Holiday Time!

Well as 2010 draws to a close, I can't help but get a little sappy and sentimental. I am so thankful for the year I have had. I had a beautiful daughter this year, watched my other two beautiful daughters grow and change, and help my husband accomplish his dream of starting his own business. I turned thirty this year also. I didn't have any mid life crisis as some do, I am actually looking forward to my thirties. I feel like I am at peace with who I am. I am so excited for this christmas! I so enjoy giving those I love gifts, and having children makes christmas a blast. We have been reading the story of baby Jesus and I am enjoying watching the girls begin to understand about God's love for us.
We are lucky in the fact that both Jed and I have our families living close to us, so we get to spend the holiday with both our families. We are going to xmas eve with Jed's family, and will spend xmas afternoon with my family. I have an inkling that this is going to be an extra special xmas ;). I will post more about that after xmas, wouldn't want to ruin any surprises. I want to wish all of my friends and families a wonderful holiday and I hope Santa brings you all something special.

Wow does time fly!

For the readers of my blog I sincerly appologize for the long lapse in my blogging. Lets just trust that we had an excellant summer, although it was way to short for my taste. Now fall is upon us, and with it comes a whole new look, smell, and tons of activities. I love living somewhere where I get to experiance the changing of the leaves. It is so beautiful.Gabby started kindergarten this year, and I don't think I was ready. It feels so weird being on the parent end of things going to conferences, etc. It seems like just yesterday our parents were attending our conferences. She is doing really well, but there are days that she doesn't want to go. She cries and it breaks my heart. I am hoping that as time goes on she will feel more comfortable and excited about it. We took the girls to Roloff Farms this year. We love the show, but hadn't ever visited the farm before. It was very busy!! However it was a really neat thing to experiance at least once. We got to take the wagon tour, and it was very impressive to see all the things they had built for their children. Can you imagine having your own castle? The cast of the show were all there and were very kind and friendly. The girls had a blast! Jed, maybe not so much...he is not a fan of crowds. At least we can say we did it. It was a fun experiance.

Fourth of July at Seaside

For the fourth of July this year we went with some friends of ours to Seaside. It was a lot of fun! We got to go to a fourth of July parade, watch fireworks out over the ocean, and bike the promenade. Gabby hasn't got to ride her bike that much do to the huge amount of rain we have gotten this year. I was so surprised how much she has improved. It won't be long now before we have a two-wheeler in our midst. She must have ridden for hours. The promenade had bumper cars and tilt-a-whirl, which were fun. Mostly it was just a perfect relaxing weekend to celebrate being americans. Something that unfortunately too many of us forget to do. After the kids went to bed the adults had agrand old time playing games. Wow, does domino games get exciting when you throw in a little booze :) Talk about a lot of commotion, whooping and hollering. I would have won too, if my husband hadn't thrown me under the bus. Maybe next year we can do it again, it was sure a blast!

Summer fun!

Oh my gosh! I am so ashamed of how behind I have gotten on my blog. We have been having a great summer thus far. June the kids and I got to do a lot because I was on maternity leave. We decided to take advantage of my time off and go down to So. Cal. to visit some old friends. It was a girl's only trip, and what a blast we had. The drive was long and exhausting(I had a little bit of a control issue and didn't let mom or Lacey help with the driving), but well worth it. The girls did so much better than I thought they would...God bless car dvd players. The only whiner ended up being Lacey :) We got to do a lot of great things while we were there. Disneyland, Sea World, Legoland, the beach, BBQ's and pool time. The weather was fabulous considering our spring up here had been so crappy. It was great visiting with Kristen, Bonnie, Deanna, Katrina, and all of their families. We even ran into Kim and her family at Disneyland. We wished we could have stayed so much longer, it was fun catching up and letting the kids play together. I miss everyone, and wish I could join in on the dinner club....if only the commute wasn't so long. Thanks to all who helped lend a hand to making our vacation so much fun!!!!!

Giulianna's 6 week stats

We went to Giulianna's 6 week check up today. She is finally passing her birth weight. She lost a lot of weight after she was born, getting down to just over 5 and a half pounds. Luckily all the hard work trying to help her grow has paid off. She is 21 inches long and 7lbs. 2oz. She is such a precious baby. She already sleeps way better than either of her sisters did. She is going through some fussiness though, so the doctor did recommend a formula change. I am really enjoying being her mommy and desperately trying to hold on to every moment. I know that she is my last baby, and even though I don't really need anymore, that is a sad thought.

My poor middle child....

Poor Gracie! She has had some trouble adjusting to her role as the middle child. When I first had Giulianna, she was not at all impressed. The girls weren't able to come to the hospital to see us because Gabby was very sick. My mom and sister tried to show her a picture of the new baby to Gracie and she knocked the phone out of there hands and went and hid. Every since then things have only gotten worse. She loves the baby and is very gentle with her, so at least she isn't taking out her anger on her. Me on the other hand, nothing is held back. My sweet, quiet, shy baby has turned into a holy terror. She cries constantly following me through the house, and throws tantrums at least ten times a day that can last forever. She is also getting a lot of attitude. We have begun potty-training and what a nightmare. She knows how to go in the toliet, but is not at all consistent. One day she may be dry most of the day, and other days she won't go in the toliet at all, just screams and cries when you even suggest it. I long to have my old Gracie back. I know this is just a phase that will eventually pass, but hopefully that time will come before I go gray. I am doing everything I can to reassure her that she is just a special as she was before. We love you bunches Gracie....even if you are a turd! :)

Happy Birthday Gabriella!

On April tenth, my first baby turned five years old!!! Where does the time go? She is getting so big and will be going to kindergarten in the fall. We love her so much and feel blessed to have her in our life. She tends to be very emotional, but as a result is well tuned into what other peopla as well as animals are feeling. She is very smart and beautiful and we love watching her become the little lady she is. Happy Birthday Baby!

Gabby's playing t-ball!

Gabby has started t-ball! At first I have to admitt that I was not very excited about this, I was worried about juggling a new baby and practices, but she was so excited. So...I signed her up. Now I get to sit and watch a very funny comedy routinue. The children are so adorable. Most of them don't have much of a clue about how the game is played, so it is very funny. They run around forgetting where they should be, which team they play for or what to do if they hit the ball. I love watching her learn the rules and gain confidence in herself. She has turned into quite the athlete, something her father and I are not! She has never complained, even when practicing in the pouring down rain. I am so proud of my little ball player!

Our New Addition!

We are proud to annouce the newest member of our family....Giulianna Lee Haft. She was born on April 1st at about 8:30pm. She weighed 6lbs 14oz. and is just perfect! I was induced a week early to avoid going into labor on my own and driving over an hour to the hospital. It took quite awhile to get the process started, but once it finally got started, it went pretty quickly. I am lucky to be a person that doesn't have too difficult of a time pushing out my babies, so two quick pushes later she was out. I had quite a room full of family and friends, and except for when the jerks ate pizza in front of me, I was very glad that they could share this special moment with me. I feel so blessed to have three beautiful baby girls. I can't help but cling to this little girl just trying to get her to stay a newborn forever, but sadly I know that isn't possible. She will most likely be my last child and I can't help but feel sad about that. I will just have to try to savor every moment. The girls are enjoying their little sister, and love helping me with her. Gracie wasn't too sure in the beginning, but she is getting better about her every day. I look forward to watching the three of them grow up together. I know with three girls it won't be all peaches and cream all the time, but hopefully they will be close to one another. Now just remind me of how excited I am to have three girls in about ten years from now, something tells me I may not feel this way at that time:)

Going into business

My husband has wanted to go into business for himself for a few years now, and just recently we took the big leap. He quit his job and we went into business for ourselves. He is now a specialty contractor that specializes in appliance repair, and handyman services. I have to say that I was terrified at first, the whole uncertainty of it was overwhelming. Especially with a new baby on the way and the economy not doing so well. However, what kind of a wife would I be if I wasn't supportive of my husband's dreams? So, I pushed down my anxiety and did my best to prepare. We went into business last month, and have surprisingly done alright. Some weeks have been better than others, but we are getting our name out there and I'm confident it won't be long until we are very busy. I am so proud of the good things customers are already saying about Jed. He is so smart, and I knew he had the skills needed to accomplish this. I am happy that he is living his dream and doing what he always wanted to. It will be great in the future, we'll be able to do things when we want to, and he will be able to help a little more when the baby comes!

Getting Ready for Baby

Wow! Time has passed so quickly and we have been busy preparing for our new little one. I finally finished painting the nursery, and I must admitt it turned out pretty cute. The dots were a lot more difficult than I thought they would be, but I love it so I guess it was well worth it. I also had a beautiful shower thrown for me by my sister and Heidi. They did such a great job, it turned out really cute. I had a lot of fabulous friends who showed up and brought such adorable things for the baby. The games were just hilarious, they even had a multi-tasking mom relay. I am so lucky to have people who would do so much for me and my baby. It was a lot of fun! This pregnancy is getting more exhausting every day. I feel so torn knowing that this is my last baby, I want to hold on to every movement and memory of being pregnant. However I want so badly to hold her and to be done with the pregnancy. I have deffinitly reached the uncomfortable time. I know soon that she will be here, and I will get to see her adorable little face.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that a new year is already here. 2009 was a great year and we look forward to 2010. I'm sure it will be an exciting year as we get ready in the next few months to welcome our new little one. We spent this new year's eve. with friends and family at Jed's brother's house. It was a fun evening, complete with karaoke. The kids had a lot of fun singing and playing with cousins and friends. We(meaning me and the kids)didn't quite make it to midnight, but maybe next year! This pregnancy is starting to catch up to me a little, making me pretty tired. Here are some cute pictures of the girls ringing in the new year!

Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous christmas this year, and hope that all our friends and family did as well. We spent christmas eve with my family, and had a nice quiet wonderful evening together. We enjoyed wonderful food, and exchanged gifts. It was so much fun this year because both kids were very interested in everything that was going on. Gracie was so excited over every present, even socks! I have worked really hard with my children to try to get them to understand how lucky they are to have what they do, and be grateful for what they receive. I was very proud of them, when the thank yous came easily with very little prompting. Then Christmas morning we were able to spend a few precious hours alone as a family before we had to go to Jed's familys celebration. We really enjoy this time together, just the four of us. I have so much love for our little family, and I cherish our time together,knowing that time passes so quickly. The smiles and giggles are so fun to watch. We got dressed and headed off to Jed's family, and boy is their xmas celebrating so much different than my family's. That is one of the fun parts of living so close to our families. We get to have our children experiance both families and their different traditions. The energy level at Jed's parents is really high and the noise level even higher. There are lots of little ones running around, keeping us all on our toes. Finally on christmas night we packed up and drove over to Heidi's house and had dinner with her and her family. It was a wonderful day and I always feel so blessed to have all of these wonderful people that love and care for our family.