Summer Fun!

We have been busy, busy this summer! Michael is a very active 2 year old and his poor baby brother just can't seem to keep up with him! So, I enrolled him in a gymnastics camp, (thank you Ellen for the info) and he loved it!!! It was a great way for him to get his energy out during the day, and Mommy and James to hang out and lay low until big brother got home. Unfortunately, Michael will no longer take naps, so we are working on the enforcement of the "Quiet Time" which consists of Michael on the couch watching a movie- we are still working on the "staying" on the couch, but will get there, hopefully! We have had several playdates, including playing in the fountains at the Purple Cow Fairview with Michael's buddy Phinn- they had a blast!!! Unfortunately, Mama got burnt, bad! Luckily Michael did not:) Michael also was able to watch his first baseball game, his cousin Gino's- unfortunately it was his last game:( Michael loved watching Gino "hit the ball!" and he still talks about it today!

James is 12 weeks old now and getting so big so fast! He is so, so sweet and LOVES to be held and talked to. He has the sweetest smile and giggle- I can't get enough of this baby!!! Such a happy boy and has now been sleeping through the night, 10-7, for a week and a half!!! Go James Go! Hopefully this will continue! I love getting him up in the morning because he has the biggest grin and is so happy to see you!! Michael is obsessed with James and is always excited to give him big hugs and kisses when he wakes up and when he gets home from school!
He also likes to share with James, when he is playing with his trains, Michael is always sure to put a train on James' tummy so he can play too:)

Michael started his new school this past Tuesday and so far so good- we have rough drop-offs, but I know it is a huge adjustment from his old daycare- thank goodness he has his "D" there! Lindsey goes to the same school and so does his other buddy Carson. I love that they will all 3 be in the same class! So cute:)

We had a great 4th of July at my Uncle Mark and Aunt Caren's house! It was so fun to let Michael play with his cousin Gino and James to hang out with all of the guys! We always have such a great time at Marks and love going over there! Michael absolutely loves to swim and has no fear! Thank goodness for his life jacket!!!

Here are some pictures from the summer- I also got a fabulous camera for my 30th birthday and our 4 year anniversary, so I have been playing with it over the past week- I can't wait for my photo session with Hayley Roebuck so I can learn some of her tricks- she is a fabulous photographer:)

Life with 2

It has been a crazy past few weeks! We welcomed our newest Hatch, James Patrick, on April 14th. He weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. James is such a sweet baby and Michael loves his little brother. He is always asking to hold him and kiss him:) I have been blessed to have great help while adjusting to life with 2 little ones. Nana and Pops came in town before James' arrival to take care of Michael while we were in the hospital, and Nana stayed with us for almost 2 1/2 weeks! Geoff took off an entire month! I love Bank of America and their paid paternity leave:) Michael has stayed in school and has been adjusting to life with a little brother nicely. Unfortunately, the day we brought James home, we discovered Michael had croup, followed by ruptured eardrums and nasty ear infections:( Even with all of the yuckiness that was going on with Bear, he was such a trooper and wanted to spend time with his little brother:)

Shortly after bringing home James', we celebrated Easter quietly at home with Nana and Pops and then went to my sisters house for a little family egg hunt for the kids- Michael had so much fun running around with his cousins.

And, of course, we held the Annual Hatch Crawfish Boil even though we had a 3 week old at home:) We couldn't break tradition, it is the 17th year after all:) Luckily, Geoff's brother Steve and his wife Lorraine came in town for the Boil and were so, so helpful! There is no way we could have pulled it off without them! Michael loved playing with his Uncle Steve and Aunt "uh-wain":) He was asking me about them this morning when I got him up to go to school:) I think Lorraine held James more this past weekend than I did and I know James loved every moment of it! They are going to be great parents one day!!

Geoff goes back to work next Monday and I am so sad, but so thankful I have had his help these past 4 weeks! I know he has loved every minute of it too:) These are definitely moments you can't get back... I can't believe on Thursday, James will be 4 weeks old! Where does the time go?

Mothers day was so wonderful this year! I cannot imagine life without my boys!

Circus Fun!

We had a great trip to the Shrine Circus with Celina and Phinn! Michael had a blast with his pal! They ate popcorn and cotton candy and played with their light swords while watching the show! Michael loved the elephants and clowns- not too big of a fan of the acrobats and such though, I think his attention span is a little too short for that:)




My sweet kids at school threw a little shower for me at school- I love my 8th graders and miss them already! They decorated the classroom, brought in cupcakes and Burger House and had some sweet gifts for Baby James:)



And Geoff and I went to the Red Sox game as our last outing before Baby James arrives:)




Tomorrow is the big day for Baby James to arrive- I can't believe how fast this has gone by and that we will be a family of 4 very soon:) I will post once I get a chance:) Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly:)

Spring Break 2011

We had a VERY busy Spring Break!I think we had a playdate every day, with very few naps as Michael has now decided to refuse them. This meant very little downtime for 35 weeks pregnant Mommy:( BUT, we had a great time and I am so glad I had this one on one time with Michael before Baby James arrives:)
Monday we went and had breakfast with Kim and Sydney at Cafe Brazil, (Yummy!) and then went back to the Pope's house for the kids to play- Kim's niece Gracie came to play too!



Then on Tuesday we went to Ellen and Christian's house to play. The boys ran circles around the house and then we took them to ASI Gymnastics for Open Gym- so much fun! I can't wait to get Bear into Gymnastics! We then went to Chik-Fil-A for lunch, home for a nap and then off to Stonebriar Mall to ride the merry-go-round with Kim and Lindsey Palmer! Michael was terrified at first, then was screaming because he did not want to get off!




Wednesday I had my 35 Week check-up with my Doctor, everything was right on for Baby James, they are estimating he will be 8 to 9 pounds! Grandma Annie kept Michael for me while I went and then we went to lunch at Moo Ya and saw the Palmers:)
Thursday we went on a playdate with Jenn and Carson to the play area at Willow Bend Mall- they boys ran all over and played and then ate lunch and attempted a nap...no luck!
Friday we went on a playdate with with Laura and Charlie at Gallareia Mall- the boys loved it and played great together! We then went to eat at Mi Cocina where Michael inhaled an entire order of Guacamole!



Although I think I needed a vacation after Spring Break, I would not have traded in those fabulous days of one on one time with Michael for anything:)

Look What I Can Do!!!!

So, our little monkey has learned how to unzip his crib tent and crawl out! We tried to rig the zipper so he could not escape, however, little man broke the zipper....SO, into the Big Boy Bed we go, or so we thought:) For the first night, we put Michael in his bed, read books and said Goodnight, went in to check on him and he was back in his crib:) The next day for nap, he ended up taking a nap in his Big Boy Bed:) We decided we will leave it up to him where he would like to sleep- I just can't get over the fact that he has a Big Boy Bed! My baby is growing up!
Here are some pictures of Michael showing me he can get in and out of his crib and how he ended up for nap:)

To Catch You Up...

Time has been flying by here at the Hatch house! We had a great New Years at the house with friends and Bear free, thanks to Pop Pop:) It was soooo nice to sleep in and have a slow start to 2011:)
We celebrated Geoff's birthday at Bavarian Grill and continued back at the house until late in the night, well they did, I went to bed (a benefit of having people to our house:).






I have been on a kick to get James' room finished lately as well...poor Geoff! Nana, Pops and Aunt Cheryl were staying with us for a week at the end of January, so I was able to get a little help with the nursery from Nana:) Then, once they left, I ended up finishing it on my own- with a few odds and ends that are still needed:)
We did Michael's room in vintage baseball, Red Sox and so we decided to do James' room in vintage SMU football- With our luck, Michael will end up liking football and James will like baseball:)
Here are a couple of pictures of the nursery...and yes, the missing apostrophe in the quote is on its way to our house, hopefully:)








AND we started off February 2011 by being trapped in the house for almost 5 days due to ice and snow, mainly ice!!! It was nice to have some time off, although Bear and I got a little stir crazy at the end, and to top it off, I ended up with a virus and Geoff and Bear got a cold:)
Luckily we are now feeling better and enjoying the end of our ice-vacation:)
I pulled out a Bowling Set Bear got for his birthday, luckily it was quite entertaining:)





As for Baby #2, I am just over 29 weeks along and we are scheduled for April 14th for C-Section. We are so excited to meet little James! It hard to believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by!
Hopefully these last 8 weeks will go by just as fast:)

Kate