Updates

This year has been very busy so far.

Here are the Hawks family updates:

SICKNESS, SICKNESS, SICKNESS! So far this year it has been never-ending runny noses and coughs, not to mention stomach-flu (the above pic), pink eye, and neck yeast/bacterial infections (the below pic, the latter taking a month to clear up). It is so fun being a mom sometimes.

We moved to a new place last month and have been enjoying the third bedroom (we finally have our room to ourselves!), and the walking trail just outside the front door. The girls were "sore" from walking up the stairs all the time, but are used to it now.

Ambyr turned 5! She really wanted a cheetah cake, so that is what she got.

She is obsessed with wild cats these days and is constantly stalking and pouncing on her stuffed animal muskox. She likes being a leopard and ocelot the best. She loves to draw and color and spent 3 straight hours coloring Easter pictures the other day. We read together a lot and she is so great at watching over Braeden when he needs some attention when I am in the middle of something. She is still in the 90th + percentile for height and is going to be taller than me before too long. Looks like she might have her dad's genes for height. What an awesome big sis!

Our 3 year old likes to "read" to herself these days and was so into reading "Jane Eyre" that she didn't even notice me taking pics of her. She sat there for a good 10-15 minutes reading outloud to herself as she made up a story to go along with the words. McKenna is our shy one but is very silly at home and likes to crack jokes and say funny things. She loves to play with her big sister and loves everything pink. She will eat anything and everything and is hungry all the time. She likes to do "Mommy-and-McKenna preschool" whenever Ambyr is at her preschool.

At 8 months, Braeden is as smiley and chubby as ever. He is sitting really well on his own now and can roll over both ways. We really had to work with him on rolling over as he lays there like a "beached whale" as Michael calls him, and didn't have a whole lot of desire to get moving on his own. He is loving eating solids and looks like we are on the way to having another good eater. What a cutie!

I have been enjoying going on outings with the kids: library, walks on the trail, park, etc. We went to the zoo last week and Ambyr couldn't wait to see her tiger.

So, I had some requests to show the latest projects I have been working on lately. I love to draw but haven't had much training, so those of you who are experts, don't look too close. The pic of the old barn is my latest drawing which I completed a few months ago. The one of the horse, I did a while back. I also like to do a little photography every now and then. But I don't know a thing about it yet, so buying a nice camera and maybe taking a class is next on my list.

Michael is busy with work and studying for CFA #3 on the weekends. He still enjoys watching sports in his free time and keeping up with all the political junk going on. He grilled up some delicious chicken and sausages for dinner last night! Gotta love CA weather.

Finally a post

Braeden's 6 month stats:

23 lbs 2 oz (off the charts)

28 3/4 inches tall (99th percentile)

The doctor was concerned about my back. I wonder why?

Enjoying playing in the snow for the first time. The girls went crazy about the sledding, even with the rocky terrain. I got a nice bruise on my bum from running over a big one.

Opening stockings Christmas morning.


In Moab, spending time with cousins, making gingerbread houses (these little guys are actually Michael's cousins). The roof on Ambyr's wouldn't hold, so Michael "fixed" it so they had a house with a false front.

One of Braeden's favorite spots (at my folk's house).

Braeden at 5 months with cousin Carolyn at 2 months. Don't they look so cute together?

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Lice

Fleet Week

Enjoying Ghirardelli Square after the air show. Too bad it got foggy and the Blue Angels were cancelled. It was sooo cold!

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Patch: We went there with a bunch of moms and kids and they all loved chasing eachother around in the hay bale mazes (until Ambyr ran into another child and got a bloody nose) and jumping in the lima bean pools.

Showing off the pumpkins they helped carve.

Lookin' beautiful as Cinderella and Little Red Ridinghood... and so cute as a cow.

4 mos. old already!

19 lbs 3 oz

26.5 inches

Just chillin' in the bath (he may be a bit too big to bathe in the sink, it is just easier on my back :)).

All three of us girls had lice, but I don't look as cute in a shower cap as the two girls, so I opted not to be in the photo. Three weeks later and hours of vacuuming every inch of the house and all furniture, including mattresses almost daily (as well as the car several times); countless loads of laundry, picking nits (louse eggs) out of hair daily, bagging all dress-ups, stuffed animals, pillows that we can do without, washing all hair accessories (combs/brushes daily), keeping our hair up in buns, the list goes on....and we're almost rid of it. Pray you never have to deal with this. And for those who have, you can understand my plight. (It has become an epidemic in our ward). At first I was rather embarrassed, but considering 5+ families had it at the same time, I didn't feel as bad. Plus the lice actually prefer clean hair (who would have thought, but it makes sense considering that is where they lay their young).

THANKSGIVING!!!

It was just our little family this year and I think I got a little over excited about the food. What do you think?

Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade crescent rolls, candied yams, cranberry jelly, green bean casserole, stuffing, and four pies (2 pumpkins, 1 apple, and 1 banana cream).

Change

1 week

1 month

6 weeks

2 months

Here are some pics of Braeden. I can't believe how fast he is changing and growing.

2 month status:

Weight: 14 lbs 13 0z. (97th percentile)

Height: 24 inches (90th percentile)

Cursed Apartment

Since we moved to this apartment in December 2006, the following is a list of problems we have dealt with:

*a family of raccoons living in the space above the ceiling and in the walls
*rats getting into the kitchen drawers and eating the food (plus leaving behind a lot of their own treasures)
*a leaking washing machine (that Michael repaired)
*a broken dryer (that Michael tried to repair, but ended up calling a repair man-it took them 3 weeks to fix it)
*a leaking pipe in the wall in the girls' room (they slept in our room for 3 weeks, while the pipe was replaced, the mold cleaned out and new wall put up)
*same thing happened in the kitchen 6 months later (had no kitchen for a month)
*both toilets had some major clogging issues
*water heater busted and was replaced
*furnace is next on the list
*and the latest: I walked into the bathroom to brush the girls' teeth last week and smelled something awful... I looked into the bathtub to discover it filled halfway up with what I thought at first was sewage (later to discover it was junk from someone's kitchen pipe). Lovely.

I am incredibly thankful that we are renting and don't own this apartment, so we don't have to pay for all the problems.

It really isn't a bad apartment complex, we just happen to have the bad apartment (our next-door neighbor has lived here for 17 years and hasn't had to deal with hardly a thing).

Do I really want to own a house someday?

New Addition

Welcome Braeden Brent Hawks

July 22, 2009 @ 11:59 p.m

8 lbs. 8 oz.

20 1/4 inches

B

B

THE STORY

Braeden was determined to be born on Wednesday, as he made it by one minute. We had quite the wild ride this time with his birth. We arrived at the hospital delivery room about 10 minutes before he was born. No time for anything, not even for the doctor to get there. The poor nurses were a little frantic, but handled the situation well. He had a short embilical cord, which is pretty rare, so it broke on its own as he was being delivered and caused him a bit of stress, so I didn't get to hold him right away until they made sure he was okay and didn't lose too much blood. Both my girls went past their due dates, so having an early baby caught me by surprise. My labor pains started around 9:00 p.m or so and they weren't that bad, nor were they lasting very long, (although they were coming every 2-3 min. apart) so I kept thinking I had plenty of time. Around 11:00, I even called the on-call doctor to make sure and she thought I could wait it out at home a while longer (since my water hadn't broken yet either). Thankfully, I listened to that little thought in the back of my mind that we needed to leave now. By the time we got out the door, things picked up rather fast and I wasn't feeling too good. I'm afraid that by the time we arrived at the hospital I was yelling. My water broke the moment the nurse checked me and said that there was no time for an epidural (as I kept insisting on one) and that this baby was here. I always thought I was a wimp and could never deliver a baby without pain killers, and I still know I am a wimp as I'd rather get to the hospital in time for an epidural next time! :)

We love our little guy and are excited that he made it safe and sound, and not in the car!

4th of July

We had a great weekend with Michael's family. My mother-in-law picked the girls up on Wednesday afternoon (so Michael and I could have a few days to ourselves before #3 arrives), and I had the whole evening to myself (to catch up on scrapbooking, as I was over a year behind). When Michael got home from work at 9:30, we caught a late dinner at Panda Express and watched a movie. On Thursday, we were able to go to the temple and out to lunch (with appetizers and desserts and everything, wow). We slept in and had naps... so spoiled. We took a nice walk together on the trail by our apartment and I ended up coming home with 3 blisters, as my feet are like blimps these days.

On Friday we headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Michael's fam and the girls. They have a cool new sea horse exhibit. The girls LOVE the aquarium. We enjoyed clam chowder bowls on the wharf afterwards and some Ghirardelli chocolate samples.

On Saturday we had a busy day full of fun activities: Ward pancake breakfast in the morning, swimming and a BBQ at Michael's relative's home (they had some baby kittens there that the girls were obsessed with), and homemade strawberry ice cream. Yummy!!! In the evening we went to the town's little fireworks display and did some of our own out in the street. The girls loved the sparklers and snappers the best. On Sunday we roasted marshmallows in the backyard and enjoyed each other's company. I really married into the BEST family.

Other news: Am starting to dilate and looking forward to little brother's arrival. Though due July 31st, I am expecting an August baby, as both girls were late. Still not a set name yet. Have been getting the nesting instinct and have been busy getting things in order. I have this thing where everything in the house has to be organized before baby comes, down to the very last sock drawer. Have had a few requests for a lovely baby bump pic, so I will get one soon.