Simply amazing!

October 24th, 2009





October 24th, 2010

October 24th, 2011



Baby Hazel, almost three months old

This morning Chloe said "Mommy, Baby Hazel is growing up too fast".

Miss Chloe, two-and-half years old

Good Morning Hugs

 

Another photo of our girls hugging.  We spend a little time every morning getting our hug quota filled.

Hazel Leah 10 weeks old.

Can you say JEALOUS

My Mom and Pop are in Hawaii for 17 days.  They sent us this photo today. Have fun you two! We love you guys.

What did you just say?!?!

  I am so glad that a friend encouraged me to start this bloggng stuff.  I hesitated and thought I would never have the time or even know what to blog about.  Doug and I spend quite a bit of time after the kiddos go to bed going back through our blog.  It is funny to us that we enjoy watching our own life, as if we weren't the ones living it. In fact Mamaw, Pa, Doug, Chloe, Hazel and I spent Saturday evening watching some of the videos of Chloe we have taken over the last two years.  

Here are just a few of the funny things Chloe said this past week, that I never want to forget, so I must jot them down in our online diary :)  

Chloe always wants to know what is going on the kitchen counter, and she climbs up the drawer handles to find out.  I have asked/told/demanded that she not climb on the handles (not working very well).  Mamaw decided it was time to get that kid a footstool (duh, why didn't I think of that).  Chloe carries it around to each room of the house so she can see everything and also get into everything :)

Well, she walked up to me a few days ago holding her footstool and said "Mommy this footstool changed my life".  

On Saturday Chloe was cooking up something good in her little kitchen and brought some over to me for a taste test.  I said to her "oh my Chloe, that is wonderful. Where did you learn to cook like that?" She said "Pinterest".  I almost died laughing!  That is when you know you spend WAY to much time on Pinterest.  

Miss Chloe is fighting the dreaded toddler runny nose right now.  My brother Levi took Chloe in the bathroom to wipe her nose and she had a very important question for him.  She said "Levi are you going to be a Poppa someday?"  I thought it was interesting that she noticed that Levi doesnt have children yet and wondered if he was ever going to.  

And last, but not least.  Chloe has started calling Mamaw her Grandmother.  Today Mamaw stopped by and when it was time for her to go, Chloe ran to the door and said "goodbye Grandmother".  

That is all for now. 

Just can't get close enough :)

Chloe cannot get enough of Hazel. She kisses and hugs her over and over. 
Now, where would she get an idea like that??????
Maybe from Poppa.

Pinterest coming to life

I made cake batter truffles this afternoon. I found the recipe on Pinterest.  If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting the site you definitely should.  However, I must warn you, be prepared to spend a ton of time on there.  It is sooooo addicting.  I also made white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake truffles today, but they didn't turn out that attractive, very tasty though.  I actually like them more than the cake batter truffles. 

She is too busy right now

Anytime we ask "Queen Chloe" if she wants to do anything, play, eat, take a bath, etc, she says "I am too busy right now",  She is so funny.  In this photo I asked her if she wanted some yogurt and guess what she said. "I am too busy drawing right now".

Hazel has been very busy also, cooing and smiling.  She is even starting to laugh a little.  She seems to respond the most to her big sis.  

There is no denying these two are siblings.  Check out how much they resemble one another.

Chloe giving Hazel a few 'little' kisses

A Baker and a Woodsmith

Doug whipped us these tasty, little butterscotch maple cookies last night.  These are some of the best cookies I have ever had!  You can find the recipe here http://sugarcrafter.net/2010/11/05/maple-butterscotch-cookies

Doug finished up these nightstands he has been working on for quite some time.  Every weekend for I don't know how long he has been saying "I am going to finish those".  Well, he did this weekend! They are beautiful and they match the dresser he made for me a few years ago.

 

And one more reason why Doug is the Man! Last Wednesday Doug told me that I needed to be home the next day, because he had a surprise for us that was going to be delivered via UPS. I had to sign for it (so that meant it was over a certain dollar amount, right?).  Hmmmm, I thought and thought and could not figure out what he had up his sleeve. We received our package Thursday evening and were ecstatic!   Poppa surprised us with an IPAD2.  He had a sweet message engraved on the back for me too.  Here is a pic of Chloe with "her IPAD".  She loves it and asks me "load more apps" constantly.  We have had to do a little time restriction here and there or she would play on it all day!  Thank you Poppa.  You are the best ever XOXOXOXO

Ha-Pa again

We gathered around hot pot this evening to celebrate Doug's 30th birthday. It was fabulous as always and Doug was the last one leaving the table, as always :)

Happy Birthday Old Man :)

Happy Birthday Poppa! Welcome to the Dirty-30.  We love you..

Hi!

I just snapped this pic of my girls.  LOVE!

Whoa there! Slow down!

Hazel Leah, 7 weeks old.

Hazel is 7 weeks old and is growing, growing, growing.  She is 9 lbs and 15 ounces already.  She didn't stay itty-bitty for long enough :(  She is holding her head up and looking all around. and  knows when her Poppa gets home from work.  The second she hears his beautiful voice (one of my favorite things about Doug is his voice, it is calm and sweet.  I love listening to him sing to our girls.) she starts scanning the room looking for him. Chloe is growing at breakneck speed also.  She is all about her little sis.  I am very fond of how she says Hazel so  I ask her several times a day what her sister's name is, just so I can hear her say" baby Hazel".  It is funny when Hazel is fussing, Chloe will say "Mommy your baby needs you, nurse her Mommy". She also gets right down to Hazel's face and says "yes you are, yes , yes you are".  She loves to hold her baby sister's hand and wants me to hold her other hand and then says "we love each other together".  We do this every morning during our little cuddle sessions.  Aaaaah life is great. Freeze us now, I don't want them to grow up! 

Chloe is enjoying her new favorite beverage in this photo.  It is  bubble tea,  taro powder mixed with almond milk, tapioca balls and rainbow jelly in the bottom.  It is an Asian specialty, different and delicious! 

Oh, yesterday Chloe and I were having a little discussion (I can't recall what is was about) and she said "It just doesn't make sense Mom". That girl never ceases to amaze me, she is a trip! 

Better late than never (finally posting these!)

Our friends Sarah and Joe were married way back in August.  I am just now getting around to posting some photos from their beautiful wedding.  Chloe was the first and last one on the dance floor.

Doug was a groomsman for his buddy Joe.  He was sporting his infamous fedora that evening. Hazel was still snug as a bug in momma's belly- I was around 38 weeks pregnant.

I told mom that she should probably wax her mustache before the wedding, but she refused.  I also thought the straw- hat didnt really go with Pop's whole get up, whatever.  You can't tell these two anything.  Kidding, Sarah and Joe had a photobooth at their reception with a bunch of fun props, great idea. 

I think the ol' fedora did the trick on my Mom.  She and Doug were on the dance floor the whole night.  Notice they are the only ones out there.  They were having so much fun, I don't they cared or even were aware that ANYONE else existed.  It was so cute watching them cut the rug all evening. 

Miss Chloe sharing a dance with the bride, Sarah. Somehow, I didn't manage to get one single picture of the groom, Joe. 

Congratulations Sarah and Joe.  Thanks for letting us be a part of your day. We had a wonderful time!

Hazel's first coos

Ba-gawk!!!!! Halloween 2011

We attended the annual Reiman Halloween Party this year.  It is a tradition that everyone crafts their own costume. We knew we had to ba-ring it.  We considered many options and my Mom mentioned that we should be a chicken family (go figure, Mom and her love of feathered fowl).  The next thing I knew my Mom had whipped out these awesome chicken get-ups for us.  Hazel was an egg hatching out, complete with a hat with a little piece of shell sewn to the top.  We never did manage to get a photo of her.  She was busy nursing the WHOLE evening. Chloe was a baby chick, and, yes, Doug was thrilled to be a uh-hum...........well, lets just say rooster :) I think the funniest part of the costume is that you actually have to walk like a chicken in those silly feet.  It was pretty comical watching Doug high step it after Chloe around all evening.

And for your viewing pleasure, our family getting down chick style to the musical genius of none other than 50 cent.  Turn it up and enjoy.

P.S. We won best overall costume. Way to go Mother Hen for making these for us.  

Oh, I almost forgot.  Doug thought it would be fun to wear this to work on Monday. Well, he got there and no one else had on Halloween costumes!  He didn't bring along any other clothes to change into.  So, just take a second and picture Doug in one of his long, 3 hour meetings dressed as a chicken!  I laughed off and on all day thinking about it. 

More to come

I have a TON of blogging to catch up on, but I can't seem to find the time! Hazel is growing so, so fast.  She weighs 9 pounds already and is starting to respond and smile quite a bit.  Miss Chloe is doing great with her little sister.  We had a few rough days here and there, but things seem to be smoothing out (whew). I hope to find some time to post our Halloween photos and much more! 

StumbleUpon find

if you haven't tried StumbleUpon yet you are missing out

We finally surprised him!!!!

Chloe and Grif are inseparable. He calls her "Chlo-nae" and he is "her Griffy".

Carter is always dreaming up some magnificent plan.  I love his imagination. 

Hazel Leah once again, snoozing.

Just as expected, Pop had to get the biggest rock he could find to lob at Ira and Carter. 

Check out Ira's reaction.

 I'd say dragging along the tripod was a good idea.  We were able to get a family photo.

A few weekends ago the fam headed over to Blanton Woods for a picnic and hike.  We played it off to Pop that this was all a spur of the moment deal and we just really needed to get the kids out of the house.  Little did he know, we all had something up our sleeves.  We have been planning a surprise for about 2 months.  We have been waiting for the right time to present it to him.  After a wonderfully delicious picnic complete with eyeball cupcakes (thank you Pam) my Mom read a beautifully written love letter to Pop expressing her appreciation for all that he has does for us everyday and all the times that he has rescued us in the past.  This brought us all to tears.  Once we all composed ourselves I let him know that there was one more surprise.  I told Pop that we, meaning Ira, Levi, Doug, Pam and I want to send him and Mom to Vietnam. He was speechless, flattered, and probably a little embarrassed. Pop has been talking about going back to Vietnam for a long time, so we all decided we wanted to make it happen and soon.  We were excited to finally surprise Pop.  He is not an easy one to fool.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking in the woods and throwing rocks in the creek with the kids.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful memory for us all to share.

Since our afternoon in the park Pop has spent about every evening in front of the computer researching Vietnam.  He even located a photograph of his old barracks when he worked at the Embassy.

In the blink of an eye, 2 weeks have past.

Hazel Leah 2 weeks old, doing what she does best, snoozing.

I've got my hands full and I am loving every minute of it.

Miss Chloe loves "that baby".  She tells me about 1,000 times a day "I need to hold her". As soon as she touches her lap she leans over to kiss her baby sister and tell her that " you have really nice fingers Hazel". I love watching our girls together.  I always wanted a sister, so now I get to live vicariously through Chloe and Hazel!  

I love this one! It's Gorgeous!

We made a last minute trip to our local orchard yesterday and took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.  When Chloe found the pumpkin of her dreams.  With much excitement she exclaimed "I love this one! It's gorgeous!"

Hazel's first bath

 Hazel seemed to really enjoy her first bath and Chloe was very enthusiastic to help Momma.  As you can see Hazel was not so happy when bath time ended :)

Baby Hazel Leah's footprints

As Good As It Gets

Hazel Leah's Birthday

Doug was an amazing labor coach.  Hazel was born about 2 minutes after this photo was taken.

He we are, a family of four.  Hazel was just born.  She is less than 1 minute old in this photo.  I love it, we all have our hands on our new baby girl.

Pa entertained Chloe or maybe it was Chloe entertaining Pa during the labor.