Him

He doesn't get very much attention on the blog....or at home........

But he should because he's a pretty remarkable guy.

The night I met him, I was smitten! 

It may have had something to do with the jumbo margarita I consumed....oh wait, that must have been some other girl....I spent all my free time in college studying :) 

Anyway, my first words to him were, "If you're not fun, I'm kicking you out of my canoe!"

So romantic (and kind), right?

He was everything I didn't know I was looking for....

He took his niece out to dinner weekly.

He volunteered at LINK.
He had a wonderful family.

He could hold his own at "Friends (the TV show) Trivia".
He tolerated my constant singing in the car.

And he was pretty darn handsome, too!

Everyday I appreciate even more about him...

He is strong in his Faith.
He plays with our kids even when he is  exhausted.

He is an amazingly talented engineer.
He is a great coach.

He loves me even when I'm cranky and irrational.

He helps out around the house without complaint.

He makes awesome scrambled eggs (and mashed potatoes).
He gives me thoughtful gifts...like this:

He is patient.

He is loving.
He is a lot of fun at football games.

He is the best husband and father anyone could ask for,
and I am so very thankful for him.

Happy Anniversary, Dain! 

A Few Things I Love

I love watching my daughter play "doctor" while wearing her princess tutu. 
I love the fact that my son wants to go on a trip to Disney World with Grandpa Ballard.
And the fact that he also wants to go back to Utah....because he misses the pool at our apartment complex.
I love watching my husband play a million rounds of baseball (and football and soccer and basketball) with Kale.
I also love watching him have tea parties with Bailey.
I love watching Shay "talk" to the ceiling fan.
I love the sound of my nephew Kaden's laughter.
I love the fact that if I mention I like something of my mom's (i.e. a necklace she's wearing), her immediate response is, "Do you want it?"  "You can have it."
I love watching my father-in-law's face light up when Bailey says, "Hi Papa!"
I also love watching the kids run and run and run at the farm.
I love kissing the baby's cubby cheeks.
These days, I REALLY love sitting on the couch with Dain and soaking up a few minutes of silence when all three kiddos are asleep....mainly because it doesn't last long :)

What do you love?

Power

Today Kale got to go to work at Kiewit Power Engineers with Dain.  He was so excited that he wanted to sleep with Dain last night so "he didn't sleep through the alarm and miss going to work." :)  He also insisted on wearing his boots and wanted me to make him a "nice, healthy breakfast of strawberries and a glass of water" so he'd have lots of energy. 

A few highlights from the day so far:
he sharpened pencils for Daddy
ate a banana
got a dollar
watched a dvd
spent his dollar on a drink
met more people
convinced dad to buy him cookies
rode the elevators

Sounds like a good start to me!

Speaking of power, here's something Dain is going to be working on.  It's a GIANT (seriously, like 12 square miles of mirrors + the transmission center to covert the heat to energy).  Dain gets to be a lead engineer for the structural part of the project....quite and accomplishment considering he hasn't been with the company very long!!

At home, I'm slowly beginning to relinquish some power to my son.  I still can't believe he starts kindergarten in a few months!  Yesterday I even let him make his own peanut butter sandwich!  (Sadly, that's a big deal for me)

There is also and on-going power struggle for attention between Shay and Bailey.  Shay isn't really aware of it, but it's full on war as far as Bailey is concerned!

Bailey also took a power-tumble this week, and unfortunately her head met the bottom of our rocker-glider.  Ouch!  I'm sure it's only the first of many injuries for our "spirited" child :)

Easter

Sunday was kind of one of those "best day ever" days for Kale.  He woke up to a basket of candy from the Easter Bunny, AND got to play at the farm all day, eat an over-the-top T-Rex cake and open presents in celebration of his birthday.  What more could a five year old want??

We had fun, and seeing myself in pictures confirms my suspicions: 1) I need to hit the tanning bed (I know, I know....bad for my health, but I just need a little color)! 2) I really need a hair cut.  I think the last time I got my hair done was, um, NOVEMBER! That's just sad.  3)  It's time to stop eating like I'm pregnant and hit the gym.  Enough said.

On a more positive note, isn't my husband looking good?!  We finally bought him some new clothes (it only took five years) and he even branched out from his "shades of blue" and added some color to his wardrobe.  I'm so proud!

Have You Seen...

My sweet, little boy?    He's the one who sucks his thumb and carries a worn out bunny everywhere he goes.

 I think someone must have taken him by accident, because the little boy living in my house isn't so little.  He doesn't suck his thumb, and we only see Hop the bunny at bedtime.  In fact, the little boy out our house is turning five tomorrow.  FIVE!

Happy Birthday, Kale!
You'll always be our sweet, little boy :)

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

I bet you didn't know that we have TWO babies in the house....or at least two  that act like babies........

Bailey has started crawling into her sister's bassinet (when it's empty) and also likes to sit in Shay's car seat and chew on her pacifier.  The "expert" advice I read online said to let her be and she would out grow it.  I hope so, because I really only have patience for one infant!

When she's not acting like a baby, Bailey has taken to singing.  The other night she belted out her version of the alphabet in the bath tub (a, b, c, d....g! Um, um, um...p!) She also likes to sing in the car, and last Sunday she decided to let loose with "Happy Birthday to Father Mick" during Mass.  Kale's response is generally, "That is HORRIBLE!  Stop singing!"  (A phrase I am very familiar with from my youth).

Bailey has also discovered how to climb out of her crib, and the other day during "nap time"  (I use that term loosely, because many days there is very little sleeping involved) she used her blankets to build herself a tent over her crib.  I have to give her credit; it was a solidly build structure (Dain would have been so proud), but not exactly what you want your child doing during nap time!

Shay Lee

She's here!  Miss Shay Lee Hammerschmidt joined us early Sunday morning.  She weighed in at 7 lb 10 oz and is doing fantastic!!

After all the anticipation of being induced, I ended up going into labor on my own Saturday afternoon.  It's funny because after the hospital called to tell me they were too busy to induce me, I cried and then told Dain, "I'll show them.  I'm going to send myself into labor on my own!"  My husband reminded me that the nurses had probably not meant for it to be a competition, to which I replied, "Honey, EVERYTHING can be made into a competition." :)  In my defense, the only labor-inducing-gimic I tried was spicy food....but that was long after my contractions were underway!

I will spare you all the details, but by the time midnight rolled around I was pretty miserable, and by the time we got to the hospital and settled in, things had progressed enough that I was worried there wasn't enough time for me to get the "meds"(I had NO intention of having a natural birth).  Luckily, I finally did and Shay joined us an hour later!

The kids are doing great; I have stories to tell, but I'll save them for another post.  We are so very happy and feel so Blessed.  As I looked back at photos, I couldn't help but think how AMAZING it is to go from this (about a week ago):

To this:

In a day!

One more thing...today is Dain's Birthday!  I'll post pics of that tomorrw!