Pack 542 Pinewood Derby

This past Saturday was James' pack Pinewood Derby. Brian and the boys worked very hard on their cars this year and the day had finally arrived for them to actually race. Brian, James, and John got up early that morning and headed to the church to help set up and check all the cars in. The babies and I arrived right on time and were able to get seats before the races actually began. First up were the Tiger Cub races. Both Brian and I were amazed at just how fast James car was. He won all three of his races and was the fastest car in his whole den. After the Tigers, all the other dens had their races. Once all the dens finished their races, it was time for the first place winners from all the dens to race against each other in the Pack race. Again, James' car did very well and he ended up winning second place in the Pack. Next up were the sibling races. John's car did fairly well but there was a lot of competition. I think he ended up in 5th or 6th out of 15ish cars. Finally they raced the parent cars. I was shocked at how slow their cars actually were considering they had far fewer rules to follow. Well, there was one parent car that had a remote controlled fan attached to it and therefore it was a whole second faster than any of the kids cars. The event ended with cupcakes and awards. Each kid that entered won a certificate and the top three winners in each den and the pack won trophies.

Below are videos I took of the cars racing. I'll be sure to post a slide show of the pictures I took soon.

Video of Jonah Rolling Over

I finally caught Jonah rolling over on camera this morning!! He's done it a few times but each time I break out the camera, he decides he doesn't want to anymore. He can almost get from back to front as well. He just needs to figure out how to turn his hips over.

Video from John's Christmas Program

Here's a long overdue video of John's Christmas program. I just realized I never got it off the camera.

Jonah at 4 months

Jonah is four months old now and lots of changes are about to take place. He's now old enough to start solids, play in the exersaucer and hopefully start transitioning to his crib. He's still taking Prevacid for his reflux and I've started adding rice cereal to his formula to help with his excessive spitting up. It definitely seems to be working thus far. He still spits up some but definitely not as much as before. Jonah had been sleeping well at night for the past several weeks in his bassinet that I attempted to move him to his crib last week. After three nights of lots of crying, I gave up. He's again sleeping happily in his bassinet. As long as he's sleeping all night long, I won't complain about him being in our room still. We'll try again in a few more weeks and see if it goes better. Jonah recently discovered his tongue and that he can make noises with it. Hopefully that won't impede his ability to eat solids. I'm not a fan of having rice cereal spit at me. Jonah's check up went well. He's now up to 14lbs 9 oz and is 25" long. All in all, he's growing really well and is hitting all of his milestones. He had to get two shots and one oral vaccine. He was already upset for some reason so the shots didn't upset him that much. He stopped crying shortly afterwards. Jonah is definitely starting to outgrow the swing and bouncer. They don't hold his attention and he tries to roll out of them. Thank goodness for seat belts. He had his first experience in the exersaucer at my parents house on New Years Day and seemed to enjoy it. It's still a chore for him to hold his head up so he didn't stay in it for too long. He really enjoys the play mat right now. He likes looking at the toys and grabbing them. I'll keep you posted with all the new experiences as they occur.

Adventures in Arizona

In the wee hours of the morning on the 26th, Brian loaded up James and John in the truck and began the 17 hour drive to Arizona. They made really great time on the drive out there and were in town in time for dinner. The first few nights, they stayed with Brian's cousin, Andy, and his family. They played the Kinect for Xbox, went shopping at the mall and hit the Reid Park Zoo. The next day Brian picked up his grandparents and visited Mt. Lemmon. It's the first real mountain the boys have visited. Also while they were in town, they celebrated Aunt Paula's birthday with a nice dinner at Andy and Amiee's house. They got to spend a few days with Aunt Susie, Uncle John and their big dog Sam as well. They took a nice hike and collected dessert items in a jar. The boys really enjoyed the tree house Susie and John have in their front yard. They ended the visit with fireworks at Andy's house to celebrate New Year's Eve. Then it was back in the truck the next morning to start the two day drive home.

Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was a blast! Thankfully a cold front came in the night of the 24th otherwise we were in for a 70F Christmas. The boys were up pretty late and had a very busy Christmas Eve so they actually slept until about 7:30. Brian and I actually got some quiet time before they came downstairs. But once they were down, it took every ounce of self control they had to not tear into everything. We did our best having them take turns and actually look at what they received. They got lots of books, movies, and toys from Santa this year. They finished unwrapping all of their gifts from Santa fairly early so we got dressed and then headed up to my parents house for breakfast and more present unwrapping. The boys all got outside toys from my parents. James and John got bikes and Jude a push car and a tricycle that you can push. They also got the Pillow Pets they had been asking for. They received more toys and books, movies and games. They boys ate lunch at their normal time and then continued to play while my sister and I prepared Christmas dinner for the adults. We filled our bellies and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Brian headed home early to get some rest before hitting the road early the next morning for Arizona.

A Special Christmas Eve

This year, Christmas Eve was extra special. We celebrated my mom's birthday with lunch at her favorite restaurant, Pappadeaux. After that we were off to see the Houston Ballet perform The Nutcracker. This was a traditional outing for my mom, sister and I each year. We haven't been since they sold their house in Austin so my sister and I decided to surprise her with tickets to go see it here in Houston. Well we had to spill the beans early because she kept talking about going online to look for tickets. We took James and John with us since they were both interested in my mom's nutcracker collection. We weren't sure how they would like it so we didn't want to spend a lot on seats. John was in HEAVEN while James kept asking when it would be over. I think we'll probably leave him at home next year. After the show was over, we went back to my parents' house to let the boys open a gift. James got Super Hero Squad figures which he loved. John got his very own nutcrackers which ended up being his favorite gift of all. We had some cookies and wassail made by my sister. We had to get back in the car and head home so we could get ready for Santa to come visit. It was late so we didn't have time to watch our traditional Muppet's Christmas Carol and instead opted for the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas before heading to bed. It was such a fun day that the boys had a bit of trouble going to sleep. Eventually they passed out and Santa was able to deliver his gifts for the boys.

A Busy Week Before Christmas

The week leading up to Christmas was a very busy one for the Hadleys. On Monday morning, I took the boys to Inflatable Zone to burn off some energy. After that, we picked up Brian and hit Memorial City Mall for lunch and to pick up his watch. James spent the afternoon at work with Brian working on the computer belt loop and pin. Tuesday morning I took the boys bowling so James could earn his bowling belt loop and pin. After that we had lunch at the new Steak N Shake in Katy. Brian was so jealous of all the fun we were having while he was at work, he decided to take the rest of the week off. Wednesday morning we hit the zoo and checked out the new African Forest section. It was super cool. The chimpanzees were a lot of fun to watch and interact with. One was sitting right next to the glass and was watching all the kids. We also saw the two new rhinos!!! They were really interesting to read about. Finally we got to see the new giraffe habitat. They could actually run around a bit. We grabbed some lunch and then headed to the scout store to pick up some resource books and patches for Brian's uniform. After that we went home so Brian and the boys could go work on their Pinewood Derby cars. Well the adults worked on cutting out the cars while the boys played in the front yard. Again, it was an afternoon of fun for James and John. Thursday morning, I took the older two and my dad to see the new Tron movie. I really enjoyed it but it was a bit long and over John's head. He was really squirmy the last thirty minutes or so. We spent the afternoon playing with cub scout friends before heading to my parents' house for dinner. All in all, it was a week filled with fun activity!

Moving the Trailer

On the 18th, the boys hit the road to Georgetown with the goal of moving the trailer out to the land. They spent most of Saturday and Sunday morning testing everything out and getting supplies. While there, they also celebrated Christmas with MaMaw and Poppa Steve. The boys got boots and flannel shirts to wear out on the land as well as some toys. Then Sunday late morning, they got it all hitched up and started the drive to the land. It took a while since they couldn't drive very fast while towing but in the end, they made it there. Brian had to do some last minute prep work before they could get the trailer into it's final position but it's all set up at last! Now we'll have a place to sleep overnight when we go up to work on the land. Hopefully we'll start working on clearing again in early January.

New Camera!!!

After almost 5 years, I finally decided we needed a new camera. We got the same one my parents bought a few months ago. Thus far it's taking really great photos!! Hopefully this one will last us just as long as our previous one.

Den Meeting and Go-See-It

Friday afternoon James and Brian went to their den meeting and Go-See-It. The boys and parents met up at the school's playground. They had to learn the rules of basketball and play for 30 minutes. After that, they all drove over to CiCi's pizza for dinner before going to the Cinco Ranch High School boys' basketball game. Even though the team lost, the boys had a blast playing on the bleachers and in general not paying attention to the game. At least they had a good time playing with each other.

Trips to the Dentist

On the last day of school for the semester, Brian and I took all four boys to the dentist. Of course only James and John had appointments but we all went. Both boys did well during their x-rays and cleanings. I'm happy to report there were no cavities!! James needs a new sealant or two but that's normal for this age. We also talked Dr. Po into helping James wiggle out his other front tooth. It had been loose for ages but Brian just couldn't get it out. This one hurt James a bit more than the other front tooth but it came out without too much trouble. After the dentist, we all went to eat lunch at the Rainforest Cafe to celebrate making it through another semester.

From Photos for Blog

James' Winter Party

On Thursday, December 16th, James had his class Winter Party. The kids all had a wonderful time eating cupcakes, playing pass the snowball, winter bingo and making toilet paper snowmen. Some of the moms and I got there early to decorate the room. I must say our room was a winter wonderland. The cupcakes must have been really yummy because there wasn't a single one leftover. The kids who had blue icing had the greatest smiles when they finished. I think the highlight of the party was the toilet paper snowmen. I divided up the room into four groups and they each picked a person to be the snowman. Then the other three or four kids got the pleasure of wrapping them up in toilet paper. Ms. Meyer got to pick the winners. Of course we had four categories so everyone one a special cup full of candy and a bookmark. It took a bit of planning and preparation but in the end, the kids had a blast.

Lots of posts to come

Wow, it's been way to busy around here the past few weeks. I've got lots to post about so for those who get e-mail's when I post, your inbox is about to get flooded. Sorry in advance.