Fall Break

 Last Thursday and Friday I had Fall Break from school.  They were two great days where Hadley and I just spent quality time together and did some fun things!

Thursday:

Thursday morning Hadley and I went to the mall do to a little shopping.  We got Orange Julius's and then I let Hadley play in the play area for quite a long time!  She had a great time and loved all the other little kids there!  One of the things I love about Hadley is that she isn't in the stage yet where she throws a big fight when we have to leave somewhere (here's me hoping that stage never comes... haha!).



 It was such gorgeous weather that we went to the park every single day of the weekend!  Hadley is a huge park fan and so she asked everyday, "Park Mama? Park?"

Friday:

We ran some errands, spent a bit of time at a different park, went to Becca's to eat jellybeans and jump on the tramp.

After nap time we went with Becca and Jesse and kids down to Payson to a Fall Farm.  I love this fall season and all the great things there are to do!

 Aren't these two just the cutest best friends?  We think so!!!

Hadley loved the hay maze with daddy and Luke.

After the farm we went to dinner and Carls Jr. where the kids play for more than an hour!  Then we went to Becca's for movie night and snacks!!

 Saturday:

We got up early on Saturday morning and drove up Payson Canyon to hike.  The drive up there was amazing but since we hiked so high up it was pretty cold and most of the leaves had fallen.  Hadley loved riding in the backpack and was so adorable pointing out all the things she saw!

 We did the park a couple more times, had state conference and a delicious Sunday family dinner together to wrap up our great weekend.

Playdough & Pizza

 Last week we had a little playgroup at our house where we made peanut butter playdough and ordered pizza!  I'd never made the playdough before and it turned out ok, but most the kids (specifically Dex and Hads) were interested in eating it.  We made Dex a big ball and the first thing he did was take a huge bit!  Hadley probably ended up eating 75% of hers which was a LOT of peanut butter.  It was fun to get together and just relax and hang out!  We love hanging out with our friends :)



Updates

 We have had a busy couple of weeks so I thought I would just do a quick update on some things that we've been doing.

- Steve caught this awful flu/cold bug from somewhere and after almost 2 weeks of feeling pretty awful and yucky he is finally feeling better.  He stayed home a couple of days from work which was nice because Hadley got to stay home all day.  Luckily (and to my surprise) I didn't catch it and Hadley had only had a slight runny nose on and off for a couple of weeks.

- Hadley has a new obsession: coloring!  She just sits and colors quietly for at least like 20 or 30 minutes and she does not want me anywhere near or crayons or coloring book.  So I usually just sit close and read aloud to her.  She asks multiple times a day "Cowo (how she says color) mama?"  She loves to lay on her belly and do it too- couldn't get much cuter huh?!

 - I have been spending alot of time working on my portfolio for school, which will allow me to get my Level 2 license and be licensed forever!  It's a lot of work and a bit overwhelming for me since it has be completed and turned in my January 30.  Luckily I am 8 weeks planned and prepped for school so I can step back a bit from the planning and focus on this portfolio.  Eight weeks may seem a bit extreme but that's just the kind of teacher I am :)

- Hadley is doing really well at my sisters each afternoon.  She is finally (for the most part) over her hitting stage and is learning to share and play nice most of the time.  She is learning some funny things from Max and loves all things boy now!  Sadly for me she doesn't even want to come home some days.  As soon as I walked in the door today and she saw me she said, "No, mama!  No buh bye."  Nice huh?  It makes me a little sad but I'm glad she's happy to be there!

- Hadley no longer eats in her high chair.  I would keep her in there forever if she would let me, but she got to the point where she wouldn't even eat.  She just said there and said "Chair, chair, chair..." over and over pointing to the chairs at the table.  So she now sits in a booster and is pleased as punch!  My baby is getting too big!!

Dailies

 Just wanted to document what our daily lives look like these days!  Things are still going really great- still spending lots of quality time with Hadley, loving school, and being with our cute family!

Tub Crayons... a new and priceless find!  Hadley already loved the tub, now she never wants to get out!

 Trying out new hairstyles since Hadley's hair is soooo long!  Please excuse the crooked parts- she was not interested in holding still very long that day :)

Another almost daily activity... playdough!

Trying to take advantage of the warm weather - lots of trips to the park!

Got this great idea from my friend Cami... lots of little toys and a muffin tin.  Sounds so simple but seriously hours of entertainment!  Hadley takes them out, puts them in, takes them out, puts them in... well you get the idea :)

 On the way to Becca's for the afternoon- cute, cute, cute!

 Luke's last soccer game of the season!  She spotted a baby and just kept going and standing by the baby

and saying "Mama!  Baby! Baby!"



Life is still pretty simple and we love it that way!!  Take advantage of it while you have it that way huh?

Sunday

 I know it's awful to say but since the start of the year (since we changed meeting times at church) Sunday has been my least favorite day of the week.  We meet at 1 which is Hadley's nap time and she is one little toddler that does not handle going without a nap.  It seem like the longest 3 hours of my life.  She was so naughty and did not want to sit for the entire 3 hours.  Plus Steve is in primary and so I have to do that last 2 hours alone :(

But we have now breathed new life into Sundays!!  Not only does Hadley go to nursery (and she loves it, never really looked back) but I changed her schedule so she sleep from about 11:30 to 12:45 and what a diference that short nap makes!  Now I enjoy Sundays and they are what they are meant to be! :)

We were ready a few minutes early so I snapped a few shots this last Sunday..

What Do You Call A 10 Person Date?

 Last weekend we hosted a game night at our house for everyone on our 3rd game team (minus Kristen :( ) and their husbands.  Did you know that playing games with 10 extremely loud and vocal people could be so fun?!  Seriously.... I haven't laughed so hard in a long time and it was a total blast!  We had some yummy snacks and then started some intense games!  We played a couple of rounds of Catch Phrase (booo, the boys won) and then a hilarious version of the Newly Wed Game (booo, Steve and I didn't win). 

Thanks for all the fun and great idea Em!  Can't wait for our 12 person trip to the mountains in January!  Sorry for the awful pics, but I did want to document the night :)

"Wuv you!"

 "Wuv you mama"- my new favorite words to hear!!  I feel like Hadley's talking has really taken off and she is saying new things every day!  Saying love you is a phrase that has developed in the last 2 weeks or so...  And it is SOOOOOO cute!!  She is constantly saying it even if I don't say it first :)  We love it and hope it continues forever...

And of course some cute pictures from the week- she would close the door and then pop out and say "Wuv you!!"