Saying more goodbyes

Part of the mystery of life is trying to figure out our purpose here on earth as well as God's plan for us. With all of the events that have happened in the past few weeks, these thoughts have been on the forefront of my mind.

Yesterday morning my cousin Lisa passed away. Lisa was 38 years old and had 5 children ranging in ages from 16 to 3 years old. Leah, the youngest, just had her third birthday a few weeks ago. Lisa found out that she had cancer when she had a large tumor removed from her abdomen just this last March...now she is gone...it happened that quickly. Now there are 5 heartbroken children and a very broken family left here on earth without her. I have to say, I don't understand. I accept it because I know it was God's will, but I don't understand. There has to be a bigger plan, but what could that POSSIBLY be?

Lisa was a VERY smart woman who could talk to anyone about anything. She was incredibly dedicated to her family, both immediate and people further down the bloodline. Lisa enjoyed good jokes and the noise level that many children brought. She was a devout Catholic who celebrated her faith and lived it in her daily life. Lisa was the social coordinator, always trying to get cousins and family together to hang out. Even in her final days while she was surrounded by her family, Lisa was able to bask in the attention and stories that all her family brought to her.

This next week will be such a trying time for Lisa's family, preparing for her funeral and burial. Please keep them in your prayers.

We will miss you Lisa.

We love you Pop-pop!

Aaron and Pop-pop in July 2007

Sad news in the Hawley house. Adam's paternal Granfather, Edward Hawley, passed away this morning. Pop-pop was 90 years old and lived a very blessed life. He was a very spiritual man and his dedication to his Catholic faith was an inspiration to all. Up until just a few years ago Pop-pop could be found on the basketball court with his grandson Brian and son Dan shooting some hoops. He could also be found during the week at St. Francis volunteering as an Alter Server at daily masses and funerals. He dearly loved his wife of 60 years, Audrey, as well as his sons Steve (my father in law) and Dan and their wives Jeannie (my mother in law) and Mary. Throughout their childhood Dan and Mary's sons Chris and Brian were lucky enough to have Pop-pop as part of their daily lives. Nana and Pop-pop lived pretty close by in New Jersey and were able to spend much time with them.

Although Adam was out in California he had a very special relationship with Pop-pop as well. Adam always enjoyed spending vacations back in New York with all is family. Adam and his father were able to go to New York just this last August and celebrate Pop-pop's 90th birthday with him. I know that they treasured every moment they had with him on that trip.

Pop-pop absolutely googled over his Great-grandchildren, Alec, Aaron and Ashley. The last time we were all out was in July of 2007. Alec and Aaron were running around like crazy kids and Nana and Pop-pop were enjoying every moment of it. Pop-pop's eyes just lit up when whenever he saw them. I was pregnant with Ashley at the time so technically she was able to meet him as well. :)

My grandfathers passed away when I was younger so Pop-pop really took on the roll of grandfather with me. Although I did not get to see him as often as we would wish, the time we did spend together was incredibly meaningful to me. Pop-pop was always complimenting me on what a sweet girl I was and how glad he was that Adam and I found eachother. I thank the Lord every day that He gave me Adam in my life and that Adam came with such a loving family that I could count as my own.

We will miss you Pop-pop!

Adam and Pop-pop in 1978

Thursday 10

Well, what do ya know? It is Thursday and I am posting!! Wonders will never cease!! Ok, it is actually that I am procrastinating all the other stuff I have to do right now. Oh well, whatever gets me to blog!!

1. Adam has been out of town in Sacramento all this week at training and I am leaving at 8:00 tonight to fly up and join him! Tomorrow we will be driving to Tahoe to spend the weekend and then we fly home on Monday night. All of this WITHOUT kids!! YIKES!! I miss them already!

2. Alec comes up to me on Sunday and says to me, "Mommy, do you know what disingenuous is?" I say that no, I don't. He says, "It means a tree where the leaves fall to the ground. When they stay up in the tree they are a evergreen!" OMG. I LOVE all he is learning in kindergarten!

3. Speaking of kindergarten, homework kicked in last week. Each week they get a homework packet with something for them to do each night. Alec has been so excited to do it. We will see how long that excitement lasts!

4. Every day that Aaron comes home from preschool I ask him what he talked about that day. He ALWAYS responds, "dinosaurs and fire trucks." I am going to have to talk to the teachers and see if that is even remotely true!!

5. I am TOTALLY distraught that Jerell was kicked off of Project Runway last night and Kinnley made it to Bryant Park. Kinnley's dress was MUCH better but I just can't stand her as a person OR most of her designs. I am DYING to see what happens next week!!

6. Sad one...a couple of weeks ago Carol passed away. She was a wonderful woman who fought a brave fight. Many prayers go out to her husband Brad and their son Brady. I can not even imagine.

7. Since we are on the topic of prayers, please keep Jim Morin in your prayers! He received a double lung transplant a few weeks ago. He has had set back after set back in his recovery. Jim is an amazing man who has SO much more to give to this earth. Please pray for a full recovery as well as strength for his wife Pat.

8. CONGRATULATIONS to Allie, Jason and Brooklyn on their growing family!! Allie found out last week that she is expecting a new little one in June! I can't wait to be an Auntie again!!!

9. Congratulations also to Big Ashley and Matt who were married on September 20th. We wish you the best in your life together!!

10. We had a BLAST at Ashley's 1st birthday party last week and I promise I will post about it soon...but definitely not until AFTER Tahoe!!

Alright, I gotta go pack!!

Happy 1st Birthday Ashley!

Boy is it hard to even imagine that it has been one whole year since Ashley was born! I know this is so cliche to say, but it has gone SO fast! It seems like just yesterday that I was balling my eyes out by the overwhelming feeling of joy at having given birth to a beautiful daughter. 12 short months later I am still filled with that joy along with so many other feelings, the most being contentment, gut wrenching love, and excitement for what the future holds.



Contentment comes in the form of absolutely loving my family and not wanting a thing to change. After having the boys I felt happy, but still felt that something was missing. Although I had those feelings, I just could not wrap my mind around having another child. I wanted a girl so badly that I could not see straight. I did not want to feel at all disappointed if we tried for another and it was a boy. I know this sounds shallow, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys with a fierce passion, but I wanted a girl. When we found out we were pregnant with number 3 I really tried not to get my hopes up. I will never forget that feeling disbelief and joy when the ultrasound tech said that it was a girl. NOW my family would be complete! As much as I would love to go thru it all again, Adam and I both agree that our family feels right just the way it is. Ashley, my gift from God, has completed our already wonderful family.



The gut-wrenching love that I feel for Adam and all three of my kids is something that I longed for all my life. I always knew that I wanted to be a mother and a wife. I knew that I would love my husband and kids, but I never knew just how passionately I would feel that love. All of this love comes in so many different forms. Just watching my kids all play together so nicely (for the two seconds each day that happens), watching them achieve milestones, or even sneaking in at night to watch them sleep. One of my favorite things to do...and I have done this with all of my kids when they were babies...is at least once a week I will sneak into Ashley's room, pick her up about a 1/2 hour before I am going to go to bed and bring her downstairs with me. She snuggles her head into my neck the entire way downstairs and then perks up while we quietly "chat", giggle and smile together on the couch. After about 10 minutes I take her back upstairs and put her back in her crib. She lays right back down, thumb goes back in the mouth, snuggles up to her taggie blanket and falls back asleep. I LOVE those nights. Again, GUT WRENCHING LOVE. No other way to describe it.



My excitement for what the future holds is based on getting to see just what kind of a little lady Ashley turns into. Will she be a girlie girl? If mommy has her way, then yes! Will she want to keep up with her big brothers and become a tom boy? It's ok if she does. When I picture my dream future with Ashley it is filled with baking Christmas cookies together (with Alec also helping and Aaron eating of course), taking her to tap class and sitting in a recital hall watching hours of other people's children dance just to see mine on the stage for 2 minutes. It will hopefully be finding the balance between being a guide for Ashley thru her teenage years so that she does not fall into bad habits, but also maintaining a close relationship with her so that she can come to me as a confidant when needed. I look forward to the day when I look down the church aisle and see Adam leading his daughter down it, and even watching her become a Mom.

Thank you Ashley for being my sweet little daughter!

I love your scrunchy nose smiles.
I love that your face lights up any time that your brothers enter the room.
I love that you are a mommy's girl.
I love that you growl at me when you are in a silly mood.
I love how your eyes light up when someone is really entertaining you.
I love when you snuggle with your Daddy.
I love that you wake up with a smile every single morning.
I love YOU!!

My sweetheart the morning of her 1st birthday. Sorry!! I tried my best, but it was just a BAD hair morning!!

Thursday Ten...on Friday

Ok, so yesterday's ten did not happen, but at least I am doing it today, right? Here we go!!

1. My sisters, my mom and I went to go see Wicked in LA on Wednesday night, courtesy of my Dad! I had seen the show before, but it was the first time for Amy, Allie and my Mom. They totally enjoyed as did I. It is so nice to be able to spend girl time with my lovely sisters and Mom. They mean the world to me. Thanks SO much Daddy for getting us the tickets!!

2. Aaron started preschool yesterday! I have pictures but have not downloaded them yet. Will do that later and post. He did great and was very happy the entire time. As we walked up he just walked right into the room and started playing. No tears...not even by mommy! He is in GREAT hands there! Today he came out after a few minutes (I was still standing there watching) and asked for another hug and a kiss. SO SWEET!!

3. Ashley's birthday party is 1 week away and I really need to get moving on things!! I reserved the bounce house but have yet to figure out food. I need to call a few places and price out sandwiches. I also have to make the tutu's for the party and put together the favors as well as make a sign...alright, I gotta get moving on it!!!

4. Alec had jean day and crazy hair day at school. He was SO excited to do his own hair this morning. When he finally left for school it had three different products in it and it was STIFF as a board. I totally forgot to get a picture of him though...BAD mom! I will try getting it after school today. Based on how rock hard it was this morning I am sure it should hold thru a 1/2 day of school!

5. The biggest looser started this week. I LOVE this show! It is so inspiring to watch these people go from such a low level of activity to absolutely enjoying life! They totally inspire me! It is ironic, however, that most weeks I sit there watching these people working their butts off while I sit on my duff on the couch usually eating dessert. Not good. :)

6. My Mom and Dad and Jane and Ludy leave for Hawaii tomorrow for a week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jane while she is in Hawaii!! All of you have a SAFE trip and have FUN!!

7. I booked our hotel stay for Adam and I's little anniversary get away in October! We were going to go to Lake Tahoe for 2 days then Napa for 1 1/2 days but there is a minimum 3 hour drive between the two locations so we decided to stay just in Tahoe for the entire time instead. Adam found a beautiful hotel on the California side that has a ton of fun outdoors stuff to do but it is still just a short drive down to the casinos on the Nevada side. I am currently trying to talk Adam into horse back riding. We will see if he does it...he has something against horses. I am SO looking forward to getting away!!

8. We finally decided on Halloween costumes for the kids this week. Alec is going to be Captain Hook (he is SO excited about getting a moustache drawn on his face), Aaron is going to be Peter Pan (He just wants the sward), and Ashley is going to be Tinkerbell. I am going to make Alec and Aaron's costumes, but buy Ashley's from the Disneystore. I am SO excited!! I love Halloween!!

9. Congrats to Amy and Chris on their new addition to their family...Molly the dog!!! You guys will make GREAT parents! :) Plus, it is good practice in case a human bundle of joy comes along!

10. Last for today is a prayer request. Lots of prayers need to be sent out to my friend Carol. She has been battling breast cancer for about 3 years now and has lost the battle. Sadly, Carol is about ready to go at any moment and her husband Brad is doing everything he can to make her comfortable. I met Carol thru Miss Heidi's class where she attended with her little boy, Brady who is 3 years old. Please keep their entire family in your prayers!

Ice...

We had our annual Fiesta this last weekend at Church. I worked the Mom's club confetti egg booth on Friday night then Saturday afternoon/evening Adam worked security. I had to work the booth again on Sunday night so we decided that I would bring the kids down to late Saturday afternoon and have dinner, do rides, and basically give all the money in my wallet to the church in exchange for 2 hours of family fun. Mission accomplished!

Adam's job in working security detail entails walking around every 3 hours and collecting money from all the food/game/ticket booths. The three hours in between the drops he was pretty much free. I came to the Fiesta right after he did a drop and he was able to have dinner and do some rides with us. We feasted on DELICIOUS Filipino food then played some games for the kids stomachs to settle before trying out the rides. The games at the fiesta are pretty typical carnival. Throw a ball into a fish bowl and win a fish (I steered the kids clear of this one!) Throw dimes in glasses and win the glass (I am now the proud owner of a martini glass, campaign flute and a shot glass), as well as many other booths such as skeeball, balloon darts, etc. You name it, we tried it, except for the fish of course, we won nothing, except for the stupid glasses. Oh well, the kids liked it.

After finishing with the games I finally decided that we were ready to attempt some kiddie rides and so we headed in that direction. As we were walking there Alec tugs on my arm and points to a big white trailer with bold black letters saying, "ICE" on the side. No pictures, just that word. He says to me, "Mommy, does that trailer have ice in it?" I say, "Yes, how did you know that?" He says, "It says it!" I was so excited and told him, "Alec!!! You just read that word and knew what was in the there!!" How cool is that? He just read his first word without prompting, without sounding it out, without it being in a book where there is a picture next to it...SO proud!! GO Alec!

We went on as many rides as our tickets would allow and after smashing some confetti eggs on eachother we headed home. I have such fond memories of the fiesta at St. Phillip's growing up and this one had that same feel. Family oriented, good food, good fun and safe. I am so glad that my kids will have the opportunity to build similar memories to what I remember as a child.

Thursday Ten

Copying my dear friend Michelle, I am going to institute a new weekly blog, the Thursday Ten! Let's see if I can keep it going each week!

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear sister Amy! You have had an amazing year with a beautiful wedding to a wonderful man and settling into married life. I am so proud of your accomplishments and thank God every day for giving me such a special sister!

2. Remember 9/11...do you remember where you were on that morning? We were living in our Condo and I was getting ready for work and turned on the radio to listen to Mark and Brian as I always did. I heard what was going on but thought it was another prank by the comedy duo. No such luck. When I realized it was real I ran and turned on the tv and yelled for Adam to come and see. Adam came in, looked at the tv and ran to go get his uniform and gun ready in case he got called in. I will NEVER forget that visual of the airplanes hitting the towers as well as the towers falling. Two weeks before 9/11 we were in Washington DC and New York at both those sites. We went into the world trade center on the path train. As we were walking thru the mall we stopped at a small drug shop to buy some advil for me. The little old man working there commented on what a cute couple we were. He was very sweet. I will always remember that man and I still wonder if he made it out safe. As my husband said this morning, the tragedy on 9/11 truly changed our world.

3. Lots of prayers for my Best and Dearest friend Carrie who has been going thru so much but doing so with dignity and incredible faith. You inspire me.

4. Thank you to all who commented back on my post about Alec hugging and kissing me goodbye! Adam talked to him about it and he has hugged and kissed me goodbye every morning since.

5. Speaking of Alec, he is doing GREAT in kindergarten! His writing is improving tremendously and he is just a chatter box about his day when he comes home. His friends are Melody, Taylor and another girl whose name I can't remember. That's right. Girls. Why? So strange.

6. Aaron, Ashley, myself, my Mom, my Dad and Brooklyn all went to Disneyland yesterday while Alec was in school (ssshhhh...don't tell Alec) We had a wonderful time and the kids were EXHAUSTED by the time we left at 2:00 p.m. I ran into an old friend, Patti, working there that I have not seen in over 10 years. It was so nice to catch up with her and reconnect!

7. The Angels clenched the West yesterday!!! GO ANGELS!!!!

8. I received a link from Baby Center yesterday where you could put in your child's age, height, weight and parents height and it would predict your child's height at 18 years old. Mom and I of course had to try it! Predictions - Alec 6' 1" Aaron 5' 7" Ashley 5' 9" Brooklyn 5' 3" It will be interesting to see how accurate it is!

9. We were in the car on Sunday driving to church and hit some traffic. Adam stopped a bit fast behind one car and once we stopped we hear from the back seat Aaron say, "Come on people!!" hahaha! That is SO something that I say!

10. My sweet little girl is going to be 1 in a couple weeks. That is CRAZY!! Allie and I went to LA last Friday and bought a bunch of stuff for her birthday party. She is growing up SO fast!!

Only 5 days into school...

So, we are what, 5 days into school? I guess Alec is comfortable and likes it there! Grammie and Papa came over with Brooklyn this morning so that I could take Alec to school and get some errands done. It is always so nice taking Alec to school without having to worry about the other two kid-o's. Alec and I chatted and listened to some pirate songs on the way to school. We got out of the car and he held my hand on the way to his classroom. As we walked up to his classroom I leaned down to kiss and hug him, but he walked right past me into the classroom without even looking back! I called after him and he turned around looking at me like, "what?" I guess my little boy is growing up! :(

Now, the question becomes, do I say something to him that it hurt my feelings and that I would like a hug and a kiss from him each morning, or do I accept the fact that he is growing up and let it go? Any opinions my faithful readers?

Let's go back to June...

I know I posted very quickly about our trip to Vegas for Jason and Cristina's wedding while talking about Fathers Day, but I meant to share more. On the way to Vegas it was just Adam, myself, and Alec in the truck. I decided to write down some of the funny things that Alec said on the 3 1/2 hour car ride. I have to say, that much time in a small area with an almost 5 year old can bring out some strange conversations!!

**
Me, "Alec, is your brain a happy place or a scary place?

Alec, "It's a SILLY place!! If you pulled it out, it would look like this..." and he made a VERY funny face!
**

**
Grandma gave Alec some gummy bears to eat in the car and Adam and I were pretending we were going to eat them...

Alec to Adam and I, "GIRL and BOY!!! Don't you eat those!!!"
**

**
While Alec and I were playing pretend...

Alec, "Can I have some Sprite please?"

I pretend to hand him some...after drinking it he sais, "EEWWWW!!! That tastes like a sock!!"
**

**
As we get into Baker, CA to stop and eat some lunch...

"But where is the bakery??"
**

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After taking a short 30 minute nap in the car (YES!!! 30 whole minutes of silence!!!)

"I loved my nap!! My batteries are all charged!!"
**

**
While sitting in traffic just inside of Las Vegas...

"I have an idea in my brain...If I had a REAL light saber then I could zap all these cars away!!"
**

I am sure that most of these were only things that I think are adorable and funny, but I had to get them down somewhere before I forgot all about it!

It's FALL!!! Sort of....

Yesterday Adam and I were cleaning the kitchen after the kids went to bed and we had the sliding door open to the back yard. Adam went outside to clear the plates from the table (we ate outside since it was so pleasant out) and he called me to come outside. There was a bit of a chill in the air and also the smell of someones fireplace going. HELLO FALL!! My favorite time of year! Mind you, it was back to 90 degrees today, but we did get a glimpse of it.

With that glimpse, what did I do? Made some pumpkin pies of course! Hey, it was September 1st, it's not too early, right? YUMMY!!

p.s. Aaron, the child who will not try ANYTHING and hates just about anything that is not fruit, sugar, and carbs, decides that he wants to try pumpkin pie. Of course he loved it! Now I am going to have to share it with him also. Seriously, why does he have to like all the good stuff? Yeah, I know, because he is me as a child. I am getting the, "I hope you have a child just like you someday" end of the stick! Hey, at least I understand where he is coming from! ;)

Waving girl...

So yesterday after church we had to go to Costco to pick up a few things. We did our regular sweep of perimeter of the store and then we went to the middle aisle browse around. Adam and the boys went over to the electronics department and Lee-Lee and I were looking in the clothes. She was in an especially good mood yesterday so I was of course egging her on to make her giggle and smile. At one point I pushed the cart in front of me a few feet and said, "Hi Ashley!!" and waved at her. She, like she had been doing it all her life, waved back with a cheesy scrunched up nose grin on her face and said, "HI!!" OMG!!! I love little milestones like this!

One other first week tidbit!

I forgot this story...I walked into the classroom to pick Alec up on the second day of school (first full day) and he was sitting at his desk playing with a top. After hugging, I asked him where he got the top from. He answered, "The treasure chest! I let another boy have my bike at play time and the teacher saw so she let me pick a toy from the treasure chest!" AAWWWWW!!! He is such a sweetheart! I am so proud of his good heart!

Alec's first day of Kindergarten!

It is so hard to believe, but Wednesday, August 27th was Alec's first day of Kindergarten! We spent the day before getting things together and having a relaxing day so that Alec would be all rested for his first day. On Wednesday morning Alec woke up and was SO excited! Daddy was going to be going into work late so that both Adam and I could take him to school. Grammie, Papa and Brooklyn came over to stay with Aaron and Ashley so that we could give Alec all the attention that morning.

Having gone to Catholic school growing up, Adam was so excited to help out Alec getting dressed. Alec's uniform is blue pants or shorts with a belt, white or light blue polo shirt with St. Joseph logo, and solid color shoes. He picked out a Clone Wars back pack to complete his ensemble!

Alec at the front door of our house ready to go to his first day of school!

Mrs. Knapp was so gracious letting us sappy parents stand around, take pictures, and cry a little bit on the first day. Alec's seat is front and center in the classroom!
Alec and Daddy looking so sweet!

After the photo session in the classroom the parents left and went to the courtyard. On the first day of school they invite the parents to stay for morning prayers. All the students came out and they did announcements, bible reading, listened to Fr. Tim speak, Pledge of Allegiance, and then finally prayers. It was so nice to be a part of the morning and watch Alec amongst his classmates! After that they filed back into the classroom and we were free to go. I have to say, it was quite hard to walk away. Alec is such a fun kid to have around and he not only constantly makes me smile, but he is my little helper at home. It was so strange to come home and not have him there. I was not the only one feeling it though. For the entire morning (the entire week, actually) Aaron has been following me around the house needing tons of attention. He actually said to Adam yesterday, "Daddy, I five. I go to school too!!" Not quite sweetie! He misses Alec SO much and is almost lost without him. Yesterday when I brought Alec home from school Aaron's face absolutely LIT UP and he yelled, "ALEC!!!" and ran to him with open arms. Melt my heart!! Two minutes later they were fighting...so quickly back to reality!!

Alec seems to be doing VERY well at school. With all the energy we put into figuring out if he was ready to go or not, Adam and I are now completely convinced that we made the right decision! I so wanted to text Katie (Mrs. Knapp) on Thursday night, after Alec's first full day of school, and ask how he did, but did not want to abuse the privilege of knowing the teacher personally. To my pleasure and surprise I received an unprompted text from Katie that night saying, "Is Alec tired? I am! He did great today! You guys totally made the right decision!" Wow did that make me feel good! We feel so blessed to have Katie as Alec's kindergarten teacher and can't wait to see all the things she teaches Alec this year!

One other funny story...we found out on orientation day that there is another Alec in the kindergarten class so now our Alec is known as Alec H. but there is also an Alec C. On the first day of school I noticed another blond kid, same height as Alec, same body type, etc. walking into kindergarten. He was even wearing the same Clone Wars backpack as Alec. All of the sudden the child's mom called out to him, "Alec! Wait for me!" Yep, that is right, the Alec's are clones of each other!! Then, to take it one step further, in talking to Alec C.'s mom, they live in Anaheim Hills and attend San Antonio! I talked with her about her reasoning in putting her children (she has 4, Alec being the 3rd) at St. Joseph vs. St. Francis and they were exactly in line with the reasons that we had. VERY small world!

Alec did so well his first week of school and has already made a few friends. He lists his friends so far as, "Taylor, Alec C., and some other silly boys that I don't know their names yet" For the record, Taylor is a girl. Yes, the trend continues!! After such an amazing start, I am looking forward to a wonderful year!

Aaron's 3rd Birthday

Aaron's birthday was on Monday, August 25th and he turned three!! We had decided to do a small celebration at our house on Saturday the 25rd with pizza and cake and some friend and family. The small celebration ended up being about 35 people but lots of fun. We had sprinklers up on the lawn and also did a water balloon toss/fight. Although it was a bit crazy of a day, everyone had a good time, especially the birthday boy. His favorite gifts from the day were his huge fire truck, fire man dress up stuff, and his cars airplane. Daddy is working on accepting the fact that he is currently obsessed with firemen!!

On Aaron's actual birthday on Monday we had a nice lazy morning then went to the mall to walk around and have lunch. After the mall we made a visit to Grammie and Papa's house where they had a small cake for him. Once home Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jo came over and we had dinner and sang happy birthday to Aaron and Grandma whose birthday was on Sunday the 24th.

A few of the kids from the party...from left...Theresa Harvey, Ian Tobin, Cole Forquer, Brooklyn, Alec, Aaron, Sarah Fahey and Madelyn Celmer. Thanks kid-o's for celebrating with us!!!
Blowing out birthday candles!
Aaron's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake. I bought an all white cake from costco, scraped the icing off, and re-iced it in this design. Best of both worlds, yummy store cake but also a home-decorated creation!

I started a tradition this year that I take a picture of the kids as they wake up on the morning of their birthdays. Here is the very first picture of my THREE YEAR OLD!!!

On Tuesday the 26th I took Aaron to his 3 year check up with Dr. Marino. He weighed in at 28 pounds and was 35 1/2 inches long. These measurements put him in the 25th percentile for height and weight. This is lower for height, but his weight has improved! Gotta keep getting this kid to eat!! Aaron was SO excited at the appointment because he did not have to have ANY shots! Mommy was excited as well! :)

Aaron has truly turned into such a big boy this year. His speech and annunciation of words has improved tremendously and he has become less whiny and just TONS of fun in general! He is still a Daddy's boy most of the time, but every once in a while he will throw in a sweet, "I yuv you Mama!" that just melts my heart. I have to say, I was worried what this year would bring for Aaron with the addition of Ashley to our family but he has taken it so well! He is the first to run right with me to say prayers at night when we put her down, and he is pretty good at sharing his toys with her. He absolutely LOVES on her!

As I posted earlier, I was quite surprised that potty training went as quickly and as well as it did for Aaron. Now that he is fully potty trained (not even in diapers at night!!) he is all signed up to go to two mornings of preschool a week. He will be attending Yorba Linda Methodist just like Alec did, and I am pretty sure he will be in Mrs. Shuplock and Mrs. Bussire's class just as Alec was. They are two wonderful ladies and I know that Aaron will just love them! He is SO ready to go! He keeps asking me when school starts. So cute!!

Thank you, my little Bear for lighting up my life the way that you do. I love having you as my special little buddy! You are such a warm and caring little guy and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you!!

Ashley's first hospital visit...

I have so much to blog about from this weekend and week so far but I thought I would start with the hardest one first.



Saturday was Aaron's little birthday party and Sunday we had an Angel's baseball game to go to with the family group from church and it was also Grandma Hawley's birthday so it was going to be a busy day. Sunday morning I had gotten the kids ready to go and was downstairs getting stuff together while Ad was upstairs finishing getting ready. I put Ashley in her booster seat at the table (we have a counter height table) and instead of putting her tray on the front like I normally do, I pushed her chair up against the table and put the cheerios on the table for her to eat while I got stuff together. I walked away for 1 minute and turned around to look at her just as she pushed off from the table and the entire chair fell backwards onto the tile floor. It was like watching a slow motion movie. I could not get to her in time to catch the chair but just watched the chair hit the ground as I ran over to her. I immediately unstrapped her and scooped her up in my arms while screaming for Adam to come downstairs. He came down, I told him what happened and he told me to get her to the hospital as quick as I could. Ash was screaming the entire way there, but I would rather have had her screaming than have her unconscious.



We got to the hospital in record time and I rushed her into the emergency room. Just as arrived in the waiting room and was trying to get the lady's attention who worked there, Ashley started vomiting all over the place. SCARY!!! I told the lady that she hit her head really hard and they moved pretty quickly after that. There were two ladies in the waiting room who were angels and handed me wipes to clean up Ashley and the other helped me fill out the paperwork until Adam arrived a few minutes later. They got us back almost immediately and the doctor came over to check her out. They did not seem overly concerned (totally laid back doctor) and said that they would observe her for a bit and also would order a CT scan. By this time Adam had gotten hold of my sister and she came over to pick up the boys. After some pretty strong medicine, Ashley was out of it enough to lay still for the CT scan. She was so drugged up that she just kept watching her hand open and close like it was the most fascinating thing in the world! The CT scan turned out to be fine and so after a few hours in the ER they let us go home. Needless to say, we did not make it to the baseball game that day! We just came home, let Ashley sleep, and checked on her about every 10 minutes to make sure she was ok.



Tuesday was better and she was back to her normal self. Smiling cheesy smiles for pictures and getting into everything she can crawl to. I still tear up just thinking about the situation, but I was an absolute MESS at the hospital. Thankfully Adam was there and able to keep me calm. I thank the LORD that she is ok!!

Ash cheesing it up for the camera. What a sweetie!

Making the most out of summer...

On Monday of last week we decided to take a trip down to Corona Del Mar to check out the tide pools. As you can recall in an earlier post, the beach is not a favorite of my two youngest children. This day was no exception. Aaron did not want to be put down the entire time we were there, and Ashley was just happy as a clam in either Adam or my arms. Alec had a BLAST checking out all the sea creatures (mostly crabs) and playing in the waves. He even brought home a small shell collection! Despite the non-excitement from Aaron and Ashley, it turned out to be a wonderful day. We spent the morning hopping from rock to rock finding all kids of neat things. I just need to remember for next time...sunscreen on the parents is a must...not just on the kids...ouch!!

We found a nice couple that were there taking pictures and asked them to take one of us. We feel so blessed to live in a place where we have access to the Pacific Ocean and are able to go and enjoy so much of God's beautiful handy work!!

I did not want to skip over this...

...but at the end of June Aaron was potty trained!!!

I had decided that once bible camp was over that we would start potty training Aaron to get him ready for preschool in the fall. I did not want to wait until his 3rd birthday because I did not want to cut the timing too close...plus I was SO sick of changing two kids diapers!

Aaron was quite hesitant at first and did not like sitting on the toilet at all. I just set the timer for every 30 minutes and made him sit down and try. There were a few accidents along the way, but by day two and three he finally got it. He was so stinkin' cute...every time the pee would start to go he would look down at it and say, "There it goes again!!!" He was so proud!

Poop has certainly been a bit more of an issue, but that is to be expected. He finally has it down now but there were a number of pairs of underwear thrown away those first few weeks. I have learned that the secret to a "regular" child is 1/8th tsp. of Benefiber in his morning milk and he is ready to go in about a 1/2 hour! I just have to be careful and not give it and then leave the house. Yikes!

I am so proud of my little Air-bear! He is getting so mature and is communicating so well. He is even protesting his name recently! If I call him Air-bear he will sometimes say, "No, my name is airwin michow hawey!!! Melt my heart.

Aaron playing the guitar in his underwear!
What a BIG boy!!!

Also...

Ashley is OFFICIALLY crawling now. It is so cute to see...untill she crawls over to something that she should not be touching. How do you babyproof a house that has little boys toys all over the place? Do I need to take away all legos and small piece toys until she learns? I guess so. Sorry boys!!

The Beach

So, at the beginning of the summer Alec, Adam and I sat down and made up a summer adventure list. I never posted it on here because I am a lazy bum, but here it is...

- Take a long walk (done)
- Ride bikes (done)
- Go to the pool (done...MANY times)
- Disneyland (done)
- Camping with Dad
- Angel game (done)
- Tour of Angel Stadium
- Bowling (done)
- Beach (done, see below)
- San Diego
- Discovery Science Center
- Oak Canyon Nature Center

Not too ambitious of a list for us. To date we have done most of the things on here with the exception of a few that will happen in the next two weeks.

It has been a crazy summer between bible camp and swim lessons so we had not gotten to the Beach Day yet. Well, Adam was out of town this last weekend attending Pop-Pop Hawley's 90th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP POP!!) in New York so we had to keep ourselves busy here. My parents took the boys on Saturday down to their condo in San Clemente (beautiful beach town about 30 miles away) to spend the night. Ashley and I went bowling on Saturday afternoon with Aunt Amy and Uncle Chris and had a nice quiet evening. Sunday morning Ash and I headed out to meet up with the crew in San Clemente. We met up with my parents and the Carson Family (Allie, Jason, and Brooklyn) for church and then went to the condo and onto the beach.

As I previously mentioned, we have not been to the beach this year. Aaron was so little last year that his favorite beach activity was to eat sand. Lovely. Alec was just getting interested in the water last year so I was curious to see what this year would be like. Well, it was interesting to say the least. We finally set up all our gear up on the sand and Alec made a bee-line for the water. Papa stayed down there to watch him. Aaron was just having fun playing in the sand. After a while I asked Aaron to take a soda down to Papa. He marched down to the water and handed it to him. Just as he did, a small wave came in and washed over Aaron's feet. You would have thought the water was burning him by how much he FREAKED OUT and screamed!!! He HATED it!! He came running back up to us and refused to get anywhere near the water for the rest of the day.

I decided to go down to the water with Ashley at one point. I was holding her in my arms as I got down to the water and just then a wave came and washed over my feet. She also FREAKED OUT!!! All because a wave hit MY feet, 5 feet below where she was safely in my arms. SERIOUSLY?!?!!? She did not let up until we went back up to the blanket again.

We were planning on a few trips to the beach in the next couple weeks before school starts, but I am guessing that is not a good idea. How can I watch two kids who are afraid of the water, while one last one is in love with it?? Maybe next year?? :)

Ashley at 10 months old...

is FINALLY almost crawling and a little sharp tooth poked thru today!!

Ashley is turning into such a big girl right before my very eyes. More on her later, but I at least wanted to get this written down today so that I remember when it actually happened!