Dear Hayden,

We have been celebrating your birthday ALL weekend!

On Friday morning, you celebrated with your friends at school and gave them all playdoh as a birthday treat. It was a special day because September 21st is Mrs. Stinson’s birthday, too! We gave her a plant with a little note to commemorate your shared birthday!

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After school, Dad and I took you, Alli and Zoe to lunch and then we came home to run through the sprinklers and have cupcakes.

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On Friday evening, we had a family birthday dinner. Both sets of grandparents and Jeffrey, Meggy and Josiah came. You set the menu: Homemade mac and cheese, edemame, checken with bbq sauce carrots and dip. Then we did birthday cake and presents.

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On Saturday night, we went to Build-A-Bear with Alex and the two of you had your very first sleepover!

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On Sunday, we met Hannah Jane to have your ears pierced!

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We celebrated Emilie’s Birthday on Sunday, too. Two birthday girls!

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So, it was a VERY busy weekend, but we had a blast celebrating and making memories with you. You are a very special girl and you bless us in so many ways! You are growing up so fast!

Five Year Old You!
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Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden, Owen and Bennett,

For a long time I’ve wanted to do a blog entry on how we decided on each of your names and what they mean. So, here you have it.

Hayden Eva:

Hayden, your first name is one that Dad and I both just really like! We had no idea that both boys and girls are given the name Hayden until we called our pediatrician a few days after you were born and they asked us when we were bringing “him” in! Your name doesn’t have a very exciting meaning {“Hay Valley” or “Hay Hill”} but you are all spunk and quite exciting so you make up for that fact!

Your middle name was given to you in the absence of a very special person, my cousin Eva. When she was just 19, her life was cut short by a couple of teenagers who made a foolish decision while driving their car. She was brilliant, beautiful and charismatic. She was fun to be around and made life better because she was in it. We middle named you Eva because if you embody even part of her spirit, I’ll be so happy. The name Eva means life. I love this about your middle name, too, because in a way, my life started the day you were born — I received one of my most cherished titles – Mother.

Your second cousin, Eva Star Wahlstrom
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Owen Patrick:

Owen, I’ve shared this with you before, but your name means “Desire Born” and I think that is a perfect name for you because you are exactly that for us —  we hoped, prayed and waited for you for quite a while before you were born. This is the only boy name Dad and I even came close to agreeing on, too! It was not an easy task to name you!

Your middle name was selected because it is the same middle name that your Uncle Darryl has. Both Dad and I like the name, but it was ultimately your dad’s choice for you to have the middle name Patrick because it was important to him to honor your uncle in this way. Your uncle has a lot of amazing qualities — among them confidence and individuality, and a desire for good for those around him. We hope you’ll embody these qualities one day. Patrick means “Nobleman” and we’d love it if you are noble {principled, honorable, meritorious} among other things.

Your uncle, Darryl Patrick McCauley
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Bennett Rogers:

Bennett, your name comes to you as the second boy name ON EARTH on which your dad and I agree! While I was pregnant with you, I’d read him lists of 50-60 names and at the end of my reading all he’d say was, “no.” When I mentioned Bennett, he said, “I like that one.” I was fairly confident at that moment that you would be named Bennett. Bennett means Blessed. We think that’s a perfect name for you — we are so blessed that you are here, we hope you’ll use your life to bless others and we hope you are blessed all the days of your life!

You are middle named after your great grandfather, Rogers McCauley. Your dad has always been close to Grandpa Rog, so it seemed that Rogers was a natural choice for your middle name. Things we love about Great Grandpa Rog: He has a great sense of humor, his loved ones are his top priority and he’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. We’d love for you to be just like him in these ways!

Your great grandfather, Rogers Woodring McCauley
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With all that said, the most important thing about your name is that you preserve it. What will be said of you? My hope is that when others hear your names, they will think of the three of you as people who matter because of your love for others and your ability to see beyond yourselves… that you will protect your name by using your life for good.

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

We live in such a fun neighborhood. We have many neighbors that we are very close to and you are lucky enough to have two neighborhood friends (Alli and Zoe) in your preschool class this year — and you make a terrific trio! Most days you play together after school and you have a blast! Laura and Jason took the three of you to the fire station after school today. You had a grand time!

Love you,
Mama

A Terrific Trio: Alli, Hayden and Zoe
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Dear H, O and B,

There’s been a lot of talk about who looks like who lately, so I searched through our photos and found these three; one of each of you at about 9 weeks old. What do you think?

Love you,
Mama

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Dear Bennett,

This morning, you were baptized. Pastor Randy talked about how God’s promises are for his people and their children. I love baptism at our church because PR always asks the church family to stand and commit to being a part of your raising. This is such a special moment for me, because I am so comforted and blessed by the idea that there are so many people in our church family who partner with us to see you become who you were meant to be. With that in mind, this was a very special morning because Jeffrey was installed as a deacon today, too. It’s pretty neat that you were baptised into this church family on the same morning that Jeffrey committed to help lead it. You are loved so very much by so many!

Love you,
Mama

Baptism threads:
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Baptism:
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Blessing:
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Jeffrey’s Installation:
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Celebrating at lunch afterward:
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Dear Hayden,

Today was Grandparents’ Day at your school! You had a blast with Nana and Papa, and then you went to lunch with them and spent the afternoon coloring and doing other arts and crafts at their house. We are all so lucky that they live so close! You have some great times with them!

Love you,
Mama

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Dear Bennett,

Today, you are two months old! You are such a big boy! You weigh 13 pounds, 7 ounces. You smile a lot and you are starting to sleep for longer stretches of time. You are folding into the family beautifully… We are all so glad you’re here.

Love you,
Mama

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Dear  Owen,

You are developing such a personality! You are into EVERYTHING right now! In fact, in the last 24 hours, I have removed you from the middle of the kitchen counter, the shelf on the entertainment center where the stereo sits, and from a bar stool in the pantry that you’d used to gain access to the lollipops (“Pops! Pops!”). You are such an easy-going little guy. You smile all the time and go with the flow a lot. We had some good down time while we were in Tucson at Grandma and Jiddoh’s house this weekend and you finally slowed down enough that I was able to snap some pictures of you, sweet boy! Thank you for being such a special part of our family. You are teaching me to relax and take things a little less seriously.
Love you,
Mama

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Dear Hayden and Owen,

You are my little fish! You both love swimming so much! We had a great time in the pool at Grandma and Jiddohs’s this weekend and Dad and I got to take some pretty cool pictures of you!

Love you,

Mama

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Dear Bennett,

You started smiling recently, and I finally got the chance to catch a few with my camera. A smile on your face lights up mine.

Love you,

Mama

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