A Father's Perspective

I finally downloaded Matt's pictures from his phone and he has some really cute ones of the kids.  It is fun to see the pictures form his perspective and the fun things he catches them doing!

Zack sleeping soundly.  Such a sweet little face.

Zack and Mommy practicing walking

A view of Zack and mommy on our deck from the backyard

Abby sleeping...she snuck her water in somehow:)

Cutest picture EVER!  Zack was playing the in the bushes and dirt and looking cute as can be.

And the latest trick...climbing!  He climbed up on the entertainment center and got face to face with Elmo!

Abby's taking after her mommy on the computer

Sitting "like a lady"

Zack's 12 Month Stats

Our growing baby boy is 19 pounds 6 ounces and he is 31 1/4 inches long.  Too bad his car seat is already facing forward since I swore he would easily be 20 pounds at his 1st b-day...wrong again! 
All along Zack has been bigger than Abby at every doctor's appointment and I just imagined he would continue that way.  Not so.  He actually weighed less (by about half a pound) but was an inch longer.

Zack has also started to color...

 AND eat the crayons:)

Easter 2011

This is the first year coloring Easter eggs.  Abby loved and and of course didn't want to stop.  It is so fun to do fun things with the kids but it is harder to get them to understand when it is time to stop...same goes for candy!!!

This our fifth year running of our Easter gatherings.  Last year, I was about to pop and we neded up at the Hoffman's due to rain!  We deviated again this year from the Kaneohe botanical gardens and stayed closer to home since it seems everyone's lives are totally crazy right now and it was just to make it simple.  Ko'Olina lagoons provided beautiful scenery and simplicity (well, as much as many toddlers and busy families can expect) and brought a bigger crowd.   

  

Evening Fun

The kids had too much fun making a mess and wrestling in clothes that I had neatly folded that I gave up trying to prevent them from making a mess and broke out the camera.

House Update

The house sale has been a roller coaster.  We were all set to close 2 weeks ago and out of nowhere we found out we couldn't close.  As soon as it seems like we have crossed a major road block another one pops right up!  It has been a long drawn out process and we are totally exhausted.  Just as an example, one day last week Matt had made over 15 calls regarding the house and over 35 emails.  Both the sellers agent and the loan officer have agreed this is by far the hardest sale they have ever had and it is their full time job.  Matt has been doing a ton of work to make this sale go through in addition to teaching full time.  Basically, it boil down to the new VA requirements that weren't in place when we bought our house that are now necessary and lots of work and money are now required.
I give him a ton of credit for his tenacity and I know it will go through it is just a matter of when.  Hopefully, sooner than later.

Save Some for Them:)

Yesterday was Earth day and Abby had the cutest shirt from her Auntie Casey that was perfect for the day!

"Save some for me"

Matt enjoyed the day sailing with some friends and the kids and I spent lots of time outside (since we were driving each other crazy inside!).  

They always chill out a bit when they are outside so went for a much needed walk and they ran/ crawled  around the lagoons in the grass.

Visiting the Easter Bunny

We went to go visit the Easter bunny today.  There was supposed to be an egg hunt but the eggs were gone in minutes and we had just missed it.  Although there were no eggs, we did get to visit with the Easter bunny and get a few other treats.  Abby and Zack went to him without a problem but you can tell they are a tad uncomfortable by the looks on their faces:)

Giving the Easter bunny a little hug.

 Not exactly sure how they feel sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap:)

 Last year it was just Abby.  Even though Zack is already one, this is his first Easter. 

Shadow a Parent Night

Tonight we had conflicting schedules.  I had my Master's class and Matt had to meet with our group of homeowners so we can actually sell our house (DRAMA...to be continued) so we each took a kid with us to work tonight.

Zack helped Matt with his sales pitch to the home owners and they got some quality bonding time in while Abby attended her first college class and had a blast...she wants to go back.   She hung out with my Master's students while we had our faculty meeting at the next table over.  Luckily, my group got there early and she played pay-doh and entertained them.  Although, I don't think they got much done with her there:(.  She perused the book shelves and I am sure added some work for the librarian.   All in all she managed to stay busy for 3 hours and not be too much of a distraction.  I can't let her completely off the hook though.  Just as I thought we had made without any major disasters she had an accident ( a messy one)...UGGH!  I guess she isn't quite ready for college.  We'll work on getting potty training down first.

Random Pics

I think I am almost caught up for the family visits and birthday festivities except for a few random pictures.

 It seems like every time I turn around the kids have squirreled their way up into Matt's lap to read a book or play game on his phone and most recently look at animals on the computer (thanks G&G for the great idea!)

And I got a new fun editing app, instagram, on my phone so I messed around with a bunch of pictures.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

For my dad's 60th birthday he and my Uncle Mike were planning on going to the Padres game and decided to to invite the out-of-town brothers to join them.  I love that they all got together to celebrate and spend time together on a whim and I love this picture of the four Hughes boys!

We had our own celebrations while he was here visiting.   It was so fun to clebrate with hine and Zack on both of their very special birthdays.  

Matt and My dad went golfing at Ko'Olina to celebrate the big 60!

The kids and Grandpa sporting their Padres gear

Teaching Zack some bad habits: cigars and cribbage

Happy birthday Grandpa!  We love you <3.

 Playing with the kids in the pool.  Such a great Grandpa:)

Cousin Marion's Visit

Matt's mom's cousin, Marion who sang at our wedding came to visit with a friend and graciously took us out to dinner last week.  We took a stroll over to Roy's and had a real adult dinner.  

We had appetizers, and cocktails and great dinner and wine and dessert over the course of 2 hours.  The only problem was we had a 1 and a 2 year old with us!  For the most part they were really good but they certainly had their moments that only are magnified 10 fold when you are at a nice restaurant with family that you haven't seen forever enjoying  a fabulous meal and conversation.

Getting ready for our visitors:)

feeding the swan on the way over

desert for the birthday boy!

Stacey, Cousin Marion and Matt

& the kids