Valentine's Day

Cate meticulously filled out cards/pencils for each of her classmates, Brady was less attentive but got the job done, and Bennett just threw a bunch of fruit snacks in a bag and called it a day.

We made these bunny cards to send out, I think they're super cute :)

No fancy dinners or hot dates around here...just a lame card exchange between me and Scott (his wasn't even signed or out of the Hallmark bag). The kids did enjoy their class parties and because poor baby Hadley was home sick, I was able to go to Cate's party. She was very happy to have me there and I couldn't have asked for a better Valentine's gift (and huge thanks to Candi for manning the craft station with the glue...I owe you one!) We gave each of the boys new shoes (Brady got two pairs because I found an awesome deal) and Cate got some new eating utensils, plate, bowl, and running shorts. Overall, it was a very relaxing "holiday".

Hope everyone had a great day too!

A Night With The Redbirds

Last Friday, Scott was invited to attend a charity event at Busch Stadium. Aunt Fran is on the Board of Directors for Nur.ses for Newborns and they were hosting a party to raise money for the organization and honor former Cardinals pitcher Jason Isring.hausen. The event was "Black Tie Creative Cardinals Attire" so I found him a Cards tie and he wore his red coaching shoes.

Epic Fail.
Thank you Uncle Josh for fixing his tie :)

Josh, Scott, Jenny, and Fran in the Cardinals dugout

How awesome is this picture?

Right at home in the managers spot!

Talking baseball with Jason Isring.hausen...or probably more like making fun of a mutual friend ;)

Josh, Scott, Isring.hausen, Elaine (aka Grammy)

The crew with Jason Isrin.ghausen and John Ma.bry

Elaine, Mike Math.eny (new Cardinals manager), and Scott

Fran and Jenny with the World Series trophy!

Scott came home talking a mile a minute about all of the cool stuff he got to see and do. It's not everyday that you get to hang out in the announcers booth, team dugout, and have dinner with coaches and players. Huge thanks to Fran for the invite and Elaine for taking pictures...it's a night he'll remember forever :)

0,1,2,3,4

Four. Sniff Sniff. Seems so much older than three. Let's look back, shall we?

2.5 days old and already thoroughly annoyed at the noise level in our house. Get used to it sista...

Ready for her first birthday party!

2nd birthday party...hair is finally coming in!

3 years old! (hair is falling out!)

4 years. She looks so grown up...when did this happen?! :(

Miss Cate...you are so full of personality and you are constantly entertaining all of us. We love to sit around the dining room table and listen to your stories. You are very much into pretend play and often sit in your room with your "pretend Rhett" and play house. Bennett thinks this is ridiculous, but I find it hilarious! (your dad is not thrilled that you already have crushes on your brothers friends!) I love to listen to you "read" stories to your babies or "talk" on the phone to your grandmas. Your desire to pick out your own clothes has been rough for me, but I'm working hard to step back and give you the freedom to let your personality shine. Your hair is finally growing thick and long and you've had over four haircuts this year!! I love the way you sweep your bangs away from your eyes with your sweet little hand...it always makes me smile :) You currently weigh 32 pounds, up three pounds from last year. You still sleep with us and your dad and I both agree that 10+ hours guaranteed sleep has been well worth it. And you're still a rockstar sleeper...you fall asleep a few minutes after you lay down and we always have to wake you in the morning. Your favorite tv shows are Dora the Explorer and Gator Boys. I have no idea why you love watching those guys wrestle alligators but you know just where to find the recordings on our DVR and listen intently to every word they say. You still call your brothers "my boys" and they still cater to your every need. You are closest with Brady who is very patient with you even when you don't deserve it! Much to my dismay, you love school and have great stories to tell each day when you get home. Your teachers are so sweet to you and they all look forward to seeing what you're wearing each morning...cause you just never know :) Catie Bug, you've brought lots and lots of pink to our once very blue house and we couldn't be any happier. I hope your year is filled with all things great...just like you :) Happy Birthday Baby Cate!!!!!

four.

Today is Miss Cate's 4th birthday. I would post lots of great pictures except I can't...I have yet to figure out how to transfer pictures from my new printer to the computer, so that'll have to wait. Anyhoo, when Cate woke up this morning she said "Am I really four now? I can say I'm four? Right now I'm four??" Weeks of birthday talk and it's finally here...she could hardly believe it :) After I dropped her off at school this morning, Hadley and I ran to Gus' Pretzels to pick up treats for her class and teachers. When I walked back into her classroom, she was wearing a bright red formal dress and white dress shoes...Mrs. B said she puts a different dress-up outfit on as soon as she gets to school each morning! We had a pretty low key afternoon and tonight she chose Si Senor for dinner. Brady shook things up with an almost-ER visit after hitting his head really hard while playing hockey. His doctor decided it did not warrant a trip to the hospital but she does want to see him tomorrow. Good times, good times.

Promise a proper birthday post tomorrow......

Skating Videos!

As promised to my dad, this is a video I took from the skating party we went to tonight. Brady is in orange (he and friend Gannon tried to torture Bennett and Kadin all night), Bennett is in all black, and Cate is in pink on pink on pink on pink on pink..you know, the crazy one in the middle of the rink by herself like she owns the place :)
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I find this next video very funny. Cate was doing some sort of pretend play in the middle of the rink the entire two hours. She would talk to herself (including hand motions of course), practice the limbo, and she had some sort of dance routine going on. And obviously she was not worried about getting run over by the other skaters!
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Ya Just Neva Know....

8am it's a tiara and shades...
12pm it's sliding shorts and a cup

Hadley Turns 1!

Yesterday was Hadley's first birthday. We celebrated by going on a "field trip" to Target, the cupcake shop, McDonald's, and Cate's favorite park. She doesn't realize how lucky she was to have 65 degree weather on her birthday...we definitely took advantage of it!

Happy Birthday Haddie girl!

And speaking of birthdays, someone else will be celebrating soon.....
Catie Bug turns 4 next week! After one million hours working on the invitations, and two million hot glue burns later, they're all finished and have been delivered. We're gearing up for a pink party on the 12th!

Soccer~Downtown Disney

Sunday was our last full day at Disneyworld. Boo hoo! Carter had soccer games at 12 & 4 so we planned to spend the entire day at Wide World of Sports then head to Downtown Disney for dinner. The sun was shining bright and it felt great to soak it in one last time!

On the way to the first game, we took a charter bus hired by the tournament. It was a huge over-the-road bus and it was packed! The bus driver let people sit on the floor and double up seats to accommodate more people(a tad bit illegal I think). I had one kid on my lap, one next to me, and three bags. My camera bag ended up getting shoved under the seat in front of me and when I reached to take a picture at the WWS entrance, I noticed it was missing. Worst feeling ever! I was seriously sick to my stomach...not to have lost my camera (which is the most expensive item I have ever bought!) but that five days worth of pictures had been lost. I walked back to the bus drop and the very helpful guys working radioed the bus driver and he found my camera bag buried under a seat. They put it on the next bus and I received it just 30 minutes after realizing it was gone. I was so happy!!!

Carter's team was pretty much over-matched the entire tournament. Some of the teams there were absolutely amazing. In fact, a lot of the kids don't even play organized team soccer, they only play 3v3....and you could tell! They were awesome. But Carter had a great time and played really well.
In between games, we sat in the baseball complex and watched some very minor league baseball. There was an airplane sky-writing some biblical inspirations! Carter went with the Hurfords to Fuddruckers for lunch...I think he needed to get away and be with his friends!
Sunday night, we headed for Downtown Disney to eat at T-Rex. Carter chose to stay back at the hotel and hang out with Zach. They swam with the rest of the team and who knows what else!Bennett was mortified that he was sporting the same sunglasses tan line as his dad!!T-Rex is a very cool restaurant.
I bought this Tinkerbell skirt for Cate's birthday while she was asleep in her stroller. As soon as she woke up, Brady threw the bag at her and let her open it!! So much for it being a birthday present!
Great picture of Cate having a meltdown. It was her one and only major meltdown and only lasted about 3 minutes. Not bad for it being 11pm on the 6th night of the trip!! But realistically, there is no need for meltdowns when you have seven adults and three brothers willing to accommodate your every need :)

On Monday, our bus didn't leave for the airport until 12:00, so the kids had all morning to swim and play at the playground.
I did not get to enjoy the pool because Scott and I had to try and pack this tornado of a room! I thought it was funny when my sister commented that it's pointless to pay more for a bigger room when you aren't in it very much...of course, she had TWO people staying in her room and we had SIX! Aunt Fran and some of her favorite people! See where Cate is sitting? She looked like this the ENTIRE trip. I was looking forward to getting home so I could actually see her :)

And that's the end of my pictures :( Disneyworld 2012 was the best time!! Looks like Brady will be joining the 3v3 circuit this year...so somebody warn Disney...we're coming back in 2013!!!

Epcot!

Saturday morning, Carter had his first two soccer games. Soccer? Oh yeah, that's why we're here. Anyway, his games were at 8:30 and 9:30 and because the other kids were exhausted and could use a day to sleep in, I stayed back and Scott, Fran, and Elaine took Carter to his games. The Wide World of Sports is a massive facility...massive! Carter's team had a very rough first game and ended up losing the second game in the final seconds of play. Everyone arrived back at the hotel by 10:30 and we were off for a day at Epcot!

"Those Guys"
We didn't go to Epcot last year because we chose to go to Magic Kingdom two days. I hadn't been to Epcot since I was in highschool and we weren't sure how much the kids would enjoy it. However, I was surprised at how much fun we all had and it's the one park that both Ben and Brady talk about the most! I guess it just had a much more laid back feeling than the other parks and it wasn't crowded at all.
Scott and I took Cate to meet some characters while everyone else went on a ride. Here she is showing them her newest autographs!
The Little Mermaid ride was really cool and they had a huge aquarium with dolphins and all sorts of sea creatures. The "Turtle Talk" show was one of our favorites. Very funny interactive live show...I highly recommend it dude :)

After visiting with Alice in Wonderland, we ate Fish N' Chips in the United Kingdom.
When we were finished eating, Grammy, Fran, and Bau Bau took the boys to the Test Track ride. Cate is too small to go on it, so Scott and I set off with her to meet some more princesses. Ahhh, it was the most relaxing 2 hours of the entire trip!!
Getting her "beast" face ready
I'm pretty sure being the beast would be a crappy job. He basically makes kids cry all day. I'm glad Cate wasn't scared and gave the poor guy a big hug!
I really enjoyed strolling through the different countries and people watching
Cate saluting the flags
I know I've mentioned it before...but look at the lack of crowds!!

When everyone finished the Test Track ride (which was the boys absolute favorite of the entire trip), we headed to Soarin'. It was soooo cool. Definitely worth a trip to Epcot. Grammy, Fran, and BauBau stuck around for the 9:00 fireworks, but the rest of us headed back to the hotel. It was getting cold and the kids were hungry and basically Scott decided we were leaving. This was our final day at the parks and we were all sad to walk through the gates for the last time in 2012. But, it was nice to get back to the hotel early, eat dinner, and let the kids play in the arcade for awhile. Another very successful day!!