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!!"

Berry Picking

 Last week Debrah, Ily and I headed with the kids to a berry picking farm here in Spanish Fork.  It was such a fun way to spend an afternoon with friends and I great idea for our little play group.  Unfortunately Hadley doesn't like most fruit so of course she didn't like the raspberries and most of them were left on her clothes.

 Hadley had such a fun time running around with Lizzie (that is until Hadley hit her and Lizzie didn't want to hang with Hads anymore.  We are SERIOUSLY working on the hitting!).  Plus there was a dog and some sheep near by for Hadley to see.

We got tons of raspberries and some blackberries for such a great deal!  And when my parents were in town we made the most amazing crepes with the raspberries... now we need to go back with Steve to get more to make jam!

Sleepover

 This last weekend my sister went to Colorado (and took Max) for her 10 year highschool reunion, leaving Luke and Livi home with Jesse.  Well, Jesse had to help with security at the football game Friday night and wouldn't be home until like 11 or so.  Nobody wanted Livi to be up that late so we got to have Livi spend the night with us!

I wanted to do something special that I know Livi would love and I hit it on the nose!  She LOVES horses- she takes lessons, has about a million horse toys, is getting her own horse soon, etc.  We walk down this trail by the river on the east bench of Spanish Fork and about 1/2 mile down the trail there is a small pasture with horses.  We have gone several times and fed them so I decided we would go there!

Of course Hadley loves any animal right now but Livi couldn't get enough.  We probably stood there in the same spot feeding this horse (usually there is 3) for a good 25 minutes.  She was getting right in her face and talking to her and petting her and was literally in heaven!



It was a great "adventure" as Livi kept calling it.  After the little hike we went home sang some songs and read some books with Hadley.  Then Liv got to stay up a bit later and have milkshakes with Steve and I :)

It was a fun weekend and Hadley thought it was the neatest thing to have Liv there when she went to bed and when she woke up!  But it did make me realize I'm not ready to 2 anytime soon- it's like the double the work, haha :)

Our New Reality

 So I have been back in school (with the kids there) for a week now and Hadley and I are adjusting quite nicely to our 'new reality.'  It obviously helps that I take her to Becca's where she is loved just like I would love her and that Ily and I have a darling class of 22 third graders.

My biggest concern going to back to teaching was that I would miss alot of quality time each day with Hadley.  And yes, I do miss about an hour and half of awake/play time but I have really been focusing on making the time that I am with her really good :)

 I am kind of a schedule person and I do my best work and everything gets done if I make and stick to a schedule.  So before I went back I decided to make a schedule of what each day will look like.  So basically it looks like this (this is mostly for my records, you don't have to read it).

7:20 - 8:00 - We eat breakfast, bathe, get dressed and play a little.

8:00- 9:00 - Play time!  And she watches a 15 minute segment of Curious George (she is obsessed!!)

9:00 - 9:30ish - Hadley's quiet time (sometimes she sleeps, like she did 2 days last week)

9:30 - 10:00 - "Educational time" This is the teacher in me- we read, color, do puzzles, trace letters and numbers with our fingers, sing, etc.

10:00 - 11:00 - Play time

11:00- 11:30 - Make lunch, eat lunch, pack our bags to go

11:45 - drop her off at Becca's

3:45 - pick her up and go home

I know it's dumb to do this schedule but I feel like we get alot done and she has a super good morning!

 She has been doing really well at Becca's!  Obviously her and Max fight sometimes - hey they are toddlers, what do you expect? - but otherwise they do really well together.  It took a several days and some experimenting on Becca's part but her naps are pretty regular and solid now, about 12:45 to 3:30ish.  Overall, Hadley loves to go play with her cousins!  One day we got to Becca's house and pulled into the driveway and she said, "Bye mama."  Yes, very sad but at least she excited to go and play!

How am I adjusting?

Does it make me a horrible mom to say that I am actually enjoying it?!  I love being back teaching and being with the kids and the other teachers.  Things are going really well with Ily and I sharing the class, it's been smooth sailing this far :)  I feel like I'm going nonstop all day, I use Hadley's quiet time to do all my cooking and cleaning, so at the end of each day I am exhausted!  I usually hit the sack around 9:00 and am out by 9:30 at the latest!!  But of course I love weekends and any extra time I can get with my little lady!

I've been trying to do all my errands after Hadley goes to bed and I spend at least an hour every night working on school stuff (she's in bed of course).  Steve has been so helpful and supportive, which I am grateful for!  Hadley is still as happy as ever and growing and learning each day!  I'll keep you updated as the year keeps going :)

A Year and a Half

 My baby girl (who is not really a baby at all anymore!) is 18 months old!  I know I say this all the time, but where as the time gone?!  She has turned into such a little person right before our eyes and we couldn't love her anymore!!

With everything gone on around here lately, I have been awful at taking pictures so I decided to snap a few this morning on our visit to the park and river.

* Hadley is very adventurous and honestly has no fear!  Not always a good thing, but she is always willing to try new things...

 * At her appointment 2 weeks ago she was in the 85th percentile for height and 45th for weight, so still super tall!

* Her vocabulary is growing everyday- she probably says 35 words or so!  Her newest words in the past couple of weeks- poop (yea), apple, Luke, Becca, train, water, doctor, school, blankie.  She is constantly saying to me "Mama?" I'll respond, "Yes, sweetheart?"  Then she goes on telling me long thing in her own little language!

* The only fruit that Hadley will eat consistenly is bananas... BUT she will eat any vegetable you put in front of her.  Weird huh?!

 * Her favorite thing in the whole wide world is water.  She will play in all water, no matter if it's 1 inch of it or 3 feet!  She is obsessed!!

* She is also extremely extremely attached to this little stuffed animal blanket thing.  I'm not so pleased with this especially when she screamed for 40 straight minutes last week when I had to wash it!

* I love that she can understand everything that I say now.  I love that I can say, "Hadley, go pick some books" and she does it!  She also obeys what I say most of the time :)

* Hadley has now gone to nursery (that post to come) 2 times and as done surprisingly well!  The first time she didn't cry at all until the minute I walked in to pick her up (it was like she had just remembered that I had left her).  The second time she cried for a minute or so and then did really well!

*  She is very very independent, just like her mommy :)

* Still BEST BEST friends with her cousin Max- cutest thing ever!

* She is so good at folding her arms for prayers now.  Also pretty adorable!!

* Lives for Otter Pops!  Consumes at least 3 a day... at least...

* Loves mommy's makeup and perfumes :)

* Not a huge fan of riding in the car (unless she has a snack), thunder, Becca's big dog jumping on her, or sitting still.

We love you Haddles- thanks for adding so much to our family!!!!