Mason choose a new Dodger hat since his other one was too small and a #1 Dodger Fan foam finger! Jakob had a yummy Dodger Dog and Mason had to have his favorite-Nachos! We love going to the game as a family and we look forward to next year! On Thursday we woke up and got ready, stopped and grabbed some subs and headed to Huntington Beach. We had sooo much fun this time at the beach-we actually planned ahead and took some beach chairs, an umbrella, sand toys, and some boogie boards! It was a little rough with Hannah-I took a big blanket so that she would have room to crawl around and not be in the sand, but apparently my blanket wasn't big enough because she discovered the sand within 5 minutes of being there and it went straight to the mouth-so Wade and I took turns holding her and playing with the boys. Jakob loves being buried in the sand, so that was one of the first things he wanted to do once we were all set up. Mason really wanted to build a sand castle, so Wade helped him out with that and then he found a little stick and stuck it on top for the castle's flag as the finishing touch. I have to say I have never been one to go out and swim in the ocean, but this year we took some boogie boards and I decided to be brave and try it out-I have never had sooo much fun at the beach! I could have stayed out there for hours, it was so fun! Jakob also had a ton of fun on the boogie board! Wade tried to help Mason do it, but he was content to just play in the sand and run in and out of the water. Wade didn't get too much time on the board, about 10 minutes of being out on it, he caught a wave just right and it made the board hit the bottom of the ocean and snapped it right in half-I guess that is what happens when you buy the cheapest board, but we didn't want to spend too much without trying it out first. I think next year will invest in some better ones! After spending over 5 hours at the beach we headed back to our hotel to shower and get ready. We went to Outback for dinner, walked around this outdoor mall that was right next to our hotel and stopped for a yummy frosty from Wendy's before heading back to the hotel to crash after a really long, but really fun day. On friday we woke up and got ready for the dreaded drive back home. We did make some stops at the outlets along the way to do some back-to-school shopping for Jakob and eat lunch. We had a great time and really enjoy taking these little family trips. We can't wait for next year! Thank you for the wonderful anniversary Wade-I love you with all my heart and appreciate all that you do for me and the kids-WE LOVE YOU!!!

Wade's Look Alike?

Last night I was at my sister's for the Johnson Family FHE and my sister says to me, "I have been meaning to tell you that we think Wade looks kind of like Micheal Phelps." Then my sister-in-law said, "I told Marc (my brother) the same thing the other night." Then my brother-in-law turned on the the olympics and low and behold they were interviewing none other than Mr. Phelps and my dad says, "Hey, there's Wade!" Wade was not here for all of this excitement(unfortunately he was at work), but he's probably really glad he wasn't there. I just thought this would be something funny to remember!

Wade...

Micheal Phelps-Could they have been brothers?

Just Me and Hans!

Yesterday Wade left to go to Panaca with some buddies to scout out deer for the big upcoming hunt! When Mason found out Daddy was going to Panaca without him, he wasn't too happy. So Wade called his mom to see if Mason could come and hang out with Grandma while he went out with his buddies and she agreed to it, so Mason was thrilled! I thought for sure Jakob would stay home with me (he's kinda of a momma's boy), but when asked if he wanted to go too, he jumped on board, leaving me home alone with 1 child! I tried to get Jakob to stay with me, I was kind of sad to have everyone leave, but there was no talking either of them into it-Grandma's house must be more fun then our own? So I sent them off with Dad Wednesday afternoon and tried not to cry, (for some reason I was really sad to see them go), but the sadness didn't last too long because right after they left Hannah fell asleep and slept for 2 hours-the house was soooo quiet, but I got my laundry put away (it usually takes about a week to get around to that and then by that time I have to start washing again), so that was nice, I got the playroom all cleaned up, made beds and sat down and enjoyed some t.v. without interruptions! Then I took Hannah to the doctor for her 6 month well-check (everythings good) and afterwards met my friend Joanne at Old Navy, found some killer deals, then we went to Panera for some dinner (not a huge fan-they were out of half of their menu, but we scored some free dessert because of it!) Today has been really nice too! Hannah had a nice 3 hour nap this morning, while I babysat our neighbors little girl, then I had a few errands to run and came back home and Hannah is now sleeping again! She hasn't been napping very good lately and I had to wonder if it might be her noisy brothers, because since they have been gone she has been sleeping like a champ! It has been really nice to have a little break from the boys, but I am glad they will be home tonight-it's just too quiet without them! Thanks for the break Wade-it was really nice and much needed! I love you!

Our Little Graduate!

Mr. Jakob Wade Heiselbetz

(Current graduate of kindergarten-future graduate of 2020!)

August 8th was the last day of school for the 2007-2008 school year for Jakob. His school put together a cute, little graduation ceremony for the kindergarten classes. They all had matching shirts that said "Smalley's Kindergarten Class of 2020" and then they made graduation caps out of construction paper-so cute! Each class performed a few songs and then they recognized each child individually, just like a real graduation ceremony. It kind of got me a little teary-eyed to watch my little boy, looking so grown up and to realize how fast time goes by. Before we know it we will be at his official graduation and sending him off on his mission, but for now it's off to 1st Grade in just under 2 weeks! (I don't know what I will do with my big helper gone all day!)

Jakob and his teacher, Ms. Fleck! We loved her and wish that she could move on to 1st Grade with us!

Ms. Fleck congratulating Jakob and giving him his Kindergarten Diploma!

Has It Already Been 6 Months?

My how the time is flying--Hannah is already 6 months old! Our baby is growing up soooo fast and it makes me kind of sad. I sometimes wish they could stay little for just a bit longer than they do! Hannah has had a big month this past month. About 3 weeks ago she started cutting her first tooth and now has 2 tiny teeth poking out on the bottom and just in this past week she has started going from the sitting position to the crawling position all on her own! She has such a strong and determined mind, so much so that when she sees something she wants, she figures out a way to get it, she will be crawling in no time! (I'm not so sure I am that excited for her to reach that milestone just yet!) She has grown very fond of her momma and cries almost everytime I walk away from her. It is both flattering and annoying! She has also become very scared of strangers and starts crying when people she doesn't know that well hold her or even just talk to her-is she a girl or what? She has started making funny faces at us and is developing such a cute and funny personality! We are so thankful to have this little one in our home-she keeps us all smiling!