Gus....and Some Girl Time

Yesterday evening, our dear friends Joe and Heather joined the 3 kids club!!!  When Heather called and told me she was pregnant, I was only about 5 months along with Sadie. I was so excited I actually screamed into the phone!!

Gus joined his big sisters Lina and Audrey weighing in at 9 lbs 9 ozs!!  Go Heather!! (She did it all natural. Yes, she is Super Woman.)

Sadie and I went to visit him today. He is adorable and mellow and sweet.  He is an Arnold. His hands and feet are huge and his parents are in love with him.  Sadie thought he was pretty swell also.

So congratulations on this baby boy! Two girls and a boy...hmmm, sounds perfect to me!

After I got home from seeing the new little man, Julie, Sadie and I went out for some girl time and shopping. (the boys were going to do boy stuff like go to Home Depot to buy rope) It is hard to believe, but Julie has never really been shopping for clothes for herself before.  We have been so blessed with hand-me-downs and generous grandparents and family members, we just never really had to. But she is getting her own style and she is 5 now, so off we went.  But first, we had to stop in and get a special treat!

We went to the Madonna Inn for some cake!  We split this piece and left over half on the plate.  But everything there is so girly and fun. Julie was in love with the pink sugar! I had to get a cup of coffee just so she could pour it in for me. I usually don't take sugar in my coffee, but if its pink, I will sacrifice.

We had a blast shopping!  Julie loved trying things on. She didn't want any jeans, she loved all the stripes and dots and fun colors. She asked Sadie's opinion about most of the items.  When she was done trying things on she asked, "Mom, don't you need any new clothes?" Love her.

Sigh. When did they get so big?

When we got home the boys were home and Julie and Sadie joined Andy for a nap.  Andy woke up a bit ago and I went in to greet him. He was sleeping with a large thing of rope.  I asked him what that was and he said, "My lasso."  Oh. Ok. Then he said, "Just in case the horses get out of line."  Yup, sounds like boy time was also a success.

I also have a bunch of great pictures and stories to tell about our fun trip to the Aquarium with Grammy and Poppop, but all the pictures are in my camera.....in Monterey....where we left it.  Dang!!  So Christina and I are taking a road trip tomorrow!!  Luckily someone turned it in.  So stay tuned.

Giggle, Giggle, Hiccup

Sadie just giggled at me!!  I was changing her diaper and she was talking to me. I was making noises at her and she full on giggled, twice! 

She giggled so hard it gave her the hiccups!!

A Few Goodies

We are still here! Don't worry!!

Actually, we are all moved and getting settled into our new house!!  We absolutely love our new space and feel so comfortable.

Things have been wild and crazy, but I have taken a few cute pictures that I wanted to make sure everyone got to enjoy.

First of all, a silly gift from Uncle Matt!!!!  So funny and oddly fitting!

And what happens when your baby is born with LOTS of hair?  She gets tortured! Ha!

We ate frozen yogurt a few times, but Julie took this picture to show Uncle Monster her ice cream.  Squirt of vanilla, squirt of chocolate, squirt of strawberry, just how they like it.  She looks way too grown up in this shot.

The three snuggled before bed.  This makes my heart melt.

As does this.  They love each other. And miss each other, even when they are asleep.

Andy was so funny, he got tired when we first got the keys to our new place.  We had nothing in the house that he could cuddle up with or sleep on. So he just slept on the floor.

Yeah, she is just too smiley and happy.  She likes her hat from Aunt Sharron.

"Mommy!  Take a picture of us!!"

And last but not least, our new view.  Yes, it is rustic, peaceful and so comfortable.

Yup, we are some happy Hunters!

3 Months

Sadie is 3 months today! What a sweet, wonderful girl she is becoming!

This month has been chaotic to say the least.  We are moving tomorrow and Sadie has been coming to our new house almost daily to "help" me with one project or another.  She very rarely has anything negative to say about it.

And that is good since she is cooing and making all sorts of great noises these days.

She is also really getting excited about her toys.  She grabs out for them and squishes them into her face, then chews on whatever she can get even close to her mouth.  We call this one "bunny" and I think he (or she, depending on who you ask) is her favorite.

I put her in this the other afternoon and she LOVED it!  She didn't last too long in it, holding your head up for a long is a lot of work! But she was so intense when she is was in it.  Her hand would hit a toy that would make a noise and she would pull her hand back like she was startled. Then she would do it again!

We love our Sadiekins. She feels so much older than 3 months, only because we can't remember what it was like before she was part of the family.

Happy Valentines

Love the Hunters!!

And no, I don't know why Julie is being so serious.  Not very like her!

Date Night!

It might be an unconventional type of date night, but last night, Julie and John went out on a special date and Andy, Sadie and I went on our own special date.

The kids, all ready to go!

John and Julie went to the Father Daughter Dance put on at the Pavilion, and Auntie Audrey!! They went last year and had a blast. So this year, Julie literally could not wait!!!

Daddy and his girls!  Julie really wanted Sadie to go with them (melt!) but we decided when she can dance, she can go. So next year, I am sure she will be shaking her booty right along side her big sister!

This year Joe also took Lina and Audrey to the dance.  The girls were so adorable together!

These sweet girls are such good buddies.

And this is what Andy calls Heaven!

Audrey and Tyson both had camera's there and they were so nice to get me a few pictures.

This year was Lauren's first dance!!! LOVE this picture!!

Looks like it was a super fun party!!!

With the girls (and husbands) out of the house, Heather (and soon to arrive Baby Boy Arnold) and I got to take Andy to do something fun.  Beth arranged a bowling trip, so after a stop at the frozen yogurt place, we went bowling.  Andy had never been before and Sadie was out cold, so between Dawson and I, he got the ball down the lane.  And he thought it was super fun!

Me and my big man!

Go ball go!!!!!

Dawson, such a good kid, helping Andy out.  Andy had a great time playing with the big boys. After every ball he would run back to the moms to cheer. He was so cute.

Heather and I got home just as Joe was getting home to pick up Heather.  Lina was asleep in the back but Audrey was still chatting away.  Joe went on and on about what an awesome time they had and how he couldn't wait til next year.

About 30 minutes later, John and Julie came home saying the same things.  Everyone had a great night, it was fun to hang out with the kids one on one (well, not totally, but Sadie didn't feel like partying). 

The Sweetness

It is true, I am a little biased, but my 3 children are amazing.

They like to cuddle on the couch before bed. It seriously brings chills when the kids beg to include Sadie. They love her. So much.

Andy has been particularly sweet lately (although, he has had some strong moments of being a 3 year old boy).

There was a particular moment not too long ago that I never want to forget.  We were all playing at a park in San Luis.  Sadie fell asleep in the Ergo while the big kids played.  We were going to head downtown after the park to get a bite to eat.  Since she was asleep, I didn't want to load Sadie into her car seat, so Andy and I decided to walk the few blocks while Julie and Daddy moved the car. 

As we were walking down the sunny street, Andy was holding my hand talking non stop about all the randomness a 3 year old talks about.  Then he paused. Let out a big sigh and said, "Mommy, I'm happy."

He then went on to talk about how I was always happy, and how our family was happy, and that made him happy.  I let him talk, mostly because it was one of the the sweetest thing I had heard in my life. But also because of the large lump in my throat and the tears running down my face.

Today, after school he presented me with this.  I love it.

Then there are the moments he means well, but things just don't come out right. Like this morning when I was dropping him off at school he said, "Sadie is such a great baby sister....especially when she is asleep."  I love that boy.

Speaking of great baby sister, she is 12 weeks today.  We got out the pod seat tonight and she tried it out for a few minutes. It was a huge hit! Her head was a little bobby, but not bad and she was happy sitting up watching everything!  She is "talking" to us all the time, cooing and squawking.

And of course, our big 5 year old lights our days. She has taken being 5 very seriously.  She loves to strap Sadie in her car seat (double checked by Mom of course) and helps with everything from feeding to diapering to picking out her clothes.

Tomorrow night she is going to the Father Daughter Dance with Daddy and she can't wait.  She is such a big help, I am so happy she gets some special time with her Daddy.  Tonight as she came down the stairs with pj's for all 3 of them, she said, "I am so excited about the Daddy Daughter Dance!!" Adorable.

I love these three and every sweet thing they have to say.

Disneyland

Welp, we did it, took the kids to Disneyland. Let me just say that I am so happy we waited as long as we did!! Disneyland is a big, intimidating place, but the kids had a blast, loved everything, and can't wait to go back.

This is obviously going to be picture heavy.

This was the first ride after a 4 hour drive.  Luckily, since we went on a Tuesday and Wednesday, there were no lines.

This is how Sadie felt about the whole thing.  She was a great sport, sleeping  a good part of the time.

Flying elephants!

Rapunzel was the first princess we met.  The kids loved her. For a few brief moments, Julie even claimed she was her new favorite....until we met Cinderella of course.

Julie hitching a ride while looking at the map.

Yeah, who would have guessed that the bumper cars were the kids favorite ride!  You can see Andy and John in the background gaining ground on Memere and Julie.

On the caterpillar ride.

Cheese!

Us with the big kids.  I was getting tired by this point, which is very clear in this picture!

The next morning was Julie's birthday!!!  We got to the park right when it opened, did a couple rides, then Julie had an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique thanks to Grammy and Poppop.  She was so excited since we had seen little princesses walking around the day before.

She even came ready in her Cinderella dress.

Her fairy godmother brushed out her "hair".

And covered her in glitter.

She got her nails done. And her makeup.

And this was the finished princess product.  She loved how everyone who saw her sash and her birthday button said "Happy Birthday".

And this is what Andy Jus calls heaven.  This trip rekindled his love for Woody and Buzz.  He was so excited to see Woody!

And he couldn't wait to hug Jessie either.

He was also excited to meet Aladdin.

Daddy took a turn with Andy's ears.  Goober.

We went to a princess lunch at California Adventure.  It was a really good way to meet all of the princesses.  And eat yummy food.

Julie and Ariel had a nice visit.

Then it was Belle.

And Snow White.

Cinderella planted a big kiss on Andy's forehead.  He wouldn't let us wipe off the lipstick.

Yup, once again, she is Julie's favorite.

Sleeping Beauty held Andy's hand. He liked her best I think.

Here is Sadie hanging out with Memere while we chased kids chasing princesses. 

At the end of lunch they brought Julie a Happy Birthday brownie and we sang to her.  It was fun.  She was a little embarrassed. It was adorable.

The Hunter Family Action Pack!! Yahoo!

And last but not least, this sweet boy with his souvenir Lotso Huggin Bear.  This thing has not left his side.

Just one more quick story.  During the parade the first night, Julie had just gotten her Birthday Button and was wearing it proud.  Everyone who works there has to say Happy Birthday if they see the button.  So everyone in the parade, dancers, princesses, etc, were saying or mouthing Happy Birthday to her.  Captain Hook came along and saw her button. His costume was similar to Woody's, big plastic head, huge hat.  He came right up to her face and gave her a big thumbs up.  She took it in stride, smiled and the parade went on.  (About the same time a woman dressed as a monkey from Lion King came face to face with Andy and he didn't notice! He was too busy watching the Lion!! She had to tap his shoulder. So funny!)

So the next night, we went to the parade right as we were leaving.  As soon as Captain Hook came around the corner, Julie flew a foot off the curb, ran and hid behind John, wrapping her head in his shirt. Apparently he had frightened her a little more than she led on!

Yes, it was an awesome trip.  We were there 8-10 hours a day, going non stop.  Next time we might be getting the 3 day pass!  I honestly had no idea we would like it as much as we did, of course, having no lines and nice weather helped a lot. I can't wait to go back!