Hadden Playing Solo

Hadden was home with me today while Jim took Xander & Liam to Xander's soccer practice. Hadden plays so well by himself. He has quite the imagination. He talks to himself the entire time! This time, he didn't realize I was watching him, let alone recording him, until half way through!

New Playground

We got a new playground this past weekend. Jim and I moved it and put it together ourselves. Yes, we are both still alive...barely. The boys are super excited and have played on it everyday since we got it. Hadden woke me up this morning

saying, "Playground mommy, up, mommy, up!" He took me by the hand and walked me to the back door. I love that kid. Yesterday we played on outisde at the playground for at least an hour, I was ready to come in-so hot-some dark clouds rolled in so I was granted a reprieve. I can't complain, they love it and it wears them out! Thanks Mimi!

Surprise! White Blanket has Resurfaced!!!

After 2 days missing and searching everywhere, I mean everywhere, with no luck, white blanket suddenly appeared on Thursday during Xander's naptime. Xander was in his room asleep, Liam was watching a movie, & Hadden was playing quietly with hotwheels on the living room floor. Anyway, I was working at the computer and Hadden was starting to get loud with his Vrrooom noises, so I got up to tell him to quiet down. I look down and white blanket is in the middle of the floor! A miracle for sure.

Happy Birthday Memaw!!!!

Farewell "White Blanket"...

Xander has had a blankie since he was about 1. He had all these beautiful handmade blankets from my mom and Mimi but he chose to have a handed down snagly blanket for his blankie. great. We carried that thing everywhere, Publix, rides in the car, school for naptime, vacations...where Xander went the blanket went. He called the blanket "white blanket", original right? Anyway, it was nasty dirty and I would have to sneak it to wash it. Grammy has sewn it I don't know how many times. Xander LOVED this blankie. Well, today he was having a hard day and was having a temper tantrum in the car. I didn't know it at the time but apparently he threw the blaket out the window. He didn't say a thing! After we got home, I was looking everywhere for it for Xander's naptime. I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked him if he knew where it was, we looked everywhere. About 15 minutes into it I asked him if he left it in the car. He said, "Maybe I threw it out the window, Maybe". What???? I asked him if he was serious, he said maybe. After a few more questions, and more searching it has been determined that blankie has been thrown to the curb, literally. We retraced our path in the car and couldn't find it. Goodbye white blanket! I feel sad for Xander but I guess a life lesson has been learned, maybe. OK, probably not.

Somewhere between Weeki Wachee & Hernando Beach

Not quite sure where we were exactly but there was a park off the road we were exploring on. We stopped there on our round about way back to the hotel after our day at the Springs. There was a tower that we climbed with a view of the Gulf. There is a picture of Jim with the tower in the background.

Weeki Wachee Springs

After Clearwater Beach, we went on to Weeki Wachee Springs, which is just north of New Port Richey, about an hour north of Clearwater. We saw the REAL mermaids perform the "Little Mermaid". It is pretty cool that they make it look effortless. Liam really liked it- he went and saw the show at both showings. The last time by himself. There is a part of the show that the Sea Witch jumps out at the crowd and is quite scary. Hadden was not a fan. He kept saying, "No mermaids!"!! I tried to bring him with Liam & I to see the show the 2nd time but he screamed and cried and repeated, "No mermaids" over and over! There is also a water park, Bucaneer Bay, that is part of the springs. The slides go into the spring and they had a lazy river raft for the springs as well. It is a very small park with 6 slides. Perfect for us! Xander was about an inch too short to ride them. :( There was a kiddie pool with a little slide and tunnel to play in for Hadden- Xander played there too. Xander and I rode the springs in a boat raft and had a good time doing that. Liam was on the slides for the better part of the time. We were there all day and only had a few meltdowns but overall the kids were really good.

The Pirate's Ransom in Clearwater Beach

Ay, Mateys! We just got back from our vacation to Clearwater Beach. Jim has a beach soccer tournament there every summer. The boys & I met him there on Sunday and stayed the next day in Clearwater. We took a Pirate Cruise. The boys LOVED it! They dressed as pirates, had a treasure hunt, water gun fight, listened to Pirate stories, had their faces painted, and got to ride on a Pirate ship with Pirates for 2 hours!

Mr. Potato Head & Friends

These pics are from Hadden's Birthday dinner. When we got home Hadden was playing with Mr. Potato Head and I looked over and there he was...my Mr. Potato Head son.

Hadden's 2nd Birthday- The Real Deal

Two years ago, today, Hadden Lars was born. Today I will remember that day and all the days since that I have shared with him. I'm sure most moms do find themselves reflecting back on the "birth" day every year, no matter how old their child is. Here is our "birth" day as I remember:

It was a pretty normal day, July 8, 2006. Jim was out of town for Renee & Josh's Wedding in Daytona. My mom had come to stay with me since I was so near the due date and we had a "false" labor a week or so prior.

We played in the pool, outside, took naps, everyday stuff. Then around 5pm or so I started feeling a little yucky. I got the kids dinner and took them to McDonald's to get Ice cream cones. When we got back, 6:30pm, I called Jim to tell him I was pretty sure we were having a baby soon. I got the kids ready for bed and they watched a show on TV. By this time, I had called the midwife and she said she would be there at 7pm. I remember thinking I had to get the kids asleep before she got there or they would never go to sleep. So, I laid down in the bed with Liam to read a book. It was a Dora book. My mom put Xander to bed at the same time. That book I read to Liam was the most heavily breathed through book. I grunted and paused, but that book didn't take a minute longer than it did any other time!

I came out of Liam's room and a few minutes later Pam, the midwife, arrived. It was around 7p. I had called Jim but he was at the wedding reception and hard to reach. I started laboring on the birth ball- just like with Xander, only intentionally this time! This birth was longer than Xander's and a bit more painful. Hadden was born at 8:16pm. He was 8lbs & 22 inches long. He was perfect. He was born in our home in Melbourne. My mom, Pam, Christine (Pam's assistant), and I were there to witness this great arrival. Liam & Xander slept soundly through it. Jim arrived about 45 minutes after he was born. He is not meant to be at births I guess.

Hadden has been a complete joy and wonderful addition to the family. The boys love him and have always tried to help him. He is a quick learner and completely hilarious. He talks a mile a minute now and loves to be silly. He has a deep, scratchy voice and sounds a bit like a grumpy man when he talks. A few things he says are "Yup", "Tissue" (Thank you), "Oh, Man", & "I wuv you". He calls Liam "Bay", he's trying to say Liam but just can't. Xander is easier to say but sounds more like a D than an X. He says Daddy, but recently heard me calling Jim's name out the door, long and loud. "Jiiim!" Hadden now says, "Jiiiiiim" if he says "Daddy" a few times and he doesn't answer. So funny. He loves trains and trucks and can play for hours. He also has become enthralled with Dora's Backpack, yes the backpack, not Dora. He says Backpack when he sees Dora or sees the show. He likes to play outside and his favorite food is bananas. Luckily, we have easy access! He can eat, and has, 4 or so bananas one right after the other. He is a monkey. We love him and are so lucky to have him. I love you Hadden. Happy Birthday!

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