A Little More of February

What else happened this month? Hadley has a total of 6 teeth, had her first swimming experience, is saying "Mama" (does she know what it means-who knows-but it's adorable) loves to smile and giggle, and continues to amaze us each day with her easy little demeanor. The new big thing with Grant is that he has an imaginary friend. One day he started talking about a friend named Casey. "He and Casey did this, and Casey likes that, Casey gets put in time-out for this, Casey's Mom is having a baby, and Casey's going to have a baby brother". This "Casey" was being talked about so frequently that we asked about him at daycare only to find out there was no Casey. :) We now know Casey is a girl, her Mom's name is Kalia, her Mom has since had her baby brother, and that Casey does a lot of the same things Grant does. :) This is all very amusing to Nick and I and we love to hear the newest Casey stories.

Faith, Family, and a little Love in February

February 19th marked Hadley's Baptismal Day. It was a beautiful day, a very special service, a great brunch with family, and of course the most precious baby girl ever. :) Welcome to God's Family Hadley!

The start of February took us back to Kearney to visit my Grandpa who is rehabilitating there after suffering a stroke in January. He is working hard and making strides. We had a fun weekend visiting him, spending time with a lot of the family, and having-what I think was pretty special-a second birthday party for Grant at the hospital. And obviously Grant loved it!

Holiday's seem to be taking on a new face for me since having kids. And Valentine's Day was no exception. Grant and I had a great time making up V-day cupcakes and putting together a special, candle-lit dinner for our little family. I also was fortunate to snag Grandma Diane to watch the kids for a couple hours while Nick and I met up for a yummy V-day lunch at Zen.

3 years and 6 months!

On January 23rd, Grant turned 3 and Hadley turned 6 months. We had a fun "Dance Party" and Cars themed birthday with family to celebrate Grant turning 3. Grant's really been into dancing so we made up a playlist, bought some glow necklaces and bracelets, and turned on the lighted disco ball...it was a success and Grant had a great day! These ages brought the 3 year and 6 month check-ups. So here are the stats-Grant 41 in tall (95%) and 35 lbs (80%), Hadley 29 1/4 in tall (99%), 17 lbs (70%), and 17 1/2 in head circum. (90%). What can I say, our kids are tall! So since Grant turned 3, we have been hearing a lot of "why", we also have been hearing a lot more "I can do it myself". And tonight as I watched Grant sit indian style, looking through a book, in his little jeans, top, and spiderman watch-I just smile-because our little boy really is becoming a big boy.

What else is up with Grant at 3-he continues to love books, cars (especially the Cars themed cars), helping cook, his Toy Story characters, playing outside, swinging, sledding, making her sister laugh, music, dancing, and singing. His newest song is "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"-I know I'm biased but man it's cute. :) He is constantly saying things that make us smile-a few that come to mind-out the blue he says "Dad, your the Man!" or telling me "Mom, you look handsome" or "you washed my clothes-thank you!-he is so genuine and so much of what he says melts my heart. Yes, I am one proud Mama of my little man. :) And Miss Hadley, well her dad started calling her "Hadley Girl" not long after her arrival home and it's stuck for Grant. He calls her this all the time! :) So our little Hadley Girl turned 6 months and she instantly became much busier. She's grabbing and reaching for anything in front of her, always wanting to be where the rest of us are, loving when anyone plays and tickles her, so much more involved with her toys, sticking everything in her mouth, and sitting up like a big girl. Her dad, brother, and I love to greet her upon awaking from her night's sleep or nap and love to see her smile when she sees all of us. She makes sure she gets sat at the table and fed whenever we are eating-and she is eating like a champ! She is definitely our little sweet pea! :)

Looking back at 2011

Nick and I have been discussing the happenings of the last year and it's almost comical to recall all the changes that took place. So here's a little recap of 2011...and a bit of 2010 because that leads us into our 2011. October 2010-Nick takes his PE Exam, Heather takes her Med Surg Certification Exam November-We find out we are pregnant! December-Black and Veatch is going to open an office in Omaha and would like to have Nick in it. January 2011-Heather is finally coming out of her 1st trimester haze and Grant turns 2! February-We prepare our home to be put on the market. March-Our home is on the market, the showings begin, and we have our appointment that confirms we have a healthy little baby growing inside me. April-Heather and Grant pack up the van and head to live with Diane in Omaha. Heather starts her job on Bergan's Oncology Unit and Grant starts a new daycare. May-Nick joins Grant and I in Omaha, we stay with Diane until the end of the month when we move into our rental. June-We make our rental a home, move Grant to a big boy bed, start getting things ready for baby #2, enjoy the pool and Popsicle's. July-Miss Hadley Lynn is born! August-who knows...we have a new baby and the month is a bit of a blur. September-Heather returns to work. October-We have an offer on our home in KC. November-We close on our house in KC! December-Ahhh, we breathe again...enjoying our two beautiful kiddos, being close to family, not having to worry about a home in KC, and all the blessings bestowed on us this past year. Makes me exhausted just thinking about it!

The Holidays

Christmas came and went, as did the end of 2011. I was really looking forward to Christmas Eve service and festivities with Nick's family, but things don't always go as planned. And we are learning this statement holds even more truth when you have kids...Grant came down with a nasty little virus Christmas Eve day. So we spent the Christmas Eve at home watching movies, taking a nap in front of the fire, and actually making an alright Christmas dinner (Store bought lobster bisque with beer battered shrimp). After a good night's rest Grant woke up feeling better and we had a relaxing Christmas morning.

Then we were off to Kearney to spend Christmas with my family. Grant had a blast with all his cousins while Hadley received an enormous amount of loving from them. Especially her baby loving cousin-Abby Jo. We had fun playing games and just hanging out with the crew all under one roof for a couple days.

Jingle Bell Time!

This year I have been so excited for the Holiday season and I am pretty sure my excitement stems from having two little kiddos to enjoy it with. It was so nice to not have to travel over Thanksgiving and I could not wait to be home that Sunday and get all our decorations out. It started with our tree purchase (a bit anti-climatic) it was cold, we walked up to the lot, Grant said I want this tree, and there it was. It actually ended up taking 2 days to get all the decorations up, but daily I continue to love Grant's tree choice and the glow this time of year brings into our home. I think Grant likes it too because as soon as we come out for breakfast, he wants the holiday lights on.

Road Trippin'

The start of November took Nick on his annual deer hunting trip with the Sutko men. Knowing he would be gone for 5 days, I decided it might be fun for the kids and I to make the trek to South Dakota and see my Grandparents. It didn't take much effort and my parents were quickly on board to take on this adventure with us. So Friday am off we went to Columbus where we met my parents and they happily loaded all our gear and us into their suburban. This is about a 6 to 7 hour trip without little ones...and with the little one's this became an all day excursion. The kids actually traveled awesome, but between stops here and there to feed Hadley, changing diapers, and getting a bit of a break ourselves-we finally arrived in South Dakota just in time for dinner.

It was so fun to see everyone and in our little time we were there, I must say we accomplished a lot! We were able to spend time with my Grandpa and Grandma Iverson, Grandma Frost, my uncle's Jimmy and Bobby, my Great aunt Norma, and spend a fun morning with my aunt Amy and her crew. Grant loved playing with all my cousins, seeing the farm, meeting Willie the horse, and coming home with his first toy rifle.

Even though Nick is a big hunter, there really hasn't been a lot of talk about hunting with Grant. But when we arrived home I think Nick was pretty impressed to hear what Grant had all learned. Grant was a pretty lucky boy on our trip and my uncle Jimmy gave him a toy rifle to take home. He learned all about shooting pheasants and other animals. Grant had some pretty funny lines on our trip, but one of his best took place at the Mitchell Cabela's on our way home. We walked in and he saw all the animals and with so much enthusiasm stated "Papa, we need to go get my gun!"

It was a long trip and we came home pretty tired but it was so good to see everyone and so fun to have Hadley meet her Grandparents. And I must say Thanks Mom and Dad because we never would of got there without you! :) The rest of November seemed to be pretty quiet and really just spent hanging out and enjoying being home. Hadley did have her 4 month appointment and this statement from the nurse sums it up..."if you lined up 100 other 4 month olds, Hadley would be the tallest by a long stretch". So currently measuring bigger than her brother did, Hadley's stats are: 27 1/4 in long=99%, 15 lbs 6 oz=80% and head circumference of 17 in=90%. Go Hadley! And Go Grant too!