Getting Big...

Why do they have to grow so fast?!

No More Status Quo

When you're too smart for your own good so your parents and teacher come up with a plan to trick you into doing more than status quo...turns out Carli rediscovered her love of reading.

In the 4th Grade, each kid has a 9 Week AR Goals. When Carli knew her goal, she would space out her reading and read just enough to achieve the goal. Basically she flew under the radar. Keith and I knew she could do more but b/c she could she did. So a simple Parent/Teacher Conference and request to keep her in the dark about her point goal has her fretting that she won't have enough points! The 9 weeks isn't over until first of March and her AR Goal is actually only 30 points...so she's proving our point that she can do more if/when she is motivated. 

One Year...

How did this happen so fast?

Our Sweet Maggie

Maggie, Maggie, Maggie...

What do I really need to say to the 4th kid?  I'm sorry?  :)

With all of our pregnancies, there was an element of stress and concern, but those seemed to multiply with you.  Honestly, we were frightened that you wouldn't make it, and we fought and we prayed for 9 very long months.  The time came for your delivery, and there was part of us that still didn't believe it was actually happening.  From the day of your delivery to now, it's been a wild ride as a family of 6.  There's nothing easy about it, but we love each other, and we make it work.  I hope that we can give you the attention that you need, but at the same time, I know you will understand that the world doesn't revolve around you and that you have to pull your own weight, which is a good thing.  You have three awesome siblings to help you navigate this world, and the best Mom that you could ever ask for.  You are blessed beyond measure.  With any luck, your mom and I will actually learn a thing or two about raising kids with the first 3, so we'll be at the top of our game for you!

 It's been a blast getting to know you over the last year.  Just recently, your personality has really begun to show, and it's so much fun.  Now that you're mobile, there's no stopping you!  You love music and seem to have some amazing coordination when playing with toys.  I think the biggest struggle we have is your dependence on Mom.  If she's around, no one else will do...but you do great when she's not around.  You have little flashes of a temper when things don't go your way, which we hope you grow out of!  There's a lot of life out in front of you, and I see a boldness in you to go get it!

Needless to say, we love you very much, and we're thrilled to have added you to the family this year.  Your siblings love you very, very much too.  You will always have a ton of support and love, sometimes probably more than you want, but that's family.  Happy Birthday, Maggie!!

With Lots of Love,

Daddy

Maggie's One Year Stats:

29 inches tall

18.7 lbs 

18.5 head

Student of the Month - Ms. Carli

Big Sister came home with the Student of the Month honor this afternoon! We are excited to face the second half of Fourth Grade. The first half was a bit challenging because growing up is hard! But with the New Year has come new determination and a positive attitude...and for that (and her amazing teachers) we are most grateful!

Extra Naggy & Pappy Time

Naggy and Pappy came back to help us celebrate Maggie's first birthday early by being here for her one year pictures.  The girls were still out of school, so everyone ate up all the extra time with Naggy and Pappy!  We did two puzzles, read lots of books, watched some Kids Baking Challenges, lots of snuggles and giggles.  Even did a little baking!  We treasure all our extra time with Naggy and Pappy!

12 Days of Christmas - Days 7-11

Want to teach your kids how much fun it is to give to others...tell them they need to buy their teachers their favorite snacks and drinks to go along with their Day 7 gift! They took their mission very seriously. We stopped at a minimum of 10 gas stations looking for one specific favorite drink and the giddiness this morning was pretty fun for me to watch too. 😁 No prodding for a picture or eye rolling to speak of!

Day 8 already! We made some snickerdoodle bread to go along with our pumpkin bread this yr. Carli enjoyed being the official taste tester. Ava discovered the importance of baking powder in baking and Drew really thought we should have added lots and lots of icing on them!

It was Sonic delivery day for the Hays' Elves! Plus the girls delivered their pumpkin bread to about 25 more teachers...their list grows every year!

It's Day 10! The pros of having kids old enough to basically craft by themselves is they are also old enough to have very strong opinions about what kind of craft they do! And so it was that we made three different kinds of ornaments for our gifts today...

Drew painted his popsicle sticks all by himself and insisted on adding glitter. I think mostly bc he delighted in the mess he made using the glitter!

My one condition on their crafts were that they use items that we already had. And so it was that Ava recruited her dad to cut letters out of foam board so she could create the perfect ornament!

 Oh this sweet child...Carli literally did her entire ornament with no help what so ever. So to some it may see like a pretty basic ornament but then you must realize, she used 2 whole sticks of hot glue, dumped out all the pompoms to find the right ones and apparently pulled gold beads from thin air to top her trees...and a simple ornament turned into a miracle when she actually picked up after herself! 

Instead of baked cookies as we have done in the past we decided to make cinnamon rolls instead. At least if our teachers get too many sweets they can freeze them for a sweet treat later!

Hays' Family Pictures

Teacher 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1-6

Let the fun begin....

Drew is so excited because he's getting to do the 12 Days of Christmas with his "teacher" Mawmaw this yr!

Day 2 - Wrapping Papper!

On the third day of Christmas...I had the pleasure of watching Drew's excitement over giving his "teacher" her gift today!

The girl elves had double duty this morning since they got an unexpected day off from school yesterday. Drew is quite enjoying his first elf experience and jumps for joy each time Mawmaw opens her door!

Day six and Carli totally did the "Mommmmm!" whine when I asked for a picture...and Drew took note and refused a picture too. Little grinch elves!