Heckers' Happenings

January

2012-01-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

Dinner time is tired time around here. I usually try to have these two busy doing something but I was obviously not successful on this evening. They had only been out of my sight for 5 minutes!

Grandma and Grandpa Hecker flew all the way from Utah to spend a few days with us and it was so much fun. They come to PARTAY!! And to play, play, play! We always enjoy their company! Grandma was out in the snow for over an hour and it was freezing cold. AND...she was in jeans. Oh...and tennis shoes. She built an awesome ramp for the kids.

Once the kids went to bed...it was time for the adults to have some fun. The snacks came out, the games came out, and the clock disappeared. Hailey goes to bed and hour after Isabella and Talon do so she was lucky enough to learn Rook and share some treats with us.

Ohhhh....Settlers of Cataan. Look at those eyes. Plotting and planning. Just for the record, Dad and John smashed mom and I!

I love these little blessings of mine. Isabella is holding frozen pancakes because she bonked her head and was using them as an icepack. Talon was sad for one reason or another also and Lucy can't stand to have John or I nearby and her not being held. So...John caught a very common moment at our house of being me being smushed and smothered by most of our children all at the same time.

Hailey and Isabella had a day off of school for teacher in-service last week and so we decided to join some friends and go bowling. Talon was so excited all morning about throwing the big ball...and Isabella thought she was excited. As soon as it was her first turn she realized that people would be staring at her and she refused to continue on. Both Hailey and Isabella did not like the shoes either. Hailey helped Talon "throw" the ball a few times but she mostly just played for all three of them. Her friend ended up doing the same for her siblings and they had a great time. The little ones loved the food and that kept them pretty busy.

Hailey and Olivia. Hailey is really good. She got a ton of strikes and spares!

'Oh How Tweet'

2012-01-19T09:11:00.001-05:00

I've talked about her before...and I'm sure she'll be mentioned on this blog many times more...my sweet neighbor that is...Jandi! She is pregnant with her 4th boy!! Infact...today is his birthday. Although he isn't born yet. Weird huh? She is in the hospital right now...expecting his arrival any hour! I am so excited for her and her cute family. Although this is her 4th baby...she needed to have a special night just for her-because she deserves it! We had a small intimate group with Jandi's closest friends.

In all her pregnancy glory! She has long beautiful legs that are so thin!! And then this adorable ball that sits on her tummy! It has been so fun to watch her go through her pregnancy this year. She got pregnant almost to the exact day that Lucy was born! So here she is about to deliver her baby...and my baby is 9 months old! Words can't express my feelings for Jandi! She means everything to me!

The theme was 'Oh How Tweet' and it was really fun to plan. I went with sage green and light blue with hints of cream and white. Her guests signed little love notes to her in the "Are You My Mother" book.

I have really felt so blessed with great friends in Erie. The truth is...I have been so blessed to have dear friends everywhere that we have lived. What this tells me is that there are amazing people everywhere you go....it takes time to build relationships. But once they are built, it's amazing just how much people become a part of your life. I would be a mess without friends. So thankful for all of the women in my life!! Cathy and Rachel are pictured here!

The food is always the best part of the party! My friends where such great helpers...it took so much stress off of me and I could focus on the decorations and the details! Thanks girls!!

Amanda (baby boy due this week also!), Angalee, Jandi, and Jamie!

Oh...this bread...give me a minute.

Okay...seriously. This is probably the best thing that has ever touched my lips (besides my cute husband!) Oh Cathy...what is it called? I can never remember. It's an artisan type bread...rises for many hours and then bakes in a cast iron skillet. This is a sweet version with chocolate pieces, and other sweet goodness inside. Then the chocolate butter...yes...CHOCOLATE BUTTER. It's smooth and creamy with varying chunks of more chocolate pieces. This satisfies me on so many levels!

Cathy also brought a baked brie...another one of my favorites! She is an amazing cook!!

These little parfait cups are my favorite. They even have little spoons!!! Our super fancy, uber amazing grocery store Wegman's sells these adorable cups and I want some soooo bad! Carolyn made a delicious mousse to fill the beautiful cups and they did not disappoint!

Carolee (who I cannot believe that I didn't even get a picture of!) made these cupcake bouquets and the most amazing pesto, tomato herb squares...she is beautiful and talented! There were other amazing women who somehow snuck away without me capturing a picture of them! Jandi has great friends!

Horrible picture...like really bad. BUT I spent a lot of time stressing about these darn blue bird cake pops...so they are getting their spotlight even though I am not that proud of them. They tasted good though. Looks are over rated...right?!?

Great company!!!!

Dear sweet Jandi...I hope today is so smooth for your delivery and that your precious baby comes to the world peacefully and easily! We all love you so much!!

Some Randoms!

2012-01-19T08:08:00.000-05:00

The year 2012 has started out GREAT for the Hecker's! It's nothing specifically good that has happened. It's just been nice...relaxing...uneventful....and fun! The girls have loved dancing with the Kinect. John and I have a blast with it too!!!

This little one is growing up too fast. She is just about crawling. She loves to be with Mommy or Daddy at all times so if she is not in our arms then she is on the floor next to us playing with toys to distract her for a few minutes

We love our basement...it's so great for the kids to play with all of the toys while we enjoy the big screen!

Isabella is keeping herself busy!

Talon is always needing an extra snuggle!

My sweet girls picking out some breakfast. Like the title says...these are pretty random!

This is how I get ready in the morning. Like I mentioned...Lucy needs to be with me at all times. She actually enjoys the Bumbo!

My main Christmas gift from John was a spa gift card. Jandi and I enjoyed a great night and we were pampered. Mostly....it was great to be with a great friend...and relax!

My girl Jandi!! She is 9 months pregnant and deserved this SO MUCH!. She had her hair cut and styled after this photo and I had a massage!

Hi feet!!!

The first snow of the season...which then completely melted and now we have a new fresh batch of thick beautiful snow!

I needed to clear the walk way and it's too cold for Lucy outside so she watched me from the front door!

Isabella wanted me to take this picture of her with the flower pillow. Silly girl!

Hey beautiful!!!

Our church time changed from 11am to 9am which makes for a long Sunday! Our favorite thing to do is curl up and snuggle and watch a movie to pass the time. Usually the snuggling is with John and I but I was pleasantly surprised when I came down to the basement to find all of my sweet babies laying next to each other, without fighting over covers or pillows. It was nice!

Our Merry Christmas

2012-01-14T12:23:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas this year. We are so lucky to have special friends in our lives to share the Holidays with. It helps us not feel quite as sad when we can not be with our families! We had so much fun on Christmas Eve as we ate great food and laughed and relaxed. Hailey as an angel!!

My little Lucy Angel!!!

On Christmas Eve we did the traditional opening of new jammies. The girls have been begging for footed pajamas. I just know my girls too well though and I knew that it would be a waste of money because they wouldn't like their feet getting so hot. I hear them complain about being hot at night even in nightgowns, so using my better judgement, we went for the normal fuzzy, cozy winter jammies....with slippers. They love them and haven't been sad about not getting the footy ones!

Isabella went first!

Then Lucy. This was her first gift she has ever opened...Talon was a great helper!

Hailey is obviously happy about hers!

I shouldn't have bought Talon any jammies...it was just too sad to think about not getting him any when the rest of the family would be...BUT he hasn't worn them. Actually...he wore them for about 15 minutes on Christmas Eve and then wanted them off!!! This boy has the fullest drawer filled with the CUTEST pajamas (mostly hand-me-downs from his cousins Noah and Levi!) He will wear them on really good nights but he usually wants a T-shirt and his shield shorts (luckily we have 3 different pairs of the shield shorts-or shorts with a little shield printed on the leg!) Oh well...not the first time that I have wasted money on clothes that my children refuse to wear. Grrrrr!

I loved my pajamas...I knew I would since I picked them out myself!

John's polar bear pajamas rocked!

We had to model our new stylish sleepers!

Talon is thinking that his momma is CrAAAzzzZyyY!

Santa came and didn't disappoint. Our Christmas tree is looking a little puny. I can't wait to have a pretty, FULL, pre-lit tree. For now...this will have to do for aleast another year.

The stockings were SO packed and filled with love and deliciousness!

Christmas Morning!! Happy as can be and ready to PARTAY!

I took 4 pictures of Lucy and they all turned out like this....hmm...she must take after her daddy in the photo taking department. It seems like his eyes are always closed too!

As the presents under the tree thinned out, we realized that there were a few gifts that had not been opened and that were not under the tree. I could NOT figure out where in the world those gifts had gone (and they were the ones that we were the most excited about giving the kids!!) After searching all day on Christmas, and not being able to find them I gave up and hoped that we hadn't accidentally thrown them away at some point. To make a long story short....they all turned up. One bag of gifts was hiding in my closet (I checked there 3 times!!!) John found them the first time he looked there! And two were under our bed (also checked there a few times!) SO WEIRD. The under the bed gifts were just discovered a few days ago...and will now be given as Valentine's gifts instead :)!

After church, we came home and got our Christmas pajamas back on! We ate brown sugared ham and yummy potatoes and my sweet friend Heidi's Garlic Green Bean recipe. We had Sparkling Grape Juice also.

The rest of our Christmas Break was spent playing the new Xbox 360 Kinect and enjoying all of the new toys that filled our house. It was nice to have John home for a few days! New Years Eve was spent sleep training our youngest two (Lucy and Talon) and it was filled with a lot of crying! We went to bed early in anticipation for the long night ahead..which it was! BUT, they are going to sleep all by themselves now and Talon is sleeping in his own bed ALL NIGHT LONG! I occasionally have to walk him to the bathroom and tuck him back in but he is doing great. Lucy is now great at putting herself to sleep at a normal sleeping hour (between 6 and 7) and although she still wakes up quite a bit at night to nurse, she is still doing so much better than she was before when she wanted to be nursing ALL NIGHT and wanted to be snuggled up right next to me. She is in her own crib in Hailey's room. It's nice to have "our" room back!

Back it up!

2011-12-21T15:37:00.000-05:00

I really cannot believe just how bad I have been at blogging this year...and the worst part is that I REALLY have wanted to do better but haven't! Here is a quick recap of a few things that I realized I haven't blogged about!

Thanksgiving- We got together with the Stowell's, our neighbors and dearest friends! They invited the missionaries over which is always fun! I would say that the best part about Thanksgiving for me is the baking and cooking. Oh..and the planning of the menu and shopping for the food and preparing the table. I don't know why, but I love the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day. We ate dinner at the Stowell's and had dessert at our house. The kids played and Jandi and I went through the paper ads to map out our Black Friday shopping trip. We started shopping this year earlier than ever...I think we got in line at Toys R Us at about 8:30...and it was wrapped all the way around a few buildings by the time we got there. We ended up going to Target also...and we got all of the important things on our list (plus a few extra!)

The weekend of Thanksgiving was so nice that John decided to start putting up the lights before Erie turned into a Popsicle. He did a great job!!!! Our kids think that the house looks great and so do I!!

We brought the kids out once it got dark to see our house all lit up!

Brrrr.......

Hailey's 2nd grade performed a special program at her school! They sang and danced and made us all laugh! We had a great time!! Isabella cannot wait to go to Kindergarten here! We love this school!

Isabella also performed a special program at her preschool! She was laughing the entire time. She also sang beautifully...I could basically only hear her and her teachers!

They decorated cookies with the parents after the singing! I've really loved her preschool in Erie also and I am very excited for Talon to go there next year!

Okay...back it up even a few more months and I realized that Halloween was totally forgotten so here is just a little snippet of the holiday! We had a great time...attended lots of parties...and had a grand ole' time. The kids got so much candy that we still have a huge bag of it (which just might be thrown away any day now!) Two of my friends organized a fabulous "Girls Night Out Halloween Party!" It was a blast and the costumes were out of this world! Here are Jandi and I...I am Smurfette incase you can't tell....and she is a witch (pregnant with a baby witch of course!)

Here is my little witch and dragon and kitty cat!

We recently enjoyed a building workshop at Lowe's! The kids loved it! And it was free!!

Now...go all the way back to July. We had the pleasure of driving to Navuoo for a wedding!! John's little brother Peter married a beautiful girl, Brittany! We are so happy to have her in our family!

John and his whole family!

The girls and I!

My sweet men!

This picture was taken at our hotel where the reception was held (in St. Louis). It was pretty fancy! Lucy doesn't look that much different to me and this was 5 months ago...she is still so petite.

The kids had so much fun with their cousins. They always do! I think that is one of the hardest parts about living so far away...my kids JUST LOVE their cousins so much!

The arch!!

What up T- Dawg!

We of course did all of the historical Nauvoo! It was a little stressful for me with Lucy being so little. I didn't anticipate feeling so overwhelmed from this vacation but nonetheless... I was O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D. I have never felt quite like that before and I haven't felt like that since. We were still just getting used to having 4 kids and Lucy cried all of the time. I wasn't getting near enough sleep and the 13 hour drive made all of our kids a little grumpy. It was still a great trip...with lots of memories. I wouldn't recommend trying to take a trip 2 months after having a baby...just too much going on!

John and his brothers. They look so alike!!

2011-11-07T20:53:00.003-05:00

We just love our little Isabella. She is a funny little girl. She loves to change her outfit 20 times a day and she hates putting her clothes back in their drawers....the floor is a much easier place to put them. She changes her shoes about 10 times before she huffs and settles on the first pair that she had on originally. She dislike socks...they don't feel comfortable. And underwear...oh they bug her. She usually goes through 3 pairs before she finds the right pair, that feel comfortable with the right pants. She only likes her hair a certain way...and cries and cries if it's sticking out funny. She doesn't care about matching...not one bit. Only comfort. She LOVED this scarf...and she was supposed to be wearing the cutest little jeans but threw a huge fit because they were too tight and she refused to wear them...so with no energy left...I handed her these striped purple leggings that I knew she loved. And her shoes for the picture...can I just say that I lucked out with the ones that she choose. I would have picked different ones but at least they weren't snow boots!! She is a squishy kind of lovin' girl. Sounds weird...let me explain. When she is feeling affectionate (which is almost always) she will squeeze my arm or my cheeks together. She puckers SO big and kisses SO hard. She hugs like she means to hurt you...but she really is just so full of love and doesn't know how to show it without attacking. Whenever she is creeping towards Lucy (Lucy and I both cringe) because it usually results in belly rubs or head taps that are just too hard for a little baby. And then she gets this innocent look in her face...like...oops, didn't mean to make her cry. She is a curious girl and gets excited when she learns something new. She was BEYOND excited today (she kept telling me how proud of herself she was) when she learned to zip up her own jacket. She eats a lot. More than all of the other kids. And she can never wait for the prayer before she starts to devour her food. NEVER. She eats almost anything but her favorites are Macaroni and Cheese, and corn. She asks for a can of corn for lunch sometimes. Cracks us up! She finally learned to take care of herself in the bathroom which makes me so happy! She is a messy girl...always doing something. She really, really, really doesn't like to help clean....but can put her clean laundry away and can gather her belongings from around the house without too much whining. Isabella is a sweet girl and we love her so much!

Lucy at 6 months is a darling little thing. She knows her posse...and if you aren't one of them we'll all hear her crying. She LOVES John...no surprise since all of our babies have. She has started holding her hands up and out when she wants to be picked up or transferred to another person. Lucy hates baths. She really, really hates them. She reminds me of a dog who knows you are about to put them in the tub. She screams the entire time...makes me sad since that is usually a technique for relaxing babies. I have tried ALL kinds of baby food and baby cereals. She doesn't like them. She spits them out at me...not so fun! So most days, she nurses entirely. She still wakes up all night and is in our bed most of the night. She is starting to sit up more and more each day. She hates getting her clothes changed...cries the whole time. Those two shiny teeth are REALLY sharp. Darn those teeth. She bites me everyday. Oh man...when she gets her top ones then I will really be crying. I plan on nursing her for a while so hopefully she'll realize it hurts me and stop!!! She is our littlest baby so far. She is in the 50% for height and 50% for weight but is in the 25% for weight for her height. She only poops once every week and a half (sorry...if that's too much info but I'd like to remember that random fact!) She naps on the go still...and takes about 3 naps a day. She has a small little birth mark on her tushy. This baby is easy to love...she has not been an easy going baby...but is still so easy to love.

The best word to describe Talon at 3 is STUBBORN. Seriously....so stubborn. His personality is complex and complicated and he gets bent out of shape really easily. His sisters know that the best way to keep peace in our house is to leave Talon alone. He has his sweet moments...of course...but the stubbornness definitely stands out. Getting him to eat healthy food is so challenging. His favorite food right now is yogurt...of all varieties. Potty training him wasn't near as hard as I thought it was going to be. He loves to join us in our bed in the middle of the night...and if you don't sneakily put him back in his bed without waking him up...he'll be there all night. He is ALL boy with his collection of swords, and superhero capes, and helmets. He is always wearing one of his boy dress-ups. He found a pirate outfit in our dress-up box today and was beyond excited about it. He ran and hid it in his special drawer right away and he had to wear it for Family Night tonight (at Wendy's for a Frosty!) He loves to bug his sisters...and is always trying to sneak his finger in Lucy's mouth....not sure why but it drives me cRaZy! He gives great hugs and I love the way he talks...his voice is so squeaky and unique. He is always talkin' about something. He has been obsessed with John since birth and he still is. Those two are connected beyond explanation. They could live on an island together forever and be as happy as clams. I love it...makes me so happy. Everywhere we go people say that Talon looks just like John...but with blond hair (which I'm sure will darken as he gets older!) His new favorite toys are legos and he is getting pretty good at building things. Talon LOVES candy and treats more than any kid I know. If you want to make him REAL happy...just give him his dad and some treats and he is good to go!

Hailey is so fun!! I love this girl. She is funny and smart. I feel like she could do ANYTHING! She amazes me all the time. She has ideas and thoughts and she is kind. She loves her family so much. She still has a really hard time making decisions. She begs me to pick out her clothes...she asks before she does anything...and is the most obedient child that I have ever met (in fear of doing something wrong!) On Saturday when we were driving to her swimming practice she asked me if I would drink my Slimfast breakfast shake in the car instead of in the building because she was nervous about me getting in trouble. So I did. Silly girl. She wants to know how to do things...and she doesn't care if it is hard to do. She asked me to teach her how to braid hair tonight and she just kept trying over and over until she got it. She loves to cook, she hates to clean (but is actually good at it after she stops complaining). She collects stuff...random stuff. I am constantly making her throw the junk away. I love her smile...even though she will need braces and her teeth don't quite fit...I love it! She currently has her own bedroom, until Lucy actually sleeps in her own bed, and she has really enjoyed that. While John puts Isabella and Talon to bed, we let Hailey stay up a little longer and have some quiet time without all the little's running around. It's been a special time for her and I.

This family picture is so funny to me. It's the only one that I am showing because I haven't decided which one I'm using for our Christmas card this year. I'm sure I'm not using this one though...Isabella has checked out. She is not budging a smile. Talon was getting beyond grumpy and would not let John put him down (which is super common around our house), Lucy is eating her necklace and trying to eat Hailey's flower.

These pictures of John and I were so fun to me!! The kids were done so we buckled them in the car, gave them a snack and enjoyed a few quiet moments with the two of us and our photographer.

I was nursing Lucy while this picture was being taken...sad she's not in it but LOVE it!!

What a Summer we had!

2011-10-24T08:05:00.021-04:00

It's so hard to believe that it has really been 4 months since I last posted. I think that is a record long "blogging break" for me. With a new baby in our family my world was rocked and I definitely had to do some readjusting and tweaking to my life. There are 43 photos. It took HOURS for them to all upload onto blogger. Instead of doing a few posts at a time I decided just to bust them all out at once and do a quick blurb for memory sake!

We spent many hours at various parks! Erie's weather in the Summer is incredible. The kids played outside all day almost everyday. Thank goodness for great neighbors that the kids could play with.

I started Lucy on baby cereal when she was about 4 1/2 months old...and she didn't really dig it! I have tried about once every two weeks to see if she has changed her mind but she just doesn't like it! Today I am going to try vegetables for the first time and see how she likes it! Hopefully she will!

In August John officially became Dr. John Clark Hecker and we had a surprise celebration for him when he came home from work. We had decorated the house and made some very yummy food!

I just love moments like these. Kids were clean and in jammies and ALL of them sat quietly at once to listen to John's reading. I'm really bad at remembering to take pictures so I'm glad to have taken this one.

Our Zoo is great!!! We have enjoyed many hours there. On this particular day, John was able to come with us which made it extra fun!!!

We didn't go to the beach on Lake Erie as much as my kids would have liked but we made it a few times. It was really hard to go with Lucy and all of the stuff that you have to lug down to the water. I'd load the kids up with this or that and we'd trek the couple of hundred yards to the water but whenever it was time to leave they were much more reluctant to help. Sound familiar anyone???

Meet Jandi. She's amazing! She has really been a huge part of my life this last year and I am so grateful for her friendship. Our families went camping together and we had an awesome time. This was my kids first camping trip and for the month before we went they would whine and complain that they didn't want to go because of bugs. BUT they had so much fun and the bugs weren't even a big deal. There were a TON of daddy long legs (which we could have done without) but no mosquitoes at all!! I loved our campsite. It was so quiet and beautiful.

Lucy likes to be held...a lot. So I felt like I was holding her the whole time and it was hard to take care of my family. Silly girl! Jandi seriously stepped in and did a lot!!!

We potty trained Talon a few weeks before this trip and we were kind of worried that he would have a hard time a way from our home, but he did great. We brought his potty and he used it A LOT!!!

There was a fun river right by our campsite for tubing and canoeing. We couldn't do those things with a new baby so we let the kids play in the water for a bit.

We also went fishing. The kids thought that was SO cool. Talon had earned his very own fishing pole for potty training so he was extra excited to have a chance to use it!

These two have been the best of friends (our neighbor Lincoln and Isabella). Love it!!

John had the great idea of me taking Hailey out for a fun evening with just the two of us before she started school. I let her choose what we do and she wanted to go to a restaurant. So we went to T.G.I.F Fridays and we ordered a few things and shared them. It was so fun and so special to both of us.

Dancing and singing together!

Yummy dessert!!

We have a small amusement park here called Waldameer. We went on a perfect day...the weather was gorgeous.

I'm pretty sure that's Isabella and I in the front!! Hailey went on the BIG roller coasters with me...like the really scary ones. She did awesome!!

Hailey started 2nd grade. We still LOVE her school and her teacher is awesome. She has found some good friends and is really fitting in well. She is an awesome reader and learning so much.

Isabella had her tonsils out. She had a sleep study done this summer and the test results were that she had severe sleep apnea and was waking up 16 times because she was not breathing. I felt so sad for her!!! She was a trooper through the surgery, but hated taking her medicine. That was by far the worst part.

Her recovery!

Talon had all the same symptoms as Isabella so he was next...2 weeks after Isabella. The ENT told John after they took his tonsils out that they were pretty bad so I am really glad that we did it.

Talon's recovery took a little bit longer than Isabella's and EVERY time that he had to take his medicine it was a battle. Oh it was exhausting. Just thinking about it makes me cringe!!!

Isabella started preschool...and she loves it. Her little buddy Lincoln is in her class and I think that has helped her a ton! We carpool which is the best thing ever!

Talon turned 3! This was the first birthday party that we have had since we moved to Erie...FINALLY NOT PREGNANT ANYMORE AND COULD HANDLE IT! It was fun to do! It was a Super Hero Party. John is Zorro!! Talon was Spider Man, and Hailey Spider Woman.

The food is always the best part to me...ALWAYS.

We decided to do it outside but it was SOOOOO STINKIN' HOT that day.

Lucy is Cheetah girl.

Isabella as Super Woman

John dressed up as the bad guy for a small event and the kids were all given silly string to catch him with their "webs"!

Then they had target practice and got their goodie bags after they shot a balloon.

Talon had a great time and loved his gifts...he walked around with them for days!!!

A Picture a Day June

2011-07-01T15:23:00.002-04:00

Well, almost "A Picture a Day". I forgot a few days. So you know how some people have got it ALL together and they do the 365 picture project? You know...where they take a picture a day for an entire year. I have wanted to try that for awhile but I'm sure I'd fail...so I thought I'd try it for the summer and see how it goes. It's been fun!! Here is June in pictures (I am actually going to do individual posts for some of these "Happenings"...eventually!)

June 3rd 5:40 pm

(Got off to a late start!) While making dinner the kids needed some distraction. CRAFTS!!

June 4th 10:47 am

My sweet girls. Lucy won't fall asleep on my chest like that. I can think of two reasons why not...uncomfortable mounds and too close to food source. This is her FAVORITE position on Hailey.

June 5th 4:42 pm

She's good! Really. And she didn't get it from John or I!!!

June 6th 12:59 pm
The Zoo!!! Hailey was still in school so it was just the little three.

June 7th 8:37am

Hailey's last day of school!!! We were all so excited!

June 8th 4:24 pm

Our first summer play date with the Mason's. Sprinkler fun!!!

June 9th 11:47 am

The zoo...again. We have season passes so we may be there a lot this summer!

June 11th 10:43 am

John's dad was visiting us for the weekend and he brought the kids BYU shirts (Lucy included!)

June 12th 10:14 am

Lucy's Blessing Day...and my first day back as Primary chorister...and the day John drove 4 hours to take his dad to the airport and back...and the day we invited some special people to our church for the blessing. Phew.

June 13th 11:46am

Headed to the Grocery Store!! We *heart* Wegman's. Anyone want to teach me how to type an actual heart???

June 14th 7:09 pm

Oh Talon. And girls...Jammies and rainboots. Seriously? I was weeding...this is what happens when my children are not having my undivided attention for a few minutes.

June 15th 8:12 am

Oh what a frightful picture. Are those circles under my eyes. No they are circles that are taking up my entire face. I just HAD to share a picture of my nightly experience. Talon ends up in between John and I 95% of the time. And Lucy is in and out of our bed all night long. I can't even move. Well, I can but I'll wake somebody up. Oh dear.

June 16th 3:53 pm

My tired babies.

June 17th 1:08 pm

Sam's Club!! Woot woot! It's not Costco but it gets the job done. We go to Sam's about twice a week. Not sure why, since the idea is that you stock up and then are good for awhile but it seems like we are always needing something there!

June 18th 4:48 pm

Just a little picnic. Oh, and sprinklers.

June 19th 8:48 am

Father's Day. That cookie cake could kill someone. Two Giant cookies stacked on top of one another with a thick slab of uber sugary frosting in between. Wow.

June 20th 7:34 pm

A super fun birthday party for my friend Cathy who was turning 30. It was a surprise, mock funeral (hence all the black) because 30 is the new 40 you know. It was planned by her hubby. Lot's of fun!

June 21st 4:30 pm

Hailey turned 7 years old!!! She wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and playtime. Forty bucks, and three hours later...three happy children and two wiped out parents.

June 23rd 4:15 pm

Talon has been doing speech therapy for the past year. It has helped him catch up verbally since his tongue tie operation last Fall. This is his speech therapist, Jill. He loves her. Like-crushes on her.

June 24th 4:15 pm

Snuggling together.

June 25th 2:40 pm

I just LOVE her.

June 26th 4:24 pm
She sure does get a lot of snuggles.

June 27th 2:22 pm

We had early doctors appointments this day and not everyone had a chance to eat breakfast. We stopped by McDonald's before hitting up the Grand Opening of Hobby Lobby. This is a picture of Hailey who is SO ready to leave. She is just starting to grow out of the play area phase!

June 28th 5:14 pm

Is this even legal anymore...to put bathing kids pictures on a blog? Well, it's the only photo taken this day...so here it is.

June 29th 7:22 pm

We enjoyed an ice cream cone outside while John and Talon were on a "date". I had to teach my girls how to drink out of a hose...it was pretty funny watching them trying to not get wet.

June 30th 9:01 pm

I almost forgot to take a picture on my last day of June. I snapped a picture of Hailey as she getting into bed.

May 2011

2011-06-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

Having my mom and dad stay with us was so great! My mom is super organizing...emphasis on SUPER. She is amazing. We were hard at work in my basement, rearranging and cleaning. Lucy is nursing in this picture and Talon was SO tired but I obviously already had my hands full. He just climbed right on up and made himself comfortable. He is fast asleep in this photo!

Lucy's first bath. She did not like it!! This was the most that she had ever cried. We didn't even know she had it in her! She did get pretty dry and flaky after the bath...I think she was better off dirty!

Our little caterpillar all dry and warm.

Just cute....so funny!

Lucy is not really a thumb sucker. So this was pretty random. Random enough that we took like 10 pictures of her doing it. She likes her binky when she is sleepy...not at night though. It's kind of hit or miss!

I have been trying so hard to lose some of this annoying and ugly baby weight. This is what a lot of our meals have looked like lately. Kinda boring.

I was trying to take a picture of Talon holding Lucy. She was starting to get fussy and Hailey thought she had to come to the rescue. Poor Talon...always gets the baby taken from him!

The Easter Bunny Did Come to Our House

2011-06-20T10:40:00.000-04:00

Yes He did!! Even though we were a little distracted with our newest little Hecker joining our family that same week. What a fun week. It was extra fun because we had my parents visiting. There were some fun activities that our friends were doing this week but we couldn't participate because of having a brand new baby so we tried to make Easter fun while staying home the entire week!

We had a fun (and sunny and warm) Saturday before Easter which was very unusual for April this year. Out of the three weeks that my parents were with us I think that we only had 3 sunny days! We were very happy that we could do the Easter Egg hunt outside. My dad and John hid the eggs (some with money and some with candy).

The kids thought this was so fun!! I think that money eggs were the most exciting for them.

I really hate all of the Easter pictures with me in them. Just being honest. I still looked 5 months pregnant. But...here is one anyways.

Dying Easter Eggs. I was nursing Lucy and missed this entire activity.

Sunday morning the kids are searching for their baskets. Very fun!

We did our usual Easter Egg bash and invited our neighbors to join us. I seriously love this tradition.

What great memories we shared on this wonderful Easter.

Too fast

2011-06-03T10:35:00.000-04:00

I have been reminded far too often that this time of being a mother of young children will go by so quickly. I see it every once in a while. Like how all of a sudden Isabella went from my crawling on her knees for months and months before she could actually walk...into a four year old who is ready to conquer the world. Or how Lucy, who just a few weeks ago could fit inside the space of a laid out burp cloth but who is now hanging over the edges. Hailey, who hated school and now it has been one WHOLE year of her loving it. And Talon, just one year ago could hardly say any words because he was tongue tied which delayed him, can now talk about almost anything.

Weeks go by where I haven't taken a picture...and every so often I get so mad at myself for not taking more videos of the kids. I know that I will miss these days so badly when they are past. I have been trying to slow down. I have been trying to not be so hurried from one activity to another and to take the time to focus on the most important things. Everyday we have a choice as to what we do...and I have a far way to go to get to what my perfect day would look like...but I am trying. While making dinner 2 weeks ago, I not only thought...but I DID take a picture of each one of my children at the very moment that I thought about doing it. Here is what they were doing:

Lucy was sound asleep as she still often is. This is the first time that I used the Boppy for her to rest in. I haven't used it for that same purpose since this picture was taken but she does look cozy.

Isabella was watching a cartoon. Around dinner time is when she gets really sleepy. She would take a nap every day if I would let her (but I won't because it results in her staying awake until 11pm!) Many times, while cooking dinner, I will find her asleep on the couch. All moms know that is the WORST time to be napping. Waking her up is not too pretty and then dinner time is never as relaxed so I usually try to have them doing something other than watching TV while I am cooking...but sometimes it's the best place for them to be still and quiet! Just this morning (it's 10:23 am) Isabella told me that shew wanted to take a nap and she is now sound asleep in her bed. She likes her sleep!!

Hailey was busy doing a project. She made an oreo cookie and a duck swimming in a pond. I have a love/hate relationship with playdough. The kids love it and so it is a good activity to make them happy and it keeps them busy for a bit. It stimulates creativity. BUT it is always a mess and cleanup is never fun. Hailey however is responsible enough to clean up the mess (and not really make too big of one) by herself.

Talon is also being phased out of his nap right now. I rarely plan on him taking a nap these days. Maybe twice a week if I know we have a later night then I will have him lay down but for the most part I just keep him busy all day so that putting him to bed at night will not be too challenging (otherwise it takes a long time!) At dinnertime, he too is really tired and if given the chance will close his eyes and be asleep in seconds. SO, he is usually my helper in the kitchen so that his eyes don't have the chance to rest. He is either up on the counter next to me, standing on a stool beside me, or making a mess in the sink! This day he was helping me clean the dishes.

I am not good at taking the time to write down sweet and funny things the children say, and I am a horrible blogger. I try to figure out how to find the time to do these things because they are very important to me. I haven't figured it out yet but I can tell you that my perfect day would include time for writing down these memories. I love these kids so much. Even when they are driving me crazy, it's amazing how much love you can have for these tiny human beings.

My goal today...make more memories!

Hailey is almost 7!!!

2011-06-02T15:43:00.001-04:00

It is hard to believe that Hailey is turning 7 this month. How in the world do I have a 7 year old? She has grown up so much this year. She is such a joy to have in our family.

This girl is crazy!!! She is always about partying (who isn't) and she is always coming up with things that she wants us to do. One of her favorite things is arts and crafts. She is always asking me to do a "project" with her. When I make a special dessert after dinner or if we plan a spontaneous activity she gets so excited and expresses herself so sweetly with a kiss for me. That's when I know she is over the top happy. Hailey is a great student...she loves school and she loves her teacher. She has gotten WAY too good at playing her (well actually MY) Nintendo DS. I bet she could beat me at almost any of the games. She loves to read and she likes to write in her journal.

She has been such an amazing helper with Lucy! Hailey cannot stand when Lucy is crying...she is trying to do her homework while keeping Lucy happy at the same time. I hope that the love that she has for her sister will last and not turn into the typical sibling love (the kind that she has with Izzie and Talon!) Hailey will hold her for as long as I'll let her and she is a pro! She is going to be a great mom someday!!!

I love this girl so much!

More of Lucy

2011-05-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for good friends who have amazing photography skills!! Otherwise I may not have any pictures of my kids! Thank you Britani for helping me with these awesome pictures!!! Lucy was 4 days old when these pictures were taken. She did NOT like to be naked...like all the way naked with her diaper off. She was okay as long as she atleast had her diaper on. Britani took a TON of pictures but Lucy was making it a little difficult to get some of the shots that we wanted. I love how these turned out though.

As a side note...I decided that I was not going to be eating sugar for the whole month of May. I then realized that my parents would still be here until today, and a huge part about having visitors is spoiling them with mounds and mounds of goodies so my plan was to start today. It's almost 4 o'clock and I haven't had a bit of sugar but I am DYING. Yes...if you need a reminder..I am a bit dramatic. But I have a sugar tooth and 20-30 extra lbs. to lose so I am wanting to succeed SO BADLY. But...this is hard. VERY HARD! I also have visitors coming at the end of May so as soon as they are here...I am off the hook again. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. "You can do this Katrina!!!"

Lucy Elizabeth

2011-04-25T11:42:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken on April17th, the day before Lucy's induction. I was due on April 20th. I tried everything to go into labor on my own the week before this. Jumping on the trampoline, fast walking, pineapple, and more!! As badly as I wanted to go into labor on my own...I also didn't want to be pregnant anymore and we were so excited about meeting our little girl! As far as pregnancies go...the beginning of this pregnancy was the worst out of all of them....but the end was the best! I was still very uncomfortable but nothing seemed quite as bad as in previous pregnancies. I have been going to a chiropractor for 2 months weekly, and it was wonderful!! My back is usually my biggest complaint but I felt great! I also had an inkling that this might be a smaller baby...I just didn't feel like my stomach got quite as big and I had less pain overall. Isabella was 2 and a half pounds bigger at birth and it definitely makes a big difference. The bigger the baby...the more pain...all around!

April 18th, 2011 at 5:00 am. We were told to be at the hospital at 6 am. My parents had flown in a week earlier and so they were taking care of the other three for us! It was nice and stress free! Not a great picture...it was obviously too early!!!

Still dark outside!! The hospital is brand new!! It opened at the end of January and it was so nice.The labor and delivery room was huge and we had large windows that looked out at Lake Erie. Too bad it was gloomy and rainy all day! We were kind of expecting the pitocin to work pretty fast and we were hoping for a baby in the early afternoon. My doctor came in at 7:15 to get me going (which I thought was pretty early...sometimes they take forever!!) He said he'd come back around lunch to break my water. The morning went slow...with not much change. I had very painful contractions almost right away. I asked for the epidural at 10am...but so did all of the other girls who were being induced that morning. The anesthesiologist ended up having to call for back-up because everyone was wanting it at the same time. I ended up being one of the last to get mine (no big deal...I could handle the contractions but was having to pee every 30 minutes and it was SO painful on top of the contractions!! I wanted the epidural so that I could have a catheter (sorry if too much info!!) John was asked to leave while the epidural was placed ( a first) and I really wanted him there. I had no one to squeeze! It hurt...my mostly just the numbing shots. I had three of those because I could still feel too much! I hate the shots of pain that are felt down the back while it's being placed...just uncomfortable. After about an hour I could still feel too much (like the catheter being placed...ouch!) The anesthesiologist came back to see if he could help. I was so afraid that they were going to have to place it again...but he reassured me that everything had gone in nicely. My blood pressure was low so he didn't want to increase the meds but after realizing just how much I could feel he out something else in my line. Within 30 minutes I could no longer move...not a muscle. I'm not sure which was worse to me...feeling pain...or being completely immobile. I couldn't move a toe!! I also started to feel really weak and nauseous. It took me a few hours to recover!

They gradually upped the pitocin over a few hours until I reached the max which is 20. When my doctor came in to break my water (around noon) he kind of just put a little hole but I didn't lose much fluid which was unusual to me....I usually feel like I am going to float away. The next few hours I still hadn't changed...was dilated to a 3 for hours!!! I did progress to 4 around 5 o'clock and when my doctor checked me then, my water really broke!!! I think that was all that I needed because after that things finally started moving. I don't think that my body even realized that my water had broke! I tried resting all day long but just couldn't relax. Finally at 7 o'clock I started to get sleepy and was closing my eyes when my nurse came in because babies heartbeat had dropped. This has happened with all of my induction babies (Hailey and Isabella) and I was so nervous about it happening again. John and I watched her heartbeat vigilantly all day long, praying for it to stay strong. SO, when she came in because of the drop I of course started to get nervous. She said it was probably a good sign that I was progressing in the labor. I started to feel pressure almost immediately (which was weird because I was still completely numb!) The nurse checked me and said that I was at a 9 and she said I'd be at a 10 in minutes. This whole time I am already feeling the need to push and the nurses are yelling at me to NOT PUSH. They are trying to get my doctor but can't reach him. The babies heart beat was back to normal again...and remained that way! Hallelujah!! Finally my doc comes running in) and he said he was doing a circumcision. I'm just glad he made it. In one push the baby was almost completely out but it took a second tiny push and she was born!! At 7:28 pm she arrived! I just kept saying "she is so small, she is so small!!" She is darker skinned like Hailey was (Izzy and Talon were both very fair skinned).

First picture taken after delivery. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 inches long! She actually left the hospital at the same weight which the pediatrician told me rarely ever happens. It could have something to do with her awesome nursing skills. She is seriously amazing!! She came out "rooting" and was trying to suck on anything she could while getting weighed and footprinted. She found her hand pretty quickly.

Just before going up to my recovery room. She nursed for 45 minutes on each side!! Marathon nurser!

It was so nice knowing that my children were being taken care of. My parents had everything under control which made my recovery in the hospital much easier. John actually works for the hospital and his office is in the building right next to the Women's Hospital and so he was able to go back and forth from seeing patients to visiting me. It all worked out quite nicely!! He usually spends the night with me at the hospital but I really wanted him to go home in case the kids woke up at night (which Talon and Isabella both do quite frequently). I was glad that he was able to get some real rest and get showered and ready each morning. The nurses woke me up all night long and he wouldn't have gotten any sleep! I didn't get good sleep. There are always SO many different people coming into your room. I'm amazed at the variety of people. From pictures to house cleaning and temp and blood pressure checks, and lactation specialist, medical records department. My doctors, babies doctors, etc. They sure do keep you busy! If I tried napping, I would be woken up before I even had a chance to close my eyes!!!

The kids had been planning on visiting the hospital on Monday night but since it took forever for her to be born, they had to wait until Tuesday.

These girls were SO excited. Smiling from ear to ear!! They are still always begging to hold her and taking turns has become an hourly thing!

Welcome Lucy!!

The babies in our house always come with a gift for the other children. Lucy bought Hailey and Isabella a new set of baby doll accessories...pack-n-play, bouncy seat, stroller, etc.

She brought Talon a set of Lego's...his new favorite!!

Grandma and Grandpa!! Probably feeling a little wiped out!!!

We left the hospital on Wednesday April 20th and by then we were SO ready to get her home! It was cold and rainy!!

The first week home has been wonderful. The weather had been yucky and so we are all a little tired of being stuck inside but it has been so nice to be together! My parents are still here for another week which has been exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, my mom and I have both been fight a cold that has us up all night coughing. We've had headaches and runny noses. My mom lost her voice for about 5 days! My throat also hurt really badly!! Between a newborn baby who is still confused about her schedule and not feeling well, I have not slept very much! My mom tries to get me to nap all day long but I have the hardest time leaving the "party" to rest! I know I'll regret not taking advantage of the sleep later! Lucy has been such a joy to have around. She is so tiny and so sweet. I always laugh when I hear other people talking about how "good" there baby is during the first week because I feel like it's hard to really tell until about 2 weeks when they are not sleeping constantly...BUT...here I go! She is such a good baby!!! She loves her binky! She has the tiniest little squeaky cry that just makes us giggle! She does sleep all day long but when she is awake...she is content. I have to tell my kids that she is off limits sometimes just so that she can learn to sleep without being held. I have planned with each of my children to get them used to taking a bottle occasionally so that I can go to a girls night here or there within the next year. SO far so good!! She gets one bottle of formula a day and has taken it with ease! I'm trying to make my life a little simpler...and this will help a ton with that!! My recovery has been the easiest one yet also...also a big benefit of having a smaller baby! I've been engorged for 5 days now...which seems like a ridiculous amount of time. It's hard to move, sleep, nurse. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

I go to bed at night feeling so grateful to have this family that I have been blessed with. The overwhelming joy that comes from having children and raising a family is incredible. Thank you so much for all of the love and care that we have been given during this life changing time!! We are so thankful for you and your love and support!!!

St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-04-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

I thought I would introduce you to some of my fabulous Erie friends! I had been wanting to have a Pot Luck Mommy Luncheon for over a month and St. Patrick's Day was the perfect chance!

The Spread! We had some delicious choices!! There are a ton of pictures...and not a lot of text. All I have to say is that I am thankful for these women in my life. Erie is far away from all of the friends and family that we were used to having close to us and good friends are what make Erie special to me. I am so grateful for the memories that we have already made and all of the memories to come. We originally planned on living here for just one year (with a chance of staying longer). We have decided to stay for one more year for sure and probably two more. For now, this is home!

Sarah and her sweet Gwen

Teresa (who we actually had a connection with one of my great friends from Virginia Beach!)

Ashley the wonder woman! She runs miles everyday!! Amazing!!

Darling Britani! And me who is Ohhh so glad not to be pregnant anymore!!

Whatzzzzzzzzz Up Cathy!!!

Lauren is Talon nursery teacher and she is a life saver! He goes to nursery only because of her!! The whole time she was at our house he was asking her (not me) to hold him. She was holding Britani's sweet baby Beckett and he insisted she hold him too by showing her that she indeed did have room on her lap for him!

And Talon is of course in love with Jandi!! He could play with her all day long!

Sweet Lindsay

Thank you sweet friends for a wonderful afternoon!! Also pictured is Staci, Rachel, and Micah! These girls have all done so much for me!!! THANK YOU!!!! There were more wonderful women there also, so sorry I didn't have more pictures!!!

Prego Pictures

2011-04-07T20:41:00.000-04:00

Another thing that I couldn't leave Virginia Beach without doing was have Natalie take some pictures of me. That sweet girl took pictures of ME on HER birthday. It was BEYOND windy...like kids blowing away windy! It's amazing that I don't look like I am flying in every shot she took! I was 33 weeks pregnant in these photos. I'm now 38 weeks. And 2 days. I gained 5 pounds just this last week. Ouch.

Thank you Natalie for the awesome pictures!

It's time for an update!

2011-04-07T20:19:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe that it has been 2 months since I last blogged. That is a record for me...by a long shot! This pregnancy has seriously whipped my booty and has made EVERYTHING more challenging. I am so anxious to get my body and my life back. A small part of me feels like I will never feel the same again although I know that's not true. It's just after 9 months of feeling so shabby, you forget how you used to feel! I'm going to try hard not to complain anymore...I said I'll try!

Well winter here in Erie has been interesting! It gets beyond cold here...teens and twenties are an everyday occurrence. Snow after snow, after snow, after snow. You start to just expect that it's snowing outside...and it usually is! March and April have been even more dramatic. It'll be in the 40's and everything will melt and then the next day they'll be fresh snow. I can't even count how many times this has happened! We just keep thinking that we've seen the last snow and then BAM...there's some more!! It snowed yesterday...again...melted....again....and we will probably see more of it before summer sticks! This photo cracks me up because they are all playing gaming systems...which is not something that happens around here a whole lot. We are not a video game family...so this was rare. You get desperate when you can't go outside for months at a time!!

I never finished posting about Isabella's 4th birthday. Don't get too excited...the poor girl didn't get much of a celebration but I don't think she even noticed. I feel sorry for anyone who had a birthday within the time of me being pregnant...which was everyone except Hailey. Next years celebrations will hopefully be better! We let her pick out which restaurant she wanted to go to and she's pretty smart...she picked Chuck E Cheese's! We bought her a big ole cake and she picked out her plates and napkins. I made party bags for the 3 kiddos and we had our own little party! It was a really fun night!

Happy as can be!!

I asked her who she wanted to invite to her birthday party and she said "Jandi's Family!" Jandi is our neighbor and my kids have all fallen deeply for her! She is easy to love!! Her sweet family consists of 3 great children and one awesome husband!! They were out of town for her birthday but we had them over for dinner as soon as they got home. I made the yummiest cupcakes...chocolate chip cream cheese filled with buttercream frosting dipped in chocolate. Yes...they could probably kill someone...but they were tasty!

Hailey's First Grade put on an adorable Valentine's Day program for the parents...she did great! John was able to take a break from work to watch her! We were then able to do crafts with her! I remember feeling so LARGELY pregnant when this photo was taken. It's funny how your perspective changes over time...I am certainly not near as large as I am today!

This was Hailey's 100 days of school project! We had a lot of fun doing this together and her class loved it!

This photo was taken at 10:31 one morning. And this next photo was taken the same day at:

10:35 in the morning. Seriously...weird! Bright blue skies!! Only 4 minutes later! Yeah...there's no road. We got used to that too. At one point we couldn't use our front door because there was inches of ice on our porch. It's not so bad when the sun is shining...it just rarely does that!!

Talon has become slightly obsessed with Dora the Explorer. He is the first of my children to actually get hooked onto one show. This is actually Diego...which is SOOOO not the same thing to him but sometimes it's the best I can do. We actually started recording them and now we have Dora coming out of our ears!! Lucky for us, he has decided that Agent Oso and Umi Zoomi are alright too. We needed a little variation. The other kids just moan and groan when Talon is watching TV because they are so sick of his usuals. We have probably been watching too much TV...also going to blame it on the winter weather!

Our children did not need MORE candy on Valentine's day so I went a little skimpy this year. Isabella got the fuzziest GREEN (her most favorite color) blanket for her birthday and the other kids loved it (John and I did too) so we decided to get them all one. Since Izzie already had one she got some special dress-ups. Hailey also got a shirt and both the girls got new sparkly shoes.

I have wanted to go back to Virginia Beach to visit all of our favorite people ever since we moved!! The timing just never worked out until February. We picked a week that John was super busy at work so that he wouldn't miss us quite so badly and I took Hailey out of school. I drove with all the kiddos the 10 hours and it was actually not bad at all. Talon watched Dora (the same one the entire drive) and the girls watched their own movies. We only stopped three times for about 10 minutes each stop. We emptied bladders...I changed Talons diaper...and then we'd be on the road again. I stayed with my favorite family The Burton's for the first half of the trip and stayed at the Village (our old apartment complex) with Natalie the second half. The picture above are some of my besties from highschool. We only saw them for about 20 minutes but still glad that we saw them!

I couldn't go to VB without getting our haircuts from Jill!! Talon totally fell asleep in the middle of his new do! He is usually screaming so it's pretty funny that he was able to relax enough to actually fall sleep. Nap times were thrown out the window on this trip so the kids just kind of crashed whenever they stopped moving! He already needs another haircut...it grows so fast! I love how the girls hair doesn't have to be cut constantly. It's one of those things about boys that is kind of a pain to me! If I knew how to do it myself, it wouldn't be a big deal...but I love it clean and I just can't keep up with it!

Poor Isabella didn't even have a chance to get comfortable before she zonked one afternoon!

We played a lot of Wii. Specifically Dance Wii. I don't even know what it's called, maybe Dance Revolution?

Really...we played a lot of it!! Hailey and Isabella totally loved it!

Natalie's birthday conveniently happened to be while we were staying with her. I was so glad to share this special day with her! Josh stayed at home while our babies all slept and we went out on the town to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate her! There were about 10 of us there...it was so fun to get together with these girls. I miss them so much!!

We just laughed our heads off and ate until we were going to pop!!!

This guy was seriously singing his HEART out for Natalie. He had a table full of ladies to impress and he did awesome. I think it was a little embarrassing for Nat...but what a show!

I didn't take near enough photos of this trip...and I have more to blog about it and promise to do it within the next few days. My goal is to get all caught up before the baby comes!!

Family Scripture Study at our house is always exciting. John's mom bought the two little ones their own tiny scriptures (with the cutest little cases) for different holidays and they LOVE them! They are snuggled up in Isabella's bed thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Hailey is a full on reader. She loves to read the scriptures and amazes us with the words she can pronounce! So proud of her!!! It's really been a funny thing as we have gone through the process of her learning to read. It was kind of a stressful thing to me (although it probably shouldn't have been since I have my degree in education and taught lots of kids how to read). Glad she's accomplished this huge thing and can't wait for all of the learning yet to come!!

So seriously...look for more posts soon. Maybe even tonight!!

The Latest!!

2011-02-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

Isabella turned 4 today!!!

I'm actually 30 weeks now so this picture is a little old...my tummy is even bigger! I have officially gained the "normal" weight at this point...8 pounds one month and 6 pounds in the next! Darn it. I was hoping that it would remain slow but I caught up REAL quick!

John brought me home the most delicious cannoli's from a delicious bakery in Boston! Yummo!

These ain't just any pillows!

2011-01-18T12:40:00.002-05:00

So I wanted some Valentine Pillows and every store that I looked at was asking far too much. I decided that using the pillows that I already had would be the most cost affective so I tried to come up with some cute ideas for covering the pillows. The catch was that I wanted to have my normal pillows back after Valentine's Day was over. I can sew...on a very novas level. I can usually find something that I am interested in making and do it, but it's never the "right" way. I don't follow patterns because they are WAY more complicated...but the results are probably much cleaner! I decided that these pillows would be the perfect chance for me to figure out how to use zippers. Each zipper was $1.99 and the felt was 25 cents a sheet. The fabric cost was about $6 total. I was able to make four pillows (two light pink and two hot pink). The first zipper got a BEATIN'! I just had to laugh at how many times I had to take it off and try again (okay maybe 2 or 3 times but that's a lot!) By the fourth pillow...I was a pro. I'm sure that I am doing it completely BACKWARDS and a sewer would crack up at my technique BUT I got the job done and I am satisfied. The Love pillows are covers also but I bought those at Micheal for $3 each (there are 2). They fit perfect over the smaller accent pillows that I usually have on my couch.

Check out that zipper! Ahhh...so proud. When John came home from work I was so excited to show him what I had done. He was sweet but kind of just looked at me like...all girls know how to put in a zipper. That's because at his house all girls could put in a zipper...and much much much more. His mom and sisters rock at sewing projects! He doesn't get it...but that's okay!

These flowers took a while to make.

I used the leftover felt to make this heart swag!

And the lanterns...I thought that I had ordered more than I did...but made do with what I had.

I found this idea on Martha Stewarts website...Hailey and I did them together...they were very fun to make!

I am just about finished with my Valentine's Day projects. I have two more things that I am working on, but then we just get to enjoy them for the next month!

I was featured on:

Is it too early to decorate for Valentine's Day?

2011-01-12T13:33:00.001-05:00

Ever since we put all of our Christmas decorations away, I have been thinking and planning out Valentine's decorations! I have said it before...and I will say it again...I L.O.V.E Valentine's Day! I love the colors, I love the hearts, I love all the gushy LOVE and HEARTS and CANDY! Ohhh I just get giddy! It's smack dab in the middle of Christmas and Spring. This year, it brings extra joy and goodness and color to our home while our outdoors are bleak and WHITE. It also means that our little baby is closer to arriving and the celebration of two birthdays...Isabella's and my own! SO....here are a few of the decorations that I made and got up yesterday. I still have MANY plans brewing and will blog them as they arrive! I have ordered lots of paper lanterns in all shades of Valentine's!! Can't wait till they come!

Our dining room center piece....for now. I change our centerpieces all the time...I get bored easily! I saw these gorgeous pink and red tulips at the Floral Department and I want them badly!

The empty jar will be filled with my favorite red candy...sour cherry balls! JUST as soon as I can get to the store (which won't be today since the snow is not stopping anytime soon!)

Our ugly brown bookshelf that was free and that I am thankful for even though I am whining about it. Those mailboxes are SO FUN! My kids have died and gone to heaven because of those babies.

I REALLY wanted the HUGE letters that will stand up on their own (out of cardboard and quite thick) BUT I cannot find them here. I bet all of you with Hobby Lobby can get them. Our craft stores do not! These will do! The biggest ones that they had!

Thank you Cricut for making my life so much easier! I LOVE you! Oh...and Mod Podge. I LOVE you too.

This little tree has been so versatile. I've used it for so many different things. Right now, it is our LOVE tree. For Family Night this week We each got a handful of hearts and we wrote down the things that we love...the things that make us happy.

I have spotlighted a few of my favorites!

John has started an amazing tradition that I hope lasts forever. Every Wednesday evening, the kids rotate going on a "date" with John. They do different things each week....movies, dinner, Toys R Us, etc. Sometimes they are bigger dates like the movies and sometimes they are as simple as going and getting icecream together. He has been doing it for a few months and it's been good for everyone. Also, when it's my turn to go on a date with John...they are so excited about it because "mommy needs a turn too!" they all say. Even Talon will walk around saying "mommy's turn". John totally remembers doing this with his dad.

This heart in the front says, "Aliens". Yep...that was Izzie. Hailey and her have had many discussions about whether or not aliens are real. Hailey says NAY and Izzie says YAY.

I made this heart wreath for $2! Half a roll of crepe party paper and a glue stick (and some hot glue). It took me about an hour... Might be making another one!

And this project has nothing to do with Valentine's Day but I'm very excited about it. A friend and I have been working on this...can't wait to show the finished product!

I was featured on Babyology!! Go HERE to check it out!!!

2010 family Pictures

2011-01-06T07:44:00.000-05:00

I can feel the warmth of the sun from just looking at these pictures...YEAH for Summer!!! My awesome friend Natalie took these pictures for us. It's hard to believe that we will have another baby in our 2011 family pictures!

New Year's

2011-01-04T16:39:00.000-05:00

This is my 25 week photo. In the last 5 weeks I have gained my first 10 lbs. Let's hope that I don't gain 10 lbs each month from here on out!

We were really missing family this holiday so when we had an offer for some visitors we were SO excited! John's brother Peter is currently living in Baltimore and he hopped in the car with his cute girlfriend Brittany and they drove 6 1/2 hours to visit us for the New Year's weekend. They were so fun to have and the kids LOVED having them. They played lots of games with Hailey which is something that she could (and wants to) do all day!

We ate lots of yummy food!! I think I may have mentioned this a time or two before, but I HEART my grocery store. WEGMAN'S is absolutely the best grocery store. I have never been to a store that I like more. I always take our guests...silly I know...but it's just too great of a store to pass up. We ate lunch at the Cafe and it was delicious.

We enjoyed some bowling. I haven't bowled in awhile and I was just awful! We will blame it on the belly...my balance was totally off and I just kept getting gutter balls. I am never a "great" bowler...but this was seriously pathetic!

Peter let Hailey be in charge of his camera ALL weekend and she was in heaven. She was very responsible with it. I was impressed. She now thinks that she NEEDS a camera of her own!

What in the world Izzie??? This is the funniest face.

Brittany was so great with the kids!

The girls were of course extra silly for our visitors.

Our weather was unreasonably (but amazingly) warm. It got up to 57 on Saturday and we loved every second of it. We decided to take advantage of it and we drove 2 hours to Niagara Falls.

It was pouring rain but the warmth was beckoning us to do something outdoors so we went anyways. It stopped raining for just enough time for us to enjoy the falls. It was extremely foggy...we couldn't even see all of the falls but it was still beautiful. I think it added to the majesticness (I know that's not a word...using it anyways!) You can see Canada in the background (well, atleast the tops of the buildings!)

Peter and Brittany!

Niagara was really fun. We didn't think about it being New Years Day and so everything was closed. It was still so cool to see the power behind the water before it went down the falls and the calmness of the water at the bottom of the falls. Maybe next time we'll do some of the fun things that they have available so that you can get closer to the water.

It was a wonderful weekend!

I am usually very good at working on my New Year's resolutions but for some reason I have not felt the need or the desire to have resolutions this year. Well, the first reason is probably because my first goal (and it seems like most peeps) is to eat healthier. Well, mine is usually to lose weight...but since I'm just gaining weight from now till April, I'll work on that later. Other than that I feel like life is going good for us. Atleast all of the things that we have control over. There are always things to improve on but we are always so hard on ourselves. I have had enough of myself and others being so hard on themselves. This year, I will strive weekly to be the best ME that I can be and that encompasses my entire life and everything that I do. To be the best me is to be the happiest me and I look forward to this new year and all of the wonderful blessings and challenges that come with it!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

2010-12-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

December has been a very fun and full month for us! I love how there are so many fun things to do around the holidays....especially with the freezing cold temperatures. Sometimes it feels like we have to be forced out of our house and into the cold!

We started off the month by going to John's work party. It was very nice with delicious food and awesome prizes (of course we didn't win anything). We had not gone on a date in a while so it was REALLY nice to go out with my man!! We traded babysitting with two other couples this month so we actually got to go on TWO dates this month! We've really missed this! Babysitters here have been hard to come by. Everyone in our ward are the same age as us with young families. There is one family with teenagers but it seems like you have to fight for them...and I'm not so much into stealing other peoples babysitters!

St. Nick came!!!!! I love this day (December 5th) because it's a small dose of Christmas morning. It just gets me ALL excited! John actually surprised me with a few new things in my shoes (I usually fill my own)!

We took a small roadtrip. We decided to go to the temple in Palmyra New York (that is OUR temple). It's still 3 hours away...man do we look forward to living closer to the temple. Of course we brought the kiddos...because there was no where else for them to go. It was a REALLY long day for them. We tried to make it fun but spending 6 hours in the car is a long time for them. It was really cold so we couldn't spend too much time out of the car or the Visitors Center or we would be popsicles.

While John was in the temple, the kids and I visited the Hill Cumorah. This is where Joseph Smith was lead by Angel Moroni and he found the golden plates in the mountain side. It was really pretty and very fun to be there. I am SO excited to go back in the Spring/Summer when the weather is nice.

We decided that it was as good a time as any to check out the Sacred Grove and I am so glad that we did. It is not very busy in the winter so we had most of the place to ourselves. I hear it is PACKED in the summer so I'm glad we went...even in the snow! This is a part the Smith's farm. The kids loved it!

The Smith's Frame Home. It was such a step up from their first home that is on the property. I have small memories of being here with my family when I was a kid. It was great to bring my kids to have the same memories as I did.

What would Christmas be without decorating Sugar Cookies? We didn't do Ginger Bread Houses this year...no one seemed to notice!

These cookies were YUMMY! Thick and chewy!

Our little "Rugby Player"! We sure do spend A LOT of time in our house right now. It really is so much work to get everyone bundled up and to go out into the dreary...blah....weather. I have really missed the sunshine (we did have one sunny day this month) and am already REALLY ready for winter to be over. There are people here who really don't mind the weather. I just can't get into it. I want green grass and I would love to be able to go to the grocery store without trudging through snow or melted snow and mud and sand. I love our house and it's a good thing.

This is Talon. In my bed. This has been a nightly occurrence. The only reason he is allowed in my bed is because he pays me with random, sweet kisses occasionally in the middle of the night and he is such a sweet cuddler. BUT, John and I both sleep so much better when he actually makes it through the night in his own bed. I think he is ready to be out of his crib. I remember that when Isabella was getting really hard to get to sleep and stay asleep, as soon as we switched her to a bed, she slept all night. Maybe that will work with Talon. I think we'll be getting him a bed this week!!

These pictures are awful...blurry, crooked, table in the way....but they are the only pictures that I took with all three together on Christmas Eve or Christmas! I hate when I do that! We had a really fun Christmas Eve! We had grand plans of eating and playing with another family in our ward this night but their newborn baby ended up getting really sick and needed to recover, so we had to come up with a back-up plan. We started out the morning with a delicious...sit down breakfast. My favorite! Then we went to the movies with all three kids (a first!!!) to see the Legend of The Guardian Owls. We were one of two families in the movie! I thought it would be packed...but we enjoyed having all the space we needed. Talon does not watch TV or movies...so after he was really rambunctious for the first twenty minutes...John was able to snuggle him up and he fell asleep for the rest of the movie. The girls of course LOVE going to the movies.

After the movies we took the kids to a Restaurant. We went to Olive Garden, and AGAIN, we were surprised at how EMPTY it was. We had a quiet, relaxing, completely civilized meal with all three of our kids. They were GREAT! It was a lot of fun and the kids all got their tummies full! By the time that we left the restaurant, it was picking up and there were people everywhere. We beat the crunch!

We came home, made cookies for all of our neighbors and went caroling! It was a highlight of our Christmas (this was our second round of Caroling!!) Then we had the kids each take turns reading (or reciting) a few scriptures...this was Talon's turn. He always does so great. He repeats every word John says (again...let me remind you that he is not a talker yet!) Some of the words he repeats sound SO close to the real word...other's...not so much. BUT he tries and does such a good job! We've been trying to read the Book Of Mormon this way for the past few months and the kids really love it.

Our stockings were PACKED full this year! It was a good stocking year for us! When we are all finished having babies, I plan on buying matching stockings and getting our names monogrammed on them. BUT until then...we've got a little of this and a little of that!

Yeah for presents!!! Christmas morning we heard the kids at 7:30 (they knew they could get into their stockings before we were up). We totally could have let them enjoy their stockings for a while before we got up but we were too excited! We woke up Talon (easy to do since he was sleeping pushed up against my face) and headed out to see what Santa had brought us! The girls favorite gifts are their Pillow Pets! Talons is probably this:

Talon and JOHN love this new hoop! They play everyday together! The rest of the day was spent with the kids in their jammies (John and I actually got ready for the day). Playing with toys, eating candy, playing new DS games and Explorer Games. Most of my afternoon was spent cooking dinner...

Our ham...fall off the bone....goodness.

Homemade Lionhouse Rolls.

Cheesy and Crunchy Potatoes

Sparkling Grape Juice

I had more things planned for our meal but I tuckered out. My kids kept coming in complaining to me about what we were having for dinner...so I finally decided that if John and I were the only ones eating then I wasn't making ANY MORE FOOD! They of course loved the rolls. They all eventually decided that the ham was good and ate some, but Hailey HATES potatoes. She wouldn't even go near them. Isabella is still a good sport and tried everything. Talon is the worst eater out of them all. He did eat quite his share of the ham though. He loves meat! We had cinnamon rolls for dessert and those were a hit!

John got a sled for Christmas. After the girls were in bed (and Talon should have been) John and him went out for a late night sled! We have the tiniest of hills in our front yard. Talon LOVED it. Giggled SO loud! John froze to death.

John has gone out everyday since Christmas with the kids and pulled them super fast on this sled. One day we'll have to actually bring it to one of the hills for a really sledding experience.

And....those are open backed slippers in his feet!

I really, really missed being with family this year. Erie just seems like such a secluded place. It is REALLY easy to feel alone in this town. I think that next year, we may be doing anything necessary to spend the Holidays with people we love!

Thank you for all of your wonderful Christmas cards. We look at them daily and think about all of the memories that we share with you. We are all worlds apart but at this time I can still feel the love that is shared with one another. We have many things to be grateful for and are so thankful for this Season of beautiful music, gorgeous decorations, and sparkly lights!!!

It's a......

2010-12-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

Well, some of you may recognize this first picture from 2 1/2 years ago when I was pregnant with Talon. This picture was taken at 20 weeks and 1 day. I thought it would be fun to take a picture in the same outfit that I wore that day.

Darn it. Here is 20 weeks with this baby and I am very disappointed. I was thinking that the previous picture had been taken earlier in the pregnancy...like 17 to 18 weeks. Nope. I double checked.

Big ole belly! Sheesh. The funny thing is that I still have not gained ANY WEIGHT! Makes no sense. BUT...even though they are not pictured...the jeans fit. They are not maternity jeans. Maybe I couldn't breath....but they fit! Just sayin'!

We made the little two wait until Hailey got home from school before we would tell them what we were having. The girls both guessed it was a boy. I don't think Talon knows what's going on.

And here comes the cookies. They knew the drill: pink means girl, blue means boy!

Yeah!! It's a girl! I called it!! The Ultrasound Tech kept playing games with us....couldn't fool me! She looks so healthy and I love her so much. We had a 45 minute session (super thorough tech) and we loved every second of it. A boy would have been cool. 2 girls...2 boys...but a girl sounds just right!

Happiness all around!

Proud Daddy!

Now we can back-up a bit. We ALL know that I only blog once in a while these days so here is a chunk of stuff that we have been up to! Thanksgiving was a nice relaxing weekend. Well, for the most part.

This picture below is the only picture that I have of Thanksgiving Day...Lame I know. We went to a friends house and had a great time! The food was delicious and plentiful! Everyone was worn out by the time we got home. Isabella didn't even make it to her bed. Straight from car to kitchen floor.

Girls day out. We went and saw tangled while Talon napped and John tried to recover from being sick. All of the adults in our Thanksgiving dinner group, caught this nasty stomach bug and this was John's turn. I had it the day before.

Of course there was shopping! This picture was taken at 2 am. Eating a midnight snack at McDonalds to kill some time (and get warm and dry). We started our day at 7:30 Thanksgiving night. Went and stood in line at Toys R Us in the rain. It was about 42 degrees at this point. It was great though. We had chairs, umbrellas, and we were still dry. Great company! It was a blast! Doors opened at 10pm and we got everything that we had on our lists (plus some). Then it was off to Wal-Mart. We got there about 11 so we could scout out what and where our items were before midnight when the madness begins. I got about half of the things on my list. This place was truly a M.A.D H.O.U.S.E. It was intense. Wasn't sure if I was going to make it out alive. Good news...I did...but I had to sacrifice a few things.

Britani and Nicole! So here we are back to 2am and after we warmed up a bit we headed back out into the even worse weather (sideways rain and temps. around 35 degrees). We were still damp and getting a little tired but still ready for some fun! We drove over to Target and thought we would wait in the car for a bit to stay warm and dry but realized quickly that the Target line was growing by the second and we had no time to lose. There were a few things on our list that would be hot items so we braved the weather and got in line for the next hour and a half until it opened at 4am. I don't know if I have ever been THAT COLD! My feet were soaking wet and so were my pants. We finally started taking turns waiting in line so that we didn't DIE! Met some great strangers in line. Always do! Target was a success and it was 6:30am by the time we were done (and snowing now). By 7 I was sound asleep in my bed, just in time for the family to be waking up. I slept until 9 and headed to AC Moore for a few more things that I had on my list! A HUGE SUCCESS! I got the best deals. But by the time I got home I was feeling that stomach bug that I was unaware that I had and I was SOOOO Tired. I took a little nap but the kids just wanted me up so the rest of the day was spent watching movies, playing games and feeling osososososososososos sick.

Here's our Thanksgiving Snow. Saturday the kids had a great time playing in the foreign material! I had stocked up on all of the winter essentials (knowing what we were in for) but I forgot one thing....snow gloves. They didn't care but I was sure to buy them on Monday!

These two kiddos crack us up. They have turned into the biggest fighters. They are only 19 months apart and you can see that now. For the longest time Talon was just the baby but he has turned into a full on toddler right along with Isabella. John is soothing two very unhappy children who were just beating each other up.

Two minutes later...they are loving on each other. Seriously...this is all day long. Either they LOVE each other or are Gladiators trying to see who can hurt the other one more!

We decorated for Christmas about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. Loved it! Lay off!

This picture was taken yesterday before school. Our Thanksgiving snow had all melted but we woke to a beautiful WHITE wonderland and Hailey was SO excited about school being canceled. She was very disappointed when I informed her that school doesn't get canceled here in the snow (unless it's a few feet maybe!)

More Hecker's Happenings

2010-11-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

I'm just trying to catch up. I know these last few posts have been LAME...but I am pulling the pregnancy card! Here's a quick run down: Hailey had to have surgery on a wart that had grown on her face in just 2 months. Poor girl. And I have to just say...isn't there a better name for it than wart??? Seriously. We had to drive two hours to the children's hospital in Pittsburg. Hailey was a trooper! It has healed completely now...the plastic surgeon did a great job! No scar at all!

We went to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus....again! When we took the kids in the Spring, we were pretty sure that it would be awhile before we were able to go again but they came to Erie in October and we took advantage! We had a great night. It was not near as big of a show as it was in Virginia Beach...still 2 hours but they did not have as many big acts and less than half of the circus people. Still a great time!

The Pre-Show is probably the kids favorite part. You really get to interact with the clowns and animals.

Hailey getting her GROVE ON!

Halloween went by so fast. We enjoyed all of the wonderful activities that come along with it...I just didn't feel well enough to worry about taking pictures. Here's a few that we did capture.

I told that kids to pick a costume from our dress-up box. I didn't want to spend the money and they didn't seem to mind at all. Hailey is a princess. Talon a monkey. And Isabella is a kitty!

We let the kids go to the neighbors houses on Halloween. They really enjoyed Trunk-or-Treat at the church.

This picture just cracks me up because Talon is crying for JOHN! Little stinker!

I am now 17 1/2 weeks pregnant! I'm starting to show and wearing mostly maternity clothes. The best news is that I am finally feeling better (it took until 16 weeks)! I have more energy and can eat most foods. I haven't gained any weight yet and am SO glad. Jill remember our conversation about me being terrified about getting pregnant with the 20 lbs. that I sill had from Talons pregnancy? Good news: it turns out that if you have extra body fat...you don't need more...yet...well...in this situation anyways. I keep holding my breath for the 40 to 50 lbs. that I have gained with all of the others. Really trying to keep it down to 30 lbs. but not so good at that!

A little of our Pennsylvania summer

2010-11-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

When we were packing up for our move to Pennsylvania, we decided to sell all of our beach stuff at a garage sale. I didn't realize that Lake Erie was more of a beach than a lake!! I actually like it better for the beach. It's better for the little kids because there are not big waves and it's shallow for a bit. There were playdates scheduled atleast once a week at the Lake and we tried to go as much as we could.

Always exhausted after so much fun!!!

There are 11 beaches along this beautiful peninsula. They are all a little bit different and all so beautiful. There are bathrooms and concession stands which make it even more convenient. This is what the peninsula road looks like. Thick trees on both sides...right behind the trees is the water!

Another drive by photo...this is one of the beaches...the water is just over that hill.

Hailey's first try at Sumo Wrestling! Erie always has some fun things going on. This was a carnival that we went to that was raising money for cancer! We had a great day!

The Size of a Peach

2010-10-15T15:01:00.000-04:00

I am 13 1/2 weeks pregnant! Our baby is roughly the size of a peach. It feels more like the size of a cantaloupe...but whatever...they are the experts...right?! Speaking of peaches...I haven't been feeling too peachy. I have been anxiously awaiting this week (I usually feel better about now) but maybe week 14 will be my week. Our littlest addition is due on April 20th. I love April! I always wanted an April baby! For not planning this one, we sure did a good job at picking a date!

Post Overload

2010-10-04T16:09:00.000-04:00

It's a German tradition that first graders get a cone on the first day of school. I got one when I was little and so did all of my brothers and cousins. It was really fun to fill this cone up with fun stickers and pencils, silly bands, and arts and crafts. She loved it!

I was really nervous about how she was going to be about going to a new school where she had no friends but she did awesome! Her school is amazing...her teacher is awesome! Hailey has already learned so much and is really loving school.

Came home as happy as can be.

My little Isabella started preschool. She has such a different personality than Hailey has and her attitude about starting school is SO much different too. She absolutely C O U L D N O T wait. Of course there were still tears from me but she had the biggest grin ever!

Squeezes and hugs from Hailey!

Talon didn't know what to do without his sister that first day. He's figured it out pretty quick though.

Izzie and her sweet teacher!

John was in a car accident. I am SO sick of dealing with all of the repercussions of this car accident. It really has put a damper on our first month here in Erie. First things first...nobody was hurt. Not even a bit...thank goodness. BUT it has still been very painful. We were told that it was "totaled" and that it could not be fixed...the parts were not available. After about two weeks of John and I sharing one car and waiting for the insurance company to decide whether or not we will receive any money, we finally decided to buy him a new car. Two days later he gets a call from the collision repair guy (the one who told us the car could not be fixed) and he said he could fix the car for $4,000. SAY WHAT????? Really annoying! We decided to go ahead and get the car fixed. A week later we received a letter from the insurance company that said they were not giving us any money. We are still fighting it...it was NOT John's fault. So for now, we bought a new car and got John's repaired so we have 3 cars! We are planning on selling the Corolla. I love that car, but John really likes his new car better.

The girls started ballet and tap. I just realized that I don't have a picture of Hailey in her cute leotard.

There are tennis courts right outside of the building that the girls dance so Talon and John play while the girls are taking turns in their dance classes.

Talon turned 2! We had a quiet, perfect day. I love the big parties...that's SO fun to me! I just didn't have it in me this year! Maybe next year buddy!

Some things about my toddler:

* He LOVES his "MeMe" (Blankie)
* He is still obsessed with his daddy. If John is home, my arms are completely free because Talon will have nothing to do with me.
* He has decided that he doesn't like nursery anymore.
* He is a very picky eater. He likes his food plain and simple.
* He is all boy and is in love with every ball, car, and airplane.
* He is the last of the kids to go to sleep each night. For about an hour after the girls have been tucked in, he is up with John and I. It's because he is almost not needing a nap anymore and isn't quite ready for bed after being forced to nap by ME. Out of our three kids, he's showing signs the earliest that he is growing out of his naps.
* He loves to read books.
* He doesn't watch TV...he's not interested at all.
*He is such a sweet boy. He loves to snuggle and hug and kiss. I am SO in love with my lil' Man!

Happy Birthday Talon!

Hailey's hair was getting so long and it was ridiculous to brush. I have thought about cutting it for a while and she really wanted it short so one night we decided just to do it. I thought it would be pretty easy to do....just a straight cut...um not so much! It looks good enough but it's far from perfect. JILL I MISS YOU and your MAD HAIR-CUTTING SKILLS!!! I cut Isabella's while I was at it. The next morning I decided that I might as well cut mine too. So I did. I need to find a hair stylist pronto before this happens again!

Half way there...

We love it! She looks so adorable! And the best part is that it is so easy!

Talon was born tongue-tied. When he was 6 weeks old, a friend mentioned this to me and I immediately brought it up to the pediatrician. He shrugged it off without even looking at it. NICE. So here were are and he's two, totally behind in his speech because of it and I am BUGGED. The good news is that he had the surgery last week and he is all set up for speech therapy and of course...everything is going to be okay. It just would have been nice to have had it taken care of 2 years ago!

The surgery was on Friday and it's been really fun to watch him try to learn how to use his new tongue. He couldn't even lick his lips and now we have to teach him how to lick an ice cream cone. He keeps biting his tongue, I'm assuming because it's out of place to him now. He will also get food stuck under there and not know what to do about it. He was such a trooper! They gave him this medicine to drink that made him really loopy so that he wouldn't cry when they took him from me. It was REALLY funny to watch him...and as they rolled his bed away from me he didn't have a care in the world. He held on to the anesthesiologists hand like it was his daddies! After about 30 minutes they had me come back to the recovery room, and he was NOT happy. I wish they had some more of the loopy medicine to give him :). He was kicking and pulling my hair (SO not like Talon) and I was having a hard time even holding him. He does not wake up well from anesthesia! He came screaming...."Out, Out"! When they finally let us go I buckled him in his car seat and he stopped screaming, ate his Popsicle, and was fine for the rest of the afternoon! He just wanted to get out of that hospital! We have speech therapy set up for him and hopefully he'll get right on track really quick!

This is how we spent conference.

John thought it would be fun to find EVERY stuffed animal that we have in our house and bring them into the family room to watch conference with us. We are so lucky to have BYUtv this year which made conference SO much easier to listen too. The kids had the hardest time being reverent. I understand...they are little...but it was REALLY frustrating to me! It has been raining here in Erie for about 2 weeks. I am SO tired of the rain I cannot even express it strong enough. There are Erie residents who love it and don't mind it one bit...that irritates me even more! After two days of being stuck in the house, John decided he was taking the kids on a walk. In the rain. We only have two umbrellas and of course our little princesses claimed them as theirs so the boys just walked in the rain! Please sunshine....come out to play!

Come inside our home!

2010-08-16T12:25:00.001-04:00

Our house!

This is only half of the backyard! It takes John forever to mow the yard but it's been really fun to have.

Our family room. We have these great huge windows in here. I love how bright it is.

Another angle!

Our dining room!

Another nook in our dining room.

Talon's Room

I painted this dresser for Talon. It was my brothers growing up and somehow we ended up with it. It was fun to do! The shelf in the previous picture is the same navy blue color.

A corner of the girls room.

Our kitchen

Breakfast nook

While we were looking for a place in Erie, we realized that more than one bathroom is hard to find. We are glad to be one of the homes that do have two. The problem is that our 2nd bathroom is down in the basement and is tiny. SO....we all share this one! I haven't decorated this bathroom yet. It feels like we have spent so much money on random necessities since we moved here...hoses, edger, new vacuum (ours broke), etc. This room is going to have to wait.

There are a lot of storage spaces and we have empty cupboards....weird! I am not used to that.

Our laundry shoot! Oh the kids have loved this! I have too...no laundry baskets except the one in the basement that catches the clothes in the laundry room!

Our 2nd...very tiny bathroom. Look at that little sink.

We've loved having a garage. For sure the best part has been that my van is parked in it...LOVIN' THAT! I also have enjoyed it because it's been a great place to work on projects. I brought this table all the way from VA and it was pretty thrashed. I found it on the side of the road for free. I love how it turned out. Totally hard to see in this picture. It is also pictured in our kitchen. It's now being used as our breakfast nook table. I am looking for some stools that we can afford and it will be great to have when I find them.

I have loved having fresh flowers on our table everyday. We have the prettiest hydrangea bush in our front yard. I'll be sad when it freezes over in the winter!

Our bedrooms nothing fancy. No walk in closet, no master bathroom, the decorations are bare. BUT, it's clean and cozy!

One of my very favorite things about this house is the basement. It is the entire length and width of our upstairs. A quarter of it is finished and the rest is kind of divided into the laundry room, storage, food storage, weight room, and my work room. I'll show pictures of all that later. This room is where the 2nd bathroom is. The built in storage shelves have been amazing for the kids toys. We have a cozy couch and TV down there for the kids too. It's a big room. Perfect for visitors!

Time to meet Kurt

2010-08-12T22:04:00.001-04:00

This is my brother Kurt and his gorgeous family!

These two met at BYU athlete's gym. Leah was a gymnast and Kurt was on the football team. I think that they make the cutest couple and they make the cutest babies!

Here's Kurt, playing with the kids! He is most fun dad and such an awesome uncle. My kids adore him!

Kurt just bought his own practice and is an orthodontist. He has the best smile...so this is a great job for him. He is athletic and kind and so fun to be around.

This girl just amazes me. She is so generous and I look forward to seeing her any chance I get. I just love her! She is pregnant with their fourth little girl! She is a lucky little girl!

Annie is 7 and she is such a special little girl. Hailey adores her.

Alyse is 5 and is SO full of personality. She has always been so petite...just the cutest lil' thing.

I really enjoyed getting to know Madelyn better on this trip. She went from being a little baby to being this long haired, talking, 3 year old.

The girls begged to sleep in the same room the whole week, for sake of a good nights sleep, we told them that on the last night only! They were in heaven....giggles galore! The younger three in one room....

and the older two in another. These girls were actually asleep first!!

Leah and I always laugh because Hailey is taller than Annie but is 18 months younger than her. She is like...twice... the size of Alyse and they are only 10 months apart.

Meet my brother Chris

2010-08-10T13:31:00.000-04:00

This is my oldest brother Chris and his family. His wife Keri and their 5 children: Kaden, Kelsi, Carter, Kaleb, and Cole. They live in California and so we do not get to see them often enough. It was so great to see them. Keri is one of those people who amaze me. She is so smart. I love asking her questions and learning from her. She loves to have fun and she loves her children so much. She is the most amazing pianist and has spread her talent to her children. She has been in many pageants and is so beautiful. My brother Chris is 7 years older than me. Him and I have been compared often...both clumsy (or seem to get hurt often), both have horrible seasonal allergies and we are both allergic to many fruits. Chris is very good at building things...just like my dad and he is such a hard worker!

The boys!

Adorable Kelsi!

Yeah!

2010-08-09T22:25:00.003-04:00

Big news at the Hecker house! Isabella has not had her binky during the day for 4 days and today she threw them away and went to sleep without a single complaint about needing her binky. All in the name of a special Zhu Zhu pet she picked out named Roxie! I do realize that she is FAR too old for a binky and I have been stressing about this for about 2 years. She was ready...so it was easy. I hope that it sticks!!

The Big Move

2010-08-08T18:10:00.002-04:00

We started to pack 1 1/2 weeks before our three week trip to Utah. It took us every moment during that time to get everything packed. This is how our kids slept the night before we packed our truck.

It was BLAZIN' HOT in Virginia Beach on July 24th. The hottest day that I had felt all summer. We had some really sweet guys from our ward come to help...it would have been a nightmare without them. We have one piece of furniture that has got to weigh close to 1,000 pounds....no joke. Our entertainment center is ridiculously heavy but I REALLY wanted it so these guys all worked together to get it out of our place and up onto our truck. It was so hot that my camera was fogging up....so the photos are a little blurry.

Some of our helpers. It is times like these that I am so thankful for my church. It is something special to have people who do not even know you come to help you. These girls and one of the guys in the picture are from our ward but were new and we did not know them. They stayed with us for 3 hours until our truck was all packed and I am so grateful to them for their service.

Relaxing in the shade. We were all exhausted by this time. My body felt BEYOND weak. My emotions were high and I had no control of them because of how tired I was. For those of you who got a few tears from me...I apologize.

It was 102 degrees before you calculate in the humidity. It was registered as feels like: 112 degrees.

Just incase you don't believe me.

Ella is one of Hailey's good friends in Virginia Beach. It was sad to say goodbye to all of our friends. Well, most of our friends were not actually there to say goodbye too since they were all on internships for the summer but we had some very important people to see us off.

Ella's fabulous mother Jamie! Saying goodbye is one of my least favorite things to do.

We left early in the morning...okay not that early. It was supposed to be 5am and it ended up being 10am

Because of our delay, we ended up traveling at the same time as everyone else...BIG MISTAKE! Our 9 hour trip turned into a 16 hour trip! We were not prepared for that. It was rough. John always had one kid in the truck with him and I always had two. They rotated at each gas fill up.

They finially slept from about 11:30 pm to 2am when we arrived in Erie.

You can't really see this so well because it was dark but it was 68 degrees when we arrived in Erie. What a difference from that morning of 105 degrees in Virginia Beach.

This was the sweetest welcome that we could have received when we arrived to our house. We had air mattresses all ready for us and dinner and breakfast and towels and these sweet welcome wishes from our new neighbors The Stowells. Jandi has been amazing and has gone above and beyond her call of duty as a neighbor. More to come soon!

Meet My Family

2010-08-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

I think that most families are the same. If you get together for a reunion, a family picture will be taken. We've tried many different ways to do pictures in the past. My mom wanted this picture to be low stress so we all just gathered...wore whatever we wanted...and had someone take a few shots. Here is our 2010 Niepraschk Family Picture!

I have 4 brothers. I am the only girl but have since been blessed with the best sister-in-laws.

All of the grandchildren!

My sister-in-laws

Bean Museum

2010-08-07T23:06:00.002-04:00

When John and I were dating, he asked me if I wanted to go to the Bean Museum at BYU with him. I thought it was a little strange to go to a museum displaying beans but I was just glad to be with John so I said yes. When we walked into the museum for the first time I was glad to learn that it is actually a museum of wildlife and nature. John got a big laugh out of my surprise!

We had a great time there with our cousins!

My cousin Jennifer! We grew up super close but have lived on different sides of the US for the last few years making it hard to get together. Her and her husband just built there home right across the street from my parents so I will get to see her more often with our Utah visits!

My two sister in laws and my sweet mom!

The kiddos! These are all of my mom and dads grandchildren!

The pretty girls!

Cutest little Alyse. She is only 10 months younger than Hailey and she is like half of Hailey's size. I have some great pictures of them next to each other that I will post later. That butterfly is made entirely of real butterflies (not alive of course :).

Of course we had to go right next door to BYU since we all graduated from there. It was so fun to show the kids where we went to college. We enjoyed lunch and the bookstore.

What a wonderful day!

We've Moved!

2010-07-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

OKay...no pictures! I know that's so boring but I promise pictures are coming soon. We have moved to Pennsylvania and so far so good! I love the house and we've had a lot of fun unpacking and getting all organized. It does seem a little silly to put so much work into a home we'll probably not be in for very long but it needs to feel like home...right? I just bough some new plants and pots today and PAINT to work on a few projects that are spinning around in my head. I should do one thing at a time but doing 5 things at a time is always more fun :)! Thanks for all of the calls and well wishes. We miss so many of you so much ALREADY! I have the best neighbor in the entire world and thank goodness because she is the only person in all of Erie that I have to talk to. Hopefully after going to our ward on Sunday they'll be a few more. Hey Jill...funny thing...not ONE person from the ward came to help us move in. I'm sure it was just a fluke but still really funny! Thank goodness for our other neighbor Victor who is probably 75 years old. HE WAS AMAZING and helped us all day long! Sweet man! We are really enjoying the cooler temps...it was like 72 degrees today! More to come soon!

Cascade Springs

2010-07-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

I have never heard of this beautiful place before! I couldn't believe it. It is located in the Alpine Loop past Sundance. It is so pretty! There are these springs that come out from the ground and they have been preserved by not letting people play in them. Before we started the hike there were signs everywhere that said no picnicking and no playing in the water and I thought...that's silly. This isn't going to be much fun. After just a few minutes I really appreciated those rules because we were able to enjoy the natural beauty of the Springs.

Here's a group shot before the hike (although it's not really a hike..it's super short and stroller friendly!)

Hailey and her cousin Evelyn!

Because the Springs have been so well preserved you get to see wildlife at it's greatest! The water is so clear and you can see all of the beautiful fish. We were even lucky enough to see this baby moose and her mom (to the left). It was awesome...and a little scary. The mom was four times the size of this baby! They were drinking and eating moss from the water.

What a great way to start our trip. I already miss these mountains so much. They are amazing to me. My heart belongs in Utah!!

The best three weeks!

2010-07-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

It all started with a REALLY long plane ride! At first the kids all crashed. All three and all at the same time! I kept thinking, "Wow, we've finally got this flying thing down." They slept for almost an hour. We still had 4 more hours on that flight and it was hard work to keep them entertained.

This is them playing with the family behind us! Oh what a flight! We landed in Las Vegas, had a two hour layover and then caught our last flight to Salt Lake City. Traveling with small children is always a lot of work and extremely exhausting.

Three kids came kind of fast in our family. One day there's just Hailey as a baby who ate hardly anything and then BAM...all of a sudden my family eats an entire loaf of bread at a time. It was interesting to try to figure out who had a big enough car to fit us and all of our stuff - to take us to the airport.

Lots more pictures of our trip to come! It really was the best three weeks!!!

Hailey turns 6...and some other good stuff too!

2010-06-28T15:40:00.000-04:00

The last week has been filled with boxes, tape, and bubblewrap! I am so tired of packing. The good news is that we are basically finished. I have already had to say goodbye to many people and it breaks my heart to think about saying goodbye to everyone really soon. I think that it's even harder for me because I grew up here in this city and I'm not sure if we will ever live here again (and who knows when we'll make it back this direction now that my family is out West). We've had a lot of "Lasts" this week. Oh so sad.

I was asked to speak at Stake Conference last week which was fun!! I was stressed out until my talk was written, then it was fun! Yesterday morning I received a call from one of our Stake Presidency Leaders and he asked if I would give the talk again, in two hours, to the Young Single Adult ward. The topic was, "Not being afraid to get married," so it was really geared towards the singles in our Stake. I was glad to have the chance to give it to them, but still nervous!

There have been so many memories made with so many people. We have seen a few groups come and go in the time that we have lived here and I am so thankful to them and for their friendships.

These are some of the wonderful women who I have been lucky enough to have grown close to while here in Virginia. Jill had this going away party for me and I had a great time. Saying goodbye to these women is going to be very hard. I have already had to say goodbye to a few of them. It's hard to explain the feelings that come when saying goodbye to someone and not knowing when or if you will ever see them again.

For all you big jewelry lovers out there...isn't this necklace gorgeous!! I LOVE IT! Jill's aunt makes these awesome accessories and she got this one for me as a going away gift. So sweet! You can order straight from her blog here.

And here is my big 6 year old! We had a pool party for her and it was just perfect. I was looking for something a little bit easier since we are in the middle of moving and this was SO EASY! We invited 5 little girls (and their families) and ate lunch, swam, had treats, opened gift, and had minimal cleanup! It was fun to have her party on her actual birthday!

After the pool and Talon's nap we let Hailey pick which restaurant she wanted to go to for dinner. She wanted something fancy and we suggested Red Robin (well it's fancier than Chic-Fil-A or Costco's Food Court!)

We had them each pick something off of the kids meal and when the waitress brought out their drinks in plastic cups with a lid, Hailey politely said, "I don't need a baby cup." As I am trying to explain to her that the little cups come with the little meals, our sweet waitress swept the baby cup away and returned with a big, 6 year old glass!

We then headed to the park for some playtime before it was bedtime. Here's my favorite things about Hailey at 6 years old:

*She loves cereal...for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

*She is still super duper tall...she is taller than many 3rd graders...and she is BeAuTifUL!

*She makes friends easy. It seems like she is always playing with someone.

*She enjoys making jewelry, just like her mom.

*She is always pulling things out of the recycling bin...her idea of recycling is that WE reuse it! She is always making some sort of project or craft with the junk :)!

* She is such a great helper. She can clean up an entire room in 10 minutes! Sometimes it takes some coaxing but once she gets going she's good!

Jill and her family left for Arizona last night! It was sad to say goodbye. I'm not sure when our paths will cross again but she is an amazing girl and I am so thankful to have had a chance to get to know her this year. She could do anything...and she does just about everything. I am grateful for all of the memories that I have with her and will always cherish them!

Today I was lucky enough to go to the hospital to visit an old friend, Dana, who gave birth to twins! They are handsome! I don't know how you keep track of two babies at once...I just kept looking around making sure that I wasn't going to bump into the other baby while holding one.

Hailey told me that she wants a sister...no a brother...no maybe a sister. Hmmm...sounds like she's not quiet sure yet! Either are we so it sounds like we are all on the same page! She also asked if she could take this sweet little newborn home with her. Nice!

We are going to Utah for 2 weeks and have so many fun things to look forward to! We are going to Bear Lake and staying at a beautiful cabin with all of John's siblings and their children (he has 9 siblings so that is A LOT of people). My family is all gathering for a family reunion at my parents house the next week. We have lots of friends to catch up with and lots of shopping and outdoorsy things on our agenda! Can't wait!! Then it's off to Erie, Pennsylvania!!

I actually did it, and now I'm sad!

2010-06-17T23:54:00.000-04:00

As badly as you want to know what it is that I actually did...it's at the end of this super duper long post...so you'll have to hold back your anticipation for just a few more minutes!!

Okay, so let's just say that I am officially a slacker blogger. Let's go back to May...This photo is a picture of all the drugs that my doctor prescribed me when I was feeling super sick! Really....5 different meds? They did make me feel better which is what I asked for! I had been sick for over a week when I finally dragged my feet to the doctor! I'm pretty sure that I got my friend sick who was 32 weeks pregnant with twins and she had the hardest time because every sneeze was excruciating. I am so sorry Dana!

Now in June...far too recently...John hurt not one...but BOTH of his legs playing basketball. He couldn't walk for three days. Man was that fun for all of us! I wish you could hear the sarcasm in my voice. This is how Talon got in his playtime with Daddy.

Then Talon got sick...nothing too bad but he had a fever for two days and was GgGggGRrRrrrRRUuuUUMmMMmMPpPpPYYYyY! This picture was taken at 8am, just 30 minutes after he woke up for the day! Hailey got it a few days later which resulted in an early morning (5:30) call to 911 and a firetruck (with 3 firemen), an ambulance (with 3 EMT's), and a police officer all standing in our family room with a perfect little girl smiling up at them! She had a breathing attack and scared the crap out of John and I! Hailey kept freaking out because she couldn't breath and after 30 minutes of trying to help her (with her inhaler) we finally just called. As I am totally crying on the phone with the dispatcher she finally got her breath back and I tried to call off the entire RESCUE SQUAD! Too late...I heard the sirens...they were on their way! It was all way too exciting for us. We all went back to bed for a few hours. It turns out it was a bad case of croup! Hmmm...not even asthma. That must be why her inhaler wasn't helping! A dose of steroids and she's been fine!

John has been super excited about the Father-Son Camp out and couldn't wait to have a son old enough to go with. Is 1 years old...old enough? That's questionable! They had a lot of fun on Friday, well atleast while the sun was still shining.

Talon is carving a stick..with pliers! Hmmm...not a true boy scout yet if he can't tell the difference between a knife and a pair of pliers but John said he was having a great time!

This is when it was just not fun anymore! They slept in the back of our van which actually looked quiet cozy...we have mattress that fits PERFECT back there (too bad for seat belt safety or we'd always travel like that!) The problem was that it was HOT and the bugs were horrible so he couldn't open a window for fresh air or they'd be eaten alive. The report I got was that Talon didn't fall asleep until 3 am and was up at 6am. He just fussed and cried the whole time. John said it was about as bad as a night could get! He also claims that they would have come home in the middle of the night but they had been blocked in by other campers.

The five of us had an amazing day at the Washington DC temple. I know...that's a bad picture...hmm.

Well, anyways John stayed home with the kids so that I could be at the temple for a special family in our ward who were all sealed together and also for a good friend who received her endowments. It was so awesome. I'm not sure if I've ever been in the temple as long as I was that day but we had a grand ole time!

Group shot...just a few of us who made it that day!

Hailey learned how to do the monkey bars. She was so excited about her new skill!

We took a trip to the Norfolk Zoo and had a great time!

The cute little girl on the end is Lorelie. My sweet friend Caroline watches her and she was a joy to have with us!

See those lions behind Hailey? They seemed SO close. They were definitely our favorite part!

Nothin' like taking a ride on a golden turtle!

Caroline has been such an amazing friend and I am so glad to have had her in my life! She has taught me valuable lessons and is so generous and loving! It'll be hard to say goodbye!

You can't tell so good in this shot but Izzie is doing Talons hair with her play salon toys. And he is LOVIN' it. He gets in line when I tell the girls that it's time to do their hair each morning. Seriously...he's trying to butt in line to get his hair done first. He is so funny!

And here it is....what I actually did that has broken my heart. First of all...you know I am totally dramatic right?!?! Well, if you didn't know that...you will now.

I actually sold my plants....all of them except my herbs...all 12 pots! I held back tears. My heart was beating a million times a minute. I wanted to scream. These pots and these plants have been a huge part of my life here in Virginia Beach. Selling them not only represented the time that I have had here and the stories of how and where I collected each one but it was also that I am actually moving. It's really happening.

t gets worse. WAY worse! I was going to try to bring all of my plants with me. I knew it was a stretch but I tried to think of every scenario of how to get these beautiful plants to our new home (I had already placed them all on our new deck! ahem....in my mind!) It just wasn't going to work but I thought for SURE that I was going to be moving with these.....

Yes, I know this is a rodent...there are two...sniff sniff...there WAS two. Rosie and Rutabaga were our sweet baby hamsters who we had taken care of since they were newborns. They were most certainly a part of our family. We are traveling to Utah for 20 days before our move and between finding someone to take care of them while we were gone and then having to move them with us, I knew that finding them a new home would take a lot of stress off of me. No holdin' back tears this time. Yes, I totally cried as I waited for their new family to come and pick them up. Sigh....still sad. It's for sure now. We are definitely movin'!

Recipe for Surprise Cupcakes

2010-05-17T07:35:00.000-04:00

Surprise Cupcakes

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 egg
1 cup of chocolate chips (mini's work well)

Prepare cake mix according to directions. Place paper liners in muffin tins. Fill each 2/3 full with batter.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together, then mix salt and eggs. Add chocolate chips and stir well.

Drop one rounded teaspoon of cheese mixture into batter of each muffin cup.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.

Cool and frost with chocolate cream cheese frosting (my favorite recipe follows).

Makes about 26-30 cupcakes

I was given this recipe from my Sister-in-law, Jenn.
Upon further inspection, I had also been given this recipe about 2 years ago from my friend Heidi. It had been lost in my recipe archives....so glad that Jenn reintroduced it as it is now a family favorite! Thanks girls!!!

My Favorite Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 C butter (1/2 stick) at room temperature
4 C sifted powdered sugar (You can decrease this amount if you don't care about it being as stiff for piping)
1/2 C cocoa powder

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.
Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
Mix in cocoa powder.

To cover this many cupcakes with as much frosting as I did in the picture you will have to double this recipe! I then filled up a ziplock baggie, cut a diagonal snip on one of the corners and piped away! I made sure the frosting was REALLY thick so that it would stay like that!

When they are all finished and cool, store them in the fridge....they are even yummier that way!

I found them!

2010-05-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

Easter Morning was a huge success!! Last year Hailey found her basket (and her siblings) while we were all sleeping. She left them alone...and told us after she found hers...but it wasn't quite as fun because we missed the "search". This year we told her she wasn't allowed to search until we were up...mean right?? The picture of Talon coming out of the desk drawer is so funny to me.

We skewered jelly beans for decorations. Very fun!

Love these girls! Lexi, Jacqueline, and Tiffany Burton. This is only half of the kids!! Lexi is our beloved babysitter...not sure what we'll do without her when we move to Pennsylvania! I might be stuffing her in my suitcase.

I've explained the Easter Egg bash before. But if you are new here...this is how it goes:

John's family has a great tradition and we were so excited to be able to do it here in Virginia this year. Did you know that if you hit two eggs together only one will crack....every time! His family hard boils their own eggs and decorates them-they are very serious about this-and then they have a tournament to see who's eggs beats all the eggs. John made a bracket sheet similar to March Madness!

Jared and his daddo! Check out these eggs...

This is the back of the most adorable egg...she has on a coconut bra!

And the winner is...Greg Burton! Well done!!!!!!

Easter

2010-05-10T20:30:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I never even blogged about Easter! Sheesh! We had a great holiday! We of course did the traditional Ham and all of the fixins'! It is way to much food for our little mouths so we invited our sweet friends...the Burtons. I of course took lots of pictures but cannot find them right now. I'll post them later! We had an Easter Egg Bash. They came fully prepared with all of their eggs and they had decorated them SO CUTE!!! I WILL find those pictures! I love the girls Easter dresses. Perfect for Spring weather!

Spring is here!

2010-05-10T20:12:00.000-04:00

We have had such a fun start to summer! Spring Break was a few weeks ago...and since I am always a few weeks behind...I am actually right on time! We went to the beach twice, we went to the park all day long, we went to the circus, we slept in, we stayed up late, we didn't have a schedule! Here are some fun pictures of the beach.

Hmmm...check out that belly!!! That girl knows how to stick it out!!

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to Norfolk and I am so glad that we went. We had the best family day ever! It was so fun and we made memories for sure!

I am SO excited!!
Norfolk, Scope

This picture is taken right after we first arrived. It seems so silly to me know...I guess it seemed a little silly then also....but I totally started to cry....AT THE CIRCUS! Tears of joy of course. I was just so happy that we were able to do this fun activity with our children. I couldn't help but get emotional because I just love them so much and I was so happy to be with them...doing what we were doing!

Seven Year Itch

2010-05-10T19:38:00.003-04:00

Here is Wikianswers definition:
In short it is a relationship term - usually after 7 years people tend to re-evaluate their relationship. There might be evidence that it is now much shorter but the original number 7 came from a time period where the average marriage only lasted 7 years.

It's been seven years since John and I were married and made vows to be together forever! Have you ever heard of the seven year itch? We beat the average!!! It's hard to believe that it has been 7 years! Here are 7 facts about our marriage and our life...out there for the world to see:

#1 John and I love to have a clean home. I would say that it started out that we both did an equal share of the cleaning. I didn't clean a single bathroom in our place for the first two years. John was always on top of it...taking care of it before I had a chance. He was a great help with the laundry, dishes (we didn't have a dishwasher) and the vacuuming. He has always been so great about putting his things away. I never have to clean up after him...which I am very thankful for. We both worked and went to school and so we also both worked hard to keep our house tidy. He is still the one that cleans our bathroom and he does such a good job. It is scrubbed from top to bottom!! Since he has been so busy at graduate school most of the cleaning has been left up to me...and I don't mind it. I sometimes think about couples without children and I imagine how their house stays how they put it. It only gets messy when they move things. With three busy little hands (well 6 really) I am constantly picking things up...putting things away....wiping things down...and sweeping things off. I love for John to come home from work to a tidy clean home.

#2 We have a very open communication line! We always know when something is wrong...no holdin' back in this house. I think some people would call it fighting...but it really works for us. We let it out and then make up! I try to imagine what it would be like to not express ALL of our feelings with each other and it's hard for me to imagine!

#3 We love to go on dates. A lot of people fore go the whole dating thing while they are in school...well we have been in school out entire marriage. That wasn't an option. When we lived by family...it was definitely a lot less expensive. It is something that we look so forward to. Our favorite kind of date: Dinner, Movies, Shopping (sometimes even the grocery store...funny)!

#4 We enjoy playing games together. I have many fond memories of us playing games. Even while I was in labor!! Our game collection is quite large. Our families are all big game players too...

#5 We disagree about bed time. John hates to hear his children cry...or for them to be sad. Of course I would also prefer that they weren't sad, however I love to have a clear schedule and quiet time with just John. It's been so interesting to see the changes that our children's bedtimes have taken in the past 5 years. He doesn't mind them in our bed...I CANNOT SLEEP WITH OUR KIDS IN OUR BED!!! I am afraid to move in fear that I will wake them up.
Hailey was always on a good schedule and she did cry herself to sleep as a little baby and has been the best sleeper ever since. You say "sleep" and she sleeps. Even now...at 5 years old. If I think that she needs a rest during the day (which is SO rare) she will go right to sleep.
Isabella is also a fantastic napper. But..we have had highs and lows with her bedtime routine. Right now she wants one of us to sit in her room with her while she dozes off at night which is so annoying. I know... that sounds rude but I would prefer to say goodnight and let her do the dozing by herself.
Talon...well...this little guy has got John wrapped around all 10 fingers!!! I am usually the one that ends up putting Talon to sleep because he knows that I mean business. He cries and whines a lot more when John does it because chances are...he'll get his way. I also love this about John. As annoying as it is that he lets them have 5 more more kisses and a few more princess stories....it's also really sweet. I am trying to enjoy the ride!!

#6 We love treats. I love that John enjoys food and that he appreciates it. Since our anniversary was on Sunday and we don't go out on Sundays, I made Cafe Rio Style burritos (salad style) and it was heaven. The kids even enjoyed it. Since eating out costs LOADS of money and we do not have loads...I cook and bake a lot. If I didn't I would want to eat out all the time. I have learned that I would rather not eat it if doesn't taste amazing...so I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I actually do enjoy it...even if I complain once in a while! The finished product always makes all of us so happy. Sitting at our dinner table with yummy food makes our family smile!

I got this recipe from my sis-in-law Jen. They are called surprise cupcakes ( a yummy cheesecake chocolate chip center) and I made chocolate cream cheese frosting. They were divine!!

This picture had Hailey and I rollin'! He is loving this cupcake!

#7 I am so madly in love with this man. Seven years has given me many opportunities to learn more about John. I have seen sides of him that only I am lucky enough to see. When I was praying about marrying John, it was very clear to me that indeed...he was the man for me. Our married like has been simple. John has been a student the entire 7 years....and although we are not done yet...we are darn close. I have a feeling that we have a lot of fun and scary things to look forward to as we go out into the real world and start to become apart of society. I love you John. Thanks for being my bestfriend!

Catching Up!!

2010-04-08T23:28:00.000-04:00

Man oh man do I have some catching up to do! I still have to blog about Christmas....sheesh! I have felt overwhelmed because there is SO much catching up to do! For those of you who love me dearly...and therefore check my blog regularly (even though I am a slacker), you will have seen that I keep changed my background and title picture. I am just trying to get one that I like...I haven't been successful. For now...this will do.

Christmas 2009

2010-04-08T23:27:00.002-04:00

Merry Christmas!!! In April!!!

We took a fantastic trip in December to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Franklin, Tennessee. We had a great time! Here are some fun memories of the trip! John's brother James and his wife Jen live in Atlanta and my brother Kurt and his wife Leah live in Franklin! They live only four hours from each other and it's a beautiful and fun drive. It took us 8 hours to drive to Atlanta and 12 hours to drive home from Tennessee.

This is Christmas morning! They were so excited to go and see what Santa had brought them...they couldn't wait much longer! Noah and Hailey played really well together! They loved jumping on the trampoline and gliding on the zipline in the backyard. My favorite part was baking and cooking with Jen! I also loved the quiet evenings when all 6 of our children were sound asleep and we watched movies and played Wii. Fun times!

All six kiddos on Christmas Eve in their Christmas jammies!

This picture is significant because it is the last picture that I took before I dropped my brand new camera and BROKE it. If you remember...although you probably don't because it was 6 months ago (but my camera had just been stolen along with my purse...and this was the new camera that we COULDN'T afford)!! Christmas day was not so great after that. I was REALLY upset and had a hard time thinking about anything other than how I just wasted MORE of our money! I have no pictures of Christmas after this...except what Jen sent to me of what she had taken. I finally was able to let the frustration go but I fear I had already done the damage and ruined Christmas Day for myself! It takes me a lot to get GRUMPY...but I was grumpy!!! There had been a few BIG letdowns happen in our lives prior to Christmas and me DROPPING my own camera was more than my soul could take. There were some tears shed but I would like to announce that all has worked out fantastically and we have another new camera which I have been guarding with my life.

We had a great time driving around town looking at Christmas lights on the big, beautiful homes! We had a few kids in our car and James and Jen had a few kids in theirs.

Smile John!! Cause I am about to take your picture!

Sometimes I crack myself up...am I supposed to be pursing my lips like this??!!?? I don't know... I can't remember...it's been too long!

James works at a beautiful business park...we went and spent the afternoon there one sunny day. We had a great time feeding ducks...enjoying walked dogs...and basking in the warm sun!

It seems silly but I must say it...MERRY CHRISTMAS! As we have just celebrated Easter and have had a chance to reflect on our Savior again, we are so grateful for the love that we feel from Him and the love that we are able to have for Him.

The second half of our trip will be in a later blog! I promise I'll post it before next Christmas!!

January

2010-04-08T23:27:00.001-04:00

January was a fun month for us! We started it off by adopting two rodents into our family. Meet Rosie and Rutabaga! They were born on Christmas (or very close) and we are very thankful to our sweet friends who gave them too us. They have grown so much since this picture...I'm sure you are dying to see them. I'll get a recent picture posted soon :)! After a few escapes...eekkkekkkekkkeek...we have finally figured our how they were doing it and fixed that problem and they are now a sweet addition to the clan! They are noisy at night...that darn wheel...but we love them anyways!

The best part about January was that we had the best visitors EVER!!! GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!!! Not just one set...but BOTH!!

Grandma Hecker is so sweet to our babies. She lets them follow her everywhere and gives them all of the attention that they desire.

We can't have out of town visitors without going to the beach...but it was pretty cold. They brought us a great gift...one that was JUST perfect for a picnic at the beach....

It's called the Volcano and it is the most fun, portable grill! We ate a delicious lunch-chicken fajitas and a fabulously messy and tasty dessert-Smores!

That's me and Hailey. I am usually the photographer...so here is a picture of myself!

Next came Grandma and Grandpa Niepraschk. They came just in time for Isabella's 3rd birthday party and they were SO helpful. My dad is so great to run errands with us and sit in the car while the babies are napping. We were able to get so much done with them around. My mom is the best shopping partner so I was in heaven.

I love this picture of them reading to the girls. So sweet. I ended up getting really sick this week and I do not know what I would have done if they weren't around. I feel sad that we didn't get to do a lot of fun activities (of course they were happy to do whatever we were doing) but I was so glad that they were with me.

March

2010-04-08T23:27:00.000-04:00

I have been blessed with amazing friends. I am thankful every second of every day for these special women in my life. Caroline (right of me) has been the best of friends the last 3 years and I love her dearly. She organized a surprise party for John and I to help us learn more and to get more comfortable with Erie, PA! She has never been there...but she did all of the research for us. It was so sweet and so fun. We learned a lot!

She found a yummy bakery in Erie and had them ship TONS of goodies for the party. She sent us home with all of the leftovers and I was in heaven. We had chocolates and scones and chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies and wedding cookies and chocolate chip brownies (my favorite) and much more. It was even sweeter because my most beautiful girl Heidi drove 4 hours to surprise me and I was SO happy to be with her. She spent the night at our house and I was very glad to have her so close. The next day was GLORIOUS. It was a beautiful day filled with laughter, memories shared, and memories made. It was amazing to me at how the day didn't just slip away and fly fast as time seems to do...but it was slow and memorable. We had so much fun and I was so sad to watch her drive away...knowing it might be awhile before I can see her and her kids again.

We were pregnant at the same time...Khloe and Talon are only a month apart.

SMILE!!!

Izzie and Paige!

Yummy lunch!!!

She is an awesome mom and I love to learn from her. She is sweet and loving and so darn fun!!!! Her children and husband are so lucky to have her!

I love my sweet posers....they are always ready for the camera.

Hmmmm...I wonder who they get it from??

Leprechauns came into our house while we were sleeping and left a delicious trail of gold candy and green, messy stringly things.

The best part is that they lead us to this....

Gotta love holidays!! When we woke up the next morning...our cute/rotten little girls had the green, messy, stringy stuff ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I mean it was everywhere. They didn't have near as much fun cleaning it up as they did scattering it about.

Happy Birthday Natalie!

2010-02-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Natalie!!! This girl is special. She is so fun and kind. She is so easy going and I love to be around her. She has been sick all week. She started feeling a little better just in time for her birthday. Now her little girls are sick but we still managed to celebrate her! Nine of Natalie's friends who adore her and 15 children later...we had a great luncheon! Man I have got to get better about taking group pictures. It's so hard to capture everyone at the same time.

I found Talon eating the dessert off of dirty dishes in the sink...seriously?!??!?!

Happy Birthday Natalie!!!

We are moving...

2010-02-23T19:29:00.000-05:00

To Erie, Pennsylvania

We don't know much about this new city we will be moving too but here are a few things that make me think that it is all going to be alright!

Splash Lagoon Indoor Waterpark-
This will come in handy during the FREEZING COLD AND SNOWY WINTERS!

St Peter Cathedral, Erie, PA-
I love old churches. They are so pretty. I can just imagine us driving by this church one day and me getting all excited because I had previously seen the building in a photo!

Niagara Falls-

I have been here before. A long time ago...and I don't remember much...but isn't it gorgeous? It is pretty close I guess.

Walnut Creek-
I bet Autumn is incredible.

John will be working right across from this view! That is Lake Erie in the background! The photographer said that the weather was FFFFAARRRRRREEEEEEEEEZZZZing when this shot was taken. It looks cold...that's for sure.

One thing is for sure...we feel so blessed to be going ANYWHERE...since these internships seem pretty hard to get. We won't be moving until the end of July so we still have a while to let it all sink in!

Heckers' Happenings

January

'Oh How Tweet'

Some Randoms!

Our Merry Christmas

Back it up!

What a Summer we had!

A Picture a Day *June*

May 2011

The Easter Bunny Did Come to Our House

Too fast

Hailey is almost 7!!!

More of Lucy

Lucy Elizabeth

St. Patrick's Day 2011

Prego Pictures

It's time for an update!

The Latest!!

These ain't just any pillows!

Is it too early to decorate for Valentine's Day?

2010 family Pictures

New Year's

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

It's a......

More Hecker's Happenings

A little of our Pennsylvania summer

The Size of a Peach

Post Overload

Come inside our home!

Time to meet Kurt

Meet my brother Chris

Yeah!

The Big Move

Meet My Family

Bean Museum

We've Moved!

Cascade Springs

The best three weeks!

Hailey turns 6...and some other good stuff too!

I actually did it, and now I'm sad!

Recipe for Surprise Cupcakes

I found them!

Easter

Spring is here!

Seven Year Itch

Catching Up!!

Christmas 2009

January

March

Happy Birthday Natalie!

We are moving...

A Picture a Day June