September

September has been a busy month for our fam! We kicked the month off with a fun Labor Day weekend helping the new Mr. and Mrs. Kimple celebrate their big day. Nick and Grant were both a part of the wedding and so cute to see the two of them in their tuxes. The day we tried Grant's tux on, he was not a fan. So I was a bit nervous for the wedding day. To my amazement (and the fact that two of his little buddies and their dad's were wearing the tux's too) we got it on him with no problem...the problem came when we wanted to take it off. The wedding was Saturday night and Grant didn't take his shirt and vest off till Monday night when we got back to Omaha. :)

Grant did a great job "running" down the aisle and had a blast at the dance. He kicked off his shoes and socks and danced the night away...I do believe he was on the dance floor from the time he got to the reception till the time we took him home. We left Hadley with her Mimi and Papa and she enjoyed all the loving and cuddling she got from them.



The week of Labor Day brought the end of my maternity leave. So back to work I went, Hadley started daycare, and a new level of busy overcame our family. Oh and a whole lot of sickness-strep throat twice for me, Nick sick with something that kept him in bed for about 2 days straight, Grant a sinus infection, and a case of the stomach flu. We are currently all healthy and I am saying prayers that it stays this way for awhile.
It's hard to believe but as this month is flying by Hadley is almost 10 weeks old! We are loving her like crazy and enjoying watching her become more and more of a little person. She's smiling, talking, and just this week I think I've heard a few giggles. All three of us can't kiss her enough! She had her 2 month appointment and continues to be our tall little girl. She was 24 3/4in (97%), 11lbs 4oz (75%) and a head circum. of 15 1/4in (60%)...and I must mention she was only 6 weeks old at this appointment. :) She recently discovered her hands and seems to by dying to get a finger to suck on. And to my delight-just this week-Miss Hadley slept through the entire night!



One morning this month we headed down to Nebraska City for the Applejack festival. The weather was a little chilly and wet so we didn't do all that we were planning to. However, we did have a lot of fun at the farm we did stop at. Grant had a blast riding the "train" and horses...and Hadley enjoyed being warm and snuggled up close to Mama in her sling for a little snooze.


This month Grant has become friends with the family up the street. They have a little boy who is 4 and called Grant his "BFF". Grant jumped on board with this and wants to see his best friend everyday! Lucky for us they are great neighbors and don't mind when we walk up to play. His "best friend" really likes playing catch, hitting the ball, and playing football. So Grant's been practicing as well. I've also started to see Grant "really" thinking about a lot of things. It's so cute to see what he all takes in and comprehends. The other day Nick asked him if he wanted to go for a truck ride to run an errand. When they got home Nick said Grant had wanted to know when they were going to go to "Erin's". :)
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Hadley's First Few Weeks

It's been three weeks since we were blessed with Hadley's presence and a pretty fun three weeks as we are getting to know Hadley's little personality. We quickly found out the first night she was in our room that she is a loud little sleeper...lots of grunts and groans. Therefore, that was Hadley's last night in our room :) We have since moved her to her room, which is helping us all get a better nights sleep. We have also learned that Hadley is much more vocal than we remember Grant. She is a good little baby but will let us know if she is not happy.


Big brother Grant is continuing to adore his sister. Giving her lots of attention in the form of kisses, rocking her swing and bouncy, and talking and playing with her. It's easy to see what we say to Hadley because I hear a lot of it said to her by Grant...He is always calling her "sweetie" and occasionally I will hear a "Miss Hadley". If she's crying, he rushes to grab a toy or her blankie or tells her so sweetly to "calm down."


As you can see from the above photo Hadley continues to be our long little girl. At her 2 week appointment she was 22 in (95%), 8 lb 8 oz (50%), and head circum. 14 1/4 in (75%). People continue to notice her long feet, toes, and fingers. Her long fingers is something I noticed right after she was born and told Nick she would be able to palm a basketball. A friend said she would be a great piano player...maybe she will be both. :)

Welcome Hadley Lynn!

Last Friday Nick, Grant, and I headed out to the Mahoney State Park pool. We had a great evening crashing into the waves in the wave pool and doing all the fun things this little waterpark has to offer. We then enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Mahoney and the cooler evening weather with our Jimmy John's picnic. We got home and put our tired and happy Grant to bed and it wasn't long after that I started having some contractions. They seemed pretty good and regular-so after about 2 hours of contractions at home, calling Grandma Diane to come over, and grabbing a coffee for Nick-we were on our way to the hospital just after midnight.
From that point on things progressed pretty fast (remember Grant took 19 hours to arrive) and Saturday morning, July 23rd at 4:51 am, God blessed us with little girl-Hadley Lynn! She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and measured 21 in long (ironically almost the exact same measurements as her big brother, but Grant was 21 1/2 in long).
It was love at first site and immediately our little family of three-that I had a hard time imagining any different-became our family of four and we could not be more happy!




Hadley is already proving herself to be a good little baby. She is eating great, sleeping as you would expect a 6 day old baby to sleep, and enjoying all the attention she is getting from her Mom, Dad, and big brother.


Speaking of Grant, my heart melts to see how already he has become the loving, proud, and protective big brother. He gives her kisses and pats her head so softly. He loves to hold her and is always making sure his "baby sister" is coming wherever we are going. When the pediatrician came in to meet Hadley, Grant made sure he knew that she was "his baby". He also makes sure Mom and Dad know when Hadley needs something...usually it's a yell from another room saying "Mom/Dad my sister is crying". When he first met Hadley he could just say "Haddie" but he has since gotten that "l" in there. Either way is so darn to cute to hear him say.


We hope it won't be long till all our family and friends get to meet Hadley! And have her capture your heart as she has so easily done to us. :)

What we've been up to!

The last few months have brought about a lot of changes for our family. First being that at the end of April we moved to Omaha. We moved in and took over Nick's mom's house, lucky for us she has a huge heart and took us in with open arms (and probably a lot of patience). This little adventure of ours was a great experience and I believe only a few things came out broken. :) Grant really enjoyed all the extra time and loving from Grandma and we really enjoyed her company. But at the end of May we decided it was probably time to get into our rental. The whole "nesting" thing was really kicking in for me and each week I am feeling less energized and able to do everything I used to, so I was really itching to get settled. So after a few van loads from Diane's and Nick helping the movers get all our stuff packed up in KC, we are settled in our new residence.
Grant seems to be loving the extra space and a neighborhood full of kids, while I'm finally feeling at ease and ready to enjoy the summer until our next big change takes place...the arrival of baby #2.
We've already hit up the zoo...a few times. :) And the day Nick was able to come we rode the train. This was a huge hit for Grant, I don't think a smile ever left his face. Not to mention the train whistle noise that he has become so good at just from hearing it that day.

Since we have moved Grant has shot up about a foot (continuing to look more like 3 than his actual 2). He is our little jaber-box and each day seems to impress me with all the things he knows. I got started right away in my new job at Bergan on the Oncology floor and Grant started at daycare there as well. He has been a champ with all the adjustments going on and is really enjoying his new daycare. He says this is where he plays with "the kids and the cars" and "where he has blue blankie". (His green blanket stays at home and we took one just like it only blue to keep for naptime at daycare). He has even come home singing a few new songs he has learned-Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Baby Bumble Bee-to name a few. It is so cute to hear him sing them.

He is loving the warm weather, playing in the pool, running through the sprinkler, and Icee pops. We decided to go with the buzz cut again this summer and I can't help but smile when I see him running around shirtless, barefoot, buzzed hair, and popsicle in hand. He really is 100% boy. After being spoiled at Grandma's (as we all were) he has also found a love for ice cream and popcorn.

It's been fun having the ease to see family in a matter of minutes and fun to listen to Grant ask to see at least one of his cousins everyday. He is quite consumed with Millie (Doug and Brandi's little girl) and Ruby (Heidi and Tommy's little girl). They are both about 8 months and Grant adores and tries to be such a big help with them. I am hoping this adoration for babies continues when his own baby brother or sister arrives.

After a lot of trips back and forth between Omaha and KC, Nick finally seems to be getting settled in here too. His office is downtown and so he is adjusting to a little commute to work, but also enjoying what he is doing and some of the new roles he is taking on in his professional world.
While Grant shot up a foot, I think I have shot out a foot. This baby is growing quickly (actually just the size he or she needs to be according to the Dr's appointment this week). But the weeks are flying by...so quickly that I am already almost to the point where the Dr. is saying my traveling for the summer is coming to a close, which seems crazy to me. I am definitely ready to be done being pregnant but don't want to rush the arrival of the baby because I'm not sure I am ready for the sleepless nights and all that will entail.
However, we are looking forward to meeting this baby. Grant is talking more about the baby in my tummy and since moving here is saying it's a baby brother. I change my mind every other day on the sex, again we will just have to wait and see.

A Little Trip to Arkansas

The weekend before last Nick was heading to Nevada for a little golf trip with the Sutko men...so Grant and I decided it would be a great weekend to head down to Arkansas. Angie and her family moved down there at the end of last summer and we've been wanting to make a visit, especially before we have to add a few hours to the trip when we live in Omaha. So Friday morning Grant and I took off and ended up staying 5 days (once we arrived at their house we found out it was the girls' spring break and figured why not stay as long as we can). And wow did we have a good time! :)

Spring begins to bloom just a tid bit earlier in Arkansas than it does in Kansas City so we enjoyed the beatiful white and pink budding trees, the yellow budding bushes, and the mid 70 degree weather they were having. It truly felt like May instead of mid March and Grant and I felt like we really were on our own little Spring Break vacation.

We went for plenty of walks/bike/trike rides, played in the parks, had picnics, and of course learned plenty of new things from our big cousins. The first picture is from our first day there when we went to see the beautiful new home the Nachtigals are building. We stopped at the little park in their future neighborhood and Grant was a big fan of the teeter-toter. We also had a our first experience at Chucky Cheese's...huge hit with all the kids!


We were able to spend some time at the much talked about Beaver Lake. It was a beautiful lake and we all enjoyed our time there. The girls collected sea shells While Grant collected sticks and threw rocks in the water. We played on the playground and had a great picnic. When they took a bath that night the water was dirty! The girl's taught Grant how to "look to the sky" when he is getting his hair washed...he is still talking about this and all the bubbles they had in their tub. :)

A few other tidbits...
Nick could not believe how much Grant was talking after returning from his 5 day trip (some of this I am sure is just from being around the older girls) but it sure is fun to hear him tell us about his day, his friends, what he did, or what he had for lunch. He has also become our little parrot. Last night we made cookies and when I would tell him what to do in between ingredients, he would repeat it right back (including all my "ums" and "oks"). He has also become a big fan of Baseball and I must say is getting quite good. He throws like a champ and his hand-eye coordination are coming around for hitting. We've had pretty crummy weather this past week so of course all this practice has been taking place right inside.
As far as baby #2, on my birthday we had the big ultrasound where we could find out the sex...but again we decided we would wait till this babe's big arrival to tell us that. The Dr. said the babe looked great, which we were so happy to hear. The baby's movements are getting stronger and we are now able to see the baby move just from looking at the outside of my stomach. Grant continues to stay strong with his "baby Sister" prediction...I think he may be convincing me...but we shall see. :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

This update is long overdue but to our defense there has been a lot going on in the Sutko household! Nick's company-Black & Veatch-has opened an office in Omaha and we recently found out they would like Nick to be in that office. So we will be moving back to Omaha and the date is set for the end of April! It's quite the bittersweet situation as we love Kansas City and the friends we have made, but with the majority of our family back in Omaha and Kearney, we think the close support system will be nice...especially with #2's arrival this summer.
So our last month has been spent figuring things out with his company, finding me a job in Omaha, working to get our house on the market...and the list continues as there seems to be so much to figure out and even more so when there are kiddos involved. I joke with Nick that it feels like we are running a business because the majority of our conversations are what needs to be done, what's happening with the move, when's this meeting or that interview, etc.

But for Grant's sake we are trying to keep the craziness as calm as can be and let him continue to enjoy his little 2 year old life...which he seems to be doing just fine. We celebrated his Birthday at the end of January, it was a little more quiet compared to last years but we all still had a great time. His biggest thing was the Birthday cake, all he wanted was the "happy cake". And he did enjoy it!

Since being 2, Grant continues to be his goof ball, strong-willed, happy self. He loves to help out and is so proud when he does. He has also become a bit more demanding when he doesn't want to leave somewhere (the park, a friend's, etc.) and when I say demanding I mean we are starting to see some tantrums thrown...we are working on this :)

I must say one minute he might be throwing a tantrum but the next he's melting our hearts. Just the other morning he woke up and Nick brought him back to our bed and he gave us both huge hugs, numerous kisses, and I got my head patted...that brought a chuckle. Then the other day when we were playing at a friend's who has a little girl who loves to push Grant's buttons (she's just 1 and thinks they are playing games or something) but for whatever reason Grant seems to think she's bothering him. So the other day when she was making loud noises at him, he told her to "hush". I've never heard him say this before (and I don't think we say it) but he said it in such a grown up manner I could not help but laugh.

He continues to LOVE cars, trucks, tractors, trains, and the newest one "neener-neener's". This involves any fire truck, police car, or ambulance because when there sirens go off that's the noise they make, makes sense right. :) He also will spot these vehicles all over town...many times impressing Nick and I because we have not even seen them yet.

We are anxiously awaiting more nice weather as Grant has absolutely loved our few days we've had it. He's crazy about the park but is just as content getting his bucket of toys out in the backyard and having the freedom and fresh air this involves. I am looking forward to what I think is going to be a very fun Spring and Summer!

Happy 2nd Grant!

He's 2! Grant has grown so much in the last year and I couldn't help but make another picture slide show for him. And once again more for ourselves to look back on the year. :) Happy Birthday Grant!