Dear Jack,

I took you in for your first dental cleaning and I was so amazed at how well you did!  Maybe it was because you have seen your siblings sit in this chair for so long, that you were anxious to do it too, but you would hardly sit still when it was your turn. 

You were pretty much the same way at the first day of swimming lessons.  All you wanted to do was splash and yell. You wouldn't listen to your teacher and sit on the step and ended up about drowning until I got her attention. She had to hold you in her arms because you just could not sit still.  Thankfully, as the days went by your excitement level did taper and you paid attention a teensy bit more.  On the first day of swimming lessons, you refused to put your head in the water, but by the end you were a fish.  I have taken you kids to a couple pools and all you want to do is jump off the side and into the water.  Already you are a better swimmer than your mom, and I am so proud! 

I have to add that although you were not easy for your teacher, you won her over with your cute smile and personality.  The last day of class she walked over and asked for a big hug on the way out, telling me how cute you are.

Your buddy is still Christian down the road, and you want to play every day.  You two get along most days, but you can only play for so many hours and then I hear you guys arguing over everything.  You have learned to ride the scooter and like to ride up and down the sidewalk or down to Christian's house.  You love our next-door neighbor, Warren, who is like a Grandpa to you.  You call him "my neighbor" and will often tell me you are going over to see "my neighbor" or "what is my neighbor doing, mom?"  Him and his wife keep a freezer stocked of popsicles and he lets you follow him around when he is doing yard work, so he is your favorite. 

A day or two after my surgery, Warren came to door and pulled your Dad outside.  I guess you followed them both out the front door and in our front yard.  Warren showed your dad that one of our sprinkler heads was gone just next to his property and he was worried that when the water came on that night his yard would be flooded.  Just as Warren said "if only we could find the sprinkler head" you walked over to just behind where Warren was standing and opened his gas tank door on his car that was parked there, grabbed the sprinkler head that you had stuffed in there and showed them with a smile on your face.  Warren and your dad had a good laugh, I am sure.  You are the first one I ask when I can't find something, because you usually were the one to misplace it.

We have been working hard on your letters with the "Mr. Pencil" app because I would like you to be able to recognize some letters.  I don't think you can recognize any at this point, which is probably due to your age.  Thank goodness you have one year of preschool left, and that I switched to a little bit more structured school.  I should not be worried because you are such a little smarty.  

You were hilarious at the Scofield cabin.  The "forest fairy" (aka Grandma B) left out some bows and arrows for the boys one night as a gift.  You quickly grabbed onto as many as you could, calling them "aer-rows" and would say you were going out in the woods to shoot "ba-ers" and zombies, of course.  You had the cutest little hillbilly accent.  You fell asleep just about every afternoon up there too, right on the floor.  One of the days your dad pick you up off the floor from under the table and took a nap with you on the couch.  The next day you were halfway under an end table.  What is it with you and tables?

You are my buddy and little snuggler.  You are my Jackie-bear.  I love you so much.

Love, 
Mom

Gerry, the assistant lunch lady who was your favorite from helping with school lunches.  She loved you too.

I forced you into the picture, hence your face.

Scofield Cabin

Texas Roadhouse

Jumping off the side with cousin Brycey at the Lindon pool.

At Scofield with your bow.

Hangtime

Swimming lessons

Your face when someone jumps off the diving board

Dear Emmi,

Last night as I went in to turn off your lamp for the night, I paused for a moment at your side, taking in your sweet angelic face as you slept.  I thought to myself how beautiful you were (the leftover eye makeup that we hadn't taken off yet didn't hurt), and being your mother, of course I would think that anyway.  But you really looked like a little angel, and I had to force myself not to wake you up and tell you how much I love you, and instead I said another quick prayer of gratitude for you and let you sleep. 

I was so anxious to watch you on stage yesterday at the Miss Payson Pageant, more so than I probably should have been, and my terrible shaky job recording it is proof.  However, I am so grateful you got the opportunity to do so, and that Kate asked you to be her Pageant Pal.  I thought you handled yourself so well and was proud at how beautifully you shone on the stage.  You and Kate were good sports about not winning, but I think you both had a wonderful time in the process.  Who knows, maybe it will not be your last time in a pageant, although I don't know if I am cut out to be a stage mom.

You sure do love to sing, and we frequently hear your brothers asking you to stop when you start belting it out in the car.  Your favorite is Let It Go off of Frozen, but will sing to any song that you hear on the radio.  Consequently, you are doing really well in your musical theatre class and we are excited for that recital here in a few months.

At school you are still getting A's and a few high B's and all your teachers have nothing but good things to say at parent teacher conferences.  I love how you come home from school almost every day telling me that you fell down.  I really don't peg you for a klutz at home, yet you have a new scrape at least once a week from recess.  It must be all the running you do, getting chased by the boys.  I also always hear tales about a particular boy named "Marlan" that likes to tease you.  If someone made you fall it seems to be him.  Honestly, I am thinking that he sees how cute you are.  

Already you are learning multiplication and have beautiful cursive, which is absolutely amazing for a 1st grader.  You are looking forward to your birthday so much, and seem to ask me every day how many days (or weeks) it is until then.  Me and your father have seen a few emotional outbursts that we would expect from a daughter, but really not very many, and let's hope that continues.  

All I know is that I am indeed so grateful for you, for the opportunity I have to have a mother-daughter relationship and to try to raise you to be a good wife and mother some day.  You have a lot of good examples of women on both sides of your family, and I hope that you will try to follow in their footsteps.  

Love,
Mom



Dear Emmi,

Dear Emmi, 

It is my favorite time of year, dance recital time.  Watching you and the other girls always makes me miss my dancing days.  You are such the cutest little dancer, and my secret wish is that you will love to dance like me, but I am not sure right now if you want to.  For the summer, you are back in gymnastics, and we will keep you there for now.  I just want to find what you love doing.  Whatever that is, I will support you.

Your little dance number in the recital was a tap dance to "Splish Splash" and I think it was darling.  We had lots of family there to support you, which I know means a lot to you.  Papa also brought you some flowers, which made you smile so big.  I can't wait to see you again on stage (I hope!).  I love you.

Love, 
Mom

The Last 10 Years

Yesterday, was our 10 year wedding anniversary.  You better believe that I won't let that day go without some kind of post.  I decided to have a picture for each of the 10 years, to represent what we have done, how we have gotten older, and our journey so far.  

This is a picture of Chad and I at his parent's house before when we were just dating.  We were still in school at Ricks College, and would come down for the weekend to visit both our families.  This was the Sunday that I went with him and his family to his home ward. Doesn't Chad look so handsome?

2001:  Here we are engaged, and at a bridal shower that my Aunt Sandi put together for us, just a about a month before our wedding.  We got married on May 4, 2001 in the Bountiful Temple, and were sealed for all time and eternity by my grandfather, Horton D. Hess Jr.  It was a beautiful day, and was everything I had hoped it would be.

2002:  We had such a fun time living in Cedar City, and going to school at SUU.  We were working part-time, Chad at Wal-Mart and me at Winger's, but we looked forward to the weekends, when we would head down south to St. George to go to the temple, go to Costco, and visit my grandparents.

2003:  We finally got our first addition, Keaton Chad, and boy was he a good natured little guy.  He came only a day early, and at 7 lbs 2 oz.  Chad and I were new graduates from college, and I got to spend my days taking care of Keaton, while Chad worked full-time for Bach.  It was fun to tote the baby around, and take him places.  We were able to take him up to Mccall, Idaho to Chad's grandparent's cabin that year for a little vacation and give him his first boat ride. 

2004:  In the Spring, we moved back up closer to family, first living at my Grandma and Grandpa Hess' condo while they were away on a mission, then to an apartment in Bountiful when they came home.  It was good to be closer to family.  Keaton and I were able to have lots of play dates with my sister Abby and her son Tanner to fill up our day's, and I was working at the Church History Museum at night.  We also found out that summer that we were expecting our 2nd child, and were excited to share the big news.

2005:  Early in the year we moved down to Provo, since Chad started working at Vancon in Springville.  I was put on best rest the next few months, as Sam was coming too soon.  He ended up being  born just 2-1/2 weeks early, and at a whopping 8 pounds.  Samuel Hess was a full of noise and energy from the very beginning, and our family was never the same.:)  That year we also bought a lot in Payson, and built our first home, moving in the day before Halloween.  Chad was the general contractor, overseeing all the construction, and we did some work ourselves. 

2006: I spent my days chasing after my 2 crazy boys, and getting to know my new home and neighbors.  It was our first experience at Payson's Onion Days carnival, and it wasn't a good one for the boys.  One of them was in tears on each of the rides, (but now they love them and we look forward to it).  We were loving our new home.  We also found out that our third baby was on the way... 

 

2007: Emmi Elizabeth arrived 2 weeks early and very suddenly in the middle of the night early in May.  She was barely 7 pounds, and just beautiful.  We were so delighted to finally get our little princess.  Just before I got pregnant with Emmi, Chad and I were working every Friday night at the Provo Temple, down in the baptistry.  We met the sweetest people, and it drew us closer as a couple and as a family.  I had to stop going after Emmi came, and it has been on and off for us ever since.  We are hoping to start going back to work regularly soon. 

2008: We were able to say goodbye to the "dirts" and finish the backyard, hooray!  The boys were loving life as Dad brought home all kinds of fun construction equipment to get the job done. 

2009: The kids were growing up! Both of the boys were in school, Keaton in first grade, and Sam in Preschool. Chad was still working at Vancon, getting better at his job every year, and still enjoying it.  After trying a year or so to add yet another addition to our family with nothing happening, we decided that maybe this was the end of our brood.  Then, the next month we found out that indeed we have one more still to come, and we were excited.

2010:  We welcomed our 4th and last edition, Jack Brent in May.  I was induced just a couple days early, and the day after Emmi turned 3.  He was bigger than we had expected, just shy of 8 pounds.  He had the worst go of all the kids and ended up coming out bruised all over from where he was sitting in the womb, and then had to be under the lights for a pretty bad case of jaundice.  He was beautiful to me nonetheless, and such a good mixture of all of the kids. In preparing for his arrival, we knew that we needed more bedrooms, and were lucky and able to get our basement finished just weeks before he came.  Finally, our home was completely finished of all major projects.  That summer I also graduated from an online school becoming a certified Medical Transcriptionist, and started working part-time. 

2011:  Much of this year is still left to be written, but the highlights so far would be our first trip as a family to Disneyland, and Keaton's baptism. We are looking forward to Jack turning 1, summer fun, and football games later on in the year.  

Looking back, we sure have been blessed these past 10 years. I know that I am so happy with my decision to marry Chad, all those many years ago.  He has given me a very happy and fulfilling life thus far.  Happy Anniversary Chaddy.  I love you.

Randomness...

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to see Bon Jovi in concert with my mom, sisters, auntie and cousin.  I love Bon Jovi's music, but wasn't expecting to leave the concert with a crush on him to go with my loss of hearing, and groupie tee-shirt, but I did.  If he comes back to Salt Lake I might have to get tickets...closer.:)

Me, my sistas and our rocker pose.  We decided Abby looks a bit tipsy.

Emmi astounded me again with her wardrobe choice to go outside and play in.

 

Dropped by Sam's Kindergarten class to pass out birthday treats and see him get sung too, reminding me how fun birthday's are when you are young and in school.

 Captured Jack's first falling asleep at "the table"... awww.

 Emmi loves her bath time with Jack.

And he obviously gets a kick out of her.

Now, at 11 months, Jack looks so big to me.  I am so happy that he seems to have a love of the camera and will automatically smile when you point it in his direction.  I could take pictures of him all day long. 

He is such a lovable little guy too.  Loves to be held, and gives hugs and kisses.  It is obvious that he is a mama's boy when he has the option of either Chad or I, but Chad is a very close second.

Just the other day I was trying to entertain Jack while I was on the phone with my Mom, so I gave him my old mascara tube since I knew he couldn't open it.  Well, when I wasn't looking Emmi came in and took it away from him.  She proceeded to open it and paint his head and face with it and I turned around and saw what was happening.  Poor kid, he looks like he is ready for war or to play football.