Happy Birthday Hatcher...You are officially 4 years old!

What a precious gift...a picture from the day we welcomed Hatcher to the world.



Hatcher's first celebration was at school. The boys and I made 24 cupcakes that I sent to school with them for an afternoon snack/celebration. Hatcher asked me if I was going to go and decorate his classroom and bring party favors. I told him I would see what I could do. So at the last minute on Friday afternoon, I took some personal time from work, drove to party city to get the party supplies and favors for both the school shin-dig as well as for his big planned party. I got to his school around 3 pm and he was super excited. He was just begining to hand out the cupcakes to his classmates...so I went down the hall and got Aidan and we had a mini birthday party for Hatcher. Afterwards the boys and I were off to pull together all the other essentials we needed for his big party at Monkey Joe's.





The morning of Hatcher's birthday and before the party, we all came down to the keeping room and let Hatcher open our presents to him as well as the presents that had come in the mail. We had even saved up his cards. Such a good big brother, he let Aidan help him open everything.







Finally it was time for the big hoorah! We had coordinated a party at Monkey Joe's, one of those indoor "bounce house" facilities. We figured it would be perfect being that it has been so cold in Atlanta lately and rainy...just as it was this very day - cold and rainy. But, I guess everyone else had the same idea. We were one of 30, yes that is right, THIRTY parties that day. We arrived around 10:30 so we could set up before the 11 party. Well, apparently during the busiest season, you don't get your actually party room until 1 hour AFTER your party starts. So everyone puts their gifts, coats, shoes, etc on a cart until the room is ready. There were already several parties going on when we arrived. The kids had a blast - none of them had any clue there was even an issue. I think most of the guests were okay as well - until the kids started asking for water (of course from running around for an HOUR!) but we hadn't yet set up. You get the picture...I was frustrated to say the least...but really trying to hold it together. I think I did a fair job...HA - fair at best. I didn't loose my temper - I just stopped talking. HA...but Hatcher had a great time. He loved playing with his friends.












All in all there were 11 kids there: Hatcher and Aidan, Haley and Tomy Smith, Owen Albert, Maddox Bayer, Sophia Estes and her cousin Berta, Madison and Carter Riley, Houston, and Ava Mei McMahon. All the kids had a blast. Sophia is still too little to get involved...but it was great to have them there with us to celebrate. When we finally did get the room, folks just migrated in. We had pizza, apple juice and soda for everyone. Then the big Spiderman cake. Hatcher had an absolute blast - which is what it is all about. I know it was stressful for me since I was reluctantly not in control of most of the party...and add to that the chaos of the environment in general...whew. That said, I can't believe my little man is 4. I just can't believe how fast he has grown. He is such a joy - such a love. I think he touches most of the people he meets. I am so super proud to be his mother.

Happy almost Birthday Hatcher

It is so hard to believe that my oldest son will be 4 years old tomorrow. Time has flown by. Hatcher is such a wonderful part of this family. He has an amazing and uplifting spirit. He continually amazes both me and Derek. He says whatever comes to mind and is just as sharp as a tack. He is already able to write his name, count to 30 and beyond, and recognizes letters and understands that they form sentences that are to be read. Sometimes when Derek or I put Hatcher to bed and try to skip portions of the book so that we can have some downtime before we hit the sheets too - he will call us out on skipping portions of text or pages. He loves to read and often reads his favorite books to Aidan. He helps us cook almost every night and on the weekends. He can chop bell peppers with me, crack an egg and stir anything. He is an amazing helper. He has figured out how to use all of our remotes, turn just about any electronic device on and loves playing games on Derek's iPod. I hope that as he continues to grow up we are the best parents we can be - he sure makes me want to be a better person and mother. I see so much of Derek and I in him and enjoy watching him learn and grow. He is a loving big brother and really just enjoys being Aidan's big brother.




Happy Birthday Hatcher Datcher Doo...we love you so much and are so grateful to have you in our lives. I am so excited to watch you grow...I just wish it didn't happen so fast...sometimes I feel like these past 4 years were crammed into a weeks time.

A little bit of snow...just a bit

Well, we had our first official snow of the season on Friday, January 8th. The boys couldn't wait to go outside and build a snowman...little did they know that it was extremely dry snow that had fallen on top of a thin sheet of ice. The snow wasn't wet enough, nor did we have enough of it to even make a snowman. But the little bit of snow we did get stuck around for almost an entire week as it was so cold here in Atlanta. I can't imagine what our power/gas bills will be for January. It has been one very cold winter so far. At any rate, we didn't spend too much time outside...it was too cold. But for the 20-30 minutes we were outside we had a good time. I got some great photos of the boys and Derek checking out the snowfall around the entire yard. I do hope we have a more substantial snowfall this winter...we will just have to wait and see. I am growing a bit tired of the extreme cold. Hope you are all fairing well this winter.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone. I hope you were all able to ring in the new year with some fun. We sure did - with what has now become an annual tradition here...Derek and Cynthia and Neil and Ramona come over to help celebrate New Years. Roxie and Jim (and Hilton) were here as well and most of us made it to midnight. After a week of staying up late, it took a while but Hatcher and Aidan finally went to bed around 9 30 or there about. Roxie was exhausted and called it night around 11. Ramona, who had Sophia with her, may have dozed off while laying down with Sophia trying to get her to sleep. The rest of us troopers held out until midnight and beyond. I will fess up that Jim initiated some drunk dialing and some crazy voice mails were left on many a machine that night. All in good fun - we had a blast. BUT...we forgot to shoot off the fireworks that Derek bought. So, the evening of New Years Day, we braved the cold to watch Derek light some fireworks. The boys LOVED it. Hilton even enjoyed watching them - although he and Roxie moved inside to be warm. Here are the best pictures from the New Years Day night - the very chilly first night of 2010.









That night we tried to get the boys to bathe together. Hatcher was so looking forward to it. He LOVES little kids and helping with babies. But, Hilton was just not interested. Maybe it was the escorting from Hatcher; maybe it was the loud screams from Aidan jumping in the water; or maybe it was just "not home"...Hilton just wasn't interested. But - I did get this great photo of their butts!



Saying goodbye is never fun. We had so much with Roxie, Jim and Hilton. The boys already miss spending time with Hilton and ask when we are going to Aunt Roxie and Uncle Jim's house. Hopefully we can make it there this spring...or maybe even meet up with them in the Bahamas this summer! We shall see!

Family fun continues...all the youngest cousins together again

The holiday fun didn't end for us at Christmas...uh uh - no sir! The family fun continued right on into the New Year. First of all, with the Colorado gang still in town we had to make the most of seeing them. So, Sunday after Christmas we went to Marma and P'Bo's house for some KFC and left-over pies! Fantabulous. It had been a while since either Derek or I had eaten KFC. Hatcher, Aidan and Zach once again were chasing each other around the house and having a blast. It was hilarious to see them all being crazy and thinking of Marma having those three boys...Chad, Derek and Jared running around like that. Too fun.



Monday it was just the boys and me at home. They were off until the new year - so naturally I was off with them. Derek on the other hand had to go into the office. He was out so much with his mystery illness for two weeks around Halloween that he just felt it wouldn't be fair. And...all worked out for the best. He bound a huge deal and was able to work from home some additional days to help out with entertaining and cleaning. :) On Wednesday, Chad, Cathy and the kids came back to our house for the night. It was super nice of them - considering they were litterally living out of their suitcases and staying at 5 different homes to accomodate all the family members. It was great bonding time for the cousins. Once again, Hatcher, Aidan and Zach were inseperable. They wore each other out! Although I did get this priceless picture of them in the tub!



Time for surprise number 3...Roxie, Jim and Hilton were able to come down to celebrate the holiday with us too. They drove straight down after work on Wednesday and were able to overlap some with the Colorado gang's visit. It was such a treat to have all the Kemmerlin cousins in one place. It has been a long time. Derek and I got Grandaddy Wayne and Abuelita a webcam for Christmas. They LOVE it! So when everyone was here, we got on the computer and did some video chatting. I got some of the craziness on film too.




I also was lucky enough to get a photo of all the cousins on the fireplace hearth before everyone headed out. I even got one with the ancestorial links...the Kemmerlin kids! What fun and so many great memories!




Our day of firsts didn't end with a historical family photo...no sir...baby Hilton - who is turning one year old tomorrow (Happy Birthday Hilton!) was in need of a haircut. Now wait - don't judge me yet. I wasn't the one who said he needed a haircut...and if you recall photos of Hatcher - I should have listened to Derek and not waited until AFTER his first birthday and cut his sooner but I refused. (I have added a picture of Hatcher for reference and memory.) At any rate, it was awesome to be a part of Hilton's big day...and may I just say, he did amazing. I had to hold Hatcher because he wouldn't sit in the chair and then he just kept screaming while his hair was being cut. Hilton went in and sat still like a pro - and we captured it all on camera and video. Here are my favorite photos - Hilton's first haircut - at Snip-Its with Adela...she's our favorite!






Here is Hatcher as of his first birthday. Notice the length of his locks and the dire need that they be at least trimmed. I was just NOT going to cut his hair before his 1st birthday...LOL. And with Aidan - I loved those curls and he had (and still does) such fine blond hair - I hated to cut it at all. A picture of him post-first birthday and pre-first cut shown below. Look at my once pudgey little men!