Because you think my daughter is as adorable & hilarious as I do...

You know you drag your kids to Safeway WAY too much

 when your 2 year old chimes in with the intercom as if it's her favorite song.

 Intercom: "Service desk, please dial..."

Avy shouting with the intercom in unison without missing a beat: "201, Service desk."

Gotta love those little sponges we call offspring.

Among the things I promised myself...

...that I would never let my child do,

is dress and/or act like a hobo in public.

Oh well.  Standards change.

This is only a test.

Let's do a little science fair project & see if Tat really reads this blog.

 He claims he does, but a lot of times I refer to certain posts & he has no idea what I'm talking about.

So here goes:

Dear Tat...I mean Santa,

I'm a girl of simple requests. 

The least high maintenance of any females to ever walk the planet. 

I can get by with the bare minimums & rarely ask for anything that is not a necessity.

(remember when you suggested i don't use the dishwasher b/c it cost something like 36 cents every time i ran it? or remember when we didn't really use the furnace until children came along?  or remember when you suggested we put our first child in an apple crate to save money on a crib?

fortunately i put my foot down on that one.)

I usually try to subtly drop hints when there is something that's caught my fancy.

But short of smoke signals & a marching band, I'm not sure what else to do to drop Christmas wishlist clues.

 I've been trying to subliminally tell you for several months now about what I want for Christmas & you look at me with a sweet little dumbfounded look every time I bring it up.

You know...

that look like you're trying to pretend to know what I'm talking about,

but then you walk away & I see you scratching your head look?

Yeah, that one.

& do you remember the time I flat out told you EXACTLY what I wanted & where to buy it & how much it was going to set you back...

& then you looked up from the TV & said,

"What? Can you repeat that?"

Well, here's your last chance for clue-dropping & if you're ordering it on-line & would like it to be here by the Merry holiday, then hop to.

I want the letter "A" in the

Square Stamped Initial Charm

& the letter "L" in the

Round Stamped Initial Charm.

You can order these puppies from HIP&HUMBLE.

(i know, can you get more wasatch county than a name like that?)

Don't worry about a chain b/c I want to find a sassy long one myself.

Peace, Love, & Joy for the Holidays,

Hayley

Can I brag?

I assume you think I'm going to brag about this little cherub...

& how he generally wakes up only once a night

& how he only cries for food or a diapey change

& how he smiles back with his adorable dimple

(I know the experts say it's just gas, but what do they know?)

Well, you're wrong.

I'm bragging about this lady.  My mumsie.

While I've been slugging my lazy postpartum body around from bed to couch to rocking chair,

 the Miracle Worker has been doing things like this:

organizing my cupboards

organizing my drawers

baking 4 batches of cookies, 1 apple crisp, & 1 pie

(not to mention cooking dinner)

helped tat put up some shelves in the garage & organized all my laundry & cleaning supplies

(this pic is only the 1st shelf...there's now another one)

washing & folding laundry daily

organizing Tat's, mine, Avy, & Lincoln's dresser drawers & closets

making my bed & cleaning my room every day

scrubbed both my bathrooms...twice

hemmed Avy's curtains

vacuumed & wiped down all our blinds

What didn't I take pictures of?

her dusting

her vacuuming (multiple times)

her organizing my food storage in the garage

all the meals she prepared

all the playing with Avy & Lincoln

Thanks for making the last week & a half so enjoyable, Mom!

We love You!

All in a day's work...

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday

Get a new roof on the house.

What a relaxing & blissful way to spend the last few days of pregnancy.

AHHHH...

Tuesday

Dance Class

Wednesday

Hiking & playing at Rancho

Thursday afternoon

Head to the hospital for induction

Thursday night

Baby Lincoln Born!!!

Friday

Snuggle with Grandma all day

Welcome

Lincoln Martell

7 lbs 10 oz

20.5 in long

HAIR COLOR...

a definite redish hue to it, but nothing like Big Sister's yet.

The verdict is out for a few weeks on this one.

He's such a sweetie cuddle-bug. 

I dare you to pick him up...I'm pretty positive you won't want to put him down.

A weekend fit for a king...

I love to indulge every now & then.  So I do.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Some friends & I got this wild hair to sneak away one more night before the little fella arrives.

Another overnighter, or shall I say, stay up all hours of the nighter up in beautiful San Francisco.

(clearly I didn't take this pic)

There's always SOME spice to the night.

2008- Sarah puked all night

 July 2009- well, may I refer you to THIS POST

This trip- We got off the elevator & smelled a STRONG aroma of skunk.

We were at the Westin Market Street, so there should be no rodents cruising the halls.

At the same time, the 2 unsheltered frineds say, "SKUNK WEED!"

The 2 sheltered friends look at each other, me being one of them, & say, "What's that?"

Anywho, come to find out, the whole floor wreaks of crap thanks to some serious partyers smoking some potent stuff. 

In true Heather fashion, the front desk is immediately notified of the situation & we are immediately granted a room change several floors away & can begin the night of excitement.

Kaari & Lindsay did however stick around the Skunk Weed room to spy on the security guard & make sure he did his job.  I have no pics of that, but they tried to take one out of the peep-hole.

Assuming they post about it, you can read about it here:

KAARI   LINDSAY

If they don't post about it, they have fun blogs nonetheless.

Unfortunately my battery died & this is all I got pictures of.

Here's a lovely view from our window:

Here's a shot of some of the the good eats:

Here's a pic of the party animals:

Here's the DIVINE brunch stop before we headed home the next afternoon:

Thanks for the fun, Ladies...can't wait for a repeat!

& thanks to my family who love when I leave them to party on their own.

Seriously, at my current stage, I think they prefer me gone.

SATURDAY NIGHT

My friend Melanie organized a Dutch Oven Cookout

& we were the hosts.

NOTHING treats a full-cooked pregnant lady right like DELICIOUS FOOD!!!

fully-cooked one with Kristen & Baby Kale

some of the crowd partaking of serious goodness

the ladies keeping warm while the cavemen stoked the coals outside

kaari---the ever-entertainer

the mad-dash as soon as Amen was said

no food for the tots...just running from "the ghost" all night

story time with old st. tat

the dutch-ovened mac & cheese & the rice krispie treats were all Avy needed for happiness.

Good picks ashby's & teuschers!

Funny side-note about the Rice Krispie treats:

As I went to lay Avy down for bed, I was shaking her blankets out and found not 1, but 2 Rice Krispie treats stowed away in the blankets for some midnight snacking.

That little sneak.

Thanks for the exquisite meal everbody & for organizing it, Sagers!

Let's do it again...

REAL SOON!

October...is it finally over?

Here were my goals for October.

Overall, the 10th month was a success.

Get a little crafty. 
Which I did.

For months Tyler & I planned to be Jon & Kate Gosselin.
 Which we were.

We had hoped to find Uncle Austy a Halloween date. 
Which we did.

I waited all year long to hit-up Half Moon Bay. 
Which I did.

I anticipated eating LOTS & LOTS of Halloween candy. 

Which I did & am currently doing.

I looked forward to attending all sorts of Halloween parties.
 Which I did.

The first party was the Jacobs "Nightmare on Goldenstate Street."
You had to dress up as your worst nightmare.
Ours was Jon & Kate...& apparently we're not the only ones who are scared of the Gosselins.
2 Jon & Kate's...that's a very SPOOKY thought.

Although my friend Kaari seems like a sweet loveable gal...

she's pretty morbid.

The torso cake & freaky man are from her party.

The next party we went to was a "Hollywood Hauntings" party.

This party required costumes of Hollywood stars.

Fortunately our J&K costumes worked here as well...

I wasn't about to get creative twice.

Here's a photo from the party's photographer.

Avy's Kiddie Parties with the boyfriends

Trek up to San Fran to meet a friend for lunch before baby arrives.
 Which I did.

Celebrate Uncle Austy's Birthday. 
Which we did.

I planned to get Baby Linc's blankets & quilt made & Avy's Thanksgiving & Christmas pillowcases made before the end of October.

 Which I didn't. 

I did, however, get the fabrics bought & cut...
I just need a strong man to stay home long enough to lift my sewing machine onto the table for me now (hint-hint).

I was set on putting my decorations up on October 1st.
 Which I did.

I was set on reading MILLIONS of Halloween books with Avy.
 Which I did...over&over&over&over.

I was determined to make lots of Halloween goodies.
Which I did.

I eagerly awaited Trick-or-Treating with Avy, Tat & friends. 
Which we did.

I am now ready to nestle down for a long winter's nap.

Oh wait...

1 more week & I'll be expelling a human from my body. 

Guess my nap can wait till next year.

Happy Fall!