Sadie is TWO!!!

It's actually Mother's Day today but I thought it would be a perfect time to sit down and write about the little girl who calls me "Mom." Sadie was born two years ago on May 8th!! I can't believe it. I was sitting in church today watching all the primary kids sing to their mom's and it made me a little misty. One day Sadie will be big enough to stand up there and sing to me! I saw the one little girl who was belting out every word, and the other standing next to her looking miserable. Chase and I looked a each other and said, which one will Sadie be like when she's that old?

I also got the best mother's day gift ever today. Sadie jumped into my arms and cuddled with me for a full three minutes. For any of you who have a toddler, this is a very long time to sit still and hug someone. There I was sitting in my pew with Sadie's little arms around me. I kept thinking that any minute she would put her head up and giggle into my face, but she just kept hugging me. I literally looked up and thanked heavenly father for this little but gigantic gift he gave me today and relished each second that I was able to hold her. She is growing up WAY too fast. It makes me sad and there's nothing I can do about it but just enjoy every minute. Read one extra book, sing "baby mine" one more time, and stop to pick one more dandelion. I hope I can remember to do this. Here are a few pictures of the last two years....a misty stroll down memory lane.

I have issues!!

Ever since I got pregnant, had a baby and nursed for a year, I have hated eating because I thought of it as a chore. Nothing ever sounds good and I sometimes won't eat until I am light headed and nauseated. I'm great at feeding Sadie but after all that work the last thing I want to do is make something for myself. So lately I've been working on making my meals look more appetizing. Wouldn't you want to eat this? It has been working but I still have to prepare the food which vexes me greatly!!

Finals Week!!!

There are a few things that I can truly say I HATE. Some of them are leaf blowers (waste of gas...use a rake!!), high frucose corn syrup (why can't we sweeten yogurt with fruit...Dannon or Yoplait are way behind the times), love handles, sun burns, putting sun block on Sadie, forgetting my canvas bags (that I bought because I inteded to save the world) when I go to the grocery store, march madness, and losing my wallet. But of all these things I'd say Finals Week is pretty close to the top of my "Hate" list. Chase has been studying forever!!!!!! All I want to do sometimes is wisk him away so I have him all to myself where his books and law professors can't find him.
Chase hates it too but he loves the fact that I allow Coke and Fruit loops in the house (diabetes runs in his family so I am a Nazi about sugar). He's also likes finals week because I cook a lot more and shower more frequently to attract attention that the computer usually gets all day.

My Birthday

I had a great birthday!! Em and Patrick were in town so Chase and I could go out on the town. Free babysitting!! Chase took me to Cheesecake Factory (my favorite are the avocado egg rolls) and afterwards we sat on a blanket at the Iwo Gima monument with candles and Rummicub. Chase gave me a book with my Blog printed inside. What a treasure. I often wonder what will happen with all the work I put into this hobby of mine. That Sunday Em and Pat gave me the royal treatment. They made me dinner and bought me a delicious fruit tart. Yummy!!! I blew out all the candles but I can't remember if I wished for anything of not. I am 28. EEEEEK!!!

A heavenly week!!

I am very close with my family and we live so far apart!! Emily and Patrick came to visit in April and we had such an amazing time. It was fun just having Em around to talk to while the babies took naps. Sadie and Ruby totally hit it off!! Sadie usually gets a little nervous around other kids her age because they are a little more affectionate than she wants them to be. Ruby is just like Sadie. She keeps her distance and isn't a threat at all. Sadie all of a sudden gained a ton of confidence and loved having Ruby around to play with. For the first time she wasn't parallel playing anymore. She was actually playing with her play mate. They loved sitting next to each other while reading their books. This picture was taken after we sang "two little monkeys" as they jumped all over the bed. They wore themselves out!!

Arlington Cemetery. It was raining quite a bit but the moisture made the foliage all the more green. It was beautiful!! Sadie and Ruby had fun stomping in the puddles so the rain didn't bother them a bit.
The great thing about having visitors is that you can finally get a family photo with out having to ask some random person to take a picture that will either turn out blurry or with someone's head cut off. You also don't risk the possibility of never seeing your camera again.
Cute little peanuts wanted to hold hands this day. We got a pretty cute shot of them looking at the Washington Monument. Looks cheesy but it wasn't posed.
Reading with Uncle Patrick. Sadie really likes Patrick. She's lucky to have so many fun uncles.

I almost forgot about little Andrew. This little guy cracks me up. He could win any staring contest. Often times I would turn around to have him staring at me from behind his mom's shoulder. We watched their kids one night for their anniversary and because he missed him mom so much he cuddled up with me by putting his cheek next to mine. Em says he always does the "cheek to cheek" with her so I felt pretty honored.
Em doesn't have anywhere to shop in New Hampshire (biggest place is a TJ max..no malls...no nothing) so she was really excited to hit Tyson's Corner. We at first went with the kids and realized we made a big mistake. One cannot try on clothes with two toddlers and a baby. We came back the next day while the boys watched the kids and had SOOOOO much fun. We danced in the dressing room, took our time trying on anything we wanted and nothing stood in our way (like a nagging child, a running nose, demands for a snack, or the dreaded tantrum.) I forgot how much fun it is to shop w/o kids. It was especially fun with Em around. We must have the same taste because we bought all the same things and we must have enjoyed ourselves because we were there for four hours!!
When I dropped them off at the airport Sadie and Ruby were pretty sad. Sadie just kept crying out "Ruby Ruby" and to this day still asks where Ruby went. Hopefully one day we will live closer to each other so they can play every day!!

Sadie tumbles!!

These last few months Sadie has been enrolled in her first tumbler class (her first class ever) and she LOVED it. All I had to do was say "circle time" and she would get so excited to go. It was great to have somewhere for her to play during the cold winter months and she learned to interact with other kids. She had a HUGE goose egg that day (right in the middle of her forehead) so we decided she should wear a hat.
Thanks to her dad, Sadie loves basketball. March Madness was a good month for her. She and Chase watched a ton of games together.




Little monkey!! She'll hang from anything these days.

Hermana Hague!!

For Chase's birthday we went down town to see the blossoms and tour a little. We also went because I knew one of my favorite people was going to be there....Hermana Lori Hague!!! There were a couple of sisters on my mission that I felt I could totally hang out with because they were so fun. Lori was one of them. We would often be seen doubled over in the street catching our breath from laughing so hard. She was there when we danced on top of our piso roof to light sparklers on the fourth of July. She also sang at the top of her lungs the Star Spangled Banner into the dark Spanish night so everyone would know it was our nation's capitol. I even got her to wear the billy bob teeth. What a gal!! She survived Badalona (the gypsy town of Spain) with me and left with a boom. What a great missionary!! It was such a great reunion. She's preggers with her first baby and it's a girl!! Hooray!!!