Tooth Fairy Madness!

We're keeping the tooth fairy busy around here! Connor just lost his second front tooth. The tooth fairy left him $1.00 for his pearly white.

With Connor's first front tooth loss, he dutifully put the tooth under his pillow. The next morning, I came downstairs to find him sitting on the couch looking like a lost puppy dog. My heart dropped to my stomach when I saw that he had his tooth sitting beside him. He looked at me, quite sadly, and said, "Mommy, the tooth fairy didn't come!". If only he knew that the tooth fairy was trying to adjust to life with a newborn in the house!

I dialed Brandon and said "I just want you to know that we stink as parents". We brainstormed, and decided to try explaining that perhaps the tooth fairy was just too busy to stop by. I was ready to just confess that the whole thing was make-believe (I was also ready to give the kid $5.00 for his tooth because I felt so guilty. We dismissed this idea because of the dangerous precedent it would set.). Before we had offered an explanation, Connor said "Maybe the tooth fairy just didn't take my tooth because it was in an envelope instead of a napkin". We latched onto that one and decided that must have been the reason she didn't stop by.

The next night, we placed the tooth under Connor's pillow in a napkin. At 3:00 in the morning, as I was feeding Hadley, I had a moment of all out panic when I realized that once again, we had gone to bed without taking Connor's tooth. I woke Brandon out of a dead sleep. He looked at me, panicked, thinking something was really wrong. I said "Did you do something with the tooth?"

"Yes."

My heart slowed a bit.

The next morning, Connor was thrilled to see a note in the shape of a tooth under his pillow, along with an award of $2.00 for his patience.

Sleep deprivation can be quite costly, folks. :)

Haddie Lou

As I have mentioned before, Amanda came over and snapped some pictures of our family fairly soon after we brought Hadley home from the hospital. I believe Hadley was about 3 weeks old in these pictures. I had to share them with you....

This one is my absolute favorite, for many reasons. As you can see, my necklace has the names of all four kids on it. It means so much to me to be able to incorporate ALL our kiddos into one photo. I also love Hadley's face...pure, innocent...and a little chubby. Lastly, the word "blessed" was a perfect choice. We are so very blessed, not just by Hadley, but by Connor, Kylee, and Caden, too. We are amazed at God's goodness and how He has brought us through such a journey of pain and heartache, and is now restoring us daily with healing only He can provide. This photo, to me, symbolizes what is truly important in this world....and serves as a reminder that God is faithful...even in life's darkest times.

Hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad:

And, of course, brother and sister, too:

Tiny toes...

Precious...

Our girl is doing well. She had her two month appointment at the Pediatrician yesterday and weighed in at 10 lbs. 10 oz. I am not too proud to admit that was good affirmation for me after the hours and hours I have spent breastfeeding. :) Despite being a Nurse who has given MANY shots to other people's children, I still cried when Hadley got her shots. She has done well, though, and I am grateful to have one round down.

Hadley's new tricks include noticing the contrast between dark and light, and, just this week, she has started recognizing faces (big smiles for brother and sister...little smiles for Mom and Dad). She is a noisy one (Daddy has nicknamed her Hootie) and is constantly "hooting" as she eats and sleeps (someone remarked one time as I was feeding her under a blanket "It sounds like there's a flock of geese under there!"). At night, she will sleep for a 4-5 hour stretch, and continues to do well at settling back in after eating...so really, no complaints there.

She is pretty tolerant, as it is rare for her to get a full nap between all the drop offs and pick ups that we do for big brother and sister. Sometimes we do the drop-offs with her screaming at the top of her lungs...I can empathsize...I'm cranky, too, when my sleep gets interrupted. She's not a big fan of the carseat, which makes life pretty interesting. Connor and Kylee are great binky helpers as we're riding around. :) They continue to love having Hadley around and haven't yet requested that we send her back.

It is crazy to believe that just two months ago, she was in my belly. I still spend quite a bit of time just watching her...and being amazed that God has allowed us to have her as a part of our family.

Love you, Baby Girl!

We Have a 5 Year Old, Folks!

Miss Kylee J turned 5 on September 9th.

Kylee requested a "Pinkalicious Party" to celebrate her special day. She also really wanted to invite Cinderella, who she had met at a friend's birthday party. So, we had perhaps the world's first Pinkalicious Cinderella birthday. Kylee always has very original, yet very precise, ideas about her birthday parties. We have really come to love her creativity with event planning.

Kylee and her friends had a great time with Cinderella (who, when she isn't making social calls, is a teacher in the local school district).

Cinderella helped the party crowd make royal crowns. She and Kylee created one especially for Brandon.

Kylee and her party guests outside having bubble time with Cinderella. Notice the wardrobe theme?

Instead of a birthday cake, Kylee wanted cotton candy (pink, of course). So, the kids enjoyed cotton candy with their pink lemonade as a snack. Kylee very specifically requested that we NOT sing Happy Birthday to her. For some reason, it overwhelms her. So, we left that part out of the celebration.

Cinderella helped Kylee open a few presents before she had to leave:

It was a very special day for our little princess.

Kylee is such a blessing to us in so many ways. Her passion for life is contagious...and this girl's smile will light up a room like no one else's will. She works hard to succeed at everything that she does and is fiercely loyal to her family (she is the only one entitled to pick on her big brother). She lives life to its fullest and inspires us to do the same. We are blessed to have her with us.

Best wishes for many, many more, Miss J!

Back To School...

It's crazy that we are in the midst of our third week of school. Where does the time go (interesting how time takes on a whole new dimension when days and nights essentially mesh into one). :)

Connor and Kylee have really enjoyed school so far this year. They both have great teachers, Mrs. Hodge (Connor) and Ms. Pam (Kylee). We have heard great things about Mrs. Hodge, and Kylee was in Ms. Pam's class last year, so we are excited to be back with her. Kylee is now in the Pre-K class, which means she goes to school all day and even gets to "eat lunch and take a rest" before I pick her up. She is excited to be in the big leagues. Our big first grader, Connor, was a little less enthused about school starting, but has adjusted well to the routine.

The first day of school pictures have become tradition around our house. Both of the kids had new outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Carlson. They were excited to put on their new school gear, too...Princesses and GI Joe. I'm not sure what the wave is all about, but it was essential...whatever the purpose was.

Here are the kids outside their classrooms, and by their cubbies:

Both of the kids have several of their friends from last year in their class, which is great. They both settled right in as we prepared to say goodbye:

The first day of school this year went much more smoothly than it did last year. I remember walking away from dropping Connor off at his first day of kindergarten and being consumed with sadness because both of our kids were in school and I had no baby at home with me. I was supposed to be pushing a stroller down the sidewalk when I walked away....this year, walking away with a carseat in tow reminded me of God's faithfulness and goodness. Two kids in school, blessed to have good teachers and great friends...a wonderful summer filled with lots of fun...and a new little pink bundle to cuddle with.

Life is good.