Sophie Turns 1

When I came home yesterday we did a quick little birthday party for Sophie. Diane made cupcakes, and she went to town. I love this little girl, she is nothing buy joy.

Soren Leifsson Hasselblad

Soren Leifsson Hasselblad was born November 18th, at 8:26am. He weighed a whopping 7lbs, 11 oz, and measured 19.5 inches long.

Leif turns 3

We've made a tradition out of going to Bi-Zi farms for Leify's birthday. The three years we've gone, the weather has been nice, although last year was a little slippery. This last weekend it seems everyone in Vancouver converged upon Bi-Zi farms at the same time we did. It was absolutely packed. All we really had time for was to take the tractor ride out to the field for punkin' picking, and by the time we returned we needed to head to the Pizza Parlor for our reservation.

Leify didn't mind, I think he takes after both Leif and I in the loathing of crowds ;) The Gibson's joined us again this year; we love that they take time out of their busy lives and drive down to spend special days like this with us!

It was a fun filled day, and were glad to be able to spend it with so many of the people that Leify adores. He is one lucky little boy, as am I, for being his Mom.

Here are some things that Leify LOVES:

-Thomas the Train

-'Cars'

-Playing outside with his dump trucks

-Wrestling with his Daddy

-Going to Grandma & Grandpa's house

-His Aunts and Uncles.....Neecooolllle

-CHOCOLATE!!

-Root beer

-Daddy coming home from work

-Reading books

-Cuggling in the morning

It is so fun to watch him discover new things each day, and to see the little wheels turning round in his "melon". (That's what he calls his head ;)) He has said/done some pretty funny things lately...You'll notice that the 1st two have a common theme.

Me: "Leify, stop picking your nose!"

Leify: "But I'm trying to get sumfin' Mom!"

This little incident nearly made me pee my pants. Leify comes in to cuggle every morning, he especially loves the weekends, since that means Daddy will be there too.

Leify: "I got it Daddy, I wiped it."

Leif: "What did you get?"

Leify: "A booger."

Leif: "Where did you wipe it?!"

Leify: "It's right there, on your pillow."

Sometimes at night the tickle monster comes out to visit, Leify lacks better sense and actually asks for me to tickle him. The other night after much tickling I was worn out...

Leify: "Tickle me Mom."

Me: "I can't, my hands are broken."

Leify: "Awww, you need new batteries?"

These pictures are out of order, and I am too lazy to try and fix them...I still haven't grown completely fluent in all things "mac".

Uncle Pat got Leify some sweet wheels.

Blowing out his candle, he has been soooo excited about his birthday!

My attempt at cake decorating, so time consuming!!

The Loafs enjoying the outdoors.

He's not too crazy about getting his picture taken lately, can you tell???

The Rents

He liked the green ones, haha :)

Funny little girl

Sophers was full of expressions today, she is so funny sometimes.

Leif and Sophia

Leif is getting smarter and smarter, he asks me questions constantly about how and why things work, which also means he is becoming defiant...yay. He is full of spunk, and truly loves his sister, Jack, and talks about his "brover" Soren constantly. He has enjoyed playing outside in our new yard, and of course loves anything "Thomas" or "Cars" related.

We are working on potty training. Hopefully all goes well in the next month, and I won't have 3 in diapers. Yikes. Lately he has been coming up to me and saying, "Mommy, you're my favorite, I love you." and gives me a hug. Moments like that make up for all the insanity, and wishing I could pull my hair out. He is truly a darling little boy.

Sophia is pure happiness. She is the sweetest little girl, and loves playing with cars as much as her brother does. It is so funny to watch the little peanut zoom the cars all over the floor...she has it totally figured out. She loves Mama cuggles, and has to be put to bed by me every night, hopefully all goes smooth when Soren arrives, because as of now it HAS to be me. She is developing a goofy sense of humor, and cracks herself up regularly. She says "Uh oh" on a semi regular basis, points at EVERYTHING, and says "Da", everything is "Da". She says "Dada", sometimes directed at Leif, other times just as something to say. She says "Mama" occasionally, usually when she is ready for bed, or is upset. She is going to be a tough little girl, and will be pampered by her brothers and Daddy. I guess it's up to me to try and balance it out. ;)

We are excited for what the next month will bring; inviting Soren into our hearts and home.

Mowing the Lawn

We FINALLY have a yard, both boys have been giddy with excitement. Mowing the lawn more than neccessary, and loving the lush green grass. Leify has always been Leif's right hand man, why would mowing the lawn be any different? He told me, "I need to go get my mower in the house, be right back in a sec.", and out he comes with his mower and hops into line with Leif. He is such a funny little guy.

Lower Falls

Leif and I decided to take the kids for a day trip with the kids early September; if only to prove that we don't live on the edge of the earth. ;)

This marked the second time I have traveled further than the Ape Caves heading east from our house. Leif has been to Lower Falls several times camping and wanted me to see it, and approve for future camping trips. It is gorgeous there! We had a fun filled day of hiking, and picnicking. I love days like this with my little family. I am one blessed lady.

This trio makes me smile everyday.

He's getting so big, and indepedent, it is so sad, but exciting to watch.

Here are the falls; aren't they gorgeous?

It still boggles my mind how much this sweet little girl looks like her Daddy. She is perfect.

Leify loved this rock tower, somebody before us made up a half dozen of these along the river bank.

Hawaii

Late July I received a text message from my sister Tammy, it went a little something like this, "Would you be available to do something for my birthday August 24-29." First, reaction, from me was, well of course. That led, to me thinking maybe we were going to do something fun on one or two of those days...maybe she didn't have it all planned out. I didn't really think too much about it. Come to find out, she calls me and tells me she's booking my airline ticket to MAUI. What the heck?!? That took me for a loop :) It's not everyday that you get to tag along for your sister's birthday extravaganza to Hawaii.

This was the entrance to our room at Mama's Fish House.

Sophie, modeling the view from Mama's Fish house. She adopted the "hang loose" lifestyle easily.

The first night in Maui we stayed the night at this awesome place called Mama's Fish House. The food was excellent, and the views were gorgeous. We had dinner, and I had the best pork tenderloin I have ever eaten. Delicious.

For some reason I didn't end up with any pictures from the house in Kihei, so here is yet another view from Mama's Fish House.

For the rest of our stay we were in Kihei, Tammy had rented a house?...hmm, bungalow? Ha. It was darling, right on the ocean. It had huge backyard where we sat, read books, daydreamed, and were able to see turtles pop their heads up to say hello. The coolest part about the house was that it had an outdoor shower, can't say I am going to be installing one at my own house anytime soon, but it was definitely perfect for the house and location.


It was laid back trip where we just enjoyed each other's company, ate cheesecake for breakfast, snorkeled, laughed and relaxed. I read more than I had than years. Sophie tagged along as well, she loved the beach, and was a perfect little girl...most of the time ;)

Sophie was sure she could crawl through the sand with not one, but two cookies. It didn't turn out in her favor.

But she's happy anyways.

I am so lucky to have the family that I do, and for a sister that sees and appreciates the importance of spending some quality time with her sisters and friends. It had been a long time since we've been able to do something like this, let alone in beautiful Hawaii.

Sophie loved swimming in the ocean, her is she is with her Aunt Tammy.

August, a little late.

August was a packed month, seems like we were here, there, and everywhere. Between seeing family, weekend getaways, Hawaii (more on that later), and working around the house, I am worn out! Without further ado, here are the stars of the show:

Leify Sweetcheeks Hasselblad

Sophie Honeybuns Hasselblad

These two little characters keep us more than busy, I am sure Soren is going to flip us right on our heads.

We still haven't picked out a middle name for the little man. But, his name is definitely going to be Soren. I have loved that name since the first time I heard it. Coincidentally, it is the name of the man who took our wedding pictures. But, it also is of Scandinavian origin, so it happily falls into place with the theme of our children's names.

We are looking forward to settling into a calmer routine, enjoying the sights, smells, and tastes of fall (my favorite), and welcoming the final member of our family home. 11 weeks and counting.

I just love these two. The End.

The Beach

This past weekend we went to the condo for the weekend. It is so peaceful and quiet there. I love it. It was a great little getaway, and I can't wait to go back in October. The weather was a little weird, so we didn't do too much playing on the beach. We still had fun at the indoor pool, and when the weather decided to cooperate we went on a hike to check out the lighthouse.

Below is what it looked like the majority of Saturday, it didn't clear up until after about 4, blah. It was super windy too.

My little goober-pies. These little turds make my day...everyday.

This is an out of the window shot while driving down the strip in Long Beach. The wind was perfect for flags and kites.

Orcas Island

For the 4th of July weekend we went to Orcas Island to visit my brother Tim, Nicole, and their two kiddos. It is a bit of adventure to get there, but we were inventive and the kids played in the trunk while we waited for the ferry. Sophie was so happy to get out of her carseat!

Leify is a lucky boy to have so many people around him that take enjoyment in him and are actively involved in his life. Uncle Tim is no exception. Leify talks about him all the time...and well, Nicole is his 2nd Mom (sometimes I think he likes her more than me ;)), he adopted Aubriana's name for her, Mamasita, but he called her "Mamaseepa" ;) And, of course, he adores his cousin "Aubrinana". It makes me so happy to see the special little friendship they share. That doesn't mean that they don't have their share of scraps, but in the end there is nothing but excitement when they see each other...followed by screaming 5 minutes later. Ha.
Taking a close look at a crab he found...

Aubri came to check it out too...

My two loves. Have I said on here that I am pregnant?! I don't think I have. Well, Sophers is going to be flanked by two brothers. That makes her Daddy more than happy. She'll have a watchful eye on her...always. 3 kids 3 and under?!? Maybe that's why I haven't mentioned it on here...I am trying to avoid it ;)

Leify has been a weirdo about pictures lately...this is him saying "Boogers". Ha!

Sister needed to see the crab too.

Apparently she didn't find this funny ;)