Hayden's Hallelujah

This is for you Den!

Play time FUN!

We have been so busy these days, but it's been a good kind of busy! Over the weekend, we went to a birthday party at Wild Kingdom, which is one of Hayden's favorite places!!! There's a little car slide there that she runs directly to every time.

Here is Daddy helping her on it

And here she is sliding down. WEEEEEEEEEE!!!

And while all the other kids were doing this....

Hayden was STILL doing this.....

(Thanks to my wonderful friend Jamie who can never say no to Hayden - Hayden just adores her!!!)

Finally, we were able to get Hayden on the bouncy houses.

Overall, a pretty fun day for all!!!

Easter Eggstravaganza!!!

This past Sunday, we were invited to an Easter "Eggstravaganza". It was so much fun! Although.......sadly, we realized that our kids are at somewhat difficult ages right now. Logan is a bit too old for easter egg hunts (sniff, sniff!) ....

And Hayden was a bit too young to have the patience for it all. She wanted to stay in this play car almost the entire time...

But, luckily once the Easter Bunny made a special appearance, everyone was excited!

Hayden kept saying "roar" to the Easter Bunny. I think she thought it was a bear. Haha. It was pretty cute!

And then, the kids got to hunt for eggs which was lots of fun!

Checking out their loot!!

Woo-Hoo! It was a success!!!

Random thoughts from an over-thinking mom

I've always been so fascinated by the topic of nature vs. nurture - how much of our make-up is influenced by pure genetic make-up vs. how much is influenced by our upbringing. I've most often leaned on the side of nature when it comes to our temperaments. Recently, in my MOPS group, we did a temperament test. It was so much fun! I discovered I was a "blue/green" which basically means I'm deep, moody, and resistant towards all types of conflict. Yep, that's me! I took the test home, and we discovered Logan is more of a "green/blue" which means she is more of a peacmaker, goes with the flow, and is shy and reserved. Hayden, I can pretty much guess is a "yellow/red" - she's fun, outgoing, and extremely strong-willed!!! And Brenna - I honestly think she's going to be a "green" like Logan (and Todd , who's also a green, by the way).

Why am I writing about this? Well....it's just been on mind lately watching the three kids and how different they all are. I love celebrating their unique qualities and I truly believe God has had a purpose for each of them since the moment they were conceived. It's nothing short of amazing to watch old home videos of the kids and see how very different they all were, even from birth!

Logan was a very  quiet, "serious" baby. She was always observant of her surroundings, and just liked to take it all in. I was worried about this because she was my first, and I wanted her to be a "happy" baby. Now that I have grown to truly know Logan, I realize that this didn't mean she wasn't happy  - she is STILL this way. When she is in a new surrounding, she is slow to warm up, and she takes it all in...and then once she's truly comfortable, her real, funny personality will shine. I remember when she was first invited to birthday parties, and I used to get so frustrated because she didn't want to participate. She wanted to sit on my lap the entire time and I just watched all the other kids jump right in....I so wish that I didn't worry about little things like that back then. Because now, I just love that quality about her! She doesn't follow the crowd, she is not impulsive, she thinks things through, and she makes darn sure of her surroundings before she lets her guard down.

Hayden, on the other hand, is quite the opposite! From very little - honestly, too little for "nurture" to make any impact whatsoever - Hayden has been so animated and expressive. Everything she does is at an extreme - she laughs with a belly laugh when things are funny, she cries at the top of her lungs when she gets hurt, and she screams as loud as I've ever heard a child scream when she's mad.  She talks constantly, she hardly ever sits still, and she finds just about anything fun and exciting!

And then there's baby Brenna - it is so neat to watch her little personality grow. She is just as calm as Logan was at that age. It's funny because I remember Hayden at this age, and she would get frustrated just about every minute, and she was already trying to climb up on every piece of furniture in the house. But Brenna just sits there quietly playing with a single toy, happy and content as can be. She can crawl now on all fours, but she rarely excersises this new skill. She likes just sitting in one spot. It is so adorable! I am glad that it seems like she's a "go-with-the-flow" type of girl because that will fit right in with this crazy family!

All of these little discoveries of motherhood just constantly remind me that we are all made to be different, each with our own set of unique qualities, none more important or special than the other if we choose to use them wisely. My hope as their mother is to be able to shape those unique personalities so that they will utilize their tempermaments in healthy, productive ways....I never want any of them to feel that they should be more like the other, because they are ALL special and I'm just glad our family is so "colorful"!!!

My BABY is TEN!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

My dear, sweet little Lo-lo,

Happy Birthday baby girl! I can not believe you are double digits!!! 10 years ago today I had no idea how much my heart had the capacity to love and to nurture and to protect. And I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that God would have blessed my life so much with the sweetest, most loving little girl I have every met. Logan, you make me proud every single day of your life. You inspire me with your kind, giving heart, and you teach me with your patient, forgiving nature....day in and day out, you make me a better person and I am so grateful out of all the mommies in the world, God chose ME to be yours!!!!

Here are some of the things you are doing right now:

*You are the BEST big sister! You always take the time to teach the little ones new words and tricks, and you make time every day to give them tons of hugs and kisses.
*You have proven to be a wonderful, conscientious student. Your teachers have consistently referred to you as the top of your class, a leader, and a great role model.
* You are a FABULOUS dancer! I wish I had some of your moves :) You love hip-hop and are hopefully starting jazz soon!
* You love anything from "American girl" and you are building quite the collection
* You little missy, are a SHOPOHOLIC!!!! You really must get it from Aunt Deda because you know your mommy can not even keep up with you when we shop!
*You can definitely be a girly-girl because you love shoes, accessories, and getting pampered. And yet, you also love to be in sweatshirts and sneakers, with your hair up!
* Your favorite singer is Selena Gomez and your favorite TV show is Wizards of Waverly Place, though  it seems like you barely watch TV anymore! :)
* You are really good at math - sometimes I can hardly believe how quickly you pick up new concepts.
*You are reaching several other milestones (that are just between the two of us), but I just love how you are comfortable enough with me to share all of your questions and thoughts!
* You have already figured out the qualities that you like in your friends, which indicates to me that you are really beginning to know yourself. You are so much more self aware than I ever was at your age!

*Here you are with Kay-Kay, your BFF!

* You've never liked people singing to you!!!

* You have so many people who adore you!

* You are the light of my life, my first born baby, my ANGEL....and I just love you more and more every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL! Mommy loves you!

Happy Birthday to my Sunshine girl!

Happy Happy Birthday baby Hayden.  I can hardly believe you are TWO years old already! And yet, I can't even remember what life was like without you in it. As everyone knows, I call you my little sunshine, because you truly brighten my days with your smile and laughter and amazing energy. You have such a fun personality and I can just see how much you love life! It is so rewarding to watch and I feel amazingly blessed to be your mommy.


 I remember when you were a little baby, and I used to tell people that you could go from 0-60 with your emotions in about 3 seconds... I had really never seen anything like it. One moment, you would be totally content and the next moment, something would upset you and you would be screaming at the top of your lungs. No warning, no progression - just calm to crazy in the blink of an eye! And now that you're getting bigger, I realize that you are just so full of emotion and energy that its simply uncontainable!  I absolutely LOVE that about you! You make yourself heard no matter what, and you truly wear your emotions on your sleeve (just like mommy!) You have made me so proud with your adaptability in becoming a big sister. Even though you can be pretty tough, you are very gentle with baby Brenna and you show her so much love! And you and Logan have really begun developing a strong bond that I know will never break! Here are some of the things you are doing these days:


* You are talking up a storm! You can pretty much hold an entire conversation with just about anyone!
* You love Dora and everything in her little Explorer world - you often say that you like Isa, and Tico, and Boots. It is the cutest thing!
* You even have a brand new Dora Bed!!!

* You are cautious but not at all fearful. You love trying new things.
* You love anything out doors - running, jumping, going to the park, bouncing on the trampoline. As soon as the sun hits your sweet little face, you brighten up right away!

* You are a daddy's girl all the way - this morning in fact, you told me I was laying on Daddy's pillow and you made me move!! Don't worry - I am not jealous at all. I know it's just a matter of time when you realize I'm the BEST! :) j/k

* You ADORE Logan. Every morning you run into her room and you love dressing up in her clothes!

* You are very sweet and gentle with Brenna, and we are working on your sharing skills with her :)

* You love to sing - your favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle little star, ABC's, Row, Row Row your Boat, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and If you're Happy and You know it!

* One of your favorite things to say when you want someone to stop doing something is "HEEEEYYYY, Don't do that!" It is so adorable!

* You truly brighten our lives little Hay-Hay, and the past TWO years have been such a blessing with you!!!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Mommy loves you BIIIIIIGGGGGG much (as you like to say!)

Sisters

I have been thinking a lot lately about how valuable relationships are. And I really believe that there are few bonds closer than that of sisters. I know this first hand from the frienship that I've built over the years with my own sister. We recently talked about how we are very unconditional with one another. And our relationship really seems effortless. We don't have to think before we speak, or censor our words. We don't even have to talk if silence is what we need. We can laugh together, cry together, drink a bottle of wine together....I feel very blessed to have her in my life, and I do not take for granted how special she is to me, and to my kids.

Of course, witnessing my own girls form that very special bond has been such an amazing experience. There's so much about motherhood that has caught me by surprise, but I'd have to say, the joy that I get just from watching my girls interact with one another has been one of the most pleasant surprises of them all! When I just had Logan, I thought being a mom was tough - and it was. But then when we went from one child to two, I realized how easy I actually had it! And then, we added Brenna to the mix (ha ha) and boy was I in for it! It is not easy raising three kids, and three GIRLS - I'll tell you that much. But, in doing so, I gave my kids the most priceless gift in the world - I gave them SISTERS who have forever changed their lives for the better. I know mine has!!!

Here are just a few snapshots of my girls forming life long bonds with one another....

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James