PhotoTag - Really Fun I Promise

Karen photo-tagged me the other day...it is really fun, so if I tag you, you have to do it!!

The thing I like about this one, is it makes you feel like you are in preschool again and it is SHOW & TELL. The best part about preschool, of course.

The way this tag works is you have to go to your 6th folder and post the 6th picture in that folder. Fun, huh?

So here is my sixth folder, sixth picture. That is Daven being held by Great Grandpa Hatch. Daven was 8 1/2 weeks old. What's cracking me up is his face.

Well, he has grown to love his great-grandpa. When he was a toddler, he started calling him Grandpa GREAT Hatch. Well, the name stuck. My sweet grandparents are so good at sending cards and letters to keep in touch. Now, they usually sign them, LOVE Grandma and Grandpa GREAT Hatch. So cute & it totally fits them because they are great and wonderful.

Okay, so I had to post another picture from that folder only because I was shocked when I saw my hair. It used to be so curly. Holy Cow! I had ringlets. Where have they gone? Now my hair is wavy at best. The things kids do to your body. Yes, they are all worth it. I guess I can't complain considering half my life was spent wishing for straight hair. Be careful what you wish for.:)

Okay and one more because it was just so sweet.

All right, I tag anyone that is reading this blog post. Can't wait to see your pics! It is so fun. You seriously have to do it.

For Grandma's

Both Grandma's keep telling me that they check the blog for pics of Avery to see how she is doing. So, I know I promised to keep posting pictures of her every week. I'm under strict orders to keep her little until the next time they can see her. I am really trying my best.....

Easter Bunny came to our house. Logan informed us that the Easter Bunny can open the Garage. Not sure where that came from, but glad he figured out how to get into our house.

After finding eggs and baskets, we headed off to church. The boys got recycled outfits from last year, but in this economy, I figured they would be perfect, especially since they still fit. And, you know what? The didn't even remember that this is what they wore last year, so it was perfect. I don't think little boys really care about getting all dressed up for Easter. PHEW!

Daven just seems so much more grown up this year, though. He has really become more independent/responsible. Look at how tall he is getting.

And, my sweet little Avery.

These were taken yesterday. She grew out of her 0 - 3 month clothes this week. They were either too tight, or getting rather immodest around the neck-line. It seems like 2 weeks ago I had a baby, not 2 months ago.

But, oh I love her and just can't get enough. This outfit is so adorable. But I was thinking, I don't think any of us grown-ups could pull something like this off. We would look ridiculous, but she looks so darn cute!!

Daddy of the Year

Mike is AWESOME at LEGOS. Logan asked him to make a fire engine. Mike promised him when he got home from work that he would make him one. All day long Logan kept asking, "Is Daddy on his way home?" "Will he make me a fire engine?" So as soon as Mike got home, I told him that he HAD to help build a fire engine for Logan.

They spent an hour together and this is what was created. There are doors on the side that open up and Mike even put Lego tools in there. There is a ladder on top. Doors that open, and a seat for the LEOG fire-fighter. He didn't even use instructions.

Yes, Daddy of the year. And I guess that comes with Smile of the Year, too. Look how happy Logan looks. Doesn't get much better than that.

Letting go of Expectations

So Daven started soccer this past week. This is the first time I've signed him up to be on a team. Last year he did these little soccer clinics. He loved those. They just practice soccer skills like dribbling and do fun drills. But he was getting kind of bored with the clinics, so I thought it would be fun to have him be on a team and actually get to play games. I have to say it has been a learning experience for me, too.

The season officially began 2 Saturday's ago. I dressed Daven in his team shirt. But, his black shorts were dirty. (There is no requirement for the shorts) I put him in these red ones. Daven could have cared less what he looked like. But, he was the ONLY and I mean ONLY child in red shorts. I, of course, felt bad for him and started to re-live my childhood years, thinking, I would have felt bad if I showed up for my soccer game and I was the only one wearing red shorts. I would have been embarrased & suffered a major blow to my confidence I'm sure. I decided that the next week I would make sure that he was dressed in BLACK shorts. What was I thinking?

Here is Daven with his coach. Mike said he would be interested in being an assistant coach. But, I guess they didn't have enough coaches. Mike gets to be Daven's coach now. I have to say, he is wonderful with the kids. They all love him. There are 5 kids on the team. He is so good with them. Logan, as you can tell, thinks he is part of the team. We had to break the sad news that he wasn't going to get a blue shirt. We said you have to be three. He woke up last week one morning and said, "mom, I'm four now." I think he just wanted to be able to play soccer. He will be soon enough.

So, here is the story of the game. Daven was just having fun. He was not interested in the game at all, or the concept. Even though we had gone over what to do during the week. He would kick the ball when he was told, but other than that, he was just running around being silly. Their team is the Tigers - Daven kept running up to the other team and saying, "ROAR!" He would then proceed to run around the field in a silly manner by over-exxagerating his arms, almost like he was dancing and running at the same time. Did I mention he wasn't into the game? No, he was far more interested in the fact that him and MacKenzie had twinner shin guards. 

Oh, yes, it was hillarious. But I couldn't help but feel a little blow to my own expectations. I thought, maybe soccer is not his thing. I kept yelling encouraging things from the side-line. But, you know, I think as mom, I just want my child to do well. It wasn't like I wanted him to be the best one on the team. But, I wanted him to at least get in there. I imagined everyone on the sidelines was thinking, Mike and Rickie, what kind of parents are they? Their child is being so silly. Look at him "ROAR" at the other players. Can you believe I was thinking that? How terrible of me. 

Of course, I didn't tell Daven that. We just went over what to do at a game and told him what an awesome kicker he was. We tried to help him know what to do the next time.

But, then after the game I was talking to my friend Brenna and she made me feel better. She's like, it just takes them a long time to get the hang of it. She told me stories of kids that didn't ever want to play that were on Kyla's team. And, of a boy that "skipped" to the ball all the time. I just laughed. Then, I realized, that even though I didn't care if my child was the star player, my expectations were WAY too high. It should be all about having fun at this point and making him confident in himself so that he would want to keep trying.

So, I just decided to relax and let Daven have fun. That was the most important thing at this age, right?

Here is Daven on week two. Notice the BLACK shorts. I wasn't expecting anything. But, Daven totally started to get the hang of it. It was so fun to watch. He got in there, watched the ball, took the ball away from the other kids. Then, he started dribbling the ball. He is a good dribbler and dribbled it then kicked it in the goal 3 times. He was doing so good. 

Just thought I would share my learning experience these past few weeks.

She Did It!

My six-week old baby girl. Cute little Avery Bug. 

Daven loves her so much. He has been a good helper this week. If Avery is fussing, he'll go over and talk "mother-ease" to her. She calms down for him. She loves him, too. Avery reminds me a lot of how Daven looked as a baby. I went back today to compare pictures of Avery w/ Daven when he was this age. They look similar, but not as identical as I was thinking. She doesn't look like Logan's baby pictures at all. 

I want to take a picture of her in every one of her cute outfits because they are all so cute. And, she is probably going to grow out of some very soon. I don't want to forget how cute they were or how cute she was in them. I asked Mike to take a few pics this morning. Then, she just started grinning like crazy! She must have thought the camera was silly or something. But, it was adorable. These pics don't do justice to how cute she is, though, or how beautiful her smile is.

This post is dedicated to my sweet baby girl. Oh, I love her so much. I was so excited the other night when she almost slept through the night. I fed her at 7 p.m. She fell asleep at 8 p.m. Then, didn't wake up until 4 a.m.!!!! HALELUIA. I have to say I felt like a brand new woman. I had gone to bed around 10:30 p.m. So I got like 5 STRAIGHT hours of sleep. I was so excited that after I nursed her, I couldn't go back to sleep. But it didn't matter, I felt very refreshed. She didn't do it again the next night, so I think she is getting there but just not quite ready to take the "full night sleep" plunge. But, last night, I fed her at 9 and she slept til 4 a.m. again. I'll take it. Maybe she'll be like Daven. By 8 weeks he spoiled me and was sleeping like this every night. One can dream.

Did I mention she's smiling? Love her.