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Hamilton Newsletter
October 2014
FAMILY: We enjoyed a wonderful October this
year. It was amazing how good the weather was! The first weekend in October
Uncle Burton came to buy our trailer. It was great to see him, meet his fiancé Natalie,
and see Stellar, Camilla, & Love. We are so sad to see our beloved trailer
go, but hoping to get a new, smaller one that will still be fun J We also enjoyed listening to
conference that weekend and driving down to St. George to see the finish of the
St. George marathon. Heidi got to cheer an old college roommate from Alaska (who
she hadn’t seen for over 10 years) & see her daughter. We also cheered on a
few ladies from our ward who finished the marathon. We watched the 2nd
session of conference at the Hamiltons and went to the park afterwards. It was
a nice weekend! J The 2nd weekend in October, we had a yard sale!
It’s the first yard sale we’ve ever done & we think it was a success! The
weather was great and we made a couple hundred dollars. The Price family joined
in and it was fun to hang out with them for the morning. The 15th was the annual Wave of
Light in honor of pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. The weather was a
lot better this year and there was a beautiful song sung. Heidi shared Link’s
story and we had hot chocolate & cookies & then let go of balloons. The
next day – the 16th – we headed to Capitola, California!!! (we
surprised the girls – they didn’t know till that morning) Heidi’s good friend &
fellow SIDS mom, Anna Packard, told Heidi about her in-laws beach house there
& they generously let us stay free of charge!! And it worked out well, because
the girls ended up having a full week off from school for fall break. The drive
there was long – 15 hours including driving up to Los Altos to get the key –
but the girls were really good. McKinley helped out a lot with Noelle & we
bought a new DVD player for the van (the old one was broken) and mom bought
some new DVDs so they stayed pretty entertained. The Packards were wonderful to
meet – so very sweet & generous (and fun to see watching the Giants game). We
got to the beach house about 11pm on the 16th and had a good nights’
sleep & were ready for the beach the next day! Some fun memories from this
amazing trip: Getting to hold a starfish that a woman found on the beach &
let the girls handle before putting it back in the ocean, seeing sea otters, tiny
crabs, and lots of birds, flying kites, playing in the waves for hours,
building sand castles, making Ireland into a sand mermaid, picking up hundreds
of seashells, seeing Noelle eat sand J, meeting other children there –
including twin girls, staying up late to put together a 500 piece puzzle of
cupcakes, watching a movie about a princess who helps endangered mythical
creatures, playing with dominos, breakfast in bed, Jason & Heidi playing an
80’s quiz game, attending the Santa Cruz ward and enjoying meeting people and
feeling the spirit, going on a walk out on the Capitola Wharf and then along a
trail – enjoying and photographing flowers, spiders, birds, and beautiful homes
and yards, going to Monterrey and playing at the Dennis the Menace Park and stopping
by a fruit stand on the way back, going to Gayle’s bakery – way crowded but way
yummy, watching all the surfers, having
root beer floats, more beach fun, eating ice cream cones from the shop on the
corner (mom dropping hers in the sand), taking silhouette pictures by the waves
as the sun went down on our last evening in Capitola. It was a wonderful
vacation and one we think we’ll remember for a lifetime!! We can’t say thank
you enough to the Packards for letting us stay. The drive back home was another
long one, but we got home at 11 and were able to get up and ready for school
the next day. That weekend we worked in
the side yard – cleaning out our garden and moving rocks. We had about 6 huge
bowls FULL of tomatoes – mostly pear and cherry tomatoes, and about 10
watermelon and 10 pumpkins and a bunch of onions. We had to freeze a bunch of
it and give lots away! Very yummy, though! And it was so neat to carve our very
own pumpkins! That evening, the 25th, we headed to the Aquatic
Center for their Spooktacular Event. The girls got to wear their costumes, play
games & get lots of candy! The 26th was Kezia’s 5th birthday!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEZIA! See her section for details. That next Monday, the girls’
school had a Starry Starry Night event where they made siluette puppets, Moon
Dough, and rockets – and they got to look at the moon through expensive
telescopes! At the end of the month we
got to have some visitors passing through! Grandma Devenish, Aunt Deb &
Aunt Lurae stopped by on their way to & from St. George for lunch and a
visit and Grandma Potts & GG Tew also stopped by on the way to & from
St. George! It was wonderful to see them! Halloween night was perfect for
trick-or-treating! Daddy took the girls for 3 and a half hours! They had a
great time and got LOTS of candy!
HEIDI: With
October being Pregnancy & Infant loss awareness month as well as SIDS awareness,
Heidi felt strongly that she needed to write specifically about her experience
with Link and the things she is changing for Noelle. She got a lot of positive
feedback and over 16,000 views on her post. She really is thankful that her
message is getting out. She enjoyed visiting with her old roommate after the St.
George marathon – it was great to see her. Heidi started a new health “challenge”
at the end of the month – called the Diet Game. Cindy decided to join in, too.
It’s a lot more detailed than the 8-week challenge, and it’s based on teams,
but so far Heidi is feeling pretty good about it, even though it’s hard. She
has been running with Diane a couple times a week in the mornings as well and has enjoyed that
time. The beach vacation was exactly what Heidi needed at the time. It was
relaxing and wonderful to make memories! Heidi was released from Primary this
month. She misses Ireland & her class, but is also enjoying her time with
Noelle & Jason in Sunday School. She is still in charge of publicity for
Relief Society and enjoys putting together the posters and flyers. This month
was a “make & take” night & she made a felt flower pillow and started
some holiday blocks.
McKINLEY:
-McKinley is still doing well in
school & enjoying 3rd grade. She spends a lot of time at school
with 4H as well!
-On the 15th, McKinley
went to Aiden Anderson’s birthday party. It was Harry Potter themed and she
came home with a cape, a wand, a book of spells, and treats.
-McKinley enjoyed the beach house and
the beach. She loved to walk up and down the shore and find seashells. She also
would bring her notebook so she could draw the things she saw – flowers, birds,
etc. She was excited about the 500 piece cupcake puzzle at first, but then wanted
to give up. It was hard! But after a break, she worked hard with her dad &
mom & finished the whole thing!
-We took McKinley to the doctor’s
this month for her allergies. She has also been saying she hasn’t been
breathing well. Dr. Polson said they can be related & prescribed some medicine
for her to take.
-It was red ribbon week at the end of
the month and McKinley had fun wearing a mustache, getting to wear her pjs and
making her hair crazy!
-McKinley was so sweet for Kezia’s
birthday. She was up till 11pm – wrapping presents & making her a cute
card. She gave her her Amercian Girl Doll & wanted to giver her her
scooter. She also made scarf for her. So thoughtful!
-For Halloween, McKinley wore the
costume that Tiarra gave us – she was a greek fairy. Lots of people thought she
was an angel or a princess, but no matter what she was beautiful!
-One day mom was fixing her hair
& she said it looked kind of “Kidly” – as in, not cool.
-In the car on the way somewhere,
Noelle was crying. Ireland said “MOM- Noelle is crying!” (she likes to inform
her of this frequently). Mom said “yes, I know.” Ireland said “Well, fix it!!”
-One night the girls were not going
to bed & there was fighting & Ireland came out crying. Mom asked what
was wrong & Ireland said “I just know that Heavenly Father is so mad at me!”
Mom talked to her & apparently, she had drawn poo.
-On the last Sunday that mom taught
Ireland’s primary class, Ireland turned to mom & said “I will miss your
lessons…” That made mom feel good & she was about to comfort her when
Ireland continued “… you know, because you give out skittles.”
-One day “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga
came on the radio. Ireland said “she has a language of her own.”
-Ireland LOVED the beach. She was
really in her element. She would run and skip on the beach. She would dance in
the waves. She would skip everywhere. She would yell at the ocean. She would
dance and dance. We loved watching her. Unfortunately, we tried to be diligent about
sunscreen, but she had a spot on her back that got pretty sunburned L
-For crazy hair day on red ribbon
week, mom made Ireland’s hair into a Potato Head. Unfortunately, she was
complaining about it hurting her head so we had to take it off right before she
went to school.
-For Kezia’s birthday, Ireland gave
her a random marker that didn’t have a lid.
-For Halloween, Ireland was a
beautiful bride. But she wasn’t that happy about it. She said “This is gross.
That means you have to kiss someone.” Mom told her she could be a dead bride
& she replied “that’s even grosser!”
-One day Noelle was playing with
Kezia’s book order from preschool. Kezi said “You can’t let Noelle play with
that!” Mom said “Never?” And Kezia said “not until Jesus comes again.”
-Another day one of her projects got
ripped & she was really upset. Mom tried to comfort her & she said “Only
money will make me feel better.” MmmmmHmmmm…
-Kezia was telling daddy that she
kept finding pennies on our floor. Daddy said “really?” She said “Yeah!! Our
house is like a wishing well!”
-Kezia bought something with her
penny points and afterwards threw a HUGE fit because they didn’t give her a receipt!
(she has some concept about receipts being worth something)
-We were taking Kezia’s friend,
Adelaide, home and she sat on Kezia’s carseat. Kezia was NOT happy about that
& started crying. Adelaide moved to Ireland’s car seat & Kezia looked
at her & said “Now isn’t that refreshing to sit there?”
-When we made it to California &
were at the beach, we warned the girls about the dangers of the ocean. Kezia does
not like things that scare her, so for most of the first day, she just stayed
way on the beach and gathered sea shells. Mom asked her why she wouldn’t even
put her feet in the water & she said “it’s gonna wash me away!” But after
that first day & she “got her feet wet,” she had lots of fun in the waves. And
when mom said to come in, she said “But I don’t want to miss any of the waves!”
J
-It was Kezia’s month for a lunch
date & she chose Denny’s. Mom was talking with her about things & asked
her what made her happy. She replied “My Birthday!.... (pause)… I mean, that
God is all around us.”
-One day Kezi had a “store” for mom.
She made lots of drawings & put each
one in an envelope & let mommy “buy them for free!”
-For the Aquatic Center Halloween
party, Kezia wore the Queen dress that Ireland wore last year. We were running
out the door & mom told Kezi to put shoes on. Well, when we got there, mom
found out that Kezi had chose cowgirl boots to wear with her pretty queen
outfit J
-HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY
KEZIA!! Kezia’s birthday was on a Sunday this year, so it was pretty mellow,
but she still had a wonderful time. For her meals, she wanted Krave cereal for
breakfast, chicken nuggets for lunch, and homemade corn dogs for dinner. She
got lots of Frozen gifts – nail polish, an activity book, a hat & gloves &
her big gift – Elsa & Anna dresses! She was so excited. Mom even made her a
Frozen cake & cupcakes with the rings she wanted. She got lots of Happy
Birthday songs and she even wore a “birthday girl” ribbon to church J She also got a bike-riding Barbie from
Grandma Devenish and a Hello Kitty bowling set from Aunt Keeley! In the
evening, dad spent quite a lot of time making the Olaf Piniata that she wanted.
It was fun to smash & eat candy!
-For Halloween, Kezia decided to wear
her Elsa dress that she got for her birthday. She felt bad that she couldn’t
wear it to preschool that day, but she did get to wear it to Walmart &
people pointed & smiled & one girl said “Hi Elsa! I love your hair!”
Kezia was a trooper & went the whole 3 and a half hours of trick-or-treating
without complaining!
LINK:
It was
neat to get the CD of pictures from our photoshoot last month & post them
& tell people about the miracle of the rainbow. We can’t wait to print the
pictures. We thought about you a lot on Halloween, wondering what we would have
dressed you up as & how much you would have loved to go trick or treating
& get candy. We love you & miss you forever.
-This girl is half a year already! She is truly SO much fun!
She is so interactive and loves to GRAB GRAB GRAB!
-She is getting to be such a strong sitter – she hardly ever
topples over. She has just started to reach forward while she’s sitting. We
think she’ll get into crawling position soon!
-Noelle has started doing the cough-cry thing.
-She clearly will say dadadada or mmmmmmaaa when she’s tired or
upset.
-One day mommy was making French toast & had Noelle in
the Bumbo. Mom thought she was far enough away but suddenly Noelle cried out
and mom realized she had burned the bottom of her little foot L We no longer are using the bumbo.
-We got the mirror/band/lights toy from the basement &
Noelle has really taken to it. She hits the drums, piano and makes the guitar
go, too. It’s so fun to watch her.
-Noelle continues to do very well with solids! She will
usually eat an entire package during our meals!
-Noelle had her 6 –month wellness visit this month. She went
from the 12th percentile to the 36th! (yup – she’s lovin’
those solids!) Her height is the 12th percentile & head is 100%.
She had to get 3 shots L but did pretty good.
-Still no teeth, but she definitely acts in pain sometimes.
We hope one pops through next month!
-Noelle still sleeps right next to us in the crib – strapped into
the Guardian Sleeper and with the Snuza on. She is usually up at about 10pm for
a feed & then at 3am.
-She still rolls over from her tummy to her back & from
her back to her side, but not all the way from her back to her tummy yet. She
is enjoying tummy time a LITTLE more & has started trying to get her bum up
in the air.
-Noelle has really started to take notice of Sydney &
other dogs. She gets excited when they come near & she likes to pet her fur
:)
