Four Times Three

Sabrina: 1 – has to have a ponytail and a headband in her hair at all times; 2 – is working on perfecting the “glide” on her scooter; 3 – Can put on her princess backpack, socks, and shoes all by herself.

Hannah: 1 – loves to have “math” printed out so she can do homework; 2 – is learning to ride a big girl bike with training wheels; 3 – came up with a way to get a puppy: “…get a baby, sell it, and get a puppy.” (Once when she asked why we couldn’t get a puppy I told her I would have to trade in one of the kids, and I wouldn’t be able to decide which one)

Emma: 1 – wrote a song called, “My Rainbow SUV”; 2 – started a new blog called Huge Laff as a place to do little web shows; 3 – cracked her tooth while eating a roll and said, “…I saw the sticker on it said 75% off, so it must have been old.”

Hunter: 1 – is raising money for 6th grade camp by doing a garage sale this Saturday; 2 – designed a Lego racer for his last Pinewood Derby. It won second place in the maverick (no rules) races; 3 – scored in the 99th percentile on the GATE test- smarty!

Name Game

After seeing Mel’s great post with information on baby Hilly’s namesake, I was inspired to let my kids know why we chose their names:

Hunter– I babysat a cute little boy named Hunter, and loved reading the biography of Howard W. Hunter. He was a great man and I would love for my son to look to him for direction.

Robert – Chosen for his dad (obviously), and Pappy, and both of Rob’s grandfathers. The tradition lives on without having the title of “the third” in his name.

Joseph – This was my grandfather’s first name and is also for Joseph Smith the prophet. Both were men of integrity with strong convictions and personality.

In Rob’s family it was tradition to give everyone two middle names. We decided to do two middle names for the boys and one for the girls since they will gain an additional name when they marry.

Emma– We loved this name and agreed on it before we knew Hunter was a boy- In large part because we loved the story of “Emma” by Jane Austen. When Hunter was about a year old I was driving down the road when the thought came to me almost as if someone was talking to me, “Emma is waiting and ready to come.” I came home that day and told Rob that I knew we had a daughter named Emma coming to our family.

Elisabeth- This is the name my parents originally meant for my middle name. My great-great-grandmother in Germany on my mom’s side was named Elisabeth. Because I was born by emergency cesarean and my mom was still groggy from medication when the nurse pressed her for a name, I became Amy Lisa. Only afterward did my Nana tell my Mom that Elisabeth was called Lisa by her friends and family.

Hannah– We were getting very close to delivery and could not find the right name for our baby girl. At the time Keira and Brooklyn were at the top of the list, but we both were still not sure. I asked Rob to ponder it on the last fast Sunday before I was due and let me know of any revelations. He heard someone in the ward talking about their daughter Hannah and it just seemed right. I had always liked the name, but never brought it up because I thought it sounded so similar to Emma.  In the end, we followed Rob’s inspiration and chose Hannah.

Brooklyn- Both of my mom’s parents (who passed away before our children were born) were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Sabrina– The day before my scheduled cesarean, Rob and I were putting names on pieces of paper and drawing them to determine the winner. But since neither of us could leave things completely up to chance, this helped only to narrow things down to either Gina or Sabrina. Rob favored Gina because of it’s Italian connection, and I favored Sabrina because it sounded sophisticated and was also the name of one of my best friends in junior and high school. Rob told me I could make the decision because I had a difficult pregnancy with her; and well, he felt sorry for me. After she was born I was leaning toward using Gina and told Rob. He asked, “Are you sure?” and I answered, “…I don’t know.” Then shortly after I decided that Sabrina was a better fit for her, and we never looked back.

Isobel- Chosen for Rob’s grandmother who was born in Scotland and raised in Ireland.

Every name fits each child perfectly, and we love our kiddies all so much.  Each one came to our family with special talents and gifts that are unique to them and it is a great blessing to be their mother.

Princess Playtime

This morning we had so much fun playing princess dress ups, eating popcorn & grapes, and playing dolls. They all got along so well that they didn’t need any other entertainment! (Hannah really wanted Sabrina to wear her pirate dress so they could match, but Sabrina didn’t want any dress ups. That really irritated Hannah so that’s why Sabrina is in her sundress, and Hannah is hidden.) Super cute!

Beauty Parlor

I recently discovered some hair blogs and today gave some of the more adventurous styles a try.  Here is Hannah’s French Braid Halo and “Messy Bun” (I guess that is the technical name for it) inspired by this hairdo. The girl in the picture has way more hair than Hannah, but I think it turned out pretty well for a first try and no special hair products; just water and hairspray. It did take me about half the length of “Lady and the Tramp” to finish it though.

Sabrina wasn’t quite as easy to please. At first she really wanted the same thing as Hannah, but then it took too long just to comb it out and I had just started braiding when she said, “I want something different.” I knew she would never sit still long enough for me to finish, so I tried out this Knotty Chain with a Half Ponytail inspired by this post. I was trying to go for the chain effect, but Sabrina was wiggly and I thought it looked cute this way too, so I just left it. Oh, and she also insisted I give her bangs a “shortcut” this morning. I’m telling you this girl has an opinion on everything!

Thank You Notes

Dear Aunt Erica, Uncle Jed, Owen, Davis, & Kate:

Thank you for the Cords activity game. I have been playing with it a lot and love making pictures of faces. I also love the purple shirt with the ruffles. I wish Mommy washed it more often. Love, Brina

Dear Auntie J, Uncle Dan, & La La:

Thank you for the pretty pink dress.  It is nice and puffy for when I twirl around. Thumbelina has been with me all the time and I like to get her wings on just right. Love, Sabrina

Dear Nana & Papa:

Thank you for letting me pick out this princess bracelet. My favorite part is how it has every princess on it and it is purple. Love, Sabrina

Sabrina Turns 3

Happy Birthday to Sabrina! Now it’s been almost a week, but we had so much fun celebrating Sabrina’s birthday last Saturday. We made hoe cakes at her request for breakfast, spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Then we came home to have pizza for dinner, and piggie cake with chocolate ice cream (mud) for dessert. We all adore Sabrina and smile every time she comes into a room. She is beautiful and a sweet cutie pie.

Some of Sabrina’s favorites:

princess: Belle and Ariel

cereal bowl: yellow, because it’s Belle’s color

hairstyle: ponytail or twisties

friends: her princess playgroup- She wishes it was every day.

fruit: strawberries

board game: Simpsons Clue- She and Hannah love to play house with the little people

clothing: skirts and tutus

animal: piggies and panda bears

pajamas: piggie shirt and piggie pants with a tutu (I finally was able to find a replacement for her beloved snail shirt)

thing to do at Disneyland: eat ice cream cones

talent: singing and dancing with her sisters, and then pushing them aside so she can have a turn by herself.

We recently replaced our TV and it’s too big for the entertainment center (another story). Hunter, Emma and Hannah decorated it and turned it into a princess float for Sabrina’s birthday parade. Here she and Hannah are waving as Emma sings the birthday song.