Hadley's 9 Month Update

A little late on the appointment but today we had Hadley's 9 month appointment (she actually turned 9 months on April 23rd). So our big girl did just fine and we were so happy there were no shots! As far as stats: 29 3/4in tall (97%), weighed in at 19lbs 6oz (75%), and 18 1/4in head circumference (95%). And at 9 months Hadley is pulling up on things, eager to be wherever her brother is, loving to swing, be tickled, and wrestle with her Dad and brother. She's a great little sleeper and so easy to put to bed. She likes her blankie and her knuffle bunny. Her giggle is contagious. She waves, she claps, she's working on "so big". And of course we love to pieces. :)

A little getaway to KC!

At the end of April we had a great extended weekend down in Kansas City. With the whirlwind of events in the last year, Nick has been the only one who made any trips to KC. So we were all pretty excited for a return family trip. We had a fun weekend spending a little quality time with family and getting to see some good friends we have been missing. We visited Crown Center, roamed the plaza, ate good food, swam a lot, and ended the weekend with a cool and rainy Trolley Run. This was Grant's first year as a participant in the kid's races and he loved it. Hopefully, we can get back for this again next year. A few other tidbits from the trip-Grant got a harmonica and loves it, Hadley was adorable in her swimsuit, the Embassy rocks for family vacations with young kids, and I can't express how important these little getaways are for a family. Everyone came back so refreshed and rejuvenated!

New Swingset

As the nice weather started to come and Spring came closer, I started becoming more persistent in my idea that a swing set would be a great addition to our backyard this summer. I grew up with a swing set and loved it. It also makes me smile to hear the stories from my Mom and why she loved that we had a swing set. So I did a lot of daily searching on Craig's list, went and looked at a few swing sets, and even made a trip to the Rainbow warehouse. And after a couple months we found it...exactly what we had been looking for. It took some good friend's help and a lot of leveling, but finally Nick had it all together and we were putting it to use. A fun highlight-within the first weekend we had it-Grant had taught himself to swing. But there has also been picnic's in the fort, great make-believe ship rides, many goofy "Grant tricks" on the slide, and of course lots of u nderdogs! So needless to say, we love it! I have to laugh because many a days Grant is out there singing and that's what my Mom said was one of her favorite memories of us on the swing set. I'm looking forward to hearing many more songs. :)

March Madness

We had some amazingly warm weather in March. And we all really took advantage of it enjoying afternoons at the park and plenty of trips to the zoo. Grant's favorite animal to see is a hippo. It's always the first thing he wants to see and at the end of the day, his favorite thing he saw. I love the zoo because I feel like there is so much for the kids to learn there, Grant gets a ton of energy out, it's great exercise, and we usually pack a picnic (so no cleaning up the kitchen for me :). As for Hadley, I think she is just content with people watching and a ride in the stroller. And an extra special day at the zoo are the days Dad gets to join us. This makes everyone's day. :)

March also seemed to be about the time Hadley started eating about anything and everything...and loves it! She takes after her Mama and loves the sweets-cookies, ice cream-can you blame her. But she also loves pretty much anything we are eating. Hopefully this will keep up!

The Big 3-0!

March 8th brought the start of "life in the 30's" for me...and who wouldn't smile ear to ear waking up to this!

Nick's effort was quite cute-decorations in the kitchen, party hats for the celebration, a fantastic DQ cake, and a little "me" time to get a pedicure.

And the best part was that the festivities did not end there. Nick got us a cabin at Mahoney for the weekend. We brought the kids out Friday night and had fun making smores and hanging out. Then Saturday Nick's Mom took the kids for the night so we could run the Leprechaun Chase and have a fun evening at the cabin with the West's. s320/IMG_4444.JPG" />

l I think we were both pretty happy with our race times, but Nick was too quick for me and caught me in the last 1/2 mile. (The theme for the race was that the girl's got a few minute headstart and so if a gentleman finished the race first, they received a free beverage. But if a lady won then they would.) Needless to say the weekend was fun and relaxing!

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.