Haylee

     Today is Haylee's 8th birthday!  She is so excited to finally be 8 years old and get to be baptized.  It was a bittersweet day for Haylee.  She loved the part about getting presents and having her birthday dinner.  But unfortunately she also had to go to school and had lots of homework that is due tomorrow.  So sadly, much of her birthday was spent doing homework.  But I was able to go into her class this afternoon and bring a treat for her and her classmates.  We had oreo ice cream sandwiches.  She opened her presents before school this morning.  We bought her a zebra jewelry set (earrings and a matching necklace), a soccer ball, a littlest pet shop basset hound, and a "polly pocket" sized Tangled set.  She had her eye on the Tangled doll and was planning on buying it for herself.  I made her wait saying that she shouldn't make an impulse purchase.  The look on her face when she opened it was priceless.  I knew she would be excited but I actually hadn't predicted just how excited she would be.  So unfortunately I didn't have the camera ready to capture the adorable look on her face.  But I was so happy that we were able to surprise her with something she really wanted.  (She knew about the jewelry because she had picked it out herself and begged for it.)

     Yesterday we had a fun morning.  Joey and Grace Cannon had spent the night the night before and Haylee and Grace got up early to make breakfast for everyone.  We usually don't do sleepovers but this was an emergency situation.  Natalee and Katie had an early morning field trip and Ronelle was signed up to chaperone.  Then Brent had to go on travel for work.  So Natalee was at the Cannons so she could get up early and go on the field trip with Ronelle and Katie.  Joey and Grace came to school with us.  So back to breakfast.
     Haylee and Grace wanted to make breakfast for everyone so Haylee got out a notebook and asked people what they wanted to eat.  I knew she was making waffles but I didn't know about her being a waitress and taking orders until after they left for school.  This was what I found on the notebook:

Joey  waphles
Kelsey  waphles
Haylee waphles
Mackenzie  oatmeal
Darren, waffles

     "Mackenzie  oatmeal" had been crossed out which explained why Mackenzie had come into my room crying that she wanted oatmeal for breakfast and Haylee was making her eat waffles.  I was also amused that she chose the 'ph' spelling for waffles but then somehow managed to spell it right on Daren's order.  The other thing I noticed was that she spelled Daren's name with 2 r's.  I usually always spell it with 1 r but of course we always use 2 r's for legal documents.  So I guess Haylee has picked up on the '2 r' spelling.  She's a really cute kid and I just love that she loves cooking so much.  She even checked out a children's cookbook for her library book this week.  I can't wait until she takes over for me completely.  I will happily let cooking dinner be her main chore in our home!

More Teeth and a Birthday

     I have been slow about posting because I'm currently out of picture space for my blog.  I need to delete some pictures but I'm waiting for my blog book to be completed before I do that.  Nate has some brand new teeth up top!  He has his two middle front teeth with the two teeth on either side ready to break through any day now.  I love his new adorable smile.  It's fun to see him growing but at the same time sad to see him leaving behind his bay stages.
     Nate isn't the only one growing up.  Mackenzie turned 6 last Thursday!  She really wanted Littlest Pet Shop toys so she got plenty of those.  She also picked out some adorable white and purple roller skates (with sparkly wheels).  Haylee wanted to give her some presents too so she very thoughtfully went through her own toys and picked some out to give to Mackenzie.  She gave her some of her toys that were her favorites at one time: her Sleeping Beauty castle, her Princess Cash Register (when she first got it she always called it her cashishtray), and a few other little toys.  It was very sweet of her and she made Mackenzie so happy.  I love it when they do kind things for each other.
     Hopefully I will have pictures posted soon!

Mackenzie got spoiled by her sisters.

Haylee gave Mackenzie her old Sleeping Beauty castle AND her old princess cash register.  What a score for Mackenzie!

The Littles Pet Shop car Daren and I gave her.

Other Littlest Pet Shop toys and her cute new roller skates.

So many presents from Mom and Dad and sisters!  This girl is VERY loved!

     Kelsey is always saying cute things.  The other girls say cute things too but Kelsey is the one I talk to all day long.  One morning last week as I was getting Nathan ready for the day I was making him smile and calling him "Nathan William Hardy."  So then I called Kelsey, "Kelsey Rose Hardy" and asked her what Nathan's name was.  I thought she would repeat 'Nathan William Hardy' like I was just saying.  Instead she said, "Handsome!"  I said, "But what's his whole name?" So she said, "Handsome Boy!"  I guess we call him that a lot. :)  He is a handsome boy!

Oh Poop!

     I believe I have managed to keep poop stories out of my blog thus far.  I haven't even told any tales of blown out diapers or poop-smeared carpets that had to be cleaned even though it happens ALL THE TIME with this little guy!  But this one is too funny so I have to tell it.
     The other day I was changing yet another poopy diaper.  Kelsey was kneeled down by me watching and she said, "Ewwww!  That looks like llama poop!"  I don't know when Kelsey ever saw llama poop before, but all the girls gathered around so they could see Nate's 'llama poop.'  This morning I was changing his diaper again.  He's been a little sick and it was kind of different looking.  I didn't notice Kelsey kneeling by me again until she said, "That's ladybug poop!"  It looks like we have a very talented little boy with the ability to poop like many different kinds of animals.  I'll keep you posted (or Kelsey will) on any new animal poops he comes out with. :)

Pictures In/On the Fridge

     Most mornings are pretty hectic when we're getting ready for school. This morning was no different. Nate isn't feeling well so he was up a lot last night and cranky when he woke up this morning. He was okay in his high chair with cereal for a little bit, but not for long. He was screaming but I had to get the kids' lunches made and somehow convince Mackenzie to stop throwing a temper tantrum and get dressed. I also wanted to be at the school a little early to give them some stuff for track and field day. It was all very overwhelming. Kelsey decided that she was going to draw me some pictures. She brought over a piece of paper that had some pencil scribbles on it and said, "It's for you Mommy." I told her it was beautiful and asked if she wanted to add a little color to it. I thought I could distract her by getting her to color. But she just scribbled a little more and tried ot give it to me again. I told her I loved it and she should put it on the fridge for me. She happily ran off.
     I got back to getting the kids ready and forgot about Kelsey and the pictures until I walked into the kitchen. I looked over and saw her putting papers in the refrigerator. At first I was confused but then I remembered that I had told her to put pictures on the fridge. I quickly said, "Not 'IN' the fridge Kelsey! 'ON' the fridge." She smiled her sweet little smile and said, "Okay," and took them out of the refrigerator and hung them on the outside of it with her magnets.
     Kelsey really is my independent little girl. She likes to do things for herself and she doesn't get frustrated as she tries to solve problems. We were teaching Natalee how to use the vacuum cleaner a few days ago so she could do some vacuuming for her chores. Kelsey wanted to vacuum too so we got the little floor vacuum cleaner out for her. She was doing an amazing job all by herself. We watched her from the living room as she pulled chairs out from the kitchen table, vacuumed where they were, and then put them back. It was very grown up.
     Last night Kelsey was playing with Haylee's balloon and she was laying all over it and pushing on it.  I was sure she was going to pop it so I asked Daren to take it away from her.  He put it up high on top of the entertainment center.  She cried for a few seconds then just left the room.  A minute later she came back in carrying our big kitchen stool.  She put it next to the entertainment center, climbed up, realized that she was still too short and headed back out of the living room.  A few seconds later she is back pushing a kitchen chair.  She moves some toys out of the way until the kitchen chair is pushed up next to the entertainment center.  She climbs up and says, "Still too short!"  She climbs back down and heads back into the kitchen.  She is about to lay Nate's pajamas on the chair when Haylee says, "That won't work Kelsey."  So she drops the PJ's and starts to look for something else.  I was completely enjoying watching her but Haylee took pity on her and climbed on the stool and got the balloon for her.
     Another thing she has done to help us out is make bottles for Nathan.  He'll be a little fussy and she'll hear me say to Daren that I think he needs a bottle.  I won't even realize that she was listening or that she went into the kitchen.  The next thing we know she'll be bringing us a bottle of formula.  Of course we have no idea what the water/formula ratio is when she makes the bottle.  And often the water is cold.  She actually stopped doing that a month or so ago because I explained to her that Mommy and Daddy need to be the ones to make the bottles.
     Other times I turn around and she'll be taking a yogurt and spoon to the kitchen table.  Did I say she could have a yogurt?  No, she just decided she was hungry and took care of it herself.  She really is a grown-up barely 3 year old and I absolutely adore her.  I enjoy all of the fun new things she says and does.

4 Little Cooks

Grandma Poetschlag made these aprons for the girls for Christmas. I should have taken a picture like this last year but I never did it. Then they all put their aprons on one morning (Feb. 6, 2011) to make breakfast. They are getting to be good little cooks.

Warm Cookies

Maybe because it's cold and windy out today (with a chance of snow, the forecast says!), but for some reason Kelsey asked if we could make cookies this morning. She's never asked to do this before and Nate was sound asleep, so it was the perfect opportunity. I measured the ingredients then handed them to Kelsey to pour into the bowl. She helped me use the mixer until her hand got tired. I put the cookies on the cookie sheet since Kelsey was a little more interested in eating cookie dough at that point. She watched them cook through the oven door and then we both enjoyed a couple of yummy warm cookies. Perfect for a chilly day like today!

P.S. If you're wondering about her footwear, I had a presidency meeting this morning and she couldn't find the match to either pair of these shoes. Since they each went with a different foot, she just wore the two she could find. She makes me smile. :)

Busy Boy!

Look what Nathan is getting really good at lately! He has pulled himself up on things a couple of times before but this morning he decided he'd better do it several times and get his picture taken. Kelsey saw the camera out and decided she needed her picture taken too. :)