Birthday recap

Wow it was a busy day yesterday. So much to do, so much to do. =) We wanted to make sure that Tom's birthday was a special one. He's been so busy at work and we didn't want him to forget that it was his special day. We started out by picking up a balloon for him. What's a birthday without a balloon? Hannah wanted to pick it out so I let her. At first she picked out a princess balloon, and I had to remind her that she is picking one out for her daddy, not her. She insisted that Daddy loves princesses but changed her mind when I told her that the balloon would be staying at his office. She had a hard time choosing between Spiderman and Kung Foo Panda and after much thought Spiderman won. While we were at the store we happened by the bakery and the cupcakes were practically screaming at us. How could we not get one? They were made with butter cream frosting...Tom's favorite. The cupcake could have easily weighed 10 pounds, but it was so cute. From there we went and got him a granita from Steamers and then went for a quick visit. We got to spend a few minutes with him before he needed to get back to work but that was OK, because we still had to go pick up his present and get the fixins for dinner. When we were at Costco a few weeks ago Hannah saw a movie she wanted to get him. She was sure that he would like it because it had a helicopter on it along with a boy and a girl. It was a set of foreign films. I'm sure Tom would have loved it, but it wasn't there when we went yesterday. So instead of the movie she decided to get him a bag of Dahlia bulbs. He loves Dahlias and Hannah thought it would be fun to plant them together. She's a thinker. We ended our day of festivities with just the 4 of us having meatloaf and apple pie. It was a nice end to a fun day. I hope he had a nice birthday, despite having to work.

A little blurry but you get the idea.Mmm...cupcake.Hannah couldn't resist.Tom told me that next time I should get him 2 coffees, since the girls (yes I said girls) helped him drink his.

She was so proud of her gift to him and you can see it on her face. Love it!"My very own iPod!"Gimme some love...Make a wish!

Happy end of February!

The big 33

Happy Birthday...to our Birthday King!

We love you and we hope you have a wonderful day!

Crazy mom...

I've always known I was crazy but now I have confirmation. Why else would I buy concert tickets for a 4 year old?? Our friend Taylor Swift is coming into town on May 15 and Hannah couldn't be happier. I was able to get online today (tickets go on sale tomorrow) and get tickets through a radio station promotion. Originally it was going to just be Hannah and I but I wasn't able to find 2 seats, only 3 (Tom is super thrilled!). They aren't the greatest seats but at least we'll be there. I think I'm going to try and get better seats when they open up the tickets to the general public tomorrow morning. We'll see what happens, but regardless we'll be rockin' out on May 15th. Hannah has already informed me that she'll be wearing her fancy dress, black sweater and bringing her purse with baby wipes and snacks hidden inside. I'm hoping I can talk her out of the fancy dress, but I doubt it. She wants to dress like Taylor...of course!

Wednesday

I don't really have a whole bunch to share. Nothing terribly exciting going on. Emerson has come down with another bug. I thought it was just her teeth, but it appears to be something a little more. She still has her cough and now she gets to add a gunky nose to that. Yay us!

We were going to head to Spokane this weekend for Grace's birthday but when I sat down to plan it out, it just didn't make much sense. When Tom said he could get the day off so we could go, I was under the impression that Tom was taking Saturday off. Well, silly Jamie, never assume anything during tax season. It turns out that Tom was still going to work half a day Saturday and then head out around noon. We wouldn't get into Spokane until close to 6 and the party starts at 5 at the hockey arena. We'd have to take the girls to Nana's (of course, we would have cleared this with you first, Nana), drive back to Idaho after the game, try and spend time with Nana and the Pohls. It was beginning to feel too crammed and Jen agreed and told me to talk my husband out of it. So, as much as we really want to, it's just not going to work this time. That's a lot of driving with two little ones for such a short amount of time. If it was just the two of us it would have been different. Tom was really excited to go to a Chief's game, so now I'll really have to think of something good for his birthday...which is Friday. YiKeS!!

Since this has literally taken me all afternoon to get finished, I'll leave you with a few random pictures from around here.

Helping Daddy with dinner.

Hannah had to park her bike in the "bike" section at Haggens. Taking good care of her baby.Trying to keep up with sister.Happy girl! The sun was shining, she was riding her bike and taking pictures.A constant sight at our house. I finally moved the chairs today...we'll be utilizing the floor for a while.Ms. Shellee brought in a turtle one day in honor of the letter T. Good thing I had my cell phone. The kids were beyond excited. I had to laugh at Hannah, when she came out of class she looked a little sleepy. She told me she was about to fall asleep from laying on the floor. =)

Happy Wednesday, almost Thursday, almost Friday. =)

A new bear in town...

Last Tuesday I took Hannah to Alderwood so she could use her Build A Bear gift card. Talk about excitement. My mom went with me to help out with Emerson and we met up with Becky & her kids as well. Madi and Jake didn't get to build a bear but they were so excited for Hannah and did a good job of helping her out. She picked out (after changing her mind 1000 times) a soft pink bear that is oh so cute and very much Hannah. She loved the stuffing of her bear and the grooming spot. She even put a little "make-up" on her bear...of course SHE would, a bear has to look her prettiest. When it came to the naming of her bear, that took some time. We actually had to use the name book. We were stumped. She flipped through the book pointing to random names. The first name she landed on was Hannah Bear. Made us both laugh. The second name was the winner...Juliet. She told me she picked it because of "Romeo and Juliet" in Taylor Swift's Love Story. Good grief, that girl. =)

Stuffing her bear...Rubbing Juliet's heart on her tummy so she'll grow (?).A little blush...Paying for it by herself. Such a big girl!Juliet and her husband Roley Poley. They had those two kids the other night. Mom and Dad are doing fine and the kids are adorable and they sleep through the night.

Have a great week.

Caitlin

Sunday night we celebrated Caitlin's birthday. She's 17...seventeen! I seriously cannot believe it. It just seems wrong. We had fun celebrating Caitlin and playing Guitar Hero. So much fun to watch. Sometimes people think they sing a lot better than they actually do. Which is exactly the reason I didn't grab the microphone...because in my head I am an AWESOME singer. I'm not mentally prepared to pop that bubble. =)

Look at that talent...Rob can play a guitar and carry his camera. You should have seen him rock on the drums. Skills I tell you...the man's got skills.

Oh how I love this man! Just looking at this makes me smile. Can you hear his nervous giggle? =) This was his vocal debut to the Beastie Boys - So What'cha What'cha What'cha Want. It was awesome.Caitlin showing off the card Hannah made. Hannah drew all of us holding hands. So sweet.

Happy Birthday Caitlin. We hope this is a great year for you. We love you.

Preschool Valentines

Good thing I made it right back, right?!? =) We had a busy weekend, but I won't go into that...yet. Right now, I'm here with a few pictures from Hannah's school Valentine party. I had to take them from outside the door but you can get the idea. They had lots of fun and by the end of the day, Hannah had consumed lots of sugar. As she was opening her Valentines she was so thankful for each one and she said every one was her favorite. That is except for Max's Valentine. Max picked Batman cards and Hannah didn't quite understand why he would do that...didn't he know that she doesn't like Batman. I was quick to ask her if she thought Max or the other 3 boys enjoyed all the princess Valentines. She's sure they did. =) She's trouble I tell you.

She caught me. I was trying to be super sneaky.

Playing "heart, heart who has the heart". You can see from her face how much she loves Ms. Shellee.That's Alex sitting next to Hannah. Those two are big trouble when they are together. I think they're the only girls in the class that have had a time out in the hallway...together. =) She loves Alex.The hallway was lined with sugary goodness.

A note from the teacher

I received an email yesterday from Hannah's teacher, Ms. Shellee and I wanted to share it with you all, especially the grandparents.

Hi,I wanted to share with you... I have been checking each child for progress and skills they have mastered...Well little miss Hannah named ALL of her letters by sight.. With no hesitation! She was very firm. I had a piece f paper with random uppercase letters and she named each one correctly! She has also named correctly all her colors,most numbers and of course has mastered her name. I will continue to track progress throughout the school year.I am going to introduce her to the capital letter and then lower case for her name... She is totally capable and is a sweet little girl. I enjoy having her in class...(she is very popular, kinda the "it" girl) Everyone wants to stand/sit next to Hannah! Thanks for sharing her with me...Blessings, Shellee

Just makes my heart smile. I could have done without the "it" girl part, it's the rest that makes me SO happy and so very proud.

Emerson and I are on our way to pick her up from her Valentine party. She was super excited for that. I was told to bring my camera, so that's just what I'll be doing. I'll be back later today with pictures. Happy almost Friday!

Saturday with Owen

Saturday we got to spend the day with Owen. Owen's mommy, Teresa, works with Tom. I told Tom to let Teresa know that if she needed any help with Owen during tax season (or anytime, really) that I'd be happy to watch him. So Saturday we got to watch him. He is such a good little boy and for almost 18 months old, he's got quite the vocabulary. He was cracking me up with all the words he knows. It was pretty amazing. We all had a fun day with him and we hope to watch him again soon.

Hannah loved having Owen around...someone else to torture, I mean tickle.

We went for a walk and Emerson was putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. This time I caught her with a rock.She has clearly inherited her parents' inability to play basketball. At least she enjoys it. =)Owen is teaching Hannah how to shoot.A quiet moment...seriously...how cute are they?!? They stayed like that for a good 5 minutes. Awwww.

I hope your week is off to a good start.

The horses

I figured it might do us some good to get out of the house so I took the girls on a little walk today. When we left the house our thermometer said 61 degrees. Oh my was that nice. It was nice to escape the contaminated house and breathe fresh, warm air. Hannah loves to walk and see the horses and on our last outing we had to turn around before we got there because the rain was a comin'! Today we made it to the horses and as Hannah says "it was the best day". These horses are special to us because the baby was born a few months after Emerson so we've been driving by pretty regularly since then to watch her grow. When we got there Maggie (the baby, and yes I know that's not what you call them but it's easier when you have a quizzitive 4 year old) was off in a roped off area but the mama (Maura) and what we've been calling the daddy (Mo) were close by. We were admiring them and when Emerson started screaming to get out of the stroller and Maura & Mo came running over. I was almost a little worried that they might break through the rickety old fence but they didn't. Talk about quieting Emerson down. She sat there and stared in amazement. It was so cute. Hannah really wanted to pet them but every time she stuck her hand out she pulled it back as soon as the horse would blink. It was funny. She brought her camera so she could take her own pictures. She was so caught up in the fact that they were right in front of her that I had to remind her to pull her camera out. I'll put her pictures up tomorrow. She's so proud of them. We all stood there admiring each other for 10 minutes and then they ran off. Apparently we were a little boring. Such a fun afternoon.

Maggie is the white one and we're not sure who the brown one is with her. We'll have to think of another M' name. Maura is the one on the left and Mo is on the right. We know for a fact that Maggie and Maura are the right names, but Mo's we made up.Hannah is trying to find food to feed them.Emerson wanted to pet them so badly. I am a horrible mom, but I didn't take her out because I knew I'd be carrying her home and pushing Hannah and that was NOT happening!As soon as Maura turned her head Hannah's hand was behind her back. =)Apparently the long walk back wasn't too much for her because all she wanted to do was ride her bike when we got home.She's convinced she's ready for the training wheels to come off. Not so much! =)

Happy Wednesday.

Sickies and the Superbowl!

I’m taking advantage of Emerson napping in her bouncy seat and getting a little blogging done. This is the first time in almost a week that she’s let me put her down during nap time, she must be feeling better. I haven’t gotten much done around the house because of that but really who am I kidding...I love it, housework smhousework. I didn’t go into work today because I was prepared to get her back in to see the doctor. As of yesterday evening there hadn’t been much change with her and we were still controlling her fever with Motrin and Tylenol. Then last night she slept most of the night, only waking once with a coughing session. All those prayers were answered. Thank you!!! I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hannah isn’t nearly as bad as Emerson so I think by the end of the week our house will be ready for decontamination. Woo-Hoo.

We didn’t make it to my sister’s house for her Superbowl party so we had our own little party here. We took the girls out for some fresh air and stopped at Fred Meyers to pick up some goodies. I almost took my camera but ended up leaving it home and was kicking myself for leaving it. We pulled up to Freddies and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was parked out front. Now that’s not something you see everyday and would have made for a fun photo of the day! We came home and got ready for the game. We watched a few minutes together as a family and then I headed to Target to pick up the missing ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. I came back and Tom and the girls were watching Wall-e. Go figure. We did watch the end of the game live, and were so excited and then so sad for Arizona. So, so close.

This is how Tom spent most of the game.Not really sure what was going on...Bruce Springsteen...scary!Sharing chips with her sister...isn't she so nice.I love this photo. Tom's looking at me like "hurry up and take the darn picture", Hannah is obeying me and saying "Football!!!!" and Emerson is checking her sister out, trying to figure out what the heck she's yelling.
Emerson has now moved back into my arms, making typing a tad difficult so I’ll end this now. Have a Happy Tuesday.