Audrey is Three!

Audrey Elizabeth, you turn three years old! It's hard to believe how fast time flies and how much you have changed. Each year I look at your pictures and think oh my goodness, she's not little Audrey anymore. This year for your birthday, you asked to get your ears pierced. Mommy, Daddy, sisters and Nana took you to sweet and sassy (which describes you perfectly!) to get your ears pierced. It was quite a drive but worth it!

Your favorite phrase is still "and me". And yes, you will always be included and get treated equally, whether you realize it at the time or not. It's hard to understand Ava is two years older because you want to be just like her and as big as she is!

You are the most snuggly loving little girl. I get tons of hugs and kisses from you, and I love it! You are increadably intellegent when you want to be! You find all kinds of ways to get out of picking up around the house. Going potty, being tired, knee hurting... you keep thinking of new ones to pull over on Mommy, but I'm on to you :) I try to work on your letters with you, but you make me think you don't know them at all. However, just today you showed Mommy and Mimi that you know a lot more then you let on!

I am so excited to see the little girl you are becoming. Each new year brings new and exciting things. I can't wait to see what year number three has to offer!

I just broke my camera today! I am hoping to get it fixed so I can take lots of pictures of you because I know how much you love looking at pictures!

Gabby

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Coming Back

Ok, I've been really thinking about whether or not I should start blogging again.... I have decided it's the only way I am going to remember what happens in our lives because otherwise I won't write it down!

One month in the new house! A few boxes still packed, but they're clothes that aren't needed, so I'm not counting them! Therefore, we're officially fully unboxed! Still having issues getting everything working properly, mainly the A/C in the master bedroom... but we're working on it. Decorating still needs to be done! I think it's going to be a weekend of hanging things on the walls, I've refrained until they finished their touch up painting... but now it's done and I'm ready to get some pictures on the walls!

Living further out has been amazing! This is so much more like where I grew up! We see rabbits daily and even had our first deer spotting! Audrey is terrified of rabbits and deer. Matt saw the deer this weekend and showed it to her and she freaked out... "Daddy hold me, hole me, he bit me... deer bite me!" If only she'd be afraid of the bugs and spiders she likes to hand to me! She was telling her Pa about the rabbit and he told her he put it in the soup (he made dinner for us that night), so now she tells you about the rabbit and "it's in the soup". To be so fearless at times, she freaks out when animals encroached upon "her area".

Ava is growing up so big! She wanted chocolate milk last night, and she said "Mommy, can I have some chocolate milk, you know it has good protein in it." What a mess. She has changed her favorite color, it is now blue! She wants everything blue. She even loves Cinderella. Never seen the movie, but Cinderella has a pretty blue dress and therefore, she wants everything Cinderella. Matt and I made a very diligent effort to keep all princess things out of the house when Ava was young, but now she's choosing it, which I think is ok. She's not saying she's a princess, rather liking the character. Matt still doesn't like it so much, but she isn't a big girly, girly type girl. For the first time last night she played with the girls and not the boys, so it's not like we have a mini diva on our hands!

Little Addison is still growing in my tummy. 2 1/2 weeks till her due date! I have a sono Thursday and I can't wait to see her! This pregnancy is going really well as far as the high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia issues, however my immune system is almost non-existent and therefore I am catching anything and everything going around! I have been healthy for a couple weeks now and have banned all chick-fil-a and McDonald type places till this baby comes. I don't want to be sick again. I finally got my hospital bags packed... Finished a couple days ago. I know I was a little late, but it's ok because she didn't' come early! Still don't have a middle name picked out, that is next on the list...

Oh how I am grateful for my husband and children! Had a bit of a scare last night and thought that one of the boys in our community group was kidnapped. Although it only lasted several minutes, it was long enough to cause major unrest, because it could have very easily happened. And to think he was really gone, I can't describe the horror you feel! Needless to say you are grateful for you children and their safety, all other things that you tend to worry about are not important! Matt had the stranger talk with Ava last night, not sure how much she understood, but at least he tried.

check your privacy settings - not that it really matters

So in the Internet age, I know people who really want to find you, can... I have been very diligent in keeping all my settings as private as possible, but to my surprise my co-worker showed me a website with my image, email address, physical address, family members, knew that I was a mother.. etc.

Blogger even lets my latest blog entries available!!! I know I haven't been updating but I think this may be the end.

All you facebook users, images I have marked as "friends only" are the images that are appearing on this website. ANYTHING you post is subject to easily retrievable public knowledge. Having dealt with nosey co-workers it's pretty scary what they can find and know about you, without you having a clue. Luckily this co-worker no longer works for us, but you never know who else may be the same way.

Number three is on the way

We are expecting our third child due September 10th. Matt is wonderful and is taking care of the girls and the house while I deal with sickness and general feeling of blah.... I have such a wonderful husband! But this is the main reason the blog hasn't been updated in quite sometime~

Just sitting at home waiting on the dr. to call me back!

I am trying really hard not to get frustrated, but I am waiting on a call from my doctor before I head off to work. I have some mysterious illness.... well at least the minor emergency doctor was baffled by it. I think it's hand foot and mouth disease, but my blisters and ulcers don't look near as bad as the pics on the web. He said that a number of viruses can cause my symptoms, but he's never seen anything like it before.

And there it is the call... off to the dr again

Kauai

View from the back door, go down some steps and there's the beach!

Just down the beach we found this fallen tree, the girls loved playing with it!

The girls before the luau, which was amazing!
Looking down the beach from the house we are staying at, just perfect!


Sunrise 10 feet from the back door, I think I could stay here forever!

With our last full day left Ava has finally adjusted to the time difference! Going to bed at 7, just after crab hunting, and waking up at 4 in the morning has ended..... too bad we head back tomorrow.

I have many many more pictures, but don't have the time to load them!

Christmas Photos

Ava and the "toilet"

It has been forever since a post but work blocked blogger and there's not much time for the computer at home, my kids deserve their mommy while I'm here. But this story is just too funny not to tell..

Audrey is fascinated with toilets. We've caught her playing in it with her hands (gross) and stirring the water in the hotel with her toothbrush (double gross!). This was the last time we saw that toothbrush! Ava never did anything like this, she never got into anything that she wasn't suppose to... but as they say every child is different. Audrey is our "I can get into anything" child.

A couple of nights ago Ava discovered a golf ball in the potty. She goes by herself (that was such a huge relief) and I couldn't understand why she came running into the kitchen hysterical about the potty. She was so upset I couldn't understand much of what she was saying but her pants were still pulled down and she was doing the pee pee dance. I went to the bathroom and discovered the golf ball. I got an empty toilet paper roll and picked it up. I three the roll and golf ball away, HUGE mistake.

For the last three days at least twice a day Ava has broken down into a full fledged meltdown over Audrey throwing things in the toilet (she says it like she's from England, so cute). I think it's a Hawkins thing, but I have never, ever seen her have a complete breakdown over something, much less a golf ball (that we have tons of). She is terrified that Audrey will continue to put toys in the toilet.

She told Natalie the story and has broken down spontaneously during the day about Audrey throwing the ball in the toilet. It happened one time, and she still hasn't let it go! I was making them drinks a couple night ago and she wanted the lids, she left them in the bathroom, guess what another breakdown over the possibility that Audrey could have thrown them in the toilet. If you see her and ask her about it, you better be prepared to do damage control, because you've been for warned!

Of all the things in her short three year life thus far, to have such a problem with the golf ball in the toilet is still amazing to me.

Audrey's Development

Her development is crazy!!

Words: Ava, Dog, Cow, Puppy, Mama, Dada, Pa, No and ughhhhhh :)

Today I was using the restroom and we had company over. Audrey pushed the door open and I said, "Audrey you opened the door on Mommy." She closed the door for me without anything else being said.

Her new game is shaking her head no when she knows she's about to do something she's not suppose to. She'll wait till you look at her get a big smile on her face and shake her head. She expects you to do the same as well.

She has officially jumped on her first bed with her sister and cousin... oh my I have a feeling she's our little dare devil. She can do everything sister can (so she thinks!)

Three Year Old Conversations

Ava: Mommy, where do Winston and Bauer live (The Hager's Dogs)
Mommy: They live in Austin
Ava: Mommy, where is Austin
Mommy: South of here, also called down
Ava: And we live up?
Mommy: Yes that is called North... When you're looking north, right is east and left is west and behind you is south. (she knows her left and right, and likes to give you directions... Turn right daddy, turn right, right, right, right,.... ok good job daddy)
Ava: (silence for a moment) Which direction is straight?
Mommy and Daddy are dumbfounded and I can't even remember what I said in the moment

Ava: Wow, it's like, um, cloudy out here?
Daddy: It's called fog Ava
Ava: I don't like fog daddy, what is it
Daddy: It's when the clouds come down from the sky
Ava: Mommy look outside, that's called fog and it's when the cloud comes down from the sky.
She also told her Sunday School teachers this morning. They asked what we were doing because she talks in full sentences and paragraphs and has conversations with you. I've been trying to tell them for a LONG time how advanced she was.... Are they finally seeing it?

(those of you that know we struggled with them not letting us move her "up" to the two year old class when she was 34 months. They go by school dates for promotion. She was in the walking class for two years.)

To my amazing Husband and daughter:

My great uncle died and Audrey and I rode with my parents to East Texas for the weekend. I haven't really ever left my kids. They've gone and visited others but this is the second time that I've left Ava and it was hard. Everyone was talking about Audrey and how cute she was and I kept saying, I have a three year old too!

When we got home Sunday night everyone was a sleep but me, I kind of thought Matt and Ava would wake up and talk to me but they were sound a sleep cuddling together. I couldn't mess that up, even though I think I deserve to be in the middle!

I decided to watch TV, the pre-recorded shows, but they were cancelled for football. At first I was mad, but then realized I really don't need to be watching these shows.... Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters aren't the best thing for me to be giving ratings to, but I love them. I blame it on Audrey this time, bed rest with her created a TV watching machine out of me several weeks and I got addicted to these shows (and the Real Housewives of Atlanta, but it's already over). I decided to go to sleep, which is what I should've done to begin with!

Monday morning Ava jumped up on the bed with a gift... "wake-up mommy, wake-up I have a surprise for you". I rolled over not quite ready to get up, but decided I needed to check this out. It was a bag from Baily Banks and Biddle. A little confused I woke myself up even more and began opening it. Matt tells me it's an early birthday present and Ava is giggling with delight, anxiously anticipating me opening the gift. It was hard to get into so it took a while, but I finally get it open and it's a diamond necklace, earring set. I was shocked! My birthday is weeks away! Matt explains he didn't think Ava could keep a secret so he would rather surprise me then me find out. (they went shopping for me while I was in East Texas).

I've never seen a child so excited to give others gifts. We did a shoe box Christmas thing for church and so was very excited to buy toys for someone else. She has such a giving and caring heart! I love her so much, she grew up so much this weekend. I guess she's been doing it all along you just don't notice as much when you see her everyday. I had conversations with her on the phone and I would've thought I was talking to a ten year old. I don't like leaving her and hope it's a very long time before I do it again!

Then, I don't know how it came up but I figured out that he got it on sale and saved a lot of money... now my questioning mind is thinking... you had to spend this much money (at least) to save this amount. Sigh, wish he wouldn't have spent so much, so I try to be grateful and not get upset, but honestly there are a lot of other things I could see to spending the money on...

Now that I am writing this I feel bad that I wasn't just grateful and didn't care about the money. I truly have an amazing husband. God has blessed me in so many ways, but one that I would like to point out today, it my incredible husband whom I love very much!

He taught Sunday School this week for the first time and I missed it! Wish I could've been there for support. I even pre read all the material and was going to help him prepare, but the funeral was something I needed to do.

I'm getting so bad at this!

I don't have pictures to post, the iphone has made me really lazy for carrying around the camera :( I need to get better, I've asked for a new camera for Christmas (just what Matt wants).

The purpose of my blog today is to ask all of you to begin praying for our family. A big transition is ahead for us in about six months. Our Nanny has informed us she's 90% sure she's leaving. I don't blame her, she's getting married and they're moving off together. (we think, depends where he goes to school)

There's a part of me that would like to stay at home, but then there's even larger part of me that wants to work. I love my job and love my co-workers. I feel I've established wonderful relationships, started a club and just enjoy being an engineer. Heck, the women I work with have even taught me to sew, something I've always wanted to do! Can you believe a bunch of us engineering types, get together and sew... wouldn't ever imagined it, but there are several other women I work with who are a lot like me.

Matt and I have always planned our finances and such that staying at home wouldn't be a financial burden, so unless he loses his job, we'd be just fine. In my perfect world, I think I'd work part time or variable schedule. That way I have time for my Mommy duties and time to use my brain :). That sounds awful, but there really is a big difference in the amount of intellectual things to do at home and those at work. I feel at home I would have to use a lot more of my creative side, which isn't my best side :)

I've asked Matt over and over what he prefers and he doesn't have an answer, it's almost like I want to be told what to do. I have six months to decide what the next chapter in our lives will look like. Please be in prayer with us, that we follow what God wants for our family. I don't want to be selfish and go to work if it only benefits me! And, if I'm suppose to go to work, then an amazing woman will come into our lives to take care of our children. Lastly, for the girls, losing Natalie is going to be really tough on them, especially Ava! Audrey I think is still too young but Ava loves her very much! (and we do to, she is wonderful with the girls!)

Good Times with Good Friends!

This was suppose to be a backyard BBQ, however it rained and rained and rained! The kids played inside until they couldn't stand it anymore and Ava and the boys played in the rain (and mud).

Last of summer

This was our last time in the pool. Ava capped the summer off swimming with floaties in the big pool and not having to hold onto Mommy or Daddy! I knew there was a water bug in there somewhere.

Note to self: Never make your child go down a slide in the deep end without being able to catch them! This event started our summer swimming and finally by the end of summer she was able to overcome the fear.

Here are some pictures of Audrey that we used for her birthday invitation. She loves the water! I have now finished the tutus and Nicole has taken the girls pictures in them (she did a wonderful job) Check them out on her website: nicolehagerphotography.com then click on online viewing.

Cowboys game!

Opening game for the new season at the new stadium. We were part of the largest crowd in NFL history!

Audrey's Birthday

I have many more pictures to post but here are a few from her actual birth"day". We went to eat at Mi Cocina.

Her stats for one year are: 18 lbs. 24 inches long

She has not gained any weight since her nine month visit, so we have to gaining to do! Her and Ava are now equal in percentile at age one.

Crazy Fall

This has been a crazy last couple of weeks! Having the swine flu and Audrey's party has kept us very busy. One would think a week home from work would lend me time to blog and catch up on things, but it doesn't! Between two sick kids, Ava being very sick with 104 fever, and a sick husband my time was taken. I did manage a trip to Bath and Body Works to get some candles. I had my heart set of their new fragrance Leaves, but it's so good it was sold out. I settled for the good ole fashion fall favorite of sweet cinnamon pumpkin. I have to say I do miss working at BBW, the lotions and fragrances, talking with women but then reality sets in and I can remember being very thankful to be moving on into my next job, engineering!

So my new ambition/goal/call is to identify one person God wants me to share my testimony with. I know you should always be doing this, but I want this to be much more than just telling my testimony. I want to build a relationship and trust so that my testimony means more to them. This was a challenge not brought on by myself but from our new church planting pastor at church. He's been meeting with community group leaders and I must say it's been amazing. I have several people on my heart, maybe it will be more than one, or maybe the one will become more clear in the days to come! I used to think I didn't have any non believers around me, but slight comments and responses to casual conversation at work has lead me to believe otherwise.

In addition I have decided to start blogging about God too, not just my children! So you can follow along my journey and help keep me accountable and of course pray along with me that God will work in these people's lives.

New ideas

Here are a few pics I'm adding from my camera.

I have been letting the blog slip lately. I've downloaded an app for my phone, so we'll see how it goes... I have tons of stuff to post!

We are on our way home from a day at the State Fair and shopping :) too bad it appears Ava is getting sick (winder if it was the dr.s office that was FULL of sick kids... Pleases don't ever be one of those parents who let your sick kid stay on the well kid waiting room!! Especially when you have masks on because you have flu like symptoms! Here's the reason why we went:






Posted from my iPhone

Audrey's First Steps/11 months

Well it's official, Audrey has taken her first steps. 5 in a row to be exact! She doesn't just take one, she wants to get somewhere. It all happened yesterday, September 3rd.

here are some pics that I've been meaning to post!

She is getting so big! Already talking in sentences...

She says "Ava no" or "no Ava"

What was the likelihood she'd say Ava and Mama at the same time and start says Ava No? I guess pretty high when they're together all the time.