WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY!

Tyler Blake Haymore

September 1, 2011
7:40 am
8 pounds, 20 3/4 inches

We are so excited to finally meet Tyler and have him be part of our family! The week before his arrival was not a lot of fun, since Allison and Spencer both came down with strep. Guess that's one way to get motivated to finish laundry, as well as clean and sterilize the house before bringing a baby home!

True to form, we were down to the wire once again on deciding a name. After we were OK'd to leave the hospital Sunday morning, but had to have a name before doing so, we finally got serious. Luckily, it didn't take us too long, even though we went with a name we hadn't previously considered. (Neither one of us would cave on the others first choice.)

Tyler had a lot of fun visitors in the hospital... brother, sisters, 4 grandparents, 10 aunts & uncles,10 cousins and Jeff's coworker. Doug & Tricia were able to leave their mission for a quick visit to spend time with Paul & Amy in Knoxville, TN for Logan's baby blessing and to meet Tyler as well.

It always takes me a while getting used to calling a child by his/her name, especially since we seem to decide as we are literally exiting the hospital doors. Now if I can just stop calling him "Allison," or "my little girl!"

Have to admit - my favorite picture.
Maybe our Little Rookie knows exactly what he's just gotten himself into!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, ALLISON!

Allison is our silly, fun loving girl who is now two years old.

We love her spunk! Her two greatest loves... books and shoes. She sleeps with both - a pile of books at her side is a must, and most nights WILL NOT fall asleep without shoes on her feet. (Last week she came to me in the middle of the night asking for her other sandal.) We're hoping she will need her first haircut before her third birthday.

She talks nonstop and loves music. One of her favorite songs is, "Skinamarink." (You know... Skinamarinky dinky dink, Skinamarink a doo, I love you.") She loves singing at the top of her lungs, "Rinky doo, Love you!"

Movie: Allison leaving a message for Dad at work.

In less than two weeks, my baby won't be my baby anymore... Guess it's about time to come up with a different name for our baby besides Cuatro!

SUMMER 2011

Our family had a pretty low key summer. Most of our time was spent with cousins, swimming and going to the library. (I STILL owe my kids a trip to the Aquarium!)

Alli just might have a good idea - chocolate sunscreen.


Hailey, Spencer and Hannah after swim lessons with Aunt Amanda!

Pizza party with Dad at his office.




Here we are trying to beat the miserable summer record heat and humidity in Downtown Atlanta. When we decided that the Children's Museum line was too long and hot, we headed over to Centennial Olympic Park's fountain rings only to find that the fountain had just been turned off due to thunder. We improvised and put the drinking fountain and our water bottles to good use. Luckily, the kids were all in their swimming suits when the rain started pouring outside. Since our afternoon was such a bust, we HAD to head over the The Varsity for some frosted orange drinks, french fries and onion rings!



What trip to Helen, GA (a BIZARRE Germantown in the middle of nowhere that has a bear park) would be complete without a stop at Babyland General where original Cabbage Patch was born, tubing and visiting an old quaint mill to buy porridge??

A few weeks ago, we added more cousins to our Georgia family fun! My brother Steven and his wife, Aida, moved to Georgia to go to graduate school at Georgia State. They have two boys, Wes and Owen (affectionately called "O-o" by Alli). My kids are so lucky to have 20 cousins that live close!

Jeff and I celebrated Anniversary #10!! Jeff took the day off from work, and we enjoyed the best date we've had in a loooooong time - temple, lunch, shopping AND a movie. Almost forgot how fun this dating thing can be:-) Jeff received the same extravagant gifts he registered for when we were married... batteries and a Toblerone bar. Call it tradition.

Spencer became obsessed with books on snakes and reptiles over the summer. Before he read me his latest book, "Anacondas," I asked him if these snakes had poisonous venom. He rolled his eyes and reminded me that anacondas are constricting snakes. (Duh, Mom!)

NOW BACK TO SCHOOL! Spencer started first grade this week, and Hannah will have to endure PreK with Mom at home this year. Luckily Spencer met a few milestones just as school started - lost his first tooth, AND passed the 40 lb mark on the scale!! (That last week of summer he was eating and checking his weight AT LEAST five times a day, DESPERATELY trying to pass 39.2.) Mom loves the picture Buddy drew of our family the first week of school ... we are all standing in front of our house. He was detailed enough to include the nice hole in our driveway and our third car parked on the grass. Southern Redneck Families Are Forever!

Spencer has become KING of bedtime excuses. Now that school is in session and he has an actual bedtime, he'll sneak out to the front room with some less-than-believable excuse to take a peek at the Braves game. His last excuse: "I cannot sleep. There's a grasshopper outside making noise." We immediately told him to turn around and go back to bed. So when I went back a little later to check on him, I laughed when heard a cricket chirping IN his room:-) Luckily, he somehow managed to still fall asleep.

LAST BASEBALL GAME THIS SEASON

A BIG day for Spencer's last baseball game this season...

Spencer made his own double play! Caught a ball, then tagged a base. He was also able to play David Ross' position of catcher during his VERY LAST INNING!! (He constantly asked his coach to be catcher, but Spencer was always needed out in the field since we were at least a guy or two short every game.) What a fun day for our Buddy!

NASHVILLE

Jeff's youngest brother, Steven, graduated from Vanderbilt Law School this month, and we enjoyed a fun-filled family weekend in Nashville! Not that we would think of missing Steven's graduation, but we HAD to pull Spencer out of school just one more day and miss a baseball game, so we could also meet up with GRANDMA AND GRANDPA HAYMORE!!

Grandma & Grandpa's hotel room (THE place to be!)

The cousin sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa was the highlight of their trip. Yes, it even trumped the nasty big cicadia bug invasion that lasts for 9 days and happens every 13 years. (They literally arrive in the millions, and I could see them being a deep fried or chocolate-covered fine cuisine in some parts of the world.) No trip would be complete without the kids getting their feet wet in the hotel pool, or a meal at the Cracker Barrel. We all had a great time!

Cicadia skin (aka "17-year locust")

Lucky for us, Steven, Amanda and Lincoln moved to Atlanta right after graduation!! However, we did have to say our goodbyes to Grandma and Grandpa. No matter how many times Mom and Dad explain how long Grandma and Grandpa will be gone, Hannah STILL prays every night that they will return home safely:-)

(One day I will edit my photos. Just lucky to post.)

WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?
You can only imagine how much the hotel guests on our floor loved our running back and forth between five rooms - 11 kiddos AND Grandma & Grandpa. One guest jokingly referred to the hall monitoring sister-in-laws as "sister wives." Have to admit, comment not so funny. It actually made me cringe.

I was trying to buy a snack for my hungry, tired and ill-behaved children at the Grand Ole Opry. My favorite comment (all while she was touching my expandomatic belly): "Maybe this next one will teach you patience."

Another weekend favorite... walking to the graduation ceremony, an older gentleman in an elevator looked at our three kids and said to me, "Be sure to educate them well. They'll be paying my social security."

I guess I accidentally left that sign around my neck... "I DARE you to make an exhausted, stressed out pregnant woman mad!" At least it gave me a few more things to laugh about.

And how can you NOT laugh about how ABSOLUTELY AWFUL this picture is of me??
Thanks Alli.

PLAYING CATCH UP

THE ATLANTA TEMPLE IS BEING REDEDICATED IN ABOUT A WEEK!!! Jeff and I were married in the Atlanta temple almost 10 years ago, and we were able to take our kids to the Open House. It's beautiful! Have to admit that I'm harboring some feelings of jealousy - there are new gardens and steps to actually get some great wedding photos. Luckily, no more trying to balance in heels on a steep grassy hillside.

Meeting Dad after work for a temple tour and picnic!

We're expecting #4! Unfortunately, I truly don't remember the exact due date. The only thing I remember is my doctor telling me that we will take the baby at 38 weeks, which is somewhere around Sept 1. I'm really waiting to announce my due date when the birth is scheduled.

Allison is ALWAYS happy, laughing and trying to climb and dive off tables. She is so excited to learn new words! Allison is also the only 1.5 yr old that I know who will literally set the table when she's hungry, letting Mom know she's ready to eat. This little girlo loves bath time so much that she couldn't wait until Hannah was finished...

Personally, I think her blanket, shoes and socks are a nice touch.

Hannah came up with a GREAT name for the baby. It works for either a boy or girl... Monkeypants! It comes from one of our family's favorite books, "Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants." Anytime she sees Mom eating two of anything, she says, "Are you eating one for you and one for the baby?" She's a quick learner.

Spencer was wondering if we could get commercials during General Conference. (I guess he was looking for a break, and MoTab wasn't doing it for him!)

Mom made an Easter craft with Hannah's help! Yes, I tend to avoid projects if I can't finish them in less than a half an hour. Two things I can't stand: clutter and unfinished projects!! But rest assured for those of you who think I am aiming for some Ultimate Homemaker Award, I served mouthwatering corn dogs that night for dinner. AND it had been so long since I last baked, that I had to look up Phoebe's grandma's recipe for "Nesele Tolouse" cookies. (Yeah, I wouldn't admit that I know me either.)

Hannah pictured with Mom's annual craft, our Peeps Easter flower!

Dad is keeping busy at work and will make it to another birthday this week! We love that handsome man!

WHAT? THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN BASEBALL??

I need to start a support group for mothers of little boys who are obsessed with baseball. Spencer's most recent self-made game... Braves Hangman. Do you know this year's Braves roster for the 2011 season yet? You would if you played enough games with Spencer! Current bed-time readings: old game programs and Spring Training excerpts from newspapers.

Jeff took Spencer with him to a few Braves Spring Training games in Florida this year. While overhearing Spencer's intense baseball conversation with Jeff, A COMPLETE STRANGER walks over to the two of them. She offers Spencer a signed ball by Ryan Howard, a Phillies player, saying that Spencer obviously needed this ball more than she did. Our little David Ross fanatic is a walking stat machine.

Spencer is on a machine slow-pitch baseball team this year. A few photos from this year's Cardinals team:

Last but not least... The best story of them all. Mom and Dad received an invite to Murdock Elementary's Young Authors' Tea. Spencer was selected as the only one from his class to "share an exceptional piece of writing." I asked Spencer about it. My little kindergartner was SO EXCITED to tell me that he wrote 9 PAGES ABOUT SPRING TRAINING!! WHOSE son is this?? (Take a WILD guess!)