Perfect SMILE!

Connor had his first visit to the dentist last week! He was such a trooper. He asked all sorts of questions and was thrilled to pick out strawberry toothpaste and grape flouride. Yum?!? All of his teeth looked great. I was so proud and relieved (since anything wrong would be MY fault)!!

He looks so big in the chair. Oh my . . . the milestones are piling up and my little boy is starting to look too big. Hmmm.

So thankful!!

Our dinner time project this month was creating our thankful list. Last year we had to prompt the boys with things that they could be thankful for. This year, they ran the show. What fun for us! Connor started asking about what everyone was thankful for even as we were setting the table. I have to admit, that not everything made the list. Not so much that I was censoring it (well, maybe sometimes) but mostly because I got caught up in the conversation and by the time I had a chance to record what had been shared, my memory failed. Argh.







Some disclaimers and side notes . . . order does not matter. We really only added one thing a night. Some nights were skipped and some nights we added a couple more.

To read the list, you can click on the pics and they will get big! I finally figured out how to do this. It has taken me awhile to catch on. :)

I know that my drawings are amazing (ha!). But, it is the only way for the boys to be able to "read" the list. So, draw I must. I do think I may invest in those "people colored" markers next year. It may improve my stick people a bit. Maybe.

God is really not the last. He is the first, the middle, and the end. We just saved His spot at the bottom.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ponderings . . . is that even a word?!?

As I was pouring little cups--our recycled Diego and Kung Fu Panda yogurt cups, mind you--of Goldfish for the boys, the thought crossed my mind that there may be a day when Goldfish crackers are for "babies" and the boys want nothing to do with them. My mind drifted for a moment and I thought of several more things that I may count as "annoying" somedays . . . and instead I should be treasuring.

Carrying Anderson! Andy often decides that his legs are REALLY REALLY REALLY hurting and needs to be carried. Yesterday it happened in the grocery store. I shrugged it off for awhile and he stayed in the plastic car at the front of the groceries. But his love bank must have been empty and he insisted on being held. So, I held him. I really don't know how I made it through Fry's pushing the awkward racecar cart of food with one hand, keeping track of Connor (yes, he needed out of the car now too), and making silly faces at Kyndall to keep her happy, all while hanging on to a limp 37 pound Anderson. Forget the grocery shopping. I must have been a sight. But, I know the day is coming that no one even wants to be at the grocery store with me and even the free cookies at the bakery won't help. Okay, I will treasure these moments and wink at my kids in the midst of it.

Buckling carseats. 3 of them. If everyone just sat down right away, very still, it may not be so challenging. But there are wiggles, lots of "help", and straps that are TOO tight even though they have not been adjusted since we were in the car last. And that is when everyone is in a good mood. Sometimes while I am buckling, we count or sing or play some sort of tickly game, and it makes the chore a little easier. In this carseat season, I think that I am going to be thankful that my kids are safely traveling to and from preschool, church, soccer, and the houses of friends in my backseat and I am the keeper of their schedule. I know it won't always be that way. Oh! I just remembered that one-two-buckle my shoe rhyme. I will have to use that next.

I am sure my Pollyanna game will need to continue. Right now, I am off to fill a sippie cup and check on someone who has been in the bathroom far too long.

An autumn adventure!

We took a trip to see FALL colors and experience FALL temperatures (well, low 70's instead of high 80's) on Monday! What fun! The boys had a blast running in the grass, crunching leaves, following a creek, and climbing rocks.

Raspberries and more raspberries!!!

Kyndall got a sweet gift from her auntie this weekend! So cute! My sister is so talented . . . and possibly has too much time on her hands!! What a lucky lil' niece.

Here is a video of the other raspberries that have been appearing at dinner. How do all these little babies learn to do such a frustratingly cute trick?!?! Luckily her cream colored shirt is still that color. Somehow it avoided the speckles of carrot. Praises!!

Celebrating SUPER ANDY!

Anderson loves all sorts of superheroes, and so we celebrated his 3rd birthday with a Superhero Party!

Here are some pics!

Before Jon's "Superhero Training Course". He is such a creative game-guy! I love it!!

Aunt Jen's cupcakes were amazing!! Anderson, however, was a little unsure about having all the eyes on him. Good thing he had a brother and cousins to help him blow out the candles since he wanted nothing to do with it. We are giving Andy more candle-blowing opportunities with the leftover cupcakes. All is good!

Connor kept saying---"Andy, what did WE get???" Argh.

Their first clue in their hunt for Doctor Octopus and the prizes he had taken hostage. I love watching the kiddos run from clue to clue! Treasure hunts have become a sort of a Hatch family tradition. The boys can't get enough of them. Neither can Jon and I. And, I am sure little Kyndall will join right in as soon as possible.

These are a "hit"! Gotta love his smile.

Fall Festivities

The last couple weeks have been busy with fall fun! Below are some pics from all of it . . . time sure does fly!!

Harvest Party on October 24th

We had 58 people in attendance! Wow! However, that included 27 kiddos at least 6 of which can't walk yet. It is great to have so many friends all in the same stage of life . . . we all understand when someone has to run away from a conversation to help a kid. So great!

Carving Our Pumpkin

Jon cleaned it out and I carved the face on it . . . good teamwork. Anderson would not have anything to do with feeling the "googly gook" inside of the pumpkin. So funny! We thought he was just being difficult so Jon playfully grabbed his hand and stuck it in. Oh the TEARS!!! We may have scarred him for life . . . time will tell!

Trick or Treating

Halloween night we went to Uncle Eric and Aunt Kris' house for dinner and trick or treating fun. Jared and Tyler were so fun as Anakin (Jared) and Diego (Tyler)!! Silly me didn't take one picture of all the kids together . . . I think I was a little distracted by all the fun! I did capture a couple pics before we left. Notice Anderson's change of heart . . . he ditched the cowboy duds for the Buzz Lightyear costume. Oh well. I figure whatever is in the dress-up box is game. We had a happy kid and didn't spend any extra money. Good enough!


Kyndall turned 6 months old!! Wow! She is truly a happy and easy-going little gal. Her giggles make all of us smile. I have tried to get them on film, but everytime I get the camera out, she gets distracted. Hopefully I will catch her by surprise soon!

Anderson's third birthday was yesterday!! He got to spend some quality time with Dad in the morning eating pancakes at McDonald's. He came home all smiles with a special Batman action figure. What a proud little guy he was!! When we picked up Connor, he got stickers from Connor's teacher. All the special treats made the fact that he and I are fighting a cold a little better! Yea! We are celebrating tomorrow night with family and friends . . . FUN!

Soccer Buds

The Hatch brothers have taken the field for their first season of being on the same team! The first two practices and first game have been fun. Connor has taken a special interest in making sure that Anderson knows where to go and telling him what he should do. Gotta love big brothers!

The sweetest moment so far was before the first practice began. We were looking for their team on the field and so the boys were watching some bigger kids practice. Connor put his arm around Andy's shoulders and said so sincerely and with such excitement, "Andy, this is going to be so much fun!" Yes, I teared up. What else was I supposed to do?!?!

First team meeting! They named their team the "Elephants". I am a little concerned that a certain redhead may have suggested the name. Oh my!

Before the first game!

I was "Tagged".

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:

• Survivor
• Amazing Race
• Jon and Kate Plus 8
• Wheel of Fortune . . . wish it didn't come on during family time.
• King of Queens reruns. They are new to me! :)
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (So fun to watch with the boys!)
• Curious George (I seriously do love this one, so calming!)
• Sportscenter---really I have seen enough of it that I have grown to actually like it! Sick, I know.

8 Things that happened yesterday:

• Made beans for a potluck.
• Went to church!
• Hung out with friends at a potluck!
• Took a nap!! Not on the floor and not with a kiddo! Yea!
• Danced with the boys . . . the little ones. :) Dad was at church.
• Gave baths, read stories, tucked in two boys and a girl.
• Breathed
• Watched Amazing Race with Jon when he got home.

8 Favorite Places to Eat:

• Home . . . at the table or on the patio.
• Anywhere with happy kids who eat willingly!
• The Islands
• BJ's Pizza on Balboa Peninsula
• Paradise Bakery (Love sharing a sandwich with my mom!)
• Chipotle (It makes Jon so happy!)
• Pizza on any beach . . . a ritual with Jon and I.
• PBJ in any park . . . well almost any. Not too close to the ducks. Ugh.

8 Things I'm Looking forward to:

• Our anniversary tomorrow!
• Soccer season beginning
• Seeing Andy in his jersey . . . so cute!
• Annual Harvest party
• Dressing the kiddos up to trick or treat with their cousins
• Anderson's third birthday
• Thanksgiving
• Putting up the Christmas tree!!!!

8 Things on My Wish List:

• A haircut . . . scissors are dangerous around me right now!
• A completed "to-do" list . . . completely unrealistic, I know.
• A trip to see the changing leaves.
• Time to read the book on my nightstand.
• New knock-knock jokes to teach Connor . . . the current ones are getting OLD.
• More hair on Kyndall's head . . . so a barrette will stay!
• Time to watch August Rush . . . we borrowed it months ago from a friend.
• Being able to take a class towards my Master's.

8 People I tag??? How about "The 8 people I wish had a blog":

• Jen
• Janeen
• Uncle David
• Jon
• Tina
• Karyn
• Aunt Regina
• Kris

Thanks Alli and Audrey . . . now people know how goofy my life really is! Hee hee!!

Yum?!?!

Our perfect 8pm till 7am sleeper has been waking up several times in the middle of the night fussy and seeming hungry . . . so we decided to try a serving of rice cereal tonight to possibly help with the tummy grumbles.

The boys thought the stuff looked good . . . I would have to argue that one. It was fun watching her figure out what to do! Her tongue played with it and her faces were classic. And, I was happy to pull out a PINK bib and PINK baby spoon for the occasion! No mixing up these "first eating pics" with the ones from the boys!

You have to love Anderson's encouraging words! "Is that yummy??? Is it???" Hee hee!!

To Infinity and Beyond!!

All the links from our "Countdown to Disneyland" chain were all pulled off Saturday morning. It was time to head to the airport and begin the Hatch family vacation with Jon's family---our family plus Granddad and Grandma Hatch, Uncle Jason, Aunt RJ, Deanna, Dylan, and Aunt Jen!!

Connor put his Mickey Mouse ears on about 2 seconds after we woke him up at 5:30am to catch our flight. He was so excited!! We brought Anderson's ears with us too . . . but he maybe wore them for 2 seconds throughout the whole trip. It wasn't worth the picture to force him into it.

We headed to the beach to play after we landed. Okay, honestly, everyone else played and I shivered. It was really chilly!

We celebrated Grandma Hatch's birthday at Goofy's Kitchen! The boys loved getting to be up close with the characters . . . and their dad loved the dessert buffet.

We spent the rest of the time at Disneyland and California Adventure. Some of the favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (everyone loves this one!), Toy Story Mania (can anyone guess what our favorite movie is?!?!), Autopia, the entire Bug's Life Land, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I say these are our favorites, but if you start talking about practically any other ride to Connor and Andy, that one would need to be added to the list also. Fun stuff!

Bat fanatics!

Last week I pulled out the bat unit I created when I was teaching and Connor and Anderson and I have been working on it. I guess in a way it is my attempt to justify the two huge cabinets of school stuff I have sitting in my garage.

However, the boys have been loving it! They know more about bats than really necessary---especially the stuff about the "guano". We have read books and sequenced a story, made a chart, and watched a couple of videos. There has been more "squeaking" around our house than really necessary, but all in the name of learning!

To entertain us parents, Jon and I scared them with a HUGE bat that we hung over one of the doorways in our house after they went to bed. I had picked it up one year really cheap after Halloween and stuck it in my file unused. We laughed the whole time we assembled it thinking about what Connor and Andy's reaction would be in the morning. Their faces met our expectations! So funny!

We topped it off on Monday night with a trip to watch the bats emerge from their roost near the Biltmore area in Phoenix. So fun!

Worth the wait . . . and the crazy looks I got from my family while they wondered if the bats were really going to show up. They did! It just took them a little bit after sunset. I guess they were sleeping in a little.

The "story" continued . . .

Well, today someone may have asked what Anderson's story was . . . but not meant it in the same way. Argh.

Apparently, he was "delightful" during his Bible class this morning according to his teacher. But immediately afterward had a change of heart. He wanted to be held. Unfortunately, I had Kyndall in my arms since she was too grumpy and sleepy for her carseat. Along with her I had her "bucket" seat, diaper bag, my purse, Bible, and the crafts and papers from Connor and Andy's class. Holding him wasn't an option. So he proceeded to have a fit---falling to the ground, begging while holding onto my feet, refusing to get in the car, and screaming nasty words while we were driving home (yes, "stupid" is considered evil in our house). Needless to say, it was a tough day.

Two year olds! Gotta love them!! Good thing for Anderson that I truly do.

What's HIS story?!?!

On Thursday, I got the chance to take Anderson to storytime at the library all by himself since Connor was in preschool and Kyndall was being cuddled at home by Grandma Hart. This week has been a little crazy and I honestly was tempted by the idea of letting Dora the Explorer entertain us, but we pressed on with the original plan and even made it to the library on time.

This was the first storytime for only 2 year olds of the new school year and really Anderson's first time ever. He didn't know what to expect and was a little shy at the beginning. But, he warmed up. He counted the monkeys, guessed which color house the mouse was in, clapped for the stories, and did the Hokey Pokey. He sat on his carpet square (of course he picked orange, his favorite!) and stood right next to me when he was doing the rhymes to get all the wiggles out. At one point, he needed to be held. But after a minute or so, he was right back in the action.

At the end of the planned activities, they put out some puzzles, and Anderson waited in line for his shot at them. They were 8-10 piece puzzles with pegs . . . so last year for him. Ha! But, he waited for a kid to finish each one so that he could have a turn. When he finished them all, he told me he was ready to go home. About that time, a mom came to me and asked me--"What's HIS story?" I was a little unsure of what she was asking but she then asked why he listened so well while the other kids were running around and why he paid such close attention. Honestly, I hadn't noticed so much. It was just Andy. But, it started me thinking about what HIS story was . . . here is what I have come up with.

He has an older brother who ADORES him. Honestly. Connor doesn't want to do anything fun without him. I think that has made Anderson try that much harder to do everything that Connor does. They will get to play soccer together on the same team this year and I don't know who is more excited---Connor or Andy. Both of their eyes lit up when we told them. He tries every stunt, laughs at all the jokes, and watches whatever Connor does.

Anderson ADORES his little sister. Truly. She can barely let out a cry before Anderson is telling me that she is upset and running to figure out if he can help. When we got ready to go to the store last week, he was busy gathering a binky, blanket, and doll for Kyndall. He talks to her while she swings, "reads" stories to her, puts on Superhero shows while she plays in the exersaucer, and replaces her binky when it falls out because she is giggling at him.

He cracks his parents up and tests our ability to discipline with a straight face in the midst of a hilarious moment! He has called his dad an "idiot" at the dinner table (I don't think he will do that again, but it was a classic Hatch family moment) and calls down to me while heading upstairs for his nap---"Goodnight sweetheart". His arms cross in front of him as he supervises anyone elses puzzle doing. You can actually see him tense up if a piece is being tried in the wrong spot. His favorite sayings are, "Aw man" and "you've got to be kidding me". Lately his favorite Diamondback is "Andy Jackson" . . . if there is a Connor (or Conor) Jackson, there must be an Andy Jackson too, right?!?!

Of course, he has his two-year-old moments, but most of the time he is a pretty easy-going kid with a special spunk about him.

I guess I am not sure what his "story" will be, but I am so thankful that I get to watch it unfold. God has been so good to give us an Anderson . . . alongside a Connor and a Kyndall.

Ready or not, here we come!

Friday is normally Jon's day off and our day for family fun. Yesterday we started with an early morning game of hide and seek! Such fun! Connor and Anderson are getting better at hiding . . . and staying in their spot long enough for someone to actually find them. Kyndall loves to be a part by tagging along with the seekers.

Jon and I love hiding the boys. They are just the right size to fit in all kinds of great places. And, if they are anything like their dad, they won't grow out of that anytime soon. We have found Jon cramed into the top shelf of a closet (yes, I would have liked to have a video of him getting in there), perched on a plant shelf, and curled up like a ball and looking like dirty laundry---so much so that it took over ten minutes to find him. So, thankfully, I think we have many more games of hide and seek in our future.

Here are some of our favorite spots during this round. I only wish you could hear the muffled giggles from the "hider", the squeals when the "seeker" gets startled, and those precious looks of anticipation when we reminded them to be quiet in their spot and when they began their hunt very cautiously not wanting to get scared. Oh, and the counting was funny too. My favorite number was eleven-teen. Not to mention the new order that Anderson gave to all the numbers over 15. Classic!! Such great laughs and memories.


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A Preschool PRO!

It was Connor's first day of preschool! He had been looking forward to this morning for weeks. This past weekend he kept asking if it was Tuesday yet. So, this morning when he could see on our calendar that today was preschool, he had a great big smile! He did great!! Wish I could say the same for his mom. I saved face, for the most part, in front of him. But the drive back home was a disaster. Boo hoo! It almost felt tougher because he was so happy and acted so independent. Funny---it is what we wanted for him, but it also hurt my "mommy heart". Here are some pics from this morning.

All ready to go!

I know he is still little, but there are times when he seems so BIG.

This is one of them!

Getting settled with his teacher, Ms. Bobbi. She is so sweet!!

It seemed that Connor was thinking---

"Mom--are you really still here?!?! How many times do I have to tell you goodbye? I am fine. And, why are your eyes so red and shiny? You are ridiculous!!!"

One of Connor's first day projects. I was smart and didn't read it till I got home. Then I cried without embarassment. Ha! Pathetic, I know.