New Skills and Happy Kids

Just random stuff in my attempt to blog almost every week. We'll see how long this can last...

Yes, Jack is finally figuring out how to sit up. He does it as long as he can, then just falls over. He has a great base to balance on (I'm afraid he's inherited his mom's butt and thighs) so he can stay upright very well now. It's fun to see this guy progress. We always tell everyone we can't believe how much he weighs (19lbs at his last check up)... but the poor kid was born after Kimball who only weighed 19 lbs at her 1 year old check up.










He has also become very fond of his play saucer, he will sit in there for a good 20 mins before he looks up to see where everyone is.





Kimball, on the other hand, has become obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Of course, her parents may have helped a little with this obsession. I made the mistake of downloading a few episodes on my ipod, and now she knows that she can watch Mickey almost anywhere... but her favorite spot is her red chair.




And for journaling purposes, I just had to get a picture of her with her "baby." She received this doll for her first birthday, and will randomly dig it out of the toy basket and carry it around with her for hours. She hugs it and pats and gives it kisses. It's really one of the cutest things I've ever seen. She loves babies... and just discovered real babies (no, not with her brother Jack) but with her twin cousins. At dinner yesterday, she went running up to the twins and started saying "BABIES, BABIES!!" and clapping her hands. Crazy girl!

And now... for a new video... featuring the very focused... JACK! Nevermind, it wouldn't upload...I'll try again on the next post.

Temporary Leave of Absence

Yes, I was on a blog hiatus for a little while. I just lost whatever motivation I had to update the blog. But, it isn't from a lack of activity. If anything, it was because I had a lot of stuff happening. Here's a quick sum up for my "family journal" (that's really what this blog is for me).

The week we got home from Dallas, Jason and I (with the wonderful help of his brothers, and one of my brother) packed up and moved. We're still in Henderson, just closer to all of my favorite restaurants. I may never cook again.

Then, Jason was kind enough to give me up for a week (really only 4 nights) so that I could go up to my parents house and hang out with my sister Cally who was on bed rest. We also got to spend Easter up in Midway. We also had the luck of going to a sacrament meeting where Elder Holland just happened to be visiting (he has a home up in Midway). It really was an "Easter Miracle" to get to hear him speak that day. And, for anyone that is wondering... his testimony is just as powerful and passionate while speaking in a ward, as when sharing it during General Conference. What an amazing man! His understanding of the atonement, and his ability to talk about it, always makes me feel the spirit so strong!

*By the way, Cally just had her baby boy last night (6 lbs. 14 oz.). He was born at 11:45pm. He is a pretty big boy considering he was born 4 weeks early. She and Elijah (Eli) are doing great. CONGRATS Cally!!!*

Then 3 days after coming home from Easter, Jason's brother Brandon and his wife Cara, decided to take up the offer of a free birthday in Disneyland. So they drove down, and us being the Disneyland addicts that we are, invited ourselves to go along. We had a great time! It was one of the first times I haven't been pregnant there so we took advantage and made Cara and Brandon watch our kids so we could go on rides. I LOVE Space Mountain, but only once a day. I giggle and scream like a little girl.

Phew... now we're getting back to a more mellow pace, and actually spending more than 7 consecutive days at home. But I'm sure it won't be long until we're dragging our kids out for another road trip.

Here's some pictures to recap:

Kimball and her cousin, Kate, finding new hiding spots while we were moving.

Jack enjoying his carrots.

Kimball matching her Easter egg to her dress.

Did you know that Disneyland has a petting zoo?
Well, it does and it was almost as good as seeing Mickey.

This sheep was HUGE, but Kimball our fearless girl didn't even think to be afraid.

Kimball was too excited to look at the camera.
She's a little infatuated with Mickey, and probably peed her pants when she saw him
(good thing she's still in diapers).

Jack was practicing his carpet flying, and working on soaking the rug with all of drool.
I am relieved to say that he's finally getting his 2 bottom teeth, so maybe that's why he was drooling as much as he was (how do I explain the last 5 months of drool though?)

Kimball found this little recorder and my parents, and figured out how to blow into it after about 15 mins.
She was ecstatic about it. We're just proud that she expanding her musical skills.

Hafen's Do Dallas

We had a fantastic adventure last week, when Jason and I took Kimball and Jack on their first plane ride. We went to Dallas to visit David and Sammy. The kids did great on the plane, both there and back. And we had a fantastic time staying with Sam and David. I was a little worried at first because we decided to stay in their apartment with them, but we all had fun playing games, the Wii, and just watching our kids play together. Here's a couple of pictures and quick recap (check out Sammy's blog for more pictures and details, our camera died the last 2 days there).



Sam and I and Jack at the childrens museum.
A great spot on a rainy day.







Kimball and Ashton pretending to be firefighters at the museum.










Yep, it's still raining. It rained the first 2 days we were there.








Ashton and Kimball with their "plugs" and hanging out the crib together.

And, Jason here at the zoo with his favorite animal. He loves elephants. While we were in Dallas Jason turned 30! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you! And YOU are the best husband ever!

Thanks Sam and Dave, you guys were great hosts! Even though I gained about 5 lbs. No more chocolate-chip cookies for a while.

A Hafen Weekend and Bath Time Fun

This last weekend was chuck full of Hafen Family events. Brandon and Cara were able to come to town, so the family scheduled all of the family events that they could. So here's a run down of the activities.

It started out with Valentines Day cakes on Friday the 13th. This tradition of getting together to decorate heart-shape cakes has been going on for quite a while. It was at this anual event that I met all of Jason's family 6 years ago. Kimball was helping Jason with his cake until she got too tired to even eat the candy we were using.







This was the end result. Jason made his tree of love, and I just thought I'd be plain with the year.



On Saturday, Lowell (Jason's dad) asked if we could all go to the temple as a birthday present. Almost all of the siblings and in-laws made it. It was awesome to see all of us there. It really kind of gave me a glimpse into the eternities.

The activities really kicked into full gear on Sunday. It started out with Aaron and Danette's twin girls getting blessed at 9am, then family dinner at 4pm, then Ashton's baptism at 6pm, and finally Austin's Eagle Scout Court of Honor at 7pm.

The court of honor was very cool because this is the last Hafen boy in Jason's family to get his Eagle Scout Award. Seven boys, it's really amazing... and says alot about the whole family. I know a lot of family members (Aaron and Susan) really helped Austin in this whole process. GOOD JOB everyone!

Then to finish up a fantastic weekend, we all had breakfast on Monday morning at Jason's parents house. It was so fun to be a part of these activities.

Now, here are some videos and pics of my crazy kids.

We just started putting Kimball and Jack in the bathtub together.
This is what happened the first time in.

Does Jack look a little nervous to be in the same tub as Kimball?









Kimball helped Jason make the valentines day cakes.

And, Jack getting some bumbo time and trying to eat some rice cereal. He wasn't a big fan.

Every once in a while I can get Jack laughing pretty loud, and Jason caught it with the camera.

SSDD - Same Stuff Different Day

I don't have anything new to really blog about, so I'm just going to put up some random pictures and videos of the kids.

Here's one of Kimball about to sneeze and Jack just waking up from his nap on the couch (I was about to get Kimball dressed... that's why her pj's are open).








Jack is just starting to yawn as he's waking up. I love the random faces.







And a cute one of Jack, he was in a giggly mood before bathtime last night.

Jack is actually laughing in this clip. It took a little while to capture on camera, but he finally cooperated after days of me making funny noises and faces at him.

Kimball, never to be out done by her little brother, provided us with this moment that was too funny. She just can't wait to grow up.

I can't believe how fast these two are growing up. Sometimes my days seem a little monotonous, but then these two find a way to keep me entertained, and remind me how blessed I am to be home with them! There's no where else I'd rather be!

To take a nap, to shower, to clean, or to blog

The title of this post lists my activities of choice (in order of highest priority) when I can manage to get both kids down for a nap at the same time. Any free time I have, goes to these fun filled activities. So, that's my excuse for not blogging for a bit, so here's a big update of activities from the start of the year.

New Years Eve was a mellow evening spent with AK and Carrie next door. We had dinner and played the WII for a little bit. We were happy to have a slow night of not staying up late (with little kids, partying until the wee hours will have to wait).

We had anticipated a slow start to the year, but then my sister Cally called and said she and her husband were going to Disneyland. Jason and I have a very hard time passing up Disneyland, so we invited ourselves. Afterall, Jack was a Disney virgin, and needed to be initiated to the club. Jack celebrated his 3 month birthday on It's A Small World.

It was a great trip! Very crowded, but still fun. It was great for me, because I wasn't pregnant, so I got to go on my favorite rides. And Cally took over the role of the pregnant babysitter with our 2 kids and her son. Kimball stayed asleep in her little stroller, and Jack ended up in her arms. Thanks Cally!!

The next weekend we headed up to Midway to see my parents and to hang out with my sister Sammy (who lives in Texas). My dad rented a snowmobile and we all had fun on it. Kimball and her cousin Ashton were very happy riding up in front or being pulled behind in a tube. It was a fun girls weekend with my sisters and our husbands and kids, and my parents.

My mom let me celebrate my birth day a little early and made me the traditional birthday cake. It was delicious. I attempted this cake on Sunday, but couldn't quite make it look as good as this.





Once we got home, we went to Pump It Up, for a ward play group. Kimball had a blast jumping around in the bouncy houses and going down a HUGE slide. She really has no fear!





Finally, it was my birthday on Saturday. Yes, I am now 30 years old, and my mom said now I really am an adult. I guess so, but I sure don't feel like it yet. To celebrate, Jason (the best husband ever) bought me 30 red roses and made me breakfast. Thanks mi amor.











After breakfast, we headed up to St.George to celebrate Grandpa's 90th birthday (on 1/22/09). He asked/made each of his 7 children perform in a quick impromtu program. It was very fun seeing his kids and grandkids celebrate his birthday. And, what an amazingly talented family! I told Jason I hate his family after hearing all the music that they can make, but really it's just jealousy because I can't carry a tune to save my life. So, that's the quick and long update.

The Best Christmas Presents EVER

As a kid, I always wondered if my parents enjoyed Christmas, or more to the point, if they enjoyed opening their presents on Christmas presents. I always thought, couldn't Santa find anything more exciting for my dad than a pair of socks or a new tie? I remember thinking that Christmas morning isn't going to be very much fun when I get old (because my parents were so old). Well, I have discovered the TRUE meaning of Christmas presents as a parent. For me, it's really about watching your kids and seeing their excitement with the presents. Kimball is just old enough to show us how much she likes her new toys. And, I had a blast shopping for her and Jack. I hope my parents had as much fun watching us, as Jason and I did watching Kimball on Christmas morning. And I know it will just get better with every year... at least until they become teenagers and get "too cool" to get excited over Christmas morning.

Here's Kimball and her favorite toy for the year (we hope it holds her attention all year).

And Jack, with some of his new toys. He's not quite to the point of excitement as his big sister, but next year should be really fun. Notice he's not even in his Christmas p.j.'s because he didn't get a chance to get to play with his presents until the next morning.








Don't get me wrong, Jason and I definitely enjoy the presents that "Santa" brings to us. Jason just shows his excitement more than I do. And that's why I love him!

And, one more video of our crazy little girl, who can create her own fun with or without toys. Watch the door handle.