She's Here!!

Caroline Gayle Hayes

7 lbs. 7 oz.

Born: JULY 4, 2011

After her first bath!

Lizzie meeting her new sister

Dad getting some cuddle time

So cozy and new

Cannon lounging with Caroline at the cabin (5 days old)

Enjoying a rain storm with mom and dad on our porch

Just one week ago...

Making a Rare Blog Appearance

Just wanted to say that I love these kids. What a privilege to be their mother. For those of you who haven't heard, we're expecting # 4 at the end of June. We're way excited!! I barf almost everyday from the excitement!!!

I know I don't keep this blog up very well. Other things always make it higher on my to-do list I guess. Frankly, I get pretty burned out from writing. I love it but it's what I do nearly every night. You can check out my resume blog that I send to interested editors. It has a pretty good sampling of my latest articles.

slcwriter.blogspot.com

This winter, I've written some arts reviews for the Deseret News, some really fun pieces for Wasatch Woman magazine (February will feature a piece called "How to Think Like a Decorator When Redoing Your Bedroom"--where I pick the brain of my incredibly talented decorator friend, Caitlin Creer. I'm also doing some profiles for WW magazine's "woman of the year" section, as well as a feature for the Ballet magazine "Pointe" which will run in March. I'll post web versions when they appear.

What else is going on with me? I'm still in my choir, the Salt Lake Choral Artists, which I love but seems to be demanding more and more these days. All of these things consume my evenings but daytime is still kids kids kids....I've just decided I'm not the greatest juggler. Harland is doing well...happy in the job, biking on a clearer day and skiing with our boys (I recently stopped due to being pregnant and all) every chance he gets--which is more than most people I have to say. Cannon has missed a few too many days of first grade and we were chastened a bit for it (Come on, he's in first grade and he's doing great in school...I guess we don't want to set a bad precedent about school being unimportant...boy could that backfire on us someday). Both boys love hitting the slopes and playing on their basketball teams. The guinnea pig we got from Santa (yay...giving into that one was a testament of my love for my boys. I hate most pets but dogs) has a "mommy" in Cannon. Cannon now claims he's also ready also for piano lessons, but I'm not.

Elizabeth is getting bigger and sassier. Still no girlish mannerisms that I can detect--a mixed blessing. She has a distaste for dolls, ponies, pigtails, bows, princess toys and (thank goodness) high drama. She likes saying "gimme some"to her brothers, punching fists and saying "boom"--guess she's ready for a frat or something. She also likes to jump, dance, toilet paper the house, demand food and make pyramids out of household items. She hates anything (including movies) which might require her to sit still. She absolutely positively loves her brothers,

especially Henry.

Rendered Useless

See this adorable little thing? This is Elizabeth, nicknamed our little rascal. At 17 months she is hilarious and boy, does she love to sing. She says words here and there, but she can outsing anyone. If I start singing, she doubles the decibels. She has a fall-back phrase too. I hear her say:"Ee-i-ee-i-oh!" really fast when she's just burning some energy. I have been rendered useless lately because she is at that stage where she likes to weave in and out of my legs or cling desperately to them at all times. Try unloading a dishwasher with that going on. This is the age I adore and abhor. Mostly adore...unless I'm on an airplane.

A quieter moment...

We've had a blast this summer. First, I took Henry and Cannon on a river trip. Harland had to go to Youth Conference later that week so he had to miss the fun. We met up with Dave (my bro) and his family and took a five day trip down the San Juan river. Can you say little boy heaven? They played non-stop with their cousins and got sandy and muddy and squirted each other and jumped in and out of the river and floated and built forts and fought with sticks and created plays and roasted marshmellows and helped me put up the tent and take it down everyday. Yep, little boy heaven. The next week we went to California with Mimi's family (my sis). We met up with Ginny's family (another sis), they live in San Juan Capistrano. We spent seven days playing some more. Here's Henry at San Onofre where we had a bonfire one night.

Here's my mom, Harland and Jason with my nephews Jamison and Porter in Laguna. Porter lifeguards at Laguna and surrounding beaches, so if you head on down, look for him! Or look for Spencer (the other twin) at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna all summer. He's teaching kids pottery. The boys learned a little about the wheel and made cereal bowls. Probably Henry's favorite thing about the trip...

The older we get, the more people ask if Mimi and I are twins. I feel sorry for her. Here we are Ruby's on the Pier in Newport. I wonder if any locals go there....

Heather's paradise...my kids, my husband, and row after row of beach houses on Balboa Island. If you've been to my house, you will know immediately that I wish I lived on the beach. In the meantime, I satisfy the craving by taking in the shake shingles, charming criss-cross porches, gables and everything else at Balboa...

Yay for Newport!

I just love summer, can you tell? But relaxing it is not. Just like Sundays. Sundays and summer are supposed to be a time to regroup, to relax. I find them to be the busiest times of all. Am I alone in this? You must share your thoughts...

Regaining my Footing!

I thought my blogging days were done. I don't know why because I know we're all busy, but I just couldn't find the time. Three kids has been a challenge the likes of which I've never known! I've been amazed at how little I can get done in the space of a day. What used to be the bare minimum--getting everyone fed, dressed, and driving them to where they need to be when they need to be there--is most of the time the bare maximum! So...I sorta let this go. But I had a nice chat with my friend, Meredith, and she convinced me to give it another go around. So thanks, Mer.

I wont try and summarize the past nine months (yes, I could have had a baby since I last wrote...but I didn't.) Highlights of our first year (almost) back in Salt Lake City:

1. A new-old house

2. A new job for Harland, he loves it.

3. A new preschool for Henry--we couldn't love it more

4. Cannon started Kindergarten. He's had a ball.

5. FANTASTIC neighbors that have become fast friends. My dream of kids running from house to house has truly come true.

6. I rejoined the Salt Lake Choral Artists and have enjoyed dedicating my Tuesday nights to rehearsing. It's really fun and challenging. I also volunteer at Cannon's school, teach Music Appreciation for his class, and work in Primary right now. I've only ever had a short stint in Primary, so it's fun to learn about this organization more. It's pretty much always been Young Women. Other than that you'll find me driving, or scrubbing grape juice from the kitchen floor.

7. We have slowly been plugging away at one house project after another

8. The boys learned to ski. Cannon picked it up fast and has been a little daredevil. Henry took a little longer to come around, but after a couple of lessons at The Canyons, he turned a corner and really started to love it.

9. The boys have been involved in soccer, basketball, and baseball this year (not all at the same time!) Cannon will start piano lessons sometime soon.

10. Elizabeth turned one and is the most adored little sister ever. That's because she's really cute, yes, and also because she hasn't learned how to take her brother's toys yet.

11. Harland has been working, and doing more playing than in years past. We were able to go on a cruise with Preston and Karen and also go to Vegas for Spring Break recently. At no point did Harland have to come late or leave early. It was a stark contrast to years past. He also gets to teach up at the med school from time to time, and he's very devoted to the Young Mens program in our ward.

12. I ran my first half marathon. It was fun.

OK, here are some pictures, and they're out of order, so sorry:

Elizabeth at nine months (taken in November)...getting bigger

Henry working out. Yep, the costumes are still used on a daily, I mean hourly basis, although I'm sad to report that Cannon is starting to become too cool for most of them.

Elizabeth's first birthday party in February at our house. I should have taken pictures of the decorations because I put some effort into those! Oh well, you can sorta see them in the background. We enjoyed cupcakes and italian sodas in her honor. She stuffed her face and got a tutu swimsuit, a baby doll and a stroller. She is just now warming up to her baby. She used to look at it and throw it across the room.
This was taken a week ago. She's not just walking, she's running. She also likes to sing, scream, pet doggies, splash in the toilet when her mommy turns her back, and tear the house apart. I've never had a child so...darling and yet destructive. She's a real fireball. Cannon likes to call her our "Little Rascal". Don't even think about turning your back with her around. She'll dump out dry noodles, plastic forks and make confetti out of the napkins in a matter of seconds. Don't bother handing her toys. She's not too interested.

Christmas time with the family.

Christmas party at our house. Henry is the shepherd in the background~that's Melanie (Harland's sis) singing with me.

First day of school for Cannon. Now the school year is almost over. He had a great year. I'm absolutely thrilled with how great this school is! Right here he is standing in the street in front of our house. Behind him is the school. Very convenient.

Halloween!

Thanksgiving at our house

Winter time. Henry loves "Tiz"

A Night Out!

Katherine (Warner) Winegar, Angela (Scruggs) Jensen, Alyson (Gygi) Pugsley, Heidi (Biesinger) Thornley, Meagan (Hill) Gilmore, Heidi (Madsen) Carlston , Emily (Allen) White, me

PHOTOGRAPHER: Carrie (Smith) LeBaron (see below!)

I couldn't believe we (high school friends) pretty much all made it to the same place at the same time! How did that ever work out? It really felt like old times. We went out to Trio then stayed at Carrie's parents' Park City cabin. I got three hours of sleep because we just couldn't stop laughing and talking. My favorite thing was this video that Heidi B brought up of us after our first year of college. We went camping and pretty much documented the whole thing from making a fire to brushing our teeth in the morning, to talking about who we were dating and who we thought we'd marry. It brought tears to our eyes! Anyway, I am so happy that I have these wonderful women and fantastic mothers as friends and examples in my life.

There's Carrie!

And now onto other news:

No baby ever loved starting solids as much as Elizabeth. She screams between bites because I'm just not fast enough! Isn't she cute?



Finally, Cannon starts Kindergarten on Tuesday. Can't really believe it. I thought since he's been in preschool longer than any other kid EVER, this wouldn not be a strange new thing for me. He's been wanting to be in Kindergarten since last fall when all his pals started without him (fall birthday!). Now, we move to Utah and it's only half-day here, so what's the big deal? But I just feel like he's starting this new chapter that will sort of be a new chapter for all of us. A new mode, ya know? And that has made me surprisingly weepy. It's just accelerating, you know? He's getting so big and I can't stop it and I can't coax him back into former stages. Why didn't I enjoy the superman stage a bit more? Why didn't I always take him up on every opportunity to snuggle? Now he's getting less snuggly and more independent. It kills me. He promised me he wouldn't grow up! So here's to our last day as a carefree family without kids in school!

Some memories...

Look how old he is now! He's a full-on boy. Not an ounce of baby fat left!

Girl Talk

People have been asking me if it's fun having a girl. I've smiled and shrugged and said it feels the same so far--I mean besides the cute clothes, it doesn't "feel" that different yet. But after more thought, I've decided that, although she might not be dancing around in a tutu yet or combing a baby doll's hair, it's me who is acting differently with a girl. The truth is, I "baby" her more than I did the boys. I can't help it, when she cries at night, even though she's fully capable of sleeping through the night, I usually go get her. With the boys at this age, I was much better (although it was never easy) at letting them cry it out a little. Maybe I'm just becoming more of a softie, but there's something so emotionally connecting about having a daughter. It's funny..

My little adorable thing...

So what's new? Harland started his new job as an ER doc with a group that runs the ERs at Intermaountain Medical Center, LDS, Alta View and soon Riverton Hospital. This means he rotates around. So far he is enjoying it, especially teaching residents and the variety of different hospitals.

We are still unpacking, painting and trying to make things our own, but it is slow going with three little ones. We love our neighborhood best of all. The families are so friendly and we especially love our next door neighbors, Lily (4) and Greta (6). They run back and forth from our house to theirs all day. It has made our schedule-less, crazy summer a bit more sane and fun. Also, we are a stone's throw from Laird Park, which I've decided is the worlds best park because it is always shady and I inevitably run into atleast three people I know.

We've also been enjoying the mountains we've missed so much. Here are some photos from the recent adventures:

Oh Cannon! The kid is fearless. He wanted to try waterskiing so bad but we didn't have anything his size. Obviously, not a problem!

At hidden falls in Teton National Forest...Cannon is not pictured because he chose "bear hunting" over being part of this photo. His one desire was to see a bear. We ended up seeing two black bears near the side of the road on our way back to camp (we were driving, thank goodness!). He kept saying "I knew I'd see one! I just knew it!"

It was soooo cold this past weekend in August at Colter Bay near the Tetons! Who would have guessed? Here is Lizzy in her usual getup during the trip...

Our camp with the Hayes clan

This is a snapshot from earlier this summer up at Lake Catherine. It was June so the boys got to have a few snowball fights on the way up

Also in June: We went to California to visit my sister Ginny in San Juan Capistrano.

(l-r) mom, Ginny, Heather (and little E). We had such a great time.

Lizzy at the beach

The boys being cowboys up near the base of the Uintas