Guys and Dolls Birthday

Hadley is TWELVE!

I remember the excitement in the ultrasound room more than 12 years ago when the tech announced I was pregnant with a baby girl.  After two boys (and Gavin coming from a family of 6 boys and 1 girl), I wondered if I would ever have a daughter. I’ve always wanted to be a mom and dreamed what it would be like to have a daughter.  Hadley, you are everything and so much more than I could have ever hoped for all of those years ago.  You are an amazing daughter and sister.  Patient with your older brothers and their endless teasings.  Loving and caring to your little sister, Morgan, who depends so much on you for everything . . . letting her share your bed when she’s having a hard time sleeping, walking home from school everyday with her, helping her with her homework, advocating for her by sharing World Down Syndrome Day with your classroom, being patient when she is less than patient with you.  And always willing to be the fun sister to Mia (our mini Hadley) and Griffin.  Pulling out games, puzzles, new books from the library, face paint, playing in the backyard.  Our family is SO lucky and blessed to have you in the center.  I hope you will always know that and be able to feel that when times get tough or frustrating with the chaos that comes with being part of a big family and being the middle child.  I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming and the choices you are making!

I got a letter from Hadley’s 6th grade teacher last month that perfectly describes my girl:

I just wanted to take a  moment and let you know how happy I am that Hadley is in my class.  She is a determined girl who always wants to do her best on any task she is given.  She stands out to me as a person who focuses on more than herself. A lot of times, students her age are focused on what they can get out of something.  But to me, I can see Hadley doing things and learning things not only for herself, but so that she can help all she comes in contact with.   They recently wrote an "I have a Dream" essay and hers was all about helping others.  You have an amazing daughter and I truly feel it a privilege to work with her.  

I hope you are having a great weekend! 

-Mrs. Black

I asked Hadley what her essay, “I have a Dream” was about and she said she wrote about Down syndrome awareness and giving back.  Of course she did!

Gavin and I were still in Las Vegas on the morning of her birthday but Grandma stepped in and made Hadley her favorite cake for her birthday.  She got to open one of our gifts without us, a new outfit to wear to school that morning.  We got home just in time to take a birthday treat over to her 6th grade class before school was out.

She was excited to get home and open the rest of her gifts.  New clothes, fingernail polish, books and hair products.

We all went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and Hadley got to sit on the saddle while we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Hadley has been busy these past few months with rehearsals for her first community theater experience.  She was both a “Guy” and “Doll” in the play “Guys and Dolls, Jr.” and was performing the weekend of her birthday.  I thought it would be fun to take her friends to the play for her birthday party.  Her best friend’s birthday is just a few days after hers and was also in the play so we decided to make it a combo birthday party.  Most of the girls were surprised to find out that they weren’t just going to the play but that they would be watching Hadley and Ellie in the play as well.

The play was in an old building in Historic Midvale.  We got there a little late and most of the seats were all taped off and reserved, or broken, so we found a few seats together here and there and enjoyed the show.  

Hadley was a gambler.  

(She’s the one in the back, center.)

Hot Box Girls

(Hadley is 3rd from the left)

And a doll

 (Hadley is on the far right)

The entire cast

Hadley and Ellie with the birthday party guests

After the play we went to Joe Morley’s to open gifts and eat mud pie

Hadley wanted to have a simple birthday party this year and this was simple and fun.  The girls laughed and laughed together and had so much fun just being together.

In honor of her 12th Birthday--12 things you may not know about Hadley:

1.  Hadley tried something new this year and played Jr. Jazz basketball.  She had great coaches who went out of their way to make sure everyone was having fun.  They made all of the girls custom t-shirts and did a big end of the season party at Fat Cats.

2.  After so many years of having long hair, Hadley decided she was ready for a change and wanted to cut off her hair and donate it.  We did some research and found that Pantene didn’t require as much hair as Locks of Love and that they use the hair to make wigs for women who have lost their hair to cancer and donate the wigs instead of selling them.  We didn’t have anything to measure her hair with but knew we needed about 8-9 inches.  She ended up having 15 inches cut off which is probably better since her ends were so broken and damaged.

3.  She is always grateful for the little things and appreciates all that she has.  We did a girls overnight trip downtown the weekend before her birthday with her sisters and cousin, Avery.  She had fun shopping around City Creek and picking out some birthday clothes.  She was very careful on what she picked out and made sure she wasn’t asking for too much.  After she had picked out an outfit, she wouldn’t even look around in the other stores because she had “already spent too much”.    

4.  Hadley composed a piano piece with the help of her piano teacher for her school Reflections contest.  Her entry was selected in the Music Category as one of two winners in her age category for the school district and went on to the Region Reflections Competition.

5. Turning 12 meant leaving Primary and going into Young Women’s.  She has been so excited to earn her Faith In God award and graduate from Primary.  I will miss having her in Activity Days with me but she is ready for the next adventures.  She got to go to her first New Beginnings.  She and her friends were spotlighted and welcomed into YW.   

6.  She LOVES to babysit and spends most of her weekends doing it.  She goes above and beyond what is expected of a babysitter.  She spends her own money on treats that the kids can earn.  If they go to bed on time than she leaves them a treat for them to get the next day when they wake up.  She looks like she’s going on a trip when she leaves the house for babysitting, her bag full of games, books, and supplies.

7.  She loves dogs and still misses Zeus.

8.  She’s hoping to get her braces off at the end of this year.

9.  She enjoys photography and submitted a picture of Mia for the Reflections theme, “Imagination”.

10.  Likes to give her sisters manicures and pedicures.

11.  Plays the piano.

12.  Loves to sing and dance which made community theater the perfect fit for her.  She’s looking forward to being in more plays and starting up dance again.

Happy 12th Birthday Hadley!  

We love you so very much!

Love Day!

We kept Valentine cards simple this year.  My friend has a photo studio in her basement and always gets such cute Valentine pictures.  We used their picture and an Air Head candy taped to the back.  It was so simple it didn’t even require any writing.  And the teachers each got a package of expo dry erase markers for their white boards.  

Mia’s Winter Wonderland Birthday party decorations and balloon banner have been up since her birthday last month.  Switch out a few snowflakes and replace them with some hearts and voila . . . looks like we’re die hard Valentine’s Day celebrators.

The kids all got a Valentine breakfast before heading out the door to school--pink waffle hearts, strawberry milk and lots of candy, cards and a little gift.

I saw a picture on instagram last night of my friend’s kids sleeping in their beds with lipstick kisses on their faces.  I loved it and decided to help Cupid with his stop at our house.  My first obstacle was finding lipstick.  I looked through Mia’s play make up and came up with nothing.  After searching through my stuff I finally found an old Mac lipstick palette.  Opened it up to see Mia had been using it for her play make up, lipstick smeared all over and mixed together.  I used the closest color to red that was in the palatte -- coral.  And started making my kissing rounds at 1:30 am.  I couldn’t stop laughing while I was kissing Jack and it woke up Ryan.  He sat up and said, “Oh hi, Mom.”  I went over and tried to give him a kiss but couldn’t stop laughing.  He got scared and asked me what I was doing.  Somehow I managed to kiss his cheek and wish him a happy Valentine’s day.  Jack almost walked out the door to school this morning with a kiss mark on his cheek.  He hadn’t even noticed it after his shower and while getting ready.  I said something about Cupid leaving his mark on his face last night.  He went and looked in the mirror, “What the crap?”.  Mia was more interested in knowing more about Cupid.  Was he a reindeer?  Did he fly into her room?  I had no idea what she was even talking about until later on when I realized there is a reindeer named “Cupid”.

I spent the afternoon in Morgan’s class, helping with her party.  Her favorite was the cookie decorating station.  She put a little bit of frosting on the cookie and the rest in her mouth.

Morgan and her amazing teacher, Mrs. M

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hope your day is surrounded with love, family and friends.

Happy Heart Day

TEN YEARS.  It’s hard to believe it was 10 years ago that I handed over my four month old baby girl to the arms of an anesthesiologist, who was ready to take her back to the surgical room to begin open heart surgery.

We took lots of bath pictures the night before her surgery to help us remember what her chest looked like before the surgery, scar free.  And then a family photo of all of the kids together before bedtime.  Sleeping bags and underwear hats and all.  Such a busy time of life ten years ago, four little kids all 5 and under, but so full of great memories.  One of the blessings that I most looked forward to with her surgery was that she would be able to nurse again.  No more pumping.  No more NG tube feedings.  No more tape burns on her cheeks.  It had been a long four months of pumping and my milk supply was getting lower and lower.  I needed her heart to be strong again so she could nurse and gain weight.

The surgeon was able to successfully repair her AV canal with minimal leaking on the left valve.  I felt an enormous love and gratitude for Morgan’s surgeon, knowing that he had given my daughter a second chance at life.  It was hard on her siblings to see her all hooked up to machines and tubes and to understand why she had to go through all of that.  Hadley’s first words every morning were, “I see Din-Din” and  would run out to Morgan’s swing hoping to find her home again.  She spent about a week in the hospital and then came home and made up for all of that missed time from those first few months of life.

And look at her now!  10 years old and as feisty as ever!

Winter Wonderland Birthday

Time goes by so quickly! I can’t believe my baby is FIVE.  This little surprise baby is growing up too quickly.  I can’t imagine my life without this sweet little girl at the end of our family.  She’s my little shadow and love.

Mia loves her birthday and looks forward to her party all year.  I thought it would be fun to have a little winter wonderland party since her birthday is right after Christmas and we had lots of snow in our backyards when I started planning the party.

Mia loved the idea and stood right next to me as I designed her birthday invitation (telling me where to put the snowman and to take off the penguin).  Kissing me over and over, “Oh mama, this is going to be the best birthday party ever! (kiss, kiss)”  That kind of love and excitement makes doing birthday parties all worth it!

Birthdays right after Christmas are hard.  I always think I’ll save some of her Christmas stuff to give to her on her birthday but I don’t.  I walked up and down the toy aisles, not seeing anything that she didn’t have or need, and forced myself to buy a few more Lalaloopsy dolls so she could have some toys to open on her birthday morning.  The rest of her presents were clothes.  And she didn’t hide her under enthusiasm as she opened sweaters, shirts, leggings and slippers. “Why did you get me clothes and not toys for my birthday?"

It ended up that we had playgroup on her birthday so we took all of her cute friends to Chick-Fil-A for lunch before dropping them off at school. 

Moments before her party, it started snowing.  Almost all of the snow that we had when I started planning the party had melted and turned to slush so it was perfect timing.  We got hit with a huge snowstorm that weekend and got as much snow as the ski resorts. 

Party details (and links):  Penguin beach balls, mini snowman globes, penguin pinata, penguin squirt toys, winter animals sleep masks, penguin sand art necklaces, penguin swirl lollipops, bouncy balls and polar bear suckers.

The girls (and Griffin) all had a great time with the crafts.  I tried to keep it simple with activities they could do on their own.  They started with coloring a snowman for their mini-snow globe.  Hadley was the helper in the kitchen with the medicine syringe and filling the snow globes full of water.  Then it was time for penguin necklaces sand art.  My mom was a big help with the sand art.  It was actually pretty mess free and the necklaces turned out really cute.  If I did this party again, I would have had enough medicine syringes for each child to fill up their own snow globe and I would have splurged and bought enough little bottles for each color of sand, that would have made it so they could have done their penguin necklaces all on their own.

The party guests

This poor snowman cake was half frosting.  The cake really stuck to the bowls and I didn’t feel like making another one so I just filled in all of the missing cake sections with frosting. Mia didn’t mind.

After the crafts, presents and cake and ice cream it was time to get all of the snow gear on and go play in the snow.  I wish we would have had more time for this part of the party because the kids all loved playing out in the snow together and had so much fun!

A little penguin pinata time.  I really should have gotten this on video.  Pinatas and snow just don’t go together.  Once the penguin broke open, the candy started sinking into the snow and the kids couldn’t pick any pieces up with their huge gloves on.

In honor of her 5th birthday, 5 things we love about Mia Kate:

1.  She’s a mama’s girl.  Being the my last baby and home with just me most days, we get a lot of quality time of being together.  She’s always by my side even when I’m busy, she’s right next to me with crayons and paper, coloring her heart out.  And I love that she’s five and still calls me “Mama”.

2.  She’s brilliant.  She has no idea when to use “she” or “her” in a sentence and always uses the wrong one.  She used to always say “her” and after I explained to her that it could also be “she” at times, she switched to only using “she”.  “Mama, do you think I could play with she after school?”  The other night I was trying to explain to her when to use she or her.  She had had enough of my discussion and looked at me and said, “Alright.  Enough of the Math talk.”  Griffin has high hopes that she’ll get it figured out in Kindergarten in the fall.

3.  Girl’s got an attitude.  She is seriously so full of spunk, sass and attitude.  I love it.  It worries her dad.

4.  She loves to play with her dolls, toys and color and draw.  She can go days without watching TV and never asks to play on the computer, iPad, or any electronic device (unlike her siblings).

5.  Every night when she is tucked into bed she has to have a bedtime song and prayer.  We take turns. One of us sings the song and the other one says the prayer.  Some nights are so rushed and I just want to get all of the kids in bed and have some quiet time, but she never lets us forget and I love hearing her cute songs she is learning at school.  And sometimes she makes up really cute ones about her birthday . . .

Happy New Year!

We had kind of a quiet celebration on New Year’s Eve.  We originally had plans for a bigger party but a couple of families were hit with sickness and another found a better option with other friends so it was just our little family (smaller than usual with the teenagers and pre-teen heading out to their own parties) and my parents and brother, Uncle Blake.  But we still had so much fun being together and the little kids were so excited for the party  . . .  games, NYE toasts with our Christmas goblets, hitting pots and pans and silly string a midnight.  And having Grandma and Grandpa over made it feel like a real party!

Last night for Christmas lights on the house.

 We tried to put the kids to bed early so they wouldn’t be exhausted but our ‘early plan’ ended up being closer to midnight.  The kids had only been in bed for a few minutes when the fireworks started exploding around the neighborhood.  Morgan and Mia ran back downstairs to go outside in the cold and bang pots and pans.  Griffin was so tired.  He came back downstairs crying, asking if we could please be quiet that he just wanted to sleep.  Ryan and Hadley came home from their friend’s just in time for the countdown.

And nothing is sweeter (or wetter) than a little New Year’s kiss from Morgan!

Happy 2013!