Hayden Turns 5

I sure do feel like we celebrated this event for a week straight. But, Hayden my boy is certainly worth it. Besides, 5 is a big one!

The week of his actual birthday I did pretty good as far as tears go. But the weeks leading up to that were pretty tough. Throw hormones into the mix and I was a sobbing mess at times. 5 just seems like a huge milestone to me. He's a big boy now and will start Kindergarten next year! Sigh. He's growing up. But, I'm excited for the next phase of his life, too!

First the celebration with his preschool friends. He celebrated with his body collage and presenting it to his class, cookie cake, and story time with Mommy! The body collage was so fun. The teachers traced out his little body on a paper and we filled the entire thing up with things Hayden loves. We had fun working on that together as a family. I got to read TWO stories to Hayden's class, too. I could barely talk and they told me I could reschedule but they also said how he was so excited for my turn to read and had been talking about it for a long time. Yeah, no way I could let him down!!




The Saturday before his birthday we celebrated with a Transformer theme party at our house! I had intended to do it at Smith Ranch but when we went to put our deposit they had changed things a bit and I wasn't as fond of the new setup. Not to mention, H really wanted a house party yet again! This was my 7th party to host at our house and I have to say it wasn't nearly as stressful as all the others and I was much more organized this time. It actually went really smooth and I might be getting the hang of it!
























The morning of Hayden's actual birthday we got up early and cooked him breakfast and sang happy birthday of course!




After Daddy went to work we went to Monkey Joe's and met some friends there. Once preschool is in session we don't have many days to do fun things like this so it was certainly a treat.

Daddy left work early and we went to buy the only present Hayden wanted.... a watch! LOL. It just seems funny to me seeing as how he can't tell time yet. But, that's what he wanted and that's what he got.

After that we went to eat Cici's pizza. He LOVES that place. I know some don't love it but we actually think the pizza is pretty good so off we went. He got some free birthday tokens there and then more free tokens at Chuck E Cheese which is where we went next. It was the perfect day for H! The simplicity of a little 5 year old, I love it.





Happy 5th birthday my sweet baby boy! You made me a Momma for the very first time and changed my life for the better. I never knew how much being your Mom would suit me. Some of my happiest days were your baby days and they are forever etched into my being.

You are FULL of personality and while it's not always easy wrangling that "full of energy" personality, I love you for it so much! You are ALL BOY and what fun it's been raising a little boy. Rough and tumble is your name but so sweet you can be. I love you more then my heart can even handle and I look forward to the next phase of your precious life!

Thank you GOD for this amazing little boy!!!

An End of An Era, Or Is It?

As Sawyer reaches almost 10 months old, I have been reflecting on how when Emerson was this age, I got pregnant with Sawyer. That just blows my mind b/c I realize how much of a baby she still really was. And then when he was born, she had blossomed into a full blown toddler. I had spent half of her life pregnant!

I've also been realizing how for the last three years, with the exception of a month here and there, I have been pregnant or breastfeeding! For the last three weeks, Sawyer has been fully weaned and I am no longer nursing.

It was kind of sad for me I must say. It was our special time and allowed for he and I to bond greatly! But, at the same time I know 100% that it was time to wean. He was biting all.the.time and getting too distracted and I wasn't making much milk anymore. So when I'm feeling sad about it, I remind myself of those things! And, it helps! :)

We have some big milestones coming up with the boys in our family! As I've already mentioned in a previous post, Hayden is turning 5. And, three weeks after Christmas, Sawyer will be 1!

There was most certainly a time when I would have been excited about everyone getting older. And, I'm still excited to see what the next chapter will bring for each child. BUT, it's all seemingly going so fast. Too fast at times. It's weird how I went from being excited for everyone being older so we can do more family things together to wanting to hold onto it for as long as possible. The kids are SO cute and small right now. I love all of their stages.

Sawyer being a baby couldn't be cuter. I love babies!! Emerson is freaking killing me constantly with her two year old, cute self. When she says "I a big girl" I want to squeeze her so tight and most times I do just that. And Hayden with his little, almost 5 year old self. He's SO handsome and I love his voice and cute little boy body! I just love these innocent ages! I'm going to cherish sippy cups, diapers, and gummy vitamins for as long as possible.

So many Mom's with older children tell me these are the best years and I think they are onto something. Big kids, big problems. I know one day when they are school age things will change greatly. So, slow down kids!

By the way, Emerson is almost fully potty trained. Boy, that was pretty easy. We are still working on number 2 training but she's almost there and completely pee trained! One down, one to go.... until, baby number 4? GASP!!!

Of course, I swore till I was blue in the face I was done at three. How could I not be? Sawyer's pregnancy and post partum period almost did me in. And, I still struggle with physical stuff every other month that I never did before him. To say I'm a bit traumatized by pregnancy is an understatement. BUT, I was this SAME way after Hayden's pregnancy and then enough time passed to where I forgot and the desire for another child outweighed the fear.

Are we having a fourth? The answer is unknown. I always said no. I also always said that I wouldn't go for 4 if it was only in hopes of having another girl. Well, Sawyer was a game changer. I'm almost excited at the thought of 3 boys. Crazy right? I quickly realized once he was born, gender means ZILCH. I love that kid more then I thought possible. I love them all that way and I know I'd love a fourth just as much regardless of gender. I'm open to another boy. It really and truly wouldn't matter. Since I feel that way, I feel like that means a fourth is a possibility. Just a possibility. (We've already decided if 4 ever did happen, we would absolutely NOT find out gender.) I'm sure if my Mom ever reads this she'd keel over!!

Some days I feel 100% done. Others there's a small feeling that maybe I'm not. I'm not even desiring another child or close to it at this point but I'm not ruling it out completely. Never say never is my motto.

One thing is certain, I want to give Sawyer his time and some time for my body to have a break. So if we did have a fourth, it wouldn't be for a while. What's crazy is Kris always said HECK NO to one more. Then one day we were talking about it and he said he was going to talk to God about it when he went hunting. That's his "quiet, talk to God in perfect peace" time. He came home and I asked him what he felt. I, even if the desire came over me for another, would want him to be on board. I know if I wanted it bad enough, he would do that for me but I would much rather him want another too. That's important to me. He told me that he got the feeling God was telling him to be open to it when we Sawyer gets a little older.

Honestly, right now I'm loving our family the way it is and not being pregnant. And I don't know if I'll ever be ready to go through carrying and birthing another child as last time was intense! But, we are open to the possibility in a year or so.

For now, I'm loving my life just the way it is!!! It does feel like with Sawyer almost being one years old, it's the end of an era....

Or is it?

The Oppermann Princess

As I walk into Emerson's room after her nap and pick her up in my arms:

Me: Did you have a good nap?
Ems: Yes!
Me: Are you Mommy's little princess?
Ems: No, Daddy's Pri Pri (what Daddy calls her since she has trouble saying princess)
Ems: And Hayden's Pri Pri
Me: And Mommy and Sawyer's pri pri, too?
Ems: Yes!
Me: Well then, I guess you are the Oppermann princess!

After having posted about baby Sawyer and big boy Hayden, I had to post about our girl! As much as I have embraced raising boys, I cherish my daughter just as much! There is an unspoken bond between her and I. It's in the moments when I'm painting her toes and fingers or when I'm doing her hair, and when we are cuddling or when she wants me to give her some lip gloss. It's in all the fun girl things!

Emerson lately loves to pretend with her babies. She'll put them down for a nap in her bed or Sawyer's crib. She'll put them in Sawyer's car seat too and give them their bottles. Yesterday she wanted to bring her baby out and about with us and in the car she told me we needed to take the baby to the doctor.

I'm amazed at how many mannerisms of Hayden's she has. He has surely rubbed off on her in many ways! And, there are so many things that Hayden did when he was younger that she does exactly too. Even the way they say Hayden's name is identical. She loves to mess with Hayden sometimes. He'll be working hard on building something or really into playing with a certain something, and when he's not looking or she gets the chance, she'll knock it down or take it from him and run really fast. It's kind of funny but H takes it so seriously and gets really upset. She can be "that little sister."

She is talking up a storm and is loving school. She has one cute little blonde friend in her class that she plays with a lot. Her name is Sophie and Emerson always calls her "Sopie" without the "h". It's so cute! I always get great reports from the teacher's on her school days. We are having no issues.


Emerson is into Sawyer a lot lately. Sometimes she is too rough because she doesn't know better so I have to remind her a lot not to lay on him. She loves to give him kisses and hugs and eat his snacks, too!

This girl eats all day long. I swear 5 minutes after breakfast, I hear "snack Mama!" Actually, I hear that all.day.long. I am in love with the way she says "Love you too Mama!" Ahhh, melt! 1 of 3 teeth that still hadn't come in is popping through now. I can't believe she is almost 2.5 and still teething! It's inevitable that when Sawyer has gone #2, so has she! I swear they are on the same schedule!





Speaking of that, we've recently started potty training. I would say she's been ready for a while now but I hadn't. But, I'm carving out the time to dedicate to it and so far she has half of it down. If I don't see any progress on the other half in the next four days or so I might take some time off and try again later.

No doubt, this girl loves her Mama! I love it. She most always wants me for the big stuff like being upset, sick, or overly tired. If she's doing something she shouldn't be, most of the time if you just love on her she'll stop. She's a cuddler and I enjoy that so much. We'll just snuggle and I'll scratch her arm which she loves like me or I'll rub her back. Her favorite word right now is "No." Gotta love that! Girl loves her Daddy too and any time I talk to him on the phone, she wants to talk to him, too. She asks often to "call Daddy."





She's so goofy, too. She loves to try to lick me and thinks it's hysterical to run away and giggle loudly when I'm trying to dress in her in the mornings. I love that puffy, pink cheeked face when she first wakes up! And when she folds those sweet, precious hands together at night when we do prayers, I could eat her up. Seriously. The precious words "hi Jeez, hi Pop pop!" make me a pile of mush.

I can't get enough of her, the way she runs, laughs, her sweet little voice and those cute blonde little pigtails. Eeee! My girl. I love her so much and thank God for my one daughter all the time!

Halloween 2011, Party of 5 style

Not only was this Sawyer's very first Halloween, it was also our first Halloween as a family of 5!!!

One afternoon when my neighbor (and sweet friend) and I were shopping in Crazy 8 together, we discovered that we both had plans for our baby boys to dress as pumpkins for Halloween! Sawyer was going to wear Hayden's very first Halloween pumpkin costume.

Sarah had this great idea to pull both boys in a wagon that was decorated with hay, corn stalk, leaves and some small baby pumpkins. It was a pumpkin patch (on wheels) and so adorable. She did a great job on decorating and the boys looked perfect!

Sawyer and Willie are becoming fast friends and love to stare at each other and occasionally pull each others hair! All in good, curious baby boy fun of course!




































The kids loved the Halloween season this year. We had a lot of fun going to the "spooky store" to pick out costumes, sending our Halloween pen pal packages, visiting the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins with neighbors, Halloween parties at school, making smores, toasting pumpkin seeds and trick or treating and seeing all of our neighborhood friends!

We will truly miss this place when we move!

Kids, ya'll have made Halloween night so much better since having have you! The innocence, the laughter, the unsure faces when walking up to a creepily decorated house, the joy when seeing familiar faces and the chocolate faces...it all brings me back to childhood and I can still hardly believe Kris and I have three beautiful children to do this all with now. We were talking about how blessed we are after we got you all down to bed Halloween night! I thank God for all of you all.the.time and don't ever forget it! My life would be so empty without you and your Father and I count you all as the greatest gifts I could have ever received. I love you guys so much!

Next up.... H's 5th birthday and Thanksgiving! Then, Christmas one month later and three weeks after that, Sawyer's first birthday! Wow, it's going to be very busy around the holiday season for the rest of time!