Happy Birthday Hailey!

Today 3/26/07.

Yesterday's family b-day party.

Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet Hailey Noelle! I can't believe Hailey is five. I am going to miss her when she goes to kindergarten, she has been my little buddy at home for five years (kindergarten here is full day). I do know that she is getting ready though. She is at that age where she just needs something more and always wants to be with friends.

We had a family dinner with Neil & Heather, and Darrin (Donae was sick), on Sunday. The big cookie pizza was a hit! Today we had Aubree over to play and we had a minnie birthday party. Two others were supposed to come, but I'm not sure what happened. (We threw a big party last year and we thought we would take a break this year). Hailey did some of her favorite things today. We painted nails with sparkly polish, did a craft, decorated cupcakes and played a game. Her and Aubree played "dress up" for hours.

Hailey scored with the gifts (I hit an after Christmas 75% off sale at Target). She got two Ariel dress ups, one is a mermaid costume, the other a bride's outfit, a fancy Barbie phone that you can download things onto, two new shirts, and from grandpa Price, a cute dress and matching necklace, that she loves. She also got a Barbie and a movie from Aubree. (And previously, a dress, purse, bath fizzies, and a Cinderella flannel story toy from grandma D).

Dear Hailey,
I thought I would write a little about your personality at age five. You are a sweet little girl with an infectuous laugh. You never complain and are always excited about going places and trying new things. Your happy little spirit makes you easy to love.
You play with Aubree a couple of times a week. Surprisingly, you are usually "in charge", but you play very well and are pretty good about sharing. You love sparkly, girly things, but when Kaden is home, it is all rough and tumble play, and there are usually a few moments of teasing on both parts. You seem very coordinated and impress me with your dancing skills. You shook your hips today and it scared me for the future. (It scares me anyway, because you are so beautiful). You love preschool and dance.

You love to climb all over dad and I (and your grandpas) even if we don't want you to. I have to remind you that I am not a jungle gym. You are an affectionate little girl, and will give your heart to those who give their heart to you.

Every night around 8:15pm you are exhausted and can hardly make it through scriptures- usually you are asleep on the couch before this or during this. Some of your current favorite foods are oranges, strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt. You ask for an orange about 3-4 times a day. If I would let you, you would eat these four foods, with an occasional bowl of cereal, all day.

You can be shy, and hate it when I repeat to an adult something you said that was cute. We are not allowed to laugh at your follies (I think this was learned from your older brother). This embarasses you. Sometimes you like to pester Ella. You will lay her down and then pull her up, over and over, as if she is a rag doll. She starts to screech and say "no" and I usually have to tell you to stop (a couple of times and then threaten a time out). This is when you are in one of those, "I need attention moods". This is not the norm, most of the time you are obedient, helpful, and kind.

I feel blessed to be your mother. You are a very special spirit, who was preserved for these times. You are a blessing to our family- we all love you very dearly. Love, Mom

Also, if anyone is still reading, I wanted to remind you that Ella has her MRI on Friday. Could you please keep her in your prayers? I am sure everything will be fine, but it is always a little worrisome when she goes under anesthesia. I'll let everyone know how it goes. And by the way, the weather cooled back down to the 70's and actually rained for two days straight-- it was very nice!

Jello Pudding yum, yum, yum

At first glance this may look like some other "brown substance" in the tub- it's actually chocolate pudding. Ella's Occupational Therapist wants her to get used to lots of different textures, especially on her feet, so she brought pudding to this session. Ella thought it was great and kept licking her hands. She was a little tentative with her feet, but the therapist (Kim) helped her get used to it. PT's and OT's certainly cannot be afraid to touch. There jobs are actually very physical. I think I could handle doing little children, but could not do adults! Maybe I'm a little tactile defensive-- I still cannot stand touching cotton. By the way here is the proper definition of tactile defensiveness-- incase you wanted to know (a quiz will follow.... j/k).

"The root cause is neurological dysorganization in the midbrain region of the brain which is largely responsible for filtering incoming stimuli, and, may not adequately screen out all extraneous tactile stimulation causing the child to perceive the input as extreme and uncomfortable. The central nervous system's ability to process tactile sensory input is distorted causing the child great discomfort. Their brain may register even the most subtle sensations as extreme irritation or even painful and he/she may respond in an abnormally reactive way such as grimacing, or pulling away from the stimulus.

The central nervous system must rely on five sensory nerve receptors in the skin to keep it informed about it's environment. These receptors are; light touch (surface), pressure (deep), temperature (hot and cold) and pain. It is quite possible for one type of receptor to be sensitive and the other normalized. This explains why he/she may tolerate light touches, but dislike firm hugs, or hate tags (on clothing) and hair cuts or brushing."

They say a lot of children will eventually outgrow this. I think there are many kids with slight versions of it (ie; hating getting their hair brushed). I think Kaden has a little tactile defensiveness. He can't stand to touch clothing when his fingers are wrinkled from a long shower. He is so rigid when I brush his hair or put suntan lotion on- whereas Hailey is not. He also hates the texture of most fruits and will gag the second he has it in his mouth (and has done this since 10 months old). Hopefully, he'll outgrow this.

Our weekend

"Our weekend"- Friday- Chuck E. Cheese (the pizza makes you feel like "chucking"). But the kids had a blast and I had a pretty good coupon, so it was worth it. It was so cute to see Ella ride the rides. She was so excited.

Saturday was incredibly busy, we had to go to the otherside of town for some errands. The benefit to this is lunch at Cafe Rio- Yummy! The receipt prints out a free dessert coupon if you call in a survey, so we called it in while there. We ended up trying out the chocolate flan with whip cream and strawberries- DELISH! (Utahns check your receipts, Neil and Heather have been doing this for a couple of months).

That night we had a triple date with Darrin and Donae, and Neil and Heather. We went to see David Copperfield. His illusions are pretty amazing! He made a car appear from nowhere. He made members of the audience disappear. His smaller card type tricks were pretty amazing, too. The only thing I didn't like were the numerous sexual inuendos. I was glad Kaden wasn't there. He also seems pretty self absorbed, however quite witty. As for the magic- it was awesome! Afterwards, we went to the Spaghetti Factory. It was a weekend of eating out.

My kids get so excited whenever they have a babysitter. It is just soo expensive. That is why we usually switch with Neil and Heather. The going rate around here for three kids is five bucks an hour- some people pay even more! I paid 37 bucks for a babysitter last night. This is highway robbery! Man- I would have been rich making this amount. Minimum wage was only $4.25 when I babysat. I work with the young women and this is what they expect- they don't know how spoiled they are!

To change the subject- what is up with 92 degrees already? I hear this is going to be an incredibly hot summer (like 115 degrees isn't hot enough). I am not ready for this. I wish I could be a sunbird and go somewhere else for the summer. That is why we do a lot of little trips during the summer time- it is worth the money. Oh well, it has been a great five months, I just hope it cools off again.

A Fun Trip

We are back! We had a great time in Cali. It was a very relaxing trip. We got there at 2AM our time on Friday- mom and Dave were still up- so we wanted a tour of the house and yard! Wow! The pictures don't do it justice- it is beautiful! Our kids played in the backyard literally all day on Saturday. There are so many little places to explore. David and Jill came over later that day, so we had a yummy dinner with them. Dominic is such a cutie. He has beautiful green eyes, dark curly hair and olive skin. He's going to be a "looker" (and Samantha, too). I tell you what, this family has some good genes (ok- our spouses do, too).
Sunday we slept in (til 8AM) and went to church. We had another delicious dinner at Dad and Vickies. David and Jill came, too. Our kids enjoyed playing in their beautiful backyard as well.
Monday, Thayne went golfing and Mom, Hailey, and I hit a couple of stores (I'm sure you can guess which ones). That night we had fun sitting by the firepit. We roasted marshmallows and sang cumbaya. Ok- we didn't really sing, but even better, we sat around the fire and chatted while listening to the beautiful sounds of nature (and a couple of airplanes).
I don't want to leave this on a down note, so I won't write about the thirteen hour car ride home. A couple of hints- it involved diarrhea, road construction, a slow two laned highway, and traffic from an accident. I can't complain too much, besides a couple of "when are we going to get theres?", my children did very well. Not a single cry from Ella.

Oh and one question, why does all will power go out the door when I visit mom (like I ever have will power)? Her pantry is just too exciting. One of my favorites at her house are toasted english muffins- yum. The large Costco assortment of goodies are always enticing. Thayne and I discovered that we really like the tamales! And, the Oreo yogurt was awesome! Here are some pictures.

Ella working on her tan. Toastin' the mallows!

Happy early birthday to Hailey!

Spring Break

We're goin back to Cali, to Cali, to Cali (anyone remember that cheesy song). Next week is spring break, so we just decided to go to Elk Grove. It's going to be a quick trip. We'll leave Friday and come back Tuesday. I'm excited to see beautiful, green Sacramento and mom's new house (not to mention all the fam!). I'm always a little nervous about our 8 year old, American-made minivan, but it's done well on the many other excursions. (I probably just jinxed us.) Anyways, I'll let you all know when we get back. Tiger's yogurt, here we come.

Something to look forward to

Thayne and I always said that we wanted to do something big for our tenth anniversary. Well, giving birth to Ella, four days before, was something big, but not quite what we had in mind. Sooo, we have finally made plans to do something. I am not nursing or pregnant, so this is the perfect time. We are going to an all inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in June (picture of the resort above) near Cancun. We will be going with Rich and Crystal, and I am very excited! They have been there before and loved it. The water is turquoise and the sand is like powder. There are also some amazing Mayan ruins nearby, underground water caves to snorkel, and much more. If any of you would like to come, you are welcome to. I think the cost is pretty good- it is about $2200 for Thayne and I. This includes airfare, six nights at a nice resort, all food and drinks, and taxes and tips. We will be sipping pina coladas on the beach!
This has motivated me to work out! I really don't want to be sitting in a bathing suit next to Crystal, looking like this - ok, it actually wouldn't matter if I lost fifty pounds, I still would not be as thin as her, it's not in the genes! Good thing she's so sweet and fun to hang with, or else I would have to hate her.
As for other news, it was a week of birthdays in our family (me-24th; Mike-25th; Jill-26th-Happy birthday Jill; Aubree-2nd; Darrin-5th; and Charmian-6th). We have had four delicious birthday dinners this past week (mine, Aubree's, a family in our ward, and Darrin's. Hailey went to another party as well). This week rivals with the end of June, beginning of July birthday week. We could be adding another cousin that week, Charmian is due July 7th, they found out it's a boy. Congratulations to James and Charm.