Two Year Old Pics

We went to our favorite place, Portrait Simple, and got Hayley's two year old pics done as well as snuck in some maternity photos too. Here they are:

:

The New Swing Set

Well, after searching and contemplating and thinking and debating, we decided to just go ahead and buy a swingset. Though it was breaking Dave's heart to think of what a swing set was going to do to his lawn that he cherishes and loves so much, he gave in. We ordered it from Wal-mart and picked it up on Tuesday morning around 8 am. By 9 o'clock, Dave was out there working getting everything laid out on the grass. We set up a table to inventory the nuts, bolts, and screws. We sorted all the wood. And then Dave (and a little help from his friend Bob) worked tirelessly through the rain and the beating hot sun for 2 days straight to get it finished. Of course, I captured a ton of pictures of this momentous moment!

The extremely immense amount of parts to put this baby together!

Hayley enjoying the finished product. 

Trip to Asheville

This summer is pretty crazy with the baby coming in late August, so I decided I really wanted to go down to NC to see my southern contingent of my family for a long weekend. Dave couldn't swing it with work, so it was just Hayley and I. You'd think it would be hard with a pregnant woman and an almost 2 year old in one seat on an airplane, but the airline was totally accommodating and the seat companions were all very kind. Hayley was extremely well behaved and even slept for one entire flight. We had such a nice time. There was lots of laughing. LOTS. Also lots of swimming, driving, here and there, just very busy. Hayley was a trooper, but came home totally exhausted she slept until 9:30 this morning! She got along so well with Nora, followed her around everywhere, and warmed to everyone very quickly. With the exception of Dave not being there, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Here are some pictures of the long weekend. Aimee also took a great video of Hayley, hopefully I'll get my hands on that soon, too.

Josiah in the high chair. Hayley called him "Baby Siah".

Hayley and Nora hangin' out.

Jacob and Josiah sitting in Nora's tree house.

Hayley proudly showing off her braid that Mimi did for her. She would NEVER sit still long enough for me to do that, so I was thrilled to see her hair so cute!

Josiah loved the pool!

Ann actually attempting to read a book to all three kids. Good luck with that one!

Hayley swimming in the pool! All by herself! She loved it and never wanted to get out.

Josiah crawling around. He is so darn cute!

Nora was spent. 

Aimee posing in the swing.

I love this picture, I think it came out so good of all three of them! 

Hayley's New Bedroom

Well, the day has finally arrived. Hayley's new bedroom furniture arrived this afternoon and she has officially moved into her new, big girl room. She was so excited about her new bed that 30 minutes after getting up from her nap she was ready to go "night night" just so she could crawl into her new bed and lie down. Tonight after doing our normal bedtime routine she crawled into her big bed, pulled the sheets up to her waist, gave daddy a hug and kiss and went "night night" (well, after 45 minutes of pushing Gloworm). She was so happy!!

Carolyn said she was going to post some pictures of the room so check back for those soon.

To New Hampshire and Back

As soon as Debbie found out we were having a boy, she was thrilled. I think for lots of reasons, but especially because she was going to be able to pass on all of Brett's stuff to us. Since he's almost 6, she's got a lot hanging around. So since Keith got transferred to Pennsylvania, and they're moving next week, we had to take a quick trip up to New Hampshire to grab all our hand me downs. So at 8:30 this morning we loaded into our empty car with Dave, me, Hayley and Josie. We got to Deb's, and 30 minutes later, our car was filled from end to end to roof with clothes, a car seat, toys, shoes, of gosh, more then we could possibly imagined.

Hayley and Dave played outside for awhile, we had a nice lunch on the sun porch, and off we went, back home. As we pulled away, we realized that would be the last time we would ever go to that house. Kinda sad! But we can't wait to visit them at their new house, which has a pool, so hopefully it will be in the summertime! Poor Josie had to lie on the floor at my feet in the front seat with nowhere else for her to go! And seven hours after we had left, we arrived back home, unloaded the car, and packed it all upstairs in storage.

Totally worth the trip, but we are all exhausted. If you're reading this, Thanks Deb SO much for everything!

Fun With Kaelyn

Hayley has a lot of best friends. They seem to come and go and come back again. It is so fun to have so many babies her age around and I really feel blessed to have a great group of mom's too. Lately her best friend has been Kaelyn. Her mom is Sherri and we met at a sketchy hippie music group that I never went to again, but got a great friend out of it, so totally worth it. Anyway, these girls are like sisters. Sherri and I laugh almost daily at their similarities, from the rashes they get on their faces to the way they talk and walk to their development. Funniest (and cutest of all) is that they totally fight like sisters. They constantly ask for each other, then get together and push and steal toys (mostly Hayley, she's the mean one). Then they love each other and play together and share and hug like, 30 minutes later. It is so cute, and we just laugh about it.

The other day they came over for a play date and we snapped a couple cute pictures of them. The one of them on the front steps is my all time favorite! I just love this picture. It totally encapsulates their personalities!

Sherri is also having another baby due on the 11th, a boy. So our boys are going to be 3 months apart, too! Which we are totally psyched about!

Trip to Marco Island - 2010

Well, another year of Marco Island has come and gone. We had a wonderful time, once again, of course. For the first time ever we got a bout of rain for the first 3 days, but then it cleared up and was so gorgeous, it was very easy to forget the cloudiness we faced when we first arrived.

Hayley had a blast and went swimming in the pool every day with me or Dave. She napped great and every afternoon we went down to the beach and she played in the sand with buckets and shovels and of course, her babydoll, which she would never leave home without one.

The group was small this year, just Dave, Hayley and I with Carol and Greg. Weird dynamics and strange adjustments were made to play tripoly, but we made it work, and it was really fun. The week went by so fast, I can't believe it's already over.

Getting back into real life sucks - plain and simple. But I'm doin' it, one day at a time. Here are some pictures and videos for you to enjoy:

A couple side notes since I haven't posted since February. I am now 20 weeks pregnant and we are having a boy! Yeah! At 16 weeks Dr. Byrd gave me an ultrasound and said it was a girl. Four weeks of getting ourselves psyched up for a second girl, when we have been so sure all along it was a boy. Then, POW! I guess it was too early to tell because at 20 weeks, there was a very clear penis! We are very excited and thrilled. Now comes the name game! Of course, to be honest I am terrified with what to do with a boy! Things are just so...different...then girls, to say the least. I guess we'll find out soon!

Pampered Chef is kicking off amazing since I started in November. I had my biggest month ever and my sales were over $2,500! I was #2 in my cluster and #8 in my region! It was very exciting, and of course now a goal I would like to satisfy monthly. April was slow with vacation, but May and June are already full and I've had to squeeze a couple more in just because my requests are pouring in! I love it! You have no idea how happy it makes me to have found work that I love, that is easy, and that I can do as a stay at home mom. And of course the income is great, too.

Another future goal of mine is to post here once a week. Especially with the new baby coming and summer approaching, more photo opps will be here and I want to be sure to keep you all in the loop. So here it is, my promise to you, back to the blog once a week. There, I said it. Done.

See you next week!