'Fear not...I bring you tidings of great joy'

Hawks visit the "2nd Happiest Place on Earth"

July commences our annual trip down to "Sun Diego". This year I decided it was a perfect opportunity to tack a trip to Disneyland on the front. I convinced myself that this was the last year that my girls will truly believe the princesses are the princesses and I just wanted to see that magic one last time.

After lots of talk of Mickey, the Princesses, and Disney in general on our road trip down south, the conversation took an unexpected turn.

Nora Jane: "I want to go to that Other Land".
Me: "What other land, sweetie?"

Nora Jane: "Not Oak-Land. The Land where there are houses by the beach and we sleep over with TeaghanMaeveandAnya."  (Yes, that has become one name instead of three at the HawksNest-Land.)

Me: "Ohhhh, you mean San Diego" (which is apparently San Diego-land)

Nora Jane: "Yes. Let's just go there. I don't want to go to Disneyland."
Grace: "Yeah, let's just go there!!!"

Me: "We're going to Disneyland and you are going to like it!"
Daddy: "YEAH! We're going and you're going to LOVE it!"

In my opinion, a visit to Disneyland is not complete without the Teacups.  Thankfully, they were a BIG hit and we will be going back to the "2nd Happiest Place on Earth" this fall.

baby hawk busts a move...

real conversation at the hawk's nest:

mommy:  do you think this is a bit inappropriate?
daddy: no. i think it's awesome!

daddy hawk turns a year older....oh how we love you so.

baby hawk turns 5. er, i mean 4.

Nora Jane is 5!

But, she told me she still wants to be 4.

She says being 5 means she's a big girl going to kindergarten, something she's not too sure about at the moment.  I asked her if she wanted to go back to preschool next year and she said, "NO MOMMA!"

Definitely confusing as ever raising children.

Here's the birthday song being sung for her at Pump it Up.  Note that just like 2 years ago, she got a little help blowing out the candles. This is something that I will hear about for years to come.

2012 turning 5 at Pump it Up (boy did i get an earful about this):

2010 turning 3 at Pump it up (still hear about this):

Happy 5th Nora Jane. You'll be a super kindergartener!

xoxox,
Mommy & Daddy

kiddie hawk ties a shoe...

....in just over a minute.

Nice work Gracie!

baby hawk lets it shine

Today was our little Nora Jane's preschool graduation.  She tapped me on the arm this morning in the kitchen and asked me to come to the couch in the living room because she had a secret.

"Momma, I don't want to graduate."

"Oh sweetie, you'll have so much fun with your friends and they'll be so happy to see you because you have been at Summer Camp the past week and a half."

"Will they make me go up on the stage?"

"Yes, they will, but do you not want to?"

Nora Jane shook her head no.

"OK then, let's go see your friends and just watch them graduate and celebrate."

"OK. You make sure they don't take me up on stage."

"Promise baby."

 Nora Jane slowly got ready and we arrived 20 minutes late.  I was trying to get us situated in our seats with my back turned when one of the assistant teachers came over and swooped Nora Jane away.

"Oh no. I'm in big trouble."

But, just like Mama Hawk, my little lively Hawk is very outgoing and friendly after she warms up a bit. She did great. Check out her singing with her preschool friends.

Congrats to the Class of 2012. Here's to doing it again 2029!

Call Us Maybe?... at the Hawk's Nest

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post! We've been in a whirl of Preschool and Kindergarten events all spring long.  Now that we've hit summertime, the girls have really taken a liking to creating videos.  They love Cimorelli. Here's the video that's on repeat in our house:

Grace asked me to video her singing the same song and put it up on YouTube. Here she is:

And here's what happens when you add a little Nora Jane to the mix:

Yep, things are still pretty much the same.

Call Us Maybe?

hawk's swinging without teeth

Gracie spent much of 2011 mastering the monkey bars. Spending that amount of time around kids monkey-ing around kicking their legs comes with risk. "Surprise", she was kicked square in the mouth causing both her front teeth to really loosen up. Now we've got a super cute toothless Hawk that can take on her choice of monkey bars across the Bay Area.

I had a loof toof...and now it's gone.


Here is Gracie on the monkey bars at her favorite park in Oakland. She spent a lot of time staring down these monkey bars since being a baby, hanging with help, and finally crossing one bar at a time. We're still working on skipping a bar.


Once Gracie mastered the local bars, she took to Kirk School in San Jose to take on "Grandma Bernie's" monkey bars. These were a little tricky with a downward slope, but she mastered them nonetheless.


Once Gracie's confidence built up, she then took on the "High Bars" by Auntie Anne's house in Redwood City.


We're so proud of our Gracie for accomplishing her goal. With that determination, you can & will do anything you want!

junk mail vs the real thing

Picture 1:

Picture 2:

There's a big difference between what you see in Picture 1 vs Picture 2. Picture 2 is what you would call "Junk Mail". It clogs up my mailbox, clutters the house, and takes up the bulk of the recycle bin EVERY WEEK. Sometimes it even hides Picture 1 type mail. All that & it can make you feel fat! Darn those skinny catalog models! This January I started my Paper Diet with Olivia, one of my colleagues at Manilla(www.manilla.com).

What does this mean? The first thing I'm doing is seeing what I'm dealing with. I've never actually monitored the mailbox junk volume for over more than a week. I have designated the Cuties box our location for junk mail. Over the next couple weeks I'll see just how fat the "Junk Mail" is making our recycle bin. I'll follow Olivia (https://www.manilla.com/thepaperdiet/day-1/) for more tips & tricks on how to be more thoughtful about my paper usage and opportunities to get rid of paper altogether.

Wondering where mail like in Picture 1 goes? That's easy. It gets into the Hawk's Nest and is cherished for as long as it will survive with little grabby fingers on them, and you may even be called out on The Hawk's Nest blog. Thanks to you all for the beautiful holiday cards. I'd also like to make a special shout out to the Koldas - Your envelope did not go unnoticed.

First official mail for The Hawk's Nest. It's about time!

P.S. The Cuties are a tad dry this year, don't you think? I'm such a sucker, I keep buying them anyway.