Grandpa and Grandma come to visit

It's been a while since we've seen Grandpa and Grandma; so they decided to come for a long weekend in March! They flew in Thursday afternoon and stayed at an Air BnB right around the corner from our house. We spent a lot of time playing cards (Nertz was the main game but Grandpa taught the girls how to play Free Cell as well!)

Haleigh opened her birthday presents!

Grandpa picked out this dance mat...we all had to try it out!

Friday the girls had off from school for a teacher development day so we had a leisurely morning and then went to The Flatstick Pub. I just learned about this little place...they had an indoor mini-golf course, a few other random games and pizza. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, which meant we could play the games as much as we wanted! 

Once we were finished here, we decided to get a little fresh air and play at Cordata Park. It's one of the girls' favorite parks and they can spend way more time playing than I am ever wanting to!

On Saturday we planned on going for a hike; the Chuckanut 50K was happening so we made sure to stay clear of that area! We decided to go to the Lookout Mountain trailhead. It's always impressive to look at some of the trails that the girls can hike! 

We went out for dinner Saturday night to a local restaurant called Infusion Cuisine. The menu had an assortment of Asian, Italian, and Mexican cuisine. The owners speak Spanish and were so impressed with the girls' Spanish. (She said she wished she'd known earlier on in the meal they spoke Spanish because then she would have spoken to them the entire meal!!) 

Sunday we took Grandma and Grandpa to church with us, and then we had my parents, Kim and Thane, and Kelsey over for lunch. 

Monday the girls had school. Kelley and I went for a run and then we spent the day at home. Annaliese went on a field trip to the Whatcom Museum and we've been working hard on Lydia's behavior at school so we thought it was important for them to still go to school. But we also recognized that spending time with Grandpa and Grandma is important so Annaliese and Haleigh stayed home on Tuesday. We went for a walk, played games, and just enjoyed our time together. Grandpa and Grandma flew home early Wednesday morning so we didn't see them at all on Wednesday. 

Grandma taught us how to use watercolor pencils!

Birthday fun

 We tossed around a few different ideas for Haleigh's birthday party and ended up having a bowling party with the girls in her class. They were all able to come and several parents joined us as well. These kids have been in school together for several years and because of all the covid protocols, there were a few that I'd heard about but never met! It was fun to watch them interacting with one another and it's always fun to get to know the parents as well!

Lydia

Auntie Kelsey and Owen

Haleigh

Mallory

Haleigh and Noelle

Sophia, Sawyer, and Taylor studying the scoreboard!

We did this party on March 12, which happened to be two years after the start of the pandemic and the first day that masks weren't required at indoor events here in Whatcom County. It was an added bonus to hang out with everyone and actually see their beautiful faces! 

Haleigh is 8

 As I do every year when one of the girls' birthday rolls around, I can't help but think back to when they were born. With Haleigh, I just can't forget those long thirteen days past her due date. It seemed she would never be ready...and then all of a sudden, she was ready. 

Haleigh has been counting down the days until her eighth birthday. She's pretty sure that since she learned so much in 2021, she'll be a lot smarter in 2022. (Her words, not mine.) I'm pretty sure she's right, though. 

Here's the quick synopsis of life as an 8-year old: 

Sleeping- Haleigh and Lydia share a room. They typically go to bed around 7:30ish. Haleigh is usually the first one up, somewhere around 6:30. She sleeps with a variety of stuffies in bed with her and likes the night light on. I frequently find her in Lydia's bed, especially on windy nights when Haleigh doesn't like to sleep near the window.

Clothes: Most of her clothes are either a 7/8 or a sz small. She's wearing mostly hand-me-downs at this point and some of them have shrunk. She's got her own style and likes to wear clothes where the top and bottom are the same color. She won't wear jeans. And would wear her winter coat all the time if we let her! Shoes are a size 13. 

Activities: Haleigh has a variety of things that she will do, but not any singular favorite activity. She's content to play by herself and I will often find her in her room after school playing dolls or legos. She's recently started reading more and likes to read before bed but doesn't just pick up a book to read for fun. Haleigh is taking a contemporary dance class once a week and also takes piano lessons. She loves to listen to music on Alexa and make up her own dance moves and will also spend lots of time in 'The Jazzy Music Room' which is a website the school music teacher put together. 

Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite School Activity: Recess

Favorite Thing to Play at Home: the Tetris puzzle

I love this smile...and she seems to be losing teeth much faster than they are growing back in!

Haleigh is thoughtful, quiet at school but full of all sorts of fun thoughts and ideas at home, loves singing and dancing, and takes everything very literally. You can just watch her mind work and she takes in the things around her and processes what they mean. She asks really good questions, but doesn't always care to hear the answer!