- Happy 3rd Birthday Hayden! -

Three Things we Love about our HAYDEN

(a.k.a Haydee Love):

(If you ask him his name right now, he says, "Haydee Wuv." He doesn't like Hayden Jace for now!)

1.) His sweet, tender spirit . He is truly a peacemaker in our home, & he still lets us cuddle him most of the time. (Mom's trying hard not to let the brothers ruin this for her.)

2.) His enthusiasm for helping with any job we're doing. He is my best unloader of the dishwasher. One of his favorite gifts was a "Handy Manny" tool set -- he loves to help daddy too. He especially loves to help his brothers and join in on their backyard ballgames. He also loves to take care of Champ, the dog.

3.) His independence. He can do everything all by himself! He dresses himself and changes outfits often. This independence earned him stiches earlier this year when he thought he could get out of Grandm's car all by himself.

Three of Hayden's favorite things at age three:

1) His special soft and silky blankets

2) Riding his big bike (blue bike -- he loves blue)

3) Malt flavored Ovaltine

We celebrated Hayden's 3rd birthday by going to Kaysville for the day to watch his big brothers play baseball, surprise, surprise! He didn't seem to mind, however. He's grown up at ballgames. His brothers gave him some real baseball pants, so he was dressed like a player too. We brought birthday cupcakes to share with the team and all of the other little siblings at the ball park. After the games were over, we sat Hayden up on the bucket of balls & sang to him. He got embarrassed, of course, but I know it made him feel special. Most of Deron's family lives down that way, so several of them were there to share the day with us. We then raced home so that Hayden could go to the Aggie football game with his dad, Grandpa, & Jeron.

Hayden wasn't sure he wanted a birthday. He kept telling me that he didn't want a birthday, he just wanted a big gun to shoot the birdies (lovely, huh)! After opening two presents and crying because they weren't a big gun, we decided we better give him his big gun so that he might show some enthusiasm for his other gifts and not hurt people's feelings.

I was determined to take him to Kiddie Kandids for a birthday picture. As usual, he had other plans. It is so hard to catch a good picture of him right now. (Notice the picture where he's hiding under the table at his party.) He runs from the camera, & if he decides to stand in for a quick shot, he won't look at you. I'm learning to be really sneaky, but after 1 1/2 hours at Kiddie Kandids, I gave up. The poor photographer was only able to push her button one time, because he wouldn't pose for her at all. You'll notice this non smiling picture on his cake! We will remember his third birthday as the one where we never got a great photo!

Hayden also got to celebrate on Sunday at his great-grandparents' house with my side of the family. Birthday dinners at Grandma's have been a long standing tradition in my family. I'm so glad that our kids get to have these memories too.

WE LOVE YOU, HAYDEN!

- Early September '08 at a Glance -

Another busy week at the Hansen Household.

We welcomed a rain storm, even though it kept us inside over Labor Day weekend. The boys were excited to put on their rain jackets. We hadn't had a good storm since June, if I remember right.

Fall baseball & Flag Football both started this week. Kyler is playing on Jeron's fall baseball team, because a couple of players are out playing tackle football. On the morning of the 1st baseball game, Ky probably asked 10 times if it was time for him to get dressed yet. He got hit the 1st time up to bat, but proudly took one for the team and ran to his base. As I noted, he caught the only fly ball at the 1st game. The crowd really cheered for him and many were surprised he is only 6. Jeron had some awesome hits to the outfield and pitched very well. He also made some great fielding plays; I can remember at least one double play. A highlight for the boys this week was that Jeron's buddy, Landon Jenson got to spend the weekend with us while his dad rode in the Lotoja bike race.

Ky is in the younger division for flag football, but their teams are both the 49ers, so they have the same shirt. Ky scored two touchdowns at his first game, & Jeron played great also. He got to QB.

Hayden couldn't stay awake long enough to blow up his new punch balloon from Gma. Evelyn.

I'm sure he'll love me for that picture someday!

I also finally got an outdoor patio set. We have been using a plastic set that we got for a wedding gift. This was going to be my Mother's Day gift, but I had to wait until I found the right one, and then until it went on a late season close-out sale. Deron is such a great handy man. He put it all together quickly, & we ate out on the deck twice this week. We have great shade in the mornings and evenings, but now I'm on the hunt for an umbrella so we can enjoy it in the afternoon as well.

- A New Era begins for me! -

I got a call to work in the Young Women's Organization as a Mia Maid Advisor. Holy Cow! This is a calling that has always made me nervous. I don't have daughters. I'm not used to being around young women, & I'm nervous about teaching. Gone are the days when I pull my primary manual out on Sunday morning. This is going to be a lot more work. Tuesday night activities are going to be a new thing for me too. I'm filled with mixed emotions. I'm excited and scared at the same time. Last night we had a training meeting with the stake leaders. Things have really changed since I was a YW myself. Yesterday was my first Sunday with the girls, & luckily I didn't have to teach. I was so nervous for Leslie, who was teaching her first lesson. She did such a good job, but I was so frustrated that some of the girls were visiting and folding paper airplanes all the way through. How do you handle a situation like that? As a new leader, I want to be their friend, but at the same time, I also want their respect. I would love any pointers and/or tips with anything pertaining to Young Women's or just teenage girls in general.

- Back to School 2008 -

Back to School at the Hansen household has been titled a success after the first week. We went to back to school night the night before they started and met their teachers and mapped out their classrooms. This is a great way to ease the jitters on the first day. No one has run home from school yet (Kyler tried that last year during his Kindergarten orientation.), and everything seems to be running along smoothly. Hayden and I are a little lonely at home though. We go on daily walks, play with Champ (the dog), make cookies, run errands, etc.., but no matter how hard I try, I can't take the place of his "bruddas!"

Jeron's teacher is Mrs. Dattage, who has been like a second mom for me. She is in our ward now and was when I was growing up as well. Her daughters are my friends, and she was my Young Women leader. It's nice to know that he'll be well taken care of. He has a fun group of boys in his class and seems to be enjoying things, especially recess. He loves to meet up with all his buddies at recess and participate in the sport of the hour, whatever it might be. His clothes and shoes come home green with grass stains most days. He prefers to wear comfortable sports like clothing, but we compromise sometimes. He's not loving the homework, however. He asked me the other night if we could try home school, because he thinks it would be less work. I told him that I thought he'd miss his friends at school. His reply was, "No, I could just meet up with them after school." This will never happen. We have a hard enough time getting through the homework together, let alone a whole days worth of learning. Jeron likes to get his work done as fast as he can and get out to play. We're working on that. His favorite subject is math.

Kyler has Mrs. Gettman for 1st Grade. Her personality seems to be about the complete opposite of Kyler's, but I think it's true that opposites attract. She is so happy all of the time. I think her classroom environment will always be very positive. Like Kyler, she has so much energy. This will be great for Kyler, because she will keep him busy every minute. When we arrived home from back to school night, Kyler said, "My teacher is an old women with gray hair and she wears rainbow colored clothes." Those of you who know Kyler know that he is our little fashion consultant. Kyler had forgotten to take his button bag the other day, so I ran it over and she said, "Now Kyler, be sure and tell your mom thank you." I'm hoping that she has great success with teaching him to use his manners! Kyler is a quick learner and gets things done fast, when he's in the right mood. He is also loving recess. His great buddy, Dax Purser, is in his class, which makes going to school fun. Ky loves school lunch and recess. He especially loves it when his recess is at the same time as Jeron's so he can join in on the game of the hour. He was happy to report that he is the tallest one in his class, again!