4th of July - 2013

 

We have had a great time this entire week being with family.  My brother has been in town with his family and we have been able to spend time with Ashley’s family as well.  We went to our ward breakfast for the 4th of July.  Because the city mayor lives in our ward, we often get to have the police escort a little parade around the block and even sometimes get the fire department to hose everyone down with the giant water cannon mounted on the top of their truck.  Later in the day, we spent time together before everyone went to the park to watch the fireworks.  The boy cousins played a pick up game of football, and the girl cousins just hung out while we were waiting for them to start.  We have been able to go bowling and do several other activities this week with family as well.  It has been a lot of fun.  How grateful we are for the freedom that we enjoy in this country.  While the country is far from perfect, it truly is the best system that man has devised to this point.  I am grateful for the liberties that we are able to enjoy and pray that none of us ever take them for granted.

Jonah’s Birthday and Boating

Today our Jonah Bear turned 2!  Ashley decorated the house with all sorts of Thomas the Train paraphernalia.  She even made him a special Thomas cake and had pictures of him all over the table.  We had an amazing breakfast before going boating with my brother and his family who are visiting from Wisconsin.  We came home in the evening to eat cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Haberle and open presents.  Jonah was spoiled with several wooden train sets. 

While at the lake, with the largest sandbox a kid could hope for, Jonah could not take his attention off of a tractor working in the distance to repair some of the facilities.  Finally, I decided to drive him closer to get a better look.  We were standing there watching them work when the tractor operator asked if he wanted to help drive the tractor.  As the pictures show, Jonah grabbed those controls and felt that he was a master tractor operator within seconds.  He was excited, but very concentrated as well.  It was priceless.  We had a great day at the lake and Ashley made it a very special birthday for our Jonah. 

New Tricks

This past month Jonah has learned how to crawl

  

how to pull himself up

how to help with laundry

and how to pull off his diaper!

(Unfortunately, the picture perfect moment of him peacefully asleep exposing his bare- sided bum turned into chaos when the flash went off!)

Yearly Photos

Just had some pictures done and decided to put them on the blog.  Overall, it went well.  As usual, we were able to get plenty of smiles out of our littlest guy, but we could not always control the distraction that the lights were creating for him.  Treven and Ady did great for the most part, as long as they were not too focused on their little brother.  It took only a couple of minutes and we got some great pictures of the kids to hang on the wall!  Ady looks beautiful, we are so grateful that Treven actually has hair, and you can see all six of Jonah’s little teeth in a couple of the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baptism Day

Treven and Ady were baptized Saturday February 4, 2012.  It was a great day.  We had so many family members, friends, and ward members there to support them.  They were given special journals and towels by the Primary.  The towels have their name and baptismal date sewn into them.  Ady got out her journal that night and wrote all the guests that were there, and then wrote “guests there from Heaven: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost, Grandma” with big hearts next to each one.  She then drew and wrote on two pages dedicated to Grandpa (my Dad) about all that he said and how much she loves him.  They both reflected on everything that was said, and they both are excited to take another step in the path back to our Heavenly Father.  It is amazing to think that these are the same children that were once such tiny twins fighting for life.  The same 3 & 4 pound babies that were tangled with tubes and lines for weeks in the hospital’s ICU are now big, healthy eight-year olds.  I am proud of them and the decision they have made to follow our Savior and be baptized.  I am so grateful that my Father in Heaven would entrust these two special spirits into our care.  Treven and Ady are great, special kids and I love being their Dad.  We love you Treven and Ady and are so proud of your righteous decision and desires to follow our Savior. 

 

 

 

Jr. Jazz #20

Treven participated in his first year of Jr. Jazz this year.  His team was almost completely made-up of fellow ward members, and his coach was amazing.  He had a lot of fun, learned a lot of skills, and cannot wait to participate next year.  He is especially excited about his two free Utah Jazz tickets and his trophy.

Treven and Ady’s 8th Birthday

 

We decided to borrow the gym at church for the kids’ birthday party this year.  They had about 16 guests including some friends and cousins.  They were completely spoiled with gifts.  We had pizza, cake & ice cream.  We played life-size battleship, musical chairs, frog detective, frisbee horseshoes, a little bit of basketball, and we even did the mentos/diet coke trick to make an enormous fountain of diet coke in the parking lot.  The kids had a great time.  We cannot believe that the kids are eight.  We love them so much for the ways they try to be good kids and choose the right.  They are the best of friends (most of the time) and are so sweet to their little brother.  Happy Birthday Treven and Ady.  We love you!

Sexiest Little Man 2012

 

I know one day Jonah will be completely embarrassed by this photo.  Especially when I show this to all of his girlfriends and point out his cute little bum.  Do you think I’ll be able to use this as blackmail to get him to do his chores when he’s a teenager?!!

Mister Jonah

Mr. Jonah is six months old today!  Here are a few things about my little boy:

• Jonah is sweet, sweet, sweet.  He has a pleasant disposition and is quick to smile.  Just thinking about his smile melts my heart.

• He loves to bounce and is learning to crawl.  At five months and one week he sat by himself and broke his first tooth in the same day!  He now has a second tooth and enjoys eating rice cereal and veggies. 
   
  
   
• Jonah loves music and is probably the only person besides Kent who enjoys my singing voice.  He has large hands like his daddy and I think he will make a great piano player someday.

• Jonah loves to talk and is extremely social.  He never wants to nap when Treven and Ady are home on the weekends.  He loves cuddling with the big kids and will watch Trev’s every move.

Jonah, we love you so much and we know your Heavenly Father loves you.  Mommy and daddy are so glad you’ve come to our family.  We pray you will continue to be a happy, healthy boy. XOXO

Christmas Dance Recital

 

Ady had a Christmas dance recital the other night.  It was really fun to see.  They did many different dances with many different outfits.  It is fun to see how excited she is to participate in dance, especially after 6 years.  All the girls did a great job.  We are really proud of our little girl. 

Turkey Trot

I am not a runner.  I prefer aerobic exercises like the ones Olivia Newton John did in her music video Let's Get Physical.

This song was #1 the week I was born.

I don't run because I don't know how to breathe properly while running.  I also think running can be hard on your joints.  But the main reason I don't run is because I'm deathly afraid of getting runner's diarrhea. 



I don't like Mexican Snack Shacks as my sister calls them.

My SIL is an exercise junkie.  She tries to get everyone in the family to exercise.  She can be a little ruthless at times but I appreciate her tenacity for healthy living.  Last year she got the family to do a turkey trot and I skipped the event due to morning sickness.  This year I didn't have an excuse. 



Here's my family after the race.  I jogged for 30 seconds at the beginning and at the end and walked the rest of the 5k.  I pushed Jonah and in a stroller and brought up the rear with Grandpa.  I wish I could say I was inspired when I saw others whiz past me and that perhaps I set a goal to do a marathon before my 35th birthday.  But I didn't and I'm not ashamed of myself either.  Some people just aren't runners and for that I am thankful.  However, I had a great time being with the fam and hope to walk another race next year!