Summer Fun

Yesterday was one of those summer days that I had spent half of the school year looking forward to! We didn't have anywhere we HAD to go or be and the friends we usually get together with have a sick baby, so we played! We went to the splash pad, picnic, library and home for a nice long nap!

Had to get a picture under the frog. Why not? We did LAST year!

This year the pad was a little slow on draining the water. The kids all thought it was neat, kinda like a mini pool!

We got take out and went to the park because A) Jesstine wanted Wendy's and I didn't and B) it was SUPER nice outside! First cool day in a while.

She is getting so big! She crossed her legs to keep her balanced on the picnic bench!

Later we went to the library which is quickly becoming one of her FAVORITE places to go! That's good! It's air conditioned!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Little China Doll and a Walk In Emmitt's Shoes

The kids that we watch every other week recently went with their mother to China where she is from. They came back with a couple of gifts. One was a traditional girls' dress for Jesstine. Here is my little china doll!

When we first found out that Jesstine was a girl, I had to buy something pink! It was just a must! I had my eye on a pair of Pink Adidas soccer crib shoes that came with a plush pink and white soccer ball. So, as soon as we knew, I ordered them. Well, with Emmitt it is no different! I found with Jesstine that Robeez were very useful because she couldn't keep her socks on, but it was SO cold in winter that she really needed something to keep her feet warm. So, I bought a pair of Robeez and was hooked! So, I searched for the perfect boy Robeez for Emmitt. These happened to be on sale. Best of all, they are versatile! They have three different interchangeable sports options (basketball, soccer, and baseball) and the ball can be removed so the shoe looks just like a little boys' dress shoe! We are SUPER excited about this little guy! I must admit, I have only ever known is girl!!! So, having a boy is so much different for me! It has been a different kind of in the womb bonding than it was with my girls. It is a good different though!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Hummm....

There is something wrong with this picture.....

Disclaimer: He would want me to tell you that it was an honest mistake. He took his shirt off to take care of some business and left it on the bed. He thought he had grabbed it as he went down to the basement, but it apparently wasn't the shirt he thought he had grabbed.....

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Growing Up

We have season tickets for Music Theater of Wichita. We usually get a friend from church, Kara, to come and babysit Jesstine while we are out. So the process is that as soon as Jesstine is up from nap, her and I go to get Kara. On the way back home we stop and get her favorite dinner, McDonald's. Then we head back to the house and Stephen and I get ready to go. You never know what it is going to be like when you leave your child with a babysitter. When they are little, you find yourself having to sneak out the door so that they don't notice that you are gone. It gets less and less so as they get older. What happened last night, I did NOT expect! I had changed into a dress for the night and was telling Kara a few more things before I left. Jesstine went up to her daddy and said, "Dadda, you and Mamma go out now." Hehe. She was practically shooing us out the door!

She was so excited though. She had been begging for the last few days to get the dollhouse out to play with. We have been helping a friend out and watching her 11 month-old daughter every Thursday and Friday for the last couple of weeks. So, I had to keep telling her no because the baby was here or because we didn't want to forget to put any pieces away since the baby was coming the next day. Thankfully, Kara ALSO loves to play dollhouse! In fact, she had the SAME dollhouse when she was growing up! Yesterday when Jessti

ne asked to play dollhouse, I told her no, but I quickly followed with, "But Kara is coming to play with you tonight and you and her can get the dollhouse out when she comes over!" When we returned home, play dollhouse they had! Kara had recently been to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in NY!!! So, while we were away watching the musical "Finian's Rainbow," Kara was culturing our daughter by playing out Phantom in our very own living room using the dollhouse, toilet paper, paper towels, and markers.

(If you have seen Phantom of the Opera, you know that there are NOT two girls. But at one point she looks in the mirror and appears as though she is a bride. I THINK that is what Kara was trying to portray here.)

In Him,
The Hutchins'

Overheard

as Jesstine and I were walking up the steps in the garage to get in the house after a trip to the Library. "Mommy, when I grow up and get married, I will have a baby in my tummy just like you!"

Too cute not to share!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Conversational Piece

I don't have any idea how she got the idea that this was a great place to talk on the phone!

Disclaimer: A) this phone is not a working phone. I removed the battery from my old cell and allowed her to have it. B) Some conversations are just too important to wait on! She HAD to call her Grandmom!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

It's a......................

BOY!!!!

Meet Emmitt Boyd Hutchins

Profile (head in the middle. Nose facing the sky.)

Face (again in the middle with his chest and belly off to the left side).

Spine.

Hand (his thumb is pointing at us so you can't really see it, but he does have five digits).

Legs (feet are off to the right; the little arrows are pointing to the left leg and the right leg is on the bottom.)

Footprint (and yes it was up by his head quite a bit through the whole ultrasound)

A little hand pointing to his boy parts. (I am not convinced this is a great picture, but this is the second time that something has been spotted between his legs, so I am pretty confident it this is a boy).

We are super excited. Jesstine is so used to us saying "little brother or little sister" that I don't think it has quite sunk in yet. We will hopefully be calling him by his name so that will help.

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Tunes

Jesstine LOVES riding in Daddy's car because she loves to listen to Daddy's "tunes." Tonight they took a short trip to Grandmom's house. On the way as Led Zepplin song started playing. It took it a while to get started for various reasons, so they didn't hear much of it before getting to their destination. When they got back in the car to ride home, she started listening to the same song again. (On a side note, her car seat in Daddy's car has some strap covers with dogs on them.) Daddy started nodding his head to the beat of the music. He looked back and Jesstine was doing the same thing. A few moments later she said, "Daddy doggies rockin'!" He wasn't sure what she was saying and he looked around to see if she was talking about Grandmom's neighbors' dogs, Willie and Daisy. He said, "No, Willie and Daisy aren't out." He looked back and she said, "NO! Doggies rockin'!" She was taking the dog heads on her strap covers and nodding their heads to the beat too! Hehe! This girl LOVES her tunes!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Father's Day

I think I have told the story many times, but in honor of Father's Day tomorrow, I am going to tell it again. I didn't really have a good father figure growing up. My biological father was a very sick man and the last time I saw him was when I was two. (I met him later when I was about 20, but hadn't seen him at all when I was growing up.) My first stepfather came into my life when I was about 3 and married my mom when I was 4. Things were peachy when I was little, but changed as I got older. Things were pretty rough in the "Daddy" department growing up. I had a better relationship with my best friends dad than I did with anyone that was supposed to be a dad in my life. Also at about the time I was 4, the one male role model in my life that I knew I could count on passed away. I always looked up to my grandfather. He took great care of us. So as a little girl I prayed daily and sometimes multiple times for God to send me someone who would love me like a little girl should be loved. I thought I was praying for a dad or even a grandfather. Little did I know, I would pray that prayer for a LONG time! When I was in my second year of college, my mom and sister started to attend a different church then where I grew up going. I went a couple of times in order to spend time with them. While there, my sister told me that she needed my help to teach the song leader a song with actions so he could lead the kids at WNBC (Wednesday Night Bible Camp). A few months later, this same song leader was at a Halloween Haunted House put on by some members of the church for the teen group. I was asked to come along and help. That was the beginning (albeit a little slow of a beginning) to what would turn out to be the answer to my childhood prayers. Little did I know that he would later be my husband. Not only that, he got to be the Daddy that I never had, although not for me.....for Jesstine! He is SUCH a great Daddy! He snuggles with Jesstine. He plays games with her. They have their cute little sayings! He teaches her. She obviously loves him too! Whenever we pull into the garage, she always looks for his car to see if he is home...even if he is in the van with us! So here is to the Father of my dreams, the father of my children! May you have a fabulous Father's Day filled with lots of love!

In Him,

Lacie

Sneak Peek!!!

Gearing up for Jesstine's birthday! I stumbled upon the cutest thing tonight! I always get her a tee with her name and her her age put on it for her to wear on her birthday. She has been begging for a Pirate party for 6 months! So, I took to the internet and did some research. Because this was on sale, I went ahead and ordered it! SO excited to see the final product! Here is a sneak peek!

I requested it on a white tee with a pink do rag and the number 3 on the eye patch. I also added that I would like her name to be put underneath the skull and crossbones! I certainly have a unique little girl! So excited for her party, but she is growing up so fast!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

Grand Finale of Water Fun With Cousins And Aunt Jenni

Today was the last day that the cousins were in town! We decided to go out with a bang, literally! We got out Grandmom's volcano sprinkler. The little ones were a little worried about it, but Jesstine eventually got brave and started playing with the help of Ian! Here is all of the excitement!

Every 4 seconds the volcano would shoot a plume of water up in the air. The kids would either stand back and wait for the water to come back down, or they would run and jump and try to get wet on the top of the volcano as they jumped over it!

Here they are getting wet right after it shot up in the air!

Waiting...

I love this picture because it tells the story of the special bond these two have shared since Jesstine was born! They were like this off and on the whole time the cousins were here. Jesstine likes all of her cousins, but it is almost like her and Ian speak some kind of special language!

Where was Connor you might ask? He was cuddled up in a towel eating a snack. Notice there is not a drop of water on him....Hehe!

Noah is waiting for the water to hit his hand as it comes up!

Classic Jesstine moment. She prances like this just about everywhere she goes! Wish I had that energy!

She decided to let the big boys play and join Connor for a snack!

Afterward Aunt Jenni took Jesstine and the big boys swimming while Connor watched the "PLLLLTTTcycle" (motorcycle) movie with Grandmom and I went to get some lunch for us adults!

We will miss the cousins. Who knows how much we will get to see them before school starts! They are getting a new house and will be in chaos for a little while there! But their new neighborhood has a pool, so you know us. If it involves water fun, we are right there!!!

In Him,

The Hutchins'

SO Much Fun!!

It's not quite summer, but we had us some good (almost) old school summer fun today! Us adults just watched the fun, but that was almost as fun!

First stop, the older boys tried one of the classic favorites from my childhood: the Slip-n-slide! It is a bit different than when I was growing up. There is no banana sprinkler and there is a water filled bumper pad at the end of it. I also don't think it is quite as wide as I remember it being when I was growing up, but that could just be because I am wider! The older boys really got the hang of it quickly!

Noah sliding down on his knees.

Ian, going old school!

Doesn't work without a really good running start!

Ian didn't quite get enough momentum on this run!

The little ones started to get more interested once the slide came out. It took the big boys to show them how it was done though!

Connor liked the water at the bottom.

Carter was not a fan of the spray though!

The little ones really got going when the water was turned off. Here Connor is giving it a try!

The face says it all!

Jesstine's turn!

He's just SO darn cute!

Kylie really broke out of her shell later on and slid SEVERAL times!

Perhaps even more exciting for us was when she ran through the sprinkler! She has NEVER ran through the sprinklers because of the cold spray! She did at least 5 times today! We were so proud!

In Him,

The Hutchins'