Joey!!

Joey has been home for almost a month now.  We have been adjusting quite well.  It was a rocky road to start out but things have gotten much better!  The kids have done great.  Each of them has been offering to help and begging to hold him! We are excited to have him home with us this Christmas so he can meet everyone!

Michael's 6th Birthday!

Well after some scheduling conflicts with my C-section, we were finally able to nail down a date for Michael's big birthday bash.  And as it turned out, baby Joey was able to make it to the party too:)

We had it at the kids' favorite park. They call it the "Castle Playground".  Mike's friends from school came and we were lucky enough to have Mimi and the gang here with us too!

Joseph A. Haley, III

We welcomed baby Joey to the world on Saturday! He was born at 0744 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. He weighed 7.25 lbs and was 21 inches long. He looks a lot like Hank at this point. Melissa is recovering well (if only she could sleep). The staff and doctors at Sacred Heart have been great. Joey is healthy, and so far happy! We got video of Joe cutting the cord. Thanks go out to everyone for the phone calls, flowers, prayers, and support. Special thanks to Aunt Allie for flying down to watch the kids while we're in the hospital.

Thanksgiving Feast with Hank at St. Paul

We had a feast to celebrate Thanksgiving with Hank and his Pre K class at Saint Paul on Thursday. He and his classmates sang a few songs and we all had some great food.

Mike's Football Party

Mike's football season came to end a couple of weeks ago. The Pace Mighty Mites had a great year and the coaches all did a fantastic job. Mike, Hank, and Clare had the most fun at the end of season party. They had bounce houses, barbecue, and each player got chance to smash a whipcream pie in one of their coaches face.

Halloween!

The kids at school with Father Michael (aka Batman) and some of their friends

A few of our friends from the neighborhood waiting at the clubhouse for the hayride.

We had a very fun filled Halloween! First, we went to the Halloween carnival at school. The kids got out early for lunch and games. Then we came home and did our annual Halloween hayride/trick or treat with the neighborhood. The kids got so much candy I don't think anyone knows what to do with it all:)Michael was a Ninja, Henry was a race car driver at school and a ware wolf at night. And finally, Clare was a princess. Cinderella to be exact, but she doesn't really know much about the different characters. Just that they are all princesses:)

Hank's Big Birthday:)

This year we kept things pretty low key for Henry and Clare's birthdays. For Hank, we opened presents, ate some cake and went to the zoo:) He LOVED getting all of his new gear. As you can see, each time he opened something new to wear, he put it on right away! His new bike helmet, his authentic cowboy belt and buckle, a new coat, and his work boots were his uniform for the weekend! Thank you all for sending gifts. He really loves getting mail and it makes it so special when he knows that everyone from home remembers his birthday:)

Football Jamboree!

Saturday was Michael's Jamboree. All of the teams in the league played 2 games. Our team did ok for the first time, but the other teams definitely had some size on us! Mike had a lot of fun. Actually, I think we all did:)

Clare Bear is 3!!

A huge thank you to everyone who sent gifts for Clare!! She had a great birthday!

Patriot Night!

Last night was Patriot Night at the local high school for all the football players and cheerleaders at Pace. The Mighty Mites (Michael's team) got to go out on the field with the big boys, get their pictures taken and their names announced.

First Day of School

Henry and Mike both started school on Monday. They were both so excited! Clare didn't take it too well. Everyday on the way home from dropping them off she says she misses her boys. Which does include her Dad now. Mike is pumped to be in the big school with the big kids. He practically leaped out of the car today during drop off. Henry is making friends, but he hasn't learned any names just yet:)His favorite time is snack time so far, so we'll see if that changes as time goes on.

FOOTBALL!

Mike has reached THE age. The age Joe has been waiting for since Mike was born. At the ripe old age of 5 Mike can finally play football! Full pads, full contact. The whole enchilada. Joe is one happy Dad. Mike loves it. Thank goodness, because they practice 4 nights a week for 2 hrs and have games on Saturday mornings at 8am. This would be one long fall if he decided he hated it!

We spent 10 days in Ireland. It was a great time! We started in Dublin and made a circle around the country. Our favorite spot was Kilkenny. There were so many fantastic spots we couldn't put all of the pictures up or tell all of the stories. Hopefully we'll get to go back again some day!