I just found this post that I was working on at Christmas and evidently never finished. So Here it is for the pictures anyways. ..........Okay....so it has been a while. I cannot believe Christmas is already coming. We have all been super busy in all of our activities but still enjoying some good family time. The girls have been dancing and the boys playing baseball & football. Here are a few pics from the past couple of weeks in our life. The pics of Brody were taken today. I am trying to learn how to be a good picture taker. Today I was a one man show and that is not easy with a fourteen month old. Maybe I'll try again later. For now this is how this little guy is doing. He is starting to walk...taking about 10 steps at a time. He knows several signs for sign language....eat, all done, night night, more and we are working on please. Communicating with him is so fun. Hopefully I will get Christmas cards out soon. This is our favorite time of year especially because we get to here from all of our friends and family.

Happy Days!!

This has been a fun week for our family. It has been a week of celebrations and vacation. Last Friday we began our week of fun with the celebration of Laynee's 7th birthday. She was so excited to add a digit. She has blossomed this past year. First grade is very exciting for her. She is at the top of her class and leading the pack in learning her addition and subtraction facts. Jerry and I laugh constantly as she is becoming quite the comedian.

Over the weekend we loaded up the trailer for vacation. We decided to take the kids to California and try to do it on a budget. Monday morning we pulled out and headed for Newport Beach. Instead of staying in a hotel, this year we decided to "camp" on the beach and drive in two days to go to Disneyland. The kids were so excited to finally get to go to the magical kingdom. It seemed like the perfect time to take the plunge. The kids are on fall break, Laynee turned 7 and .......Brody turns !1!

YES, I said Brody turns ONE year old tomorrow, October 9th. I can not believe it has already been a year. This past year has been blessed with many great memories. We have tried to capture as many on film as we can. As we get older our minds remember less but we will always remember that we we have thouroughly enjoyed every minute of this baby boys life. He has brought so much joy to our family. The firs t name he has learned (other than DaDa) is "Tyler". Maycee is his second mommy. Clay is Brody's favorite playmate and Laynee is teaching him how to share his Mommy. The other day I had just finished changing his diaper and then she came in the room and climbed on my lap. I was snuggling with her and he turned around and gave her quite the look. He let out a little "ahhh" as if to say, hey....it's my Mommy. He then crawled over and climbed on her lap and into mine to push her out. It was very cute.
We will be celebrating his big day this next weekend and I will have more pics then.

Disneyland was a big success. We started our playing on Tuesday and enjoyed many of the oldy but goody attractions. Brody took a nap in It's a Small World and then we were hijacked by Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride broke down and we sat in the sea for about 20 minutes. Tyler and his friend Sheldon took off on their own enjoyed a little independence. On Thursday we began in California Adventure and tackled Tower of Terror. I have never laughed so hard in my life! We all decided it was the best ride of all because it was the most entertaining. That night we stayed for the parade and fireworks. Maycee and Laynee got to dance in the parade with the entertainers. We ate dinner in Downtown Disney. Overall, fun was had by eveyone and Jerry and I felt gratification when the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. We officially wore them out! Disneyland was a very happy place for our family vacation.

Today we went to enjoy some waves of the ocean and a little sand in our toes. Brody loved the water and sand. He splashed his feet in the ocean and crawled around in the sand. He is definitely a Hahn kid! The weather was a perfect 73 degrees. The kids all enjoyed burying Clay and Laynee in the sand and then jumping the waves in the ocean. We all got a little kissed by the sun but it felt good to relax and hang out as a family.

Once again as long as we are together as a family we seem to have fun. Jerry and I are always amazed how well the kids seem to get along when we are doing these kinds of things. I actually thought for a moment that maybe those families that take off and tour the country with their kids in a motor home may be on to something. I don't think we have that kind of adventure in us but I sure think our kids would enjoy it. For now Jerry and I will just try to provide as many of these types of experiences as possible so that our family will be bonded and we can escape the distractions of day to day life long enough to take notice of how blessed we are. Raising a family is all and more than I ever dreamed it to be and I am so thankful!

8 months....already!

fgjdkj vgmk b (Brody's contribution to the blog entry)

Brody is already 8 months!!! He is growing so fast now. He scoots his little self where ever he wants to go and is rocking back and forth on his elbows and knees. He started saying "da da da da" on his 8 month birthday. We were eating dinner and all of a sudden I heard him join in the conversation. Jerry was not with us so we had to call him and he was so excited. It is a great early father's day present. (am I off the hook) Today was so cute. We have been trying to teach him sign language. He almost has milk down as a sign. Sometimes it is difficult to know if he is really doing it or just moving his fingers but today when he was saying da da da he made the sign for Dad at the same time. I had witnesses to see it! Now if I could only get a "mama" then life would be complete. I'm sure once he starts I will be hearing a lot of it! I'll want to teach him some other new words. We are having so much fun with him. He has been swimming in the pool and enjoying learning new things. We are so thankful for this little bundle of life in our family!!!

Rock Star Party

Maycee had a birthday bash before we left for Indiana. Her birthday is June 23rd and we are usually gone so we had an early party. This year she chose 5 of her closest friends (only 4 could come) and has a rock star party at a store called Justice. It is a store just for girls. The girls each got their hair done and a LITTLE make up. These girls are so much fun. Maycee has a fun group of girl friends and we had fun celebrating with them. They each put so much thought into their gifts and Maycee felt very loved. 10 is a great age! We love you Dolly and thanks for all you do for us!

Seattle

Seattle was a ton of fun. We visited all the top sights and played at all the best museums. In these pictures the kids are playing different instruments at a place called the Experience Music Project or locally called the "EMP". It was a great place that allowed the kids to experience all the different parts of a band. We even got to create our own band and play a song. Can you guess the band name?....Yep...Hahnery Bunch. Jerry was lead vocalist, Tyler on the guitar, Clay on the drums and Maycee on the keyboard. We have a picture to capture the memory but it does not scan very well. It will have to go in the scrapbook.
We also visited a place called Tillicum Village that is when this picture of Maycee, Sheena and Virgie was taken. We had to take a water taxi ride out to the island where we had a yummy authentic tribal lunch of fresh salmon and rice. Then we watched a play about the rituals of tribes. It was a fun experience.
The other fun event while we were up there was a familiy get together with Jerry's side of the family. Sheena and Grandma have a lot of family that live in the seattle area. There were some that came up from CA also. The highlight of the get together was the bagpipe player who was hired by one of the cousins. Grandma was so thrilled. The family is originally from Scotland and she loves the bagpipes. He played while we enjoyed lunch and the kids were all taken by the instrument.
All in all we had a great time in Seattle. Tyler kept in touch with his friends with his texting and by the end of the trip was glad that he came. Everyone had a different best experience: Tyler-EMP & Duck ride, Maycee-, Laynee- going out to dinner as a family and getting her giant crystal (she was VERY particular about where she spent her souvenir money), Clay-bagpipes, Jerry-family reunion, Natalee-clam chowder at Dukes!
We are so appreciative of Geeda for taking us on this family trip. We made some great memories and had fun experiences! The kids will always remember the fun places but more importantly the relationships strengthened by being in this fun town together. Thanks Geeda!

Big and Small Promotions

Lately the only time to update our blog is after everyone has gone to bed and I am left in the quiet of the night. We have been so busy that by the time we get to quiet hours my eyes are almost closed. We have been doing a lot of partying and traveling.
The picture above is Laynee and her best friend Alex. They live down the street from each other and are in the same grade at school. This was taken at Laynee's Kindergarten graduation performance. The girls are so cute together. It will be fun to watch them grow up together.


This is a shot of Tyler and a couple of his best friends at 8th grade promotion. The one in the middle is like a brother to him. He is often raiding our pantry and frig. Promotion was a lot of fun and it is hard to believe Tyler will be going into High School. We are looking forward to and and cringing at the same time. He has a group of friends that are really good kids and they keep each other out of trouble. We had a party for him and his friends at our house and below are pics of them arriving. All the parents pitched in and rented a limo to pick them up from the promotion dance. It was a surprise and they were soooo excited! We had chance to meet some of the parents and it was a great time! Here we come Queen Creek High.

Busy Weekend!

Brody is growing and growing. Here in these pics he is wondering if he will ever get to go outside and play. I told him it is too hot right now but maybe in Indiana we can play outside. He wants to ride the lawn mower with me! He officially turned 7 months this past Saturday and is really getting strong. Just recently he has started to army crawl, sit up with a little assistance and he is rolling all over the place. We really have to watch him in the living room. I have set up a play pen and he likes it in there when I can not keep an eye on him. Our family can not imagine life without him. He is still easy going and smiles all the time. Everyone comments on his brilliant blue eyes. They light up when anyone talks to him.



Tyler had a great weekend as well. He competed in the sectional track meet and took first in the 800 meter and 3rd in the mile. It was a REALLY hot day and the kids had not been training in the heat. They all had to dig deep to find the stamina to endure. 'T' ran the mile first and was disappointed with his finish, even though it was his personal best time all season, and got overheated with a strained knee. We were not sure if he was going to compete in the 800 or not. We gave him a few incoraging words and left the final decision to him. Not only did he decide to run but he took first and beat the kid the he lost to in Cross Country. We are so proud of him. It was a really fun event. Congratulation Son! You may be wondering why his hair is gone. One of his best girl friends is battling caner. Last week when her hair started to fall out he decided to shave his off. About 8 other boys followed in his footsteps and she loved the support. Needless to say, he needed a little sunscreen on Saturday.

All the kids are playing softball and baseball this year also. On Saturday Maycee and Clay had games and endured the heat as well. They are all learning so much this season and doing well. Maycee plays short stop and right field and is working on her pitching. Clay plays left field and third base. Tyler is a great first baseman and Laynee is playing coach pitch. She is really good at making contact with the ball. The season is almost over and we are looking forward to some downtime and lots of swimming. We love when the season starts but are really ready when it comes to an end. This year will be really nice becasue Jerry is also coaching Tylers team so I will get my husband back.



To end the weekend we had a very nice Mother's Day. I wish I had pics to post of me and my Mom but they will have to wait until summer. My husband and kids brought be breakfast in bed and did all my work for the day. I received a really nice gift and am excited to start using it. It is a video camera that takes videos ready for uploading to the internet. Hopefully I can start getting some fun videos of Brody and the kids and sharing them with you all. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! The only thing that could make life better is if we were all a little closer so we could spend more time together. I do count my blessings that we are able to travel in the summer but miss all of the family the rest of the year. Life is good, sometimes challenging, but worth living every day to the fullest!

Celebrating 6 months!

Six months ago today I entered into this world and the time has flown by. I have learned to do a lot in the last month. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that people were putting things in their mouths. I started trying it myself but my fist would not fit all the way in and it did not have much taste. When we got back from out trip to New York Mom started giving me this mushy stuff she called cereal. At first I drooled all over the front of me, but now I look forward to dinner time. I open my mouth like a little bird when ever she shows me the spoon. She has given me some other foods too and I like all of them. The sweet potatoes and the apples taste the best.
On April 1st I played a funny on Mom. When she came to get me out of my crib I had rolled over onto my tummy. Since then I have been working on rolling over on the floor and yesterday I made one complete revolution. I did not realize there were so many things to play with on the floor. I also noticed these switches on the wall that mom pushes when I am laying on my changing table. I really want to touch them but I can't quite reach. I love that changing table. Something about it makes me happy. There is so much to see when I am laying there and everyone always talks nice.
Mom has been working with me to sit up and I am starting to do better. Yesterday I leaned on my Easter basket for a little support and mom was so proud of me. She just kept snapping and snapping pictures. She is crazy with that camera. She loves to take pictures when I smile. Smiling is my favorite thing to do. Mom calls me "smiley boy" because I am always happy and smiling.
Life with my family is a lot of fun. My brothers and sisters play with me all the time. They like to carry me around..... I might not ever have to walk. It's time for a nap now so I am going to close my eyes and listen to Mom sign me a song. It makes me smile when she starts singing. There is so much to smile about in this life. I hope you all can smile a little bit today too. I'll keep trying to learn new things and I'll share them with you as often as I can. Have a Happy Easter and don't forget to smile!!

Divide and Conquer

Yesterday Jerry and I decided to seperate the bunch. He took the boys and I took the girls and of course Brody. The girls and I headed off to the American Girl Store. Laynee had money in her wallet and knew exactly what she wanted. We now introduce, Julie. She is the newest member of the doll family in our home. As you can probably guess the selling factor for Julie was her loooong blond hair. Laynee has been completly happy just brushing Julie's hair for the past 24 hours. Julie has gone everywhere we have been including the American Girl Cafe. I did not know the restaurant even existed but we were lucky enough to find it and get in for lunch. When we walked through the doors it was everything a little girl dreams of, pink and flowers and dolls! Julie had a high chair that she could sit up to the table with us and they even brought her her own tea cup. The girls and I made quite a memory. We had a four course meal and drank pink lemonade while getting
to know each other better by talking about answers to questions in a cute gift box in the center of the table. Laynee enjoyed bitty baby mini hotdog & hamburger, Maycee delighted in american mac & cheese and I enjoyed a delicious roasted pepper and portabella mushroom panini. We ended with a heart shaped cookie and cake and chocolate pudding. We enjoyed our time together!

Once we were all girl'd out Maycee wanted to check out the Toys r Us "mall". That is what it feels like because it is so big! It has a full size ferris wheel inside and we had to experience that too! The seats are all made into different toys. We got to ride in the Mr. Potatoe head car. We were supposed to ride in the Barbie car but minor details of Laynee being to young to ride without an adult caused me to have buy a ticket and ride too. I have to admit it was fun!


While we were having our girl fun the boys were tackling the Empire State building, NBA Store and ESPN Zone. They enjoyed a good old fashioned piece of New York pizza for their lunch. Fun was had by all and the boys found some cool Phx Suns hats to bring home as their memory maker.


Today we packed up our clothes and then took a quick trip down to see the Statue of Liberty. She was beautiful as always but the weather was not so wonderful. It was rainy and cold. We stayed on the ferry and enjoyed seeing her from the water. At least the kids can say they have see her. It was something I did not think I would ever get to see. I hope they remember. We also made a memory of riding the subway and the Amtrak train. Again it was a full day and now we are all worn out! Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little and take it easy before the BIG day on Saturday. We are ready for a day of rest. We are so greatful to live in a country that allows us this great freedom!