HAIR!

Hazel's hair has been coming in SO nicely.  The last week or so it has become noticeably longer and thicker.  It looks so cute!  Howard was as bald as a cue ball for the first 9 months, so this is quite a change from him.  My sister, mom & sister-in-law joked about buying these silly baby wigs (that look like Donald Trump's hair).  I don't think she needs one, and really, she could be a hair model for them.  :)

Hazel & I had our 4th mommy & me swim lesson today!  She is doing great, she made it all the way under the water today - a little scary for mom, but she did great.  I love to watch her splash and she seems to really enjoy laying on her back (with her head resting on one of my shoulders).  I can't take pictures of us, but I might bug the instructor to help us out with a photo or two during the next lesson.

Hazel also has 4 teeth now!!!  She has the bottom middle two and the top middle two!  She's quite the little chomper.  We are glad the top one's finally came in, she hasn't been eating solids all that well while cutting the teeth, so I'm hoping she picks back up on the solids.

Next time on the blog - Howard's homemade Lego video.  Yeah, that's right - a HOMEMADE LEGO VIDEO!  They will rock your world.  :)

Snow & an old laundry basket

Today is April 19th and we woke up to SNOW!  WHAT?  Who ordered this in mid-April?  Yesterday afternoon it started snowing very hard, with no sign of letting up.  I know it's just a little snow.  And I know it will melt.  And I know in two months the thought of snow will be the furthest thing from my mind.  But really... snow?  If it hadn't been for Hazel's smiley little cheeks, I might have considered crawling into bed, under the covers for 6 weeks of hibernation.  SPRING, WHERE ARE YOU????

DJ Howard

Oooops, I posted the last blog on accident, without DJ Howard!  Howard adores the Bubble Guppies (a cartoon on Nick Jr).  There is an episode all about music and instruments.  I've watched it several times with Howard and he keeps telling me he wants DJ clothes, like Gil (one of the character) has.  When I ask him what they look like, he just points to Gil on TV.  The other night he came out of his bedroom with a HUGE smile on his face because he had a DJ shirt on (and yes, he had just showered and combed his own hair)!  I had to very hard to not laugh.  He thought he was the real McCoy - a real DJ!  This is one of those stories and pictures he is going to hate when he's about 17.

SPRING BREAK, DJ Howard and visitors

Spring Break has been over for a week now, so I thought it would be a perfect time to FINALLY share some of the fun stuff we did during break and the week since.  First, let me just say, I love spring break.  I remember looking forward to it when I was in school.  It's the perfect time of year for a break.  It feels like winter is finally coming to an end and with a little chance, the weather will be great for us to start celebrating spring.

With as much as Howard loves school, he wasn't that excited to take a break from it.  I signed him up for a 2 day Dinosaur Explorer class at Mobius (kids museum).  The class ran for 2 hours each day.  Although some of the craft were a bit easy, he enjoyed playing with the other kids and learning more about Dinosaurs.  The instructor was fantastic!  She was great with the kids.  We have a bunch of fun crafts hanging around the house.  And we couldn't be at Mobius for 2 days of classes without playing (and napping for Hazel).

We spent a few days with my mom, dad and nephew (Nick) who is living with my parents.  (See previous hiking post!)  The week BEFORE spring break, my brother & sister in law were in town (from San Diego) for a memorial service for one of my brother's best friends.  While they were visiting, my sister-in-law's father passed away.  He had been sick with cancer for some time, however he took a very sudden and tragic turn for the worst while they were here.  So, my brother ended up staying with us for a couple of days while Mandy (sister in law) was with family in Montana.  Despite the sadness that brought them to us, we LOVED seeing my brother, aka - Uncle Dan!  And who wouldn't love seeing him when he brings 2 new sets of legos for a certain 4-year-old that lives here.  :)  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Dan.

Saddle Rock Hikes

We had a fantastic Spring Break week.  I have so much to write about our Spring Break, but feel like 2 days of the break deserve their own post, so here it is.  For a couple of days of break, we went to Wenatchee to stay with my parents.  This was especially exciting for Howard because my 12-year-old nephew, Nick lives with my parents.  Nick walks on water in Howard's eyes.  They both LOVE legos and play so well together.  Anyway, my parents live very close to several hiking trails near the Saddle Ridge area.  The Saddle Ridge looks just like a horse saddle.  You'll see some pictures below.

For our first day of "hiking", we started out on a horse trail.  It's a trail that hikers with horses start out on, because it's so wide (it's an old mining road).  We took several trails off the road to make our own hike.  We hiked for 2.5 hours.  My mom, nephew, Howard, Hazel and I explored and took our time checking all the neat things out.  We forgot anything to carry Hazel in, so she got to ride in the umbrella stroller.  It was interesting, but we made it work.  She slept most of time and didn't seem to mind the bumpy ride.  Howard & Nick found so many cool things to play with - cat tails, an old wrecked car, rocks and sticks to name a few.  

For my mom & I, the coolest part of Day 1 of hiking was finding a cool little treasure box.  We were looking for a bowled-out rock to give the dog (Athena) some water during our snack break.  In digging through a small pile of rocks, we found a small container with a notebook and some other random things in it.  The notebook had the names and dates others had found the box.  We aren't sure if it was a Geo-Cache, but we were pretty proud for finding it without any gadgets.  We left all our names and the date in the notebook.  The previous entry was 2-10-10, over a year ago!

Day 2 of hiking, I took Howard, Nick and Athena on a much tougher high, up to Saddle Ridge.  It's a very steep but somewhat short hike.  It took up about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the top and about 20 minutes to get down.  All our focus and energy was put into climbing.  We saw lots of neat stuff, including someone walking 3 mini horses, lots of fun sticks and some GIRLS (or at least that was the neat part of Nick, the 12-year-old nephew).

All in all, we had an awesome 2 days of FUN and hiking.  My legs are finally feeling better, but the downhill climb from day 2 just about killed my legs.  I love creating these special memories with family!

When will it ever warm up???

Hazel has been so icky the last few days.  We know for sure she's teething, as we can see one of her top teeth through the skin, but she screams if we try to help push it through.  On top of that, I suspect she has a touch of a cold, she is just crusted over (for lack of a better description).  She's been napping great though, which has been our saving grace.  This past week my dad was in Spokane for some detective training and stayed with us for 5 days.  He brought their new puppy (5 months old), Athena.  Hazel LOVED having her around to lick her toes and fingers.  Howard wasn't too sure about such a big dog.  He kept telling us he wants a "Shima" dog, which is a very small breed of dogs that several preschool families have.  While the dog was here, Hazel started scooting around some more, she's starting to really get around.  We're really having to pay attention to choking hazards and baby-proofing.

We are beyond ready for warmer weather.  Howard has been taking advantage of the few nicer/warmer/no-rain days to play outside as much as possible!  We have some great neighbor kids who are older, but always include Howard in tag, rolling down the hill or just picking weeds.  The rain has been TERRIBLE, so much!  I heard on the news the other day that this March was the 3rd wettest on record.  We have had a couple of estimates done on having our backyard re-done and plan to have a piece of play equipment installed sometime this summer.  It will be nice to play at home in our own yard (not to mention saving on gas for trips to the park).  Howard wants a back yard like his friend Jacob, with a sandbox and a fence he can see through.  :)

Howard played a great April Fools joke on his teacher, Ms. Jean.  If you have read the April issue of Disney's Family Fun, maybe you saw the Sponge Cake idea for April Fools.  Well, we made a 3 layer sponge cake out of kitchen sponges, frosted it and decorated it with spring color sprinkles.  I suspect Ms. Jean reads the same magazine, as she played right into Howard's prank.  The look on his face when she cut into the cake was PRICELESS!  Here's a picture of he & Ms. Jean after she cut into the cake.  :)

Howard continues to ask for another baby.  He told me this week, "Mom, I just love babies, please can we have another one?"  :)  Makes my heart smile.  I feel like maybe we did something right with bringing Hazel into his life?  Who knows, but I love this soft, sensitive side of him, I hope it never leaves his soul and spirit.  He will make a great dad one day.

I have been doing good.  I started Weight Watchers several weeks ago and have lost about 8 pounds.  What I like about WW is that it's practical and they really don't forbid any foods, it's about portion control and feeling satisfied.  I've been working out 5 days a week and making time to take care of myself.

Last night I joined the old Oxyfresh group for Texas Hold 'Em poker.  Though I was the first one out of money, I had a great time reconnecting with old co-workers and friends.  Brian stayed home to take care of the kiddos but I'm hoping he can join us next time.

Brian is doing great, staying very busy with work.  We have a family vacation planned in June.  We're going to see his family in Maryland for a week and staying in Ocean City, which resembles Seaside Heights a little (for you Jersey Shore fans).  It's a fun place.  Brian and I went there several years ago when we were dating and had a blast.  Brian is looking forward to the break from work and to see some family he hasn't seen in over 15 years.

OVERWHELM!

I can't believe it's been a MONTH since I posted.  I started this blog with the intention of posting at least once a week.  We have been SO busy - soccer 3 times a week, karate 2 times a week, preschool 4 mornings a week and so on...  But, I'm back on track and recommitted to once a week!

Hazel is growing up SO fast.  She will be 8 months old in about a week.  She is sitting up really well.  She rolls, like a champ from her back to her stomach.  She hasn't quite mastered going from her stomach to her back.  She gets pretty frustrated when she can't do it so we help her out.  She is sleeping great, usually 12 - 14 hours each night.  Mama LOVES this!  Hazel and I are starting a mommy & me swim class in the middle of April.  We have taken her swimming at the pool at the YMCA a couple of times and she seems to really like the water.  She splashes like crazy and Howard enjoys giving her a tour of the pool every time we're there with her.  :)

Howard is a busy 4, almost 5 year old.  We've kept him in 2 Soccer Tots programs through the winter and spring practice for the fall/spring league he's in has started up again.  So he has 3 hours of soccer a week right now, which he thinks is great.  He's also in karate twice a week.  He earned his orange stripe last session and is progressing nicely and seems  to enjoy it.  He has a great teacher who has a girl Howard's age and a baby boy Hazel's age.  We always have lots to talk about before and after class.  Howard is in preschool 4 mornings a week.  He keeps asking when he will get to go to school all day.  He's too excited to grow up!  We are signed up for a dinosaur class at Mobius (the local kids museum) for 2 days of spring break.  And, he's SO INTO LEGO's!  He doesn't know that I'm taking him to Legoland in California in June for a couple of days!  I can't wait.  We're staying with my brother & sister-in-law who live in San Diego.  It's going to be such a fun surprise.

Brian and I can't believe how quick winter flew by!  We are excited for spring and summer and lots of fun outdoor family stuff.  We're looking into having some work done on our back yard.  It's so expensive to have this work done, but it will make our back yard much more family friendly!