Dad's birthday and a Father's Day candy gram

Happy 28th, Amos! This year for Dad's birthday Grandpa got to come visit! Amos' birthday weekend is the same weekend as Father's day, so we got to celebrate both.

On Thursday the kids & I made a surprise trip to Dad's work to bring him a balloon and candy gram.

 

Dad, 
We were going to give you 100 Grand for your birthday and father's day shopping Spree, but the money slipped through our little Butterfingers. We didn't think a pet Kit Kat or a trip to new York or the Milky Way would be as good.  We wish you Almond Joy as you eat this card Now&Later.  BeTwix you and me, we hope it makes you LaffyTaffy and Snickers. 
Love, your 3Musketeers

Then we got to hang out and enjoy Grandpa's company for the weekend and celebrate Father's day with him.  Here is the traditional Father's Day pineapple cream pie! (And Amos blowing out his candles!)

A fun note about this famous Hobby family Coconut Cream Pie tradition.  On Ric's mission to the Phillippines the missionaries had their own housekeeper and cook!  She would make a pie every Sunday. Once Ric asked her if she knew how to make Pineapple Cream Pie. She said she didn't have a recipe but she would whip something up.  It became an instant favorite, and he got the recipe and it's been eaten each Christmas and Father's Day since :)

Daddy/Daughter Utah Trip

Cambria went on her first plane ride!

Amos took her to Utah for Eliza's baptism. She loved the plane ride and had a wonderful time meeting her cousins, drinking root beer at Deseret Book, and jumping on the Trampoline!

Staying with Tradition.

She'll tell you herself....

"Hobby... lub... iCream!"

From Grandpa:

Yes, among her many words she has been impressing us with, are those. Another word today was "again" when she was on the playground / slides while at Eliza's soccer game.  It was again and again and again and when I said "again?", she would say "yep". Dad's taking good care of her and she is getting spoiled, just a little....

Nathan at 10 Months!

Nathan at 9 Months!

Workin at the car wash, yeah

Outside with dad washing the cars. This little girl sure loves to help!!!

Maybe we can remind her of how much she loves washing cars once she's a teenager!

My little nurturer

Cambria has always been a sweetheart. And now she is taking on motherly qualities at the ripe old age of 20 months.  Some examples:

I laid down on the couch yesterday because I was tired and she asked if I was sleepy "see-py?" and then she got out the blanket and put it on top of me.

When I was getting ready to feed nathan I had his bottle on the counter and she saw me heading toward she chair. She said "bockle, bockle" and reached up high on the counter to get it. She brought it over to me and she was so excited to help that I let her put it in his mouth to feed him.

She noticed Nathan's water sippy on the table when he was upstairs napping and she pointed upstairs and said "baby" and wanted to take it up to him. She does the same if she sees one of his pacifiers. Doesn't want him to be without!

When I am getting us ready to head out the door and Nathan is buckled in his carrier she pulls up his sun shade for him since she's seen me do that right before I pick him up to head out.

One day she was so excited to go in the car that after her shoes and socks were on she brought me my shoes and socks all the way from downstairs and started holding the socks open for me to put my feet in.

Last night she was waiting for daddy to come home and looking out the window. She kept telling me "daddy" "car" "hug".  In Cambri-ese that means that she was waiting for daddy to come home in the car and when he got here she was going to give him a big hug.

Announcing...

Baby #3! Coming on or around November 5th!

Eagerly awaiting their new sibling!

8 Months Old

Nathan started sitting really well on Feb 15th (just short of 8 months!)

He eats small chunks of food - peaches & bread and can hold his bottle on his own! He's such a sweet little blondie with big blue eyes.

Valentines - and a Murder Mystery

Here are the kids Valentines that I set out for them in the morning!

Before a little party they had at a friend's house I stopped at the store and we picked up this balloon that they both love to play with.

Amos and I got invited to a Murdery Mystery party this Valentine's day!  We have always wanted to do one of these parties but were never really sure how to get started or what it entailed, so we were excited to get the chance to find out!

We were sent invitations in the mail detailing our characters. I was Rose Darling, a flower shop owner, and my husband was Hershey Darling, the town's famous Chocolatier. We were supposed to act very dramatic and eccentric.

Here are all the men. A hunter, scientist, football player, and Choclatier.

And the women. A florist, cheerleader, scientist, and perfume shop owner.

We were all encouraged to really get into our characters and have a lot of fun with it.  Every so often throughout the evening we were handed envelopes that told us things about ourselves or others, and told us about conversations we had to have with certain people and some of the things we had to reveal in those conversations.

Then toward the end of the evening one of the participants disappeared and came out of the bathroom with white face makeup and a sign around his neck that said "dead." He could no longer talk to anyone.

Then we had some more time to talk amongst one another and offer up any final information and then had to use the information we'd learned throughout the night had to guess who murdered him. (several in the group had strong motives)

The murderer turned out to be me!  He happened to be my estranged brother who had been spreading rumors that I drugged my great aunt to get her inheritance money and I killed him to keep him quiet and  keep myself out of trouble.

It was such a fun night with great food and friends. We'll have to do it again next year!

7 Months!

Nathan is 7 months old!

He enjoys eating his puffs

He likes to log roll


He can sit up for a short time


He likes to gnaw on graham crackers

He has a set of spatulas that he teethes on. He a mini red one with a gingerbread man on it that Nana gave me for Christmas, and he loves it. It's nice since it is rubbery for his teeth but has a handle on it, and he can chew on it with his front or back teeth.

He loves to empty an entire packet of baby wipes

He can put his paci in

He likes to swing his hands vertically up and down like a tomahawk

Christmas Day

Christmas was at the Hobby home this year.  My parents and brother came up from Maryland to celebrate with us!

Our little Santa. Surprisingly NOT the first one up on Christmas morning. That honor belonged to his dad, chef Amos Claus.

Christmas was on a Sunday this year so we had church in the morning at 9. We were going to take everyone but then decided to leave the kids with Mimi & Geepy, who had gone to midnight mass the night before. It was strange being in church without the kids. It felt like we were on a date!

Meanwhile they got to open up their stockings and play with Cambria's fridge letter magnets, and her new magnetic mirror for the fridge so she can see herself when she dresses up with sunglasses, hats, and bows. 

Nathan with his new Thomas the Tank Engine pillow-pet to match his sister's doggy pillow-pet she got last year.

Baby Claus with Cambria and her new reading chair. It was her first taste of the Hobby Pringle tradition. It's safe to say she enjoyed them.

Present opening time!

Little man hangin' out with Geepy.

The table awaiting its guests.

Our chef preparing the feast.

After a large dinner we relaxed, played with the kids, and took naps. We didn't assemble Cambria's castle on Christmas Eve, so when she was taking her nap we put it together so she could come down and play in it. She had tons of fun! Her chair fits in there nicely and looks like her own little throne.

Looking quite the princess in her Snow White dress.

We also got to video chat with our family in England again this year and be a part of their Christmas, too. Thanks everyone for such a lovely Christmas 2011!