Happy Birthday

I can't believe you are one my sweet, little monkey.  You have brought so much happiness and joy into our life this past year.  You are one spoiled little man and get the love of your mommy, daddy, and sisters all day.  I don't think we'd have it any other way!

Daddy's Boots

"I can't wait to fit in these!"

These were Jim's cowboy boots when he was little.  Ashtyn wears them now when they go over to the horses.  Daddy always has a huge smile on his face when he sees her wear them.  He never thought he'd have a son to pass them down to, but now he can't wait 'til Kian fills them out!  That will be a very proud day for Daddy!

Aaahhh......

Isn't he the most handsome little boy you've ever seen?
I can't believe he's already 11 months.

I might be in depression the next few months.

Please stay little...Please stay my baby...Please don't grow up!

We're Back.......

My Firstborn...

Wow! I can't believe my little girl is 8 today. Happy Birthday Ashtyn! You have brought so much joy and love into my life. I have always thought of you as my angel and "reward" for enduring some of the trials I've had. You changed me from the first day I found out I was pregnant, and my heart will always hold a special spot full of love just for you. You were such a happy, good-natured baby and have been the best 1st child anyone could ask for. I know you are growing up so fast and are already into fashion, friends, boys, and want a cell phone (will never happen!!), but could you please keep some of your innocence and sweet nature before this scary world takes it away! You are such a christ-like, compassionate girl who loves others and easily feels their pain. You are so willing to help and reach out in kindness to others. Your teacher even picked you as the kindest girl in the class this year. Your sisters adore you; your friends all want to be around you, and your mommy and daddy couldn't love you more! I hope you have a wonderful 8th year!

As for this guy....

I don't think it's possible for a mother to love her child more than I love my little man. He is 4 months now and absolutely adorable. I am totally eating him up and spending most of my days just snuggling and playing with him. He is such a good baby: very laid back, happy, and hardly every cries (just whines a little!). He is the most smiley, playful baby I've had and has been laughing so much lately. We've had so many people tell us what a smiley baby he is cuz he seriously smiles all day, and it's the kind that shows all over his face (dimples and in his eyes). I sometimes forget he is still a little baby cuz he loves to be rolled around on the floor and fly in the air. Maybe it's just because he's a boy, but I am definitely "playing" with him more than I did with my girls at this age (you know "girls are fragile; boys are rough and tumble").

I thought he was a pretty chunky baby, but at almost 4 1/2 months, he is only in the 20% percentile weighing in at 13.6 lbs and is 25 inches long (48%). So he's actually quite a little guy but still has the squishy fat on his thighs that I love to kiss and tickle. Seriously, is there anything better?

Kian absolutely loves his sisters and will smile at them the most. He saves his most smiley, sincere, genuine smile for them and it brings tears to my eyes when he interacts with the girls. He's happy to be held by any of them, which is good since one of them is always wanting him. He loves attention and as long as someone is talking to him or looking at him, he is totally happy! (Uh oh, do you think we are spoiling him too much?)

He has been sleeping great and is getting on a more consistent schedule. He goes to bed around 9 and usually sleeps til 4-5 (sometimes 6!!!!) and then goes right back to bed til 7:30-8. There are times when I have to get up to put his binky in but it's usually during the first hour he goes to bed and then he's fine for the rest of the night. He loves to take naps in his car seat and can usually be found taking his morning/evening nap in the car seat, in the laundry room, with the fan on. (Hey, with the 4th kid whatever works, right?)

He is a great eater and loves his bottle. He doesn't care if it's cold, warm, formula, breastmilk, different from what he's used to; he just eats and doesn't complain-unless it runs out and he hasn't had enough. Then he makes the cutest little whine and starts kicking his feet until he gets more!

I am absolutely, totally, head-over-heels in love with this little man and if I could freeze him at this age, I would for the rest of my life. He could just be my doll that I would play with like a child! Couldn't have asked for a sweeter, happier, more adorable baby that has totally melted his family's heart. I am thankful every moment for the son I never thought I'd have or need.

Happy (late) Birthday Avery!

Can't believe my baby is 4! Avery has been the baby for the past 4 years and we have completely doted on her. She has been such a fun kid with a spunky, fireball of a personality that makes her even cuter. She is the most grown-up 4 yr-old I know and can't believe how much older she seems when she is around other kids her age. Maybe it's because she's been around Jordyn all day, every day since she's been born and they seem like twins. They have the same friends and go to the same preschool class so sometimes I forget she isn't 5 like the rest of them! We've thouroughly enjoyed this kid and love her to pieces! Happy late birthday-sorry mommy can't keep up and post on your actual bday!

Jordyn and Avery got to have their 1st friend party this year and were looking forward to it for so long. The girls loved it, but it was quite interesting having 11 little girls in the house all at once (lot's of whining and competition: "my turn, my turn", "I want to be first", "it's not fair that she won", "I want a prize", etc.). Girls are definitely emotional and I think Jordyn and Avery picked up on it cuz they finally said, "it doesn't matter who wins, we can still have fun" and "let's all be nice". Maybe my teaching efforts are getting through!

They both got new bikes (Barbie and Princess of course!) and have been riding them everyday since. They are both growing up way too fast and for the most part, are the best of friends!

Happy Birthday!!!

My sweet little Jordy is now 5! I can't believe how grown up she is. She is the most loving creature I've ever seen and just wants to love and kiss people all day. She will give up anything to make someone happy (even her sisters) and loves to help mommy. She is my most obedient child and is the first one to mind the first time I ask. She is absolutely gorgeous inside and out! I'm a horrible mommy and haven't had my kids' pics taken in almost 2 years so this picture is a couple years old but she's gotten even more beautiful. We love you sweet girl!!!

Just keeps getting better!!

First a quick catch up on my little man. Is it possible for me to love him any more than I do? He is a total mama's boy and I am just eating it up! He is the most playful baby I've had so far and loves to carry on conversations with anyone who will listen (but especially me!). He started smiling and cooing at three weeks and hasn't stopped. I think he knows he has to get his voice in now because his sisters never stop talking. He smiles with his whole face and it keeps me mesmerized. He has the cutest dimples on each side that make me melt! I couldn't even watch American Idol last week because he "talked" to me for 45 minutes straight and I couldn't look away. My cheeks hurt from smiling back and I kept getting teary-eyed cause he's so dang cute and I love him so much.

Don't get me wrong, he definitely has his fussy moments and hasn't been sleeping the greatest the past two weeks, but usually as long as he's with me, he's pretty happy. Which can get annoying and frustrating since I don't get a lot done lately. I've had 3 piles of laundry to fold on the couch for 3 days, another 1 on my bed, and all of the girls' upstairs sitting in the baskets getting wrinkly. I'm getting tired of having to walk in my towel across the house to get my "underwear" out of the dryer each morning. But oh well-I'm determined to enjoy this little guy to the fullest since Jim is dead set that he is our last one (sniff, sniff!).

Kian adores his sisters and usually smiles at them whenever they look at him. He talks to Ashtyn and Avery and loves to listen to Jordyn's sweet voice. He likes to cry for daddy and only stops when Jim feeds him! Don't worry daddy, Kian is just giving me his time right now cuz he knows he'll be playing with you for the rest of his life!

Kian is growing so fast and even though he is only 11 weeks (today), he looks and acts like a 4 month old. I've had so many people comment on how alert he is and how big he is! I am definitely feeling a little jipped since he only seemed newborn for a week! His growth has been so different from my girls and he definitely loves his food! True boy! At 9 weeks, he weighed 11 pounds and was 23 inches long! I can't believe he grew 4 inches in 2 months! I'm sad because all of the adorable clothes I bought and spent WAY too much money on, he has only worn a couple of times and is outgrowing them so fast. Which is why I'm trying to convince Jim we need another one in a couple of years!

All in all-we are totally in love with our little man and I'm afraid he's going to get spoiled from having 4 mommies and 1 proud papa! We are all smitten with him and I think his little plan of getting us all wrapped around his finger is working!

Baby Blues

No I don't mean the depression type of blues; I mean Kian's big beautiful blue eyes. They are enough to keep anyone from depression. I absolutely love this little guy's deep blue eyes. They are really big when he's content and just hanging out, and they get really squinty and rainbow shaped when he smiles. So adorable!

He started smiling at 3 weeks old and cooing shortly after that. His cooes are the cutest thing ever because they are so soft and gentle. He works up his whole face and body to get out the tiniest sound-love this stage! As long as his tummy isn't hurting, he is pretty happy, but he's had a couple of rough weeks trying to figure out his sensitive tummy and not going potty regurlarly (any suggestions to help a baby poop?). It makes me so sad to see him in pain, especially cuz he tries to be so tough and smiles right in the middle of cringing. He is definitely a mama's boy and I couldn't be any happier cuz I am pretty whooped myself. Yes, anyone that wants to say "I told you so" has my permission for all the times I said I didn't think I ever wanted a boy. Kian has totally proved me wrong!

And by the way, who says dressing a boy isn't fun? I went a little overboard with the shopping and am having a hard time dressing him in everything before he outgrows it. This kid has as many clothes as his sisters! I forget how fast newborns grow and am so sad he no longer looks newborn. I wish he would stay this small forever so I could always have a doll to play with!

Kian's Blessing

Kian had a beautiful blessing day surrounded by family who adores him. He looked so cute in his little sweater outfit (even though the hat was huge!!) and was a good boy all day (except during the blessing of course!!). Jim gave him a wonderful blessing that I hope will guide his life and at the end, one very proud daddy held him up for all to see just like on Lion King when Mufasa held up Simba on the rock-very funny and touching. I love Kian's kissable cheeks-he looks like he has a small apple in each one and I can't leave them alone!

I am definitely in love with this little guy and am so thankful to all my family and Jim's family that were there to show there love and support. It was great to have Jolea and Calli's family here for the morning (wish it was all day!) and to have all the cousins together.

Happy little family! I'm so sad we didn't get a picture with all of us including the girls. I actually curled all of their hair and they looked so cute in their Christmas dresses. They were too excited that their cousins were at church to pose for a picture, but they are all in love with their brother and proud to show him off.

(I never realize how short I am until I see a picture of me standing by Jim-I even have heels on my boots!)

Farewell Ellie

After much debate and even more thought, we decided to give Ellie to a new family last week. She was turning into such a great dog (training well, very obedient, good natured, not a barker, learning some tricks) so it was a very hard decision. It pretty much came down to us feeling guilty that she spent most of the time in her kennel-mainly in her dog house because of the cold. With a newborn and 3 other kids to take care of, a husband who travels, no fence, and me not wanting a dog in the house, I just couldn't give her the time she deserved out of the kennel. Jim doesn't even get home 'til dark so he did what he could after work but we felt it wasn't enough. A nice family in Victor was really interested in her and fell in love when they met her, so Jim and the girls drove her to Victor last week to her new home. It was a very emotional day for all of us-definitely harder than I thought to let her go. I cried, Jim cried, and Ashtyn sobbed for two days (nothing harder for a mom than to see her child heartbroken). I almost changed my mind at the last minute.

The only reason we felt okay about the decision is that her new family lives on 30 acres right on the way to Jackson. She will be able to run to her little heart's content and interact with another dog, horses, cats, and chickens. They also have 3 older kids who are the perfect age for playing with her and helping take care of her. They are even going to let her sleep in the son's room next to his bed. Much better than being stuck in a kennel and sleeping in a crate in the garage. We can also come visit her whenever we want or whenever we head to Jackson, which we usually do a few times a year. All in all, I think it was the best decision!

We will definitely miss her and it's pictures like these that bring tears to my eyes knowing that Ashtyn had to give her dog up. We will probably never find a cuter dog-her white polka dotted feet and white tummy are adorable! Word to the wise: before getting a pet, make sure and weigh every option/situation before making a decision (especially at the fair). I had a moment of weakness seeing how much Jim and Ashtyn fell in love with her as a puppy and it ended up causing a lot of heartbreak by getting attached and having to give her away. I'm so proud of Ashtyn for making an unselfish decision in giving Ellie a better life and making it through something so hard at her age. She definitely loved her first dog!

My Little Man!

Just some pics of my sweet little guy! (out of order of course-the last one is of him just a couple days old)

Kian is absolutely adorable and stealing all of our hearts. I'm afraid he's going to be one spoiled boy because we all love him so much. He has a pretty content personality and is a wonderful sleeper so far. This past week has been a little rough because of his circumcision, but he is getting better and happier as each day comes.

He loves to be wrapped tight to sleep and snuggled on mommy's chest. We are loving all of the snuggly blankets he has since he is my only winter baby.

He loves his ocean bouncy chair with the vibration and "white noise" on. He doesn't like his swing (poor me)!

He thinks he is starving the past few days and has been eating every two hours. He should only be eating about 1 1/2 ounces for his age but easily sucks down 2-3 and wants more. Uh oh-maybe I"ll finally have a chubby kid!

He has big, beautiful eyes and is very expressive. He started smiling this week and cooed for the first time yesterday. He did it twice again today-absolutely the cutest thing ever when he works up his whole body to make one tiny sound. Love it!

I can't believe he is already 3 weeks old and wish I could freeze time since I love the newborn stage. It is a lot of work but so rewarding since he is so sweet, innocent, and straight from heaven. I definitely think we'll keep him!!!

He is here!!!

Kian James Hassman

January 5, 2010

6:51 pm

7 lb 13 oz 19 inches

ADORABLE

I am so excited my little boy is finally here! Who knew I'd be so smitten with a boy but I definitely am already. I can't stop kissing him and staring at him. We are home and he is barely 1 day old but I can't stand staying in the hospital any longer than I have to. I'm still figuring out the changing a boy's diaper thing (poor guy already peed on himself twice), but I'm learning and can't wait for all the other adventures he will bring.

I will post more pictures later but for now, I'm exhausted and am going to bed while Kian is sleeping. He is completely tuckered out after a day of tests, visitors, and trying to figure out this crazy, scary world!

Aaahhh....

This little baby boy of mine is being stubborn! I am so ready for him to come out. After trying to come early at 34 weeks (hospital stay and two weeks of meds to keep him in), I thought for sure he would have been here by now. I've been having "teaser" contractions for the last 4 weeks and am getting impatient. I think it's worse waiting when you get your hopes up that he might come early. We already missed the tax deduction for 2009 and the met deductible for 2009, so I don't know what he's waiting for! Anyone know of any tricks to get him here that I haven't already tried?

My doctor has been out of town since Christmas Eve so I haven't had a chance to be induced, but I'm planning on it for Tuesday when he's back in town. I've never had to be induced and have had all my babies with no "drugs" so I'm a little scared of whether I can handle Pitocin. I've heard it's bad! Anyway, just a little venting to get out my frustration. I'm so excited to have this little guy and want to see what he looks like (and I don't want him to get any bigger than he already is!) that I can hardly stand it.

Send any ideas my way if you have the "secret"-I'm sure I've already tried it, but I'm willing to try again!

Restored!!!

So after technical support called me (my husband) and walked me through finding the picture folder I deleted (who knew to look in the recycle bin?), I now have all of my pictures back. Yeah-I'm so happy to have a computer savvy husband who saves me all of the time with my computer whoes. Here are the pictures that should have been with the last post!

NO PICS

I sat down to post about Halloween and copy my pictures off my camera to my computer, but accidentally deleted all the pictures somehow. I am so sad! All of the Halloween pictures, Jim's hunting pics, our puppie's first bath, and some cute pics of the girls raking leaves were all deleted. I am so awful-sometimes I hate technology and wish I was smarter in the computer area. I know it is not that hard and I have copied pictures hundreds of times, but I guess I missed a step this time. WAAAHH!!!

Halloween was fun this year and busy as usual! The girls looked adorable in their costumes and came home with quite the loot! Ashtyn was a devel; Jordyn a bunny, and Avery a butterfly. This was one of their cutest years for costumes and I'm so bummed to not have the pics. I helped with both of the school parties and after bending over and over to pick up rings off of pop cans for 45 minutes, I decided it wasn't the best idea for a 71/2 month prego lady. It hurt for a couple of hours after!

Jim flew in around 3:00 Halloween day-just in time to grab a shower (he'd been awake for almost 60 hours and on a plane for 42 hours) and make my mom's Halloween dinner. He was such a good sport and when he accidentally fell asleep on my mom's couch, Ashtyn prodded him with her Devil's pitchfork to get him up to go trick-or-treating.

We didn't carve pumpkins this year because I didn't want to do it by myself, but the girls and I did make sugar cookies and read three new Halloween books one evening. Although three weeks without a husband was hard and lasted forever, it was nice being able to spend so much time with my girls. They truly are great kids and make my days pretty easy! We got daddy home for a whole week but he left again Monday morning for another possible two weeks.

I miss my husband

I think pregnancy is making me an emotional crybaby. For the last two weeks, I can start crying in less than a second. Maybe its due to the fact that I haven't seen my husband in a week and he still has two more weeks out of town. He doesn't fly in until 3:00 on Halloween day. AAHHH! I'm usually fine when he goes out of town and have gotten used to it over the past 6 years that he's been traveling. But I've been so uneasy about this trip because he has to go to Uganda, Africa. Maybe it's my lack of knowledge about this country, or because I've only heard all the negative about tribal politics, raping of women/children, corrupt leaders, kidnappping of visitors, etc. All I know is I've had this fear in the back of my head and I don't know if it's me freaking myself out or something legit. Yucky feeling!

I just hope the next two weeks goes quickly because I really am missing my sweety. And not just for the help with kids (dog, horse, house....) because I'm tired and pregnant; I miss his companionship, humor, love, kindness, support, and overall great-guyness (no-not a word but I like it anyway!). He really is the perfect husband for me and it is times like this one that makes me realize it and appreciate & love him even more.

Thanks for letting me vent and if you see me with tears the next couple of weeks (months), just chalk it up to me being fat and pregnant! Now go kiss your husbands, tell them you love them, and be thankful they're home-even if they are driving you crazy!

Meet Jane

This is our new horse Jane. She is quite the beauty with a very gentle, laid back personality. After deciding the two young colts would need more training time than Jim could give, he traded them both for this older, not-so-crazy mare. I feel much better about the horse situation now and even though I am still scared, I know Jane is a lot safer than the colts. The kids love her and have already ridden her a couple of times. Hay for one horse is also much cheaper than for two!

Jim is happy because he's been able to take her on a few long rides and says she's done great. He tried to get me to ride, but I think I'll wait till after I'm pregnant. Unless I get impatient towards the end and need a little bumpy ride to get things going!

BTW-don't you love the little girls socks and sandles? They are both into patterned, funny socks and like to pick out what they wear.No way would I have ever let Ashtyn get away with this when she was little, but hey, by the third kid who cares, right?

School Days

Jordyn and Avery go to preschool together this year and are absolutely loving it. They have the greatest teacher ever (we found her with Ashtyn and will never need to look elsewhere!) and are excited every day to go. They ask almost every night, "Do I have school tomorrow?" Avery has been talking about homework lately because she brought home a practice sheet of A's on Monday. She came home, sat right up to the table and worked on her homework. Jordyn helped her write her A's and it was so sweet to watch. Now Avery has been telling everyone all week "yeah, I have homework. I always have homework". They are both growing up so fast, and both extremely adorable!

I can't believe Ashtyn is in 2nd grade. She absolutely loves school and is doing so great. She got the teacher she wanted this year and is excelling in everything. She joined the "homework club" because she wanted to stay longer at school everyday, and she just got put into the Discovery program for gifted/talented students. I know, just a little bit of bragging information. She has been great with her sisters the last few weeks and is playing school with them right now. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up (as well as a veterenarian and a "worker at Papa's restaurant") and loves to be in any leadership position. She will be starting basketball in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see how she'll do already knowing she is the smallest on the team. She definitely didn't get Daddy's height jeans-poor girl-I hope she makes it to 5 feet!

As for me-I am loving having them all in school. I get 2 hours to myself three days a week and have been able to go to the gym (the girl's preschool is literally 1 mile from the gym and across town so I have no excuse to drive all the way back home). Although I have been finding excuses to skip the gym and go grocery shopping or baby boy shopping on some of the days all by myself! I don't know if working out is doing any good anyway with the massive appetite I've had lately. Carrying a boy has definitely been different than my girls and I am already huge-as big as I was when I delivered both Jordyn and Avery. Scary to admit but just giving you all a warning so when you see me you won't think I'm due next week. Kind of depressing that I still have almost 3 months to go. Bring on the chub!