Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A Day In The Life

Sisters.  They love each other.  Addison can get Brooklyn to belly laugh like no other.  Sadly, it's usually by making the most ANNOYING sound in the world.  ;)
I always knew Target brought me happiness but I think they've taken it to a whole new level today.  Happy Monday folks!
Jonas chillaxin and keepin' it real with his mac 'n' cheese lunch with Daddy.  Go Cubbies!
Starting the morning by dumping and plain in "Slap Yo Mama' spicy seasoning was probably not the best idea Jonas.
Enjoying dinner after enjoying going to Brady's baptism.  Fun with friends that are just like family!
Playing outside and writing in her "diarrhea" that the Easter Bunny brought her.  Daddy made me teach her the real word (diary) but I enjoyed the adorable-ness of it while it lasted!
I think she's a fan of Mommy's ice cream.  This is one of our many walks when picking Addison up from her "long day" at preschool.  Ice cream at Wal-mart's 5&10!  Cheap and yummy! 
Enjoying a nature walk close to home.  As Jonas throws the whole piece of bread...."Here Duckeh!  Uh oh....I sawy Duckeh!"
This is our attire for today.  We love lazy days.  They love TV.  ;)
Jonas going potty like a big boy.  It actually worked!  He pooped!  But while we were doing the celebratory dance he was busy squatting and finishing in the closet.  Hmmm...guess we aren't as close as we thought to potty training.  ;)
Mommy spent a Saturday with the youth on a temple trip so Daddy had all three kiddos to himself all day.  I was amazed they actually left the house!  And look how cute they are!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Easter Eggstravaganza!

We had a fabulous Easter this year.  Part of what made it so exciting was having Grandma Bell join us.  She was flying in/out of Arky for a work trip so we were anxious for her return so we could spend the Easter weekend with her.  Addison was most excited and seemed to ask multiple times a day how many more days till we got to pick Grandma up from the airport?  They are great buddies.  She adores her Grandma.

The weekend was a nice blend of relaxation, yard work, and family parties.  We finally found some time to put our Garden in and Daddy took off work on Friday to transport all the soil and get it all going.  Grandma and I spent our time chasing kids around, fixing the play house, and lending a hand to Daddy here and there.  We also got to indulge in a bit of garage-saleing (of course!) and landed ourselves a bargain....a cheap and nice barbecue grill!

We spent Saturday evening hanging out at Grandma & Grandpa Field's house for a family party and Easter egg hunt.  It is always fun catching up with family.  There are always guaranteed laughs when you get a group of Hufford/Field siblings together.  Addison, Jonas, and Brooklyn were in heaven with all the cousins and easter eggs AND candy!  Could life get any better?!

TWO Grandmas at the same time!  How lucky can one little girly get?  We sure do love these ladies!

Jonas and Mommy anxiously awaiting the 'little kiddos Easter Egg hunt".
Addison showing off her loot.
It didn't take him long to figure out the process.  He was a fan.
This is where she spent all of her time.  She wasn't complaining one bit.
The Jonas Duo.
I was looking forward to Sunday most of all.  Not just because of the kiddos Easter Eggs basket but also getting the kids all dressed up and matching and enjoying church and focusing on the real meaning of Easter.  However, it was not in our plans.  Poor Brooklyn had been fighting a cough all weekend and was a trooper through it all.  However, by Sunday she was pretty  miserable and I was pretty positive she had the beginnings of Croup.  Having been through that before with the other kiddos, I knew I didn't want to let it "run it's course" like I usually do with the sickies.  So, that left Grandma Bell, myself, and Brooklyn spending our day waiting in a walk-in clinic and looking forward to getting some medication to get Brooklyn some relief and some sleep.  We soon found out that 90% of the waiting room consisted of babies coughing with their croupy barking cough.  I guess we were part of the "in-crowd" that weekend.  Thankfully, the doctor prescribed her an antibiotic and we were on our way to relief.

A sickly little Brooklyn.  :(
Look what the Easter Bunny left!
We finally made it home in time to meet up with Daddy and the kiddos coming back from church.  We ate a quick "Easter Dinner" and had to send Grandma Bell on her way back home.  It was sad to see her go (mostly for Addison) but luckily we have plenty of family trips coming up so we will be seeing her plenty this summer.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity we have to reflect on the true meaning of Easter.  I love explaining the story of Christ being resurrected after being crucified on the cross.  I especially love that Addison knows the story in such detail and is quick to remind everyone she sees that "Easter isn't really about bunnies and easter eggs".  She's such a good girly and so is every member of my loving family.  I'm thankful Christ was resurrected and in so doing has given us the opportunity to do the same.  I'm especially thankful that I get to spend Eternity with my own family.  I can't imagine a better group I'd rather spend all my time hanging out with.  I love them.  I love this gospel.  I love Easter.

Alas, I finally got my "Easter Sunday" picture the following week at church.  Love these cute kiddos.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

9 Months Old

I'm sure it's already been said but I'll say it again.  I do NOT enjoy having pictures taken.  It's a LOT of work.  And no matter how hard I try to prep a happy baby - it doesn't happen.  My kids are almost ALWAYS happy!  But, seriously, the turn it off the second the professional photographer comes out.  Oy.  But, goodness gracious she's such a cutie even when she's mad.  And thank heaven's my photographer friend is a magician and was able to capture a handful of good shots.  I don't like the process of pictures but I do love having them throughout the years to look back on.  

This little girly is growing up fast!  More so than the others I think.  Don't let that first picture deceive you, she's SUCH a happy and mellow little girl.  She's the first child of mine that I've heard people say she looks like me.  I'll take it!  Some DNA transfer somewhere...I'm good with it!  She really is a joy and we are learning she has quite the spunky and sassy personality.  Take a look for yourself!

This is proof that she made us work VERY hard during this shoot.  My poor photographer even offered to come back later in the day in hopes she'd be a bit more happy, easy.  It kinda worked.

She's getting there!  A partial smile can still count as a smile right?  At this point, we were just glad she wasn't crying or screaming.
She's humoring us with the sign I think.  
Yay!  Alas, a smile!  I think we adequately distracted her from the camera enough to remind her that she's usually a happy baby.
Another partial smile.  We'll take it!
Thankfully, my children are gorgeous even without a smile.  Otherwise I'd have some pretty ugly pictures on my hands. ;) 
I'm thinking she's considering an attack on us.  Do her brows look furrowed to you too?  ;)  I must admit, I do like the stone cold stares as well.  There are rarely any moments where she isn't cute really.
A sibling picture!  My sweet friend offered to snap a picture of all three siblings and I'm glad she did.  I hesitated since they weren't "dressed" for the occasion but honestly, looking back on it now, it doesn't even matter.  I love it.  And they loved finally getting in front of the camera since they spent most of their time running through the flowers and shrubs.

So, what is there to say about cute little Miss Brooklyn?  She's adorable and has a pretty funny personality to match.  She loves to turn when you call her name and just give you the biggest cheesy smile while showing off her teefers.  Yes, she still only has two right now but I'm convinced the others will come soon....and probably all at once.  She isn't too interested in crawling yet but does love sitting and playing on the floor around friends.  Random Brooklyn fact: she has the most adorable little wrist movement when she is holding a toy.  I just love watching her.  She'll hold it in her right hand, look at it, and then immediately start pivoting her wrist back and forth while looking at the toy.  I think I'm just a sucker for watching her cute and chubby fingers and wrist no matter what it is they do.  She loves her brother and her sister quite a bit.  Addison and Jonas have a lot of one-on-one time where she can let out quite the giggle fit.  With Jonas, it's more of a quiet and loving relationship where she just stares at him and he helps her so softly and tenderly.  It's fun to watch.  She's a pro at sleeping through the night now.  Randomly, she'll fuss enough to want her binky but once she has it she's golden.  I love sneaking in to peek on her before I go to bed.  She has the most hilarious sleep poses and it's so hard to resist the urge to just squeeze her when I see them.

The poor girly did have to get three shots at the doctor.  It's always tough to brace them (and myself) for the shots.  Especially when she has no clue what's coming and when.  I'm not a fan of the silent cry where you keep hoping and waiting for them to take a big breath and start again.  Surprisingly, she seemed to recover from her shots pretty quickly once she was done.  It totally matches her personality as we see it so far.  She can get pretty ticked off pretty quick and squeal or yell or cry but then it's over just like that.  That's the spunky side that John and I have observed on quite a few occasions.  If I had to guess right now I'd say she has a good mixture of Addison and Jonas' personalities.  It will be fun to watch it develop each day.

So, alas, here are her 9 month old stats:

Weight: 20 1/4 lbs 50-75%
Height: 28 1/4 inches 75-90% (she grew 2 inches since January!)

So, as you can see, she's definitely a healthy little chicken nugget.  Just the way we like 'em!  Gives us more to squeeze and kiss!

Happy 9 Months Old Brooklyn Nicole!