Happy Time Preschool

Hannah started preschool today. She was excited again this year. She got a new High School Musical bag for her birthday that she will use for preschool. I made her chocolate chip muffins for breakfast today. She goes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:15-11:45. Today and tomorrow her theme is Olympics. She is VERY excited for they are going to have a balance beam and a soccer ball to play with. She told her teacher that she knows Shawn Johnson. Her teacher thought we really did. I told Mrs. TeKippe that we went to the welcome home party. I will be excited to see what Hannah has to say when I pick her up later.

Flowers

Hannah and Wes went out this afternoon to "go shopping". They came back with fresh flowers. They were a great surprise. Wes and I usually only exchange cards, not that these flowers broke the bank or anything!! I couldn't find my only vase so the pitcher will have to do!! Describes me- not fancy!!

7 Years....

Today is our 7th Wedding Anniversary! Last night we went to Joe's Crab Shack for supper. It was the last night of live music at Jordan Creek so we walked around the pond before eating. We ate outside at Joe's, listened to the live music and just had a great time. We reminisced about our wedding and honeymoon. We still think it is funny that we slept in a camper on our wedding night. Talked about our honeymoon to Jamaica. Wes got to play golf and had a caddy for the 1st time in his life. We went to Dunn's River Falls. Swam and drank our fruity drinks and Red Strip beer. Now fast forward 7 yrs, two girls, a house, we both for the first time in our married lives have jobs that we can say that we "love"! So Happy Anniversary, Wes!!

Hannah starts preschool on Thursday. She is looking forward to it. It will be nice to get back into a routine. I think summers just get everyone off schedule!! Haydn is doing GREAT without her pacifier. I thought we would have some sleepless nights, not the case! Next on the list is potty training. We are getting geared up for our Ozark trip later this month. The Cunningham's are flying back and the girls will meet Miss Vada for the first time!!

Shawn Johnson

Hannah and I rode down with Kayren, Stella, Porter and Cheryl (Kayren's neighbor) to welcome Shawn home! Boy, was there a crowd. They estimated 7000 people there! Cheryl is close friends of Shawn's parents. We sat in the FRONT ROW!! Holy Cow!! It was so awesome to me, this was a chance of a lifetime for me to see an Olympic up close, and a true Iowan girl even more. She was on Dave Letterman last night, flies out maybe tomorrow to Denver for the Democratic convention and on Jay Leno Friday night, I believe! I would do it all over again tomorrow night, it was so much fun. Even more fun that we sat in the front row!!

I took a picture of the crowd, doesn't even do it justice. She now has the month of September dedicated to her. She is definitely a role model for young girls!

Hannah's 5 yr Dr Appt

Hannah had her 5 yr check-up today. She got 4 shots and a finger poke. I did tell her before hand that she would be getting "a" shot and her finger poked. Thought it was only fair to let her know so she wasn't so caught off guard! She did great until the 3rd shot and she saw some blood. She started crying. We then had to go to a different room for the finger poke which she did not like at all. She saw the blood the whole time as the nurse was squeezing her finger. All in all she did great!! Actually it was easier than I thought. I was sure I was going to have to hold her down during the shots. The nurse that gave her the 4 shots has been Hannah's nurse from her very first Dr appt at two weeks. I am sure she doesn't remember us from previous appts but she acts like we are her only patient of the day, which is VERY nice! Hannah was sporting 4 band-aids on her legs and 1 on her finger. I think she enjoyed the band-aids.

Sorry if this is a boring post but some of you may like knowing her stats:

height: 43 1/4
weight: 43 lb 6 oz

She is 65% for height and 75% for weight.

This post may be more record keeping for me that exciting news for you. While we are at it I will fill you in on Haydn. She has had a pacifier since the day we came home from the hospital. In July I decided to take it away from her. We started out by not having it in the van. She got so use to asking for it, whether we went to Hy-Vee, Target, YMCA (which we live maybe 2 miles) pretty much if the car was running she wanted her pacifier. More routine than anything. That went fine after the first couple trips. Then it got closer to my North Carolina trip and I had not got her off of it for naps and bedtime. I thought it would be easier for her while she was at Beth's (old babysitter) for her naps to have it. So this past Thursday I cut the tip off of it before her afternoon nap. We have the routine of singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star twice before I lay her down for PM nap. She always asks for her pacifier, so I gave it to her, she looked at me funny, but she took it. She said something to me like it was broken, I told her yes. I checked in on her later and it was not in her mouth. This past Sunday I totally took it away from her for good. She didn't ask for it at all yesterday or last night or today for nap. So it was actually easier than I thought. Now we will start potty training here soon. Then she gets her big girl bed in Oct. So Aug-Oct will be life changing for Haydn, my baby is growing up!!

Eventful Weekend

What a beautiful weekend. Friday night we went to the soap football game here in Waukee. Both Wes and I thought it would be on the new field. They have the fake turf like Valley High School does, of course, we are 4A now! Well it was on the practice field. Still was fun. Hannah watched the cheerleaders of course! This weekend was Fall Festival here. The girls and I attended the parade @ 10:00. They got enough candy to satisfy them. Saturday night I went out to eat supper with Joan and Bridget and then went to a tent party to listen to live music. Was a great night to be outside. Tonight I took the girls to Jordan Creek to listen to live music. First we fed the fish in the pond. Haydn had fun with that, keep saying, "here fishy, fishy"! We have been there once before and they had a great time. I had been once in July with Amy and Joan and sweated like no other! So tonight was MUCH more bearable!! Haydn went right down to dance, even without Hannah at first. Made friend right away and they danced for almost an hour! So they should sleep well tonight!!

Beautiful Day...

for a picnic lunch outside! I am sure Iowa will have yet one more hot spell but it has been beautiful weather since we returned from North Carolina! Fall is on its way!!!

Birthday Celebration #2

We celebrated Hannah's birthday tonight here in Waukee. Had g-parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins come. We grilled out for supper. What beautiful weather for middle of August! Hannah got a lot of nice gifts. I think for the past 5 yrs she hasn't gone without much!!

Outdoor Fun

It is a beautiful day, it is only to be 79 or so today! Getting a glimpse of fall! YEAH!! For some reason since I have been home from NC and we are outside playing the girls will wear their elbow and knee pads. I don't think they have ever paid much attention to them before. Haydn really wants to roller skate but is not coordinated enough yet. She still wants to try every now and then. Getting geared up for tomorrow nights birthday party here. Sounds like the weather will be nice to be outside as much as possible.

Messy Haydn

Haydn is a messy eater. No other way to put it! She loves pudding but still has a hard time eating it! So today I snapped some pictures of the aftermath! She even had it between her fingers!! This is the same for spaghetti too. Spaghetti is hard for kids to eat. Haydn tries really hard to use silverware but sometime ends up eating spaghetti with her hands.

Birthday Celebration

Hannah and I made cupcakes today. She enjoyed stirring and of course licking the bowl. I only made 12, knowing we will have yet more dessert on Saturday and Wes does not eat frosting. I knew I would eat lots of cupcakes so if I made fewer, better for me!! Hannah even ending up not eating one tonight so we took 5 up to Abby and her family to get rid of some. Hannah wanted to eat pizza for supper so we went to Pizza Ranch, not knowing it was kids night. So kids eat free with a adult purchase! Score for us. We all ate for less than $20.00!! Came home and opened gifts and then cupcake time! She got a Hannah Montana barbie, HSM swimming pool (in the picture you can tell she is very happy with her tongue sticking out), and a barbie laptop. It seems like it has been Christmas around here today. She has had a great birthday!! She is now excited for Saturday's party.

Side note: We sang Happy Birthday to Hannah. She blew out the candles. Haydn immediately started crying. She wanted to blow them out. So I lit 2 candles for her and then we sang Happy Birthday to Haydn. She is too funny. So not sure for those of you coming on Saturday we might have to do the same!!

Hannah is 5!!

My baby is 5 today! Where has the time gone? She arrived at 3:57 PM. She had TONS of brown hair with blonde highlights. I had never seen a baby with highlights before. We didn't know what we were having so we were VERY surprised when she arrived! She was the perfect baby from day 1, the first night she slept 5 hours, would wake eat and go back to sleep for another 4 hrs. This schedule continued until she was 8 weeks old. Then she starting sleeping though the night! She only cried when she was hungry! When we would take her places EVERYONE commented on her hair, how much she had! I always said if I had a dollar for every time I heard that, we could have paid for her college by now! I am not bragging but she was the PERFECT child from the git go. She has always gone with the flow from day 1. She is a lot like me, never wants to miss anything and social butterfly. She is VERY caring and motherly also. She has been a fun girl to raise so far. Her true personality is starting to shine through. She is VERY into High School Musical, Hannah Montana & barbies right now. She will go back to Happy Time this fall. She is excited for preschool. Where has the time gone, my baby should not be 5!! I want her to stay small for EVER but on the other hand I can't wait to see what a beautiful women she will grow up to be!!!

I love you more than words can say, Hannah! All I wish for you is happiness and love! We will do a family celebration tonight and a party on Saturday for all the family. She got an early start this past weekend while I was in NC. Wes took the girls to Sgt Bluff and they got spoiled by g-pa Tom, Amy, Sam and Matt.

LOVE YOU HANNAH

(Yes, I cried while typing this)

Mother/Daughter Weekend

Mom, Kayren and I flew to North Carolina last Wednesday. Anna Leigh and Vada were waiting for us at the airport! Vada is BEAUTIFUL!! Thursday we got up and shopped from 10:00-5:00 (7 hrs). Vada was a trooper!! Anna Leigh and Patrick share the same birthday which was Thurs (8-7). They invited a couple the work with from the deli over for supper Thurs night. Friday morning we got Vada's first pictures taken and got some of mom, Kayren, AL and I too. Vada again was a trooper! She is a VERY good natured baby. Eats and SLEEPS a lot! Friday night mom, Kayren and I got to babysit Vada. AL and Patrick along with some of their friends went to a concert. We also watched Dante. He turned 2 in July. He is very cute and smart! He and Vada were both great!! Saturday morning we got up and went to the farmers market and did some shopping in wake Forest.

We shopped a lot over the weekend, ate lunch & breakfast at the deli. All in all had a wonderful time with Anna Leigh and Patrick. They are such a laid back couple! Patrick still has his Jersey accent, which is fun to listen to. We all get together the end of Sept in the Ozarks which will be a blast! We are a close family and enjoy spending time together! Will be the first time all 5 grandkids will be together! YEAH!!

Wild Saturday Night

Had a successful garage sale today. Had a total of 3 this summer. After 6 full totes of clothes I have it all combined down to 1 now. I did take quite a bit to goodwill and will save the reminder for a future garage sale or possible consignment store. Hannah had her 5 yr pictures taken today. They went well. She is old enough to do as she is told. Sort of has a cheesy smile but that is part of it I guess. Here are a few pictures of the girls after their baths tonight. Haydn is going to be out lefty! She only colors with her left hand! Makes Nana proud!! Hannah is posing with her ice pack from the dollar bin at Target!!

Operator error I uploaded Hannah twice.

Happy Friday!

One day closer to our trip to NC (can you tell I am EXCITED)! Kayren and I had a g-sale today and again tomorrow at her house. Hannah finished up swimming lessons today. She passed her level so on to level 3 now. She is quite the fish compared to last year at this time!
While Hannah was in MA I shopped and wrapped her gifts. I get back the day before her b-day. She is excited for her birthday. We went and picked out her plates, napkins, etc. She chose Hannah Montana! Which was NO surprise to me. Can't believe it is already August. Where did the summer go? Looking forward to fall, Hannah will start school again.