Mimi & Pap visit

Here we are waiting for Mimi & Pap... this was the closest picture I got of LeaAnn standing in the chair.  Like Lydia's outfit? It's a favorite... this is Friday... you'll see it again on Sunday.

And they arrive! Complete w/too many presents of course!

 That night after presents, we went to the Winthrop fish fry. Saturday-day was LeaAnn's birthday party & Saturday-night Mimi & Pap watched the girls for us so we could go the Buchanan County Pork Producer's Annual Banquet w/Craig & Kris Wilgenbusch.  It was a fun night with great food, and to top it off, Chris was awarded the "Hog Wild Award" for promoting pork & the industry. He was surprised & super cute, and of course declined to give a speech ;) And I of course did not have my camera! Actually, someone sent him a picture, I'll scan it later.

Then on Sunday afternoon we went bowling in Manchester! Yes, this is Sunday, and that's the same outfit Lydia wore on Friday :) I think I washed it? ;) Doesn't she look ridiculously cute?!?  She was totally into bowling... loved every minute of it.... and Pap was a super patient teacher :)

 Solving world problems??

There she goes again... why walk? crawling gets me WHEREVER I want to go :)  I was thinking the whole time, "would I have let my first born crawl around on the floor at a bowling alley?!?"  Probably not... :)

Very serious about the whole thing :)

Better luck next time Linds ;)

There are no words for this picture :)  how stinkin' cute is she?!?

And she never did go down the bowling aisle :) we thought she might... but she didn't.

Looks good....

and score!! "I did it!"

Look what I found to play with Mimi :)

I don't know when she got so tall..

and Lindsay too!

break time...

"What? Mimi I promise I'm not going anywhere" :D Oh yes, I had to put her in the 'Little Sister' onsie one last time :)

Monday morning saying good-bye :( I tried to talk Mimi into staying another week... I'll have to try again next time ;)

LeaAnn's 1st birthday party

The Aurora Comet Center in Aurora, IA is amazing!! And perfect for indoor birthday parties... an entire gym for kiddos to run around, complete with basketballs, scooters, play-houses, and you can even rent a jump-house (which we did for 2-hrs :).

lots of tables & chairs available too!

Needless to say, all the kids had a great time... hard not too really. Here's Pap helping the birthday girl on the slide.

Trying to get a picture w/just mom & dad :) and I'm not pregnant in this one!! ;)

 
Like I am here, a year prior at Lydia's 1st birthday! :D (LeaAnn in the tummy ;)

Lydia fully enjoyed all activities... complete w/backpack on at all times :)

and the big girls wanted their hair curly for the big event... doesn't Lauren look so old here?!?

Lindsay Rae w/good friend Laynee Hogan

Birthday girl in her favorite stance

better things to do... off she goes...

Scooter rides for all...

She crawled right over to her high-chair and demanded it was time to eat :) Here is cousin Owen saying, "hey! I'm hungry too!" :)

You've got to put on your birthday hat LeaAnn!

definitely not loving the hat ;)

best attempt at getting all 4 together :) Lydia 2-3mo, Lauren 6-10mo, LeaAnn 1 & Lindsay 5-1/2

beautiful cupcakes made by Grammy :D

loving the candle...

and her cake! Though she really didn't make too big of a mess.

First taste of ice cream from Pap.

LOVED her pillow-pet! Climbed right up on it and laid down :D thanks so much Aunt Jill!

Grammy helping her walk...

Successful family picture! Thanks to Grammy jumping up & down behind us & to Mimi for taking it! And our LAST family picture at a 1-year birthday party!! ;)

LeaAnn Claire turns ONE

Unbelievably enough... the day I thought might never come, happened, and now has passed by almost 3 weeks!! (so behind) Ms. LeaAnn Claire is now officially one as of Saturday, March 3 :D

5 days before her birthday... here she is in one of her favorite spots.

"Oh! You want me to 'cheese'?!" I can do that ;) I just love her big blue eyes...

See ya' later mom... got lots of things to do...

2 days after that, on Leap Day, 2/29, we came home from daycare... set her down on the kitchen floor, and the next thing I know, she's heading up the stairs.... crawling!  I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it b/c Chris had been working with her every night for weeks... TRYING to get her to do it. She would not budge! But not today... she crawled right up them like she had been doing it all her life. She thought it was so much fun, she had to do it over, and over, and over again!

These pictures are from the day before her birthday... we are waiting for Mimi & Pap to arrive. I'm in the kitchen, and I hear Lydia & LeaAnn yapping at each other, then Lydia screeches, I come running in the living room... and what do I find?  This 'big-little' girl STANDING on the rocking chair!!!

Of course I did not get a picture of the actual 'stand' but she was really proud of herself :) Grammy can attest to this 'stand', when she watched her just this past Monday, she said, "anyone who has that kind of balance to climb up & stand on a rocking chair should be walking!" :D  LeaAnn clearly does not agree ;)

Her big 'ol cheese grin :)

Notice the slobber :) a constant in her life right now...

Shortly after Mimi & Pap arrived, big girls got off the bus, and Chris got home, we started in on presents for the birthday girl.

Loving the new princess couch...

Of course we're standing on it :D

She LOVES to put 'things' into buckets, cups, etc...

The morning of her birthday... like the sign in the back? Uppercase Living.... figured I could have it up 4 months out of the year!

The clouds are loud...

I am so far behind!!! (deep breath...) I will catch up, I will catch up ;)

So for now, I had to write this story down because I did not want to forget. Laid LeaAnn down at 6:15 & Lydia got to stay up 'late' w/the big girls till 7:00 (after Lauren read her 3 stories). She has become such a big girl lately... "dat's a skid-woader," "Yes, Lydia, it is a skid-loader."  "Daddy dwive me on skid-woader" :D
I put my tennis shoes on tonight and she says, "Mommy go wun?"  I'm sure there are a ton of 2-yr olds who are so observant... it's just been so long since we've had one, and she captures our heart so easily... all the time.

So she's in bed, big girls are watching, "The Voice" and it starts to down-pour. Complete w/thunder & lightning of course :)  Oh wait!!! It's MARCH IN IOWA?!?  And there are thunder-storms and it's 70-degrees... so of course there's a thunder storm.  I think nothing of it, Lindsay does her usual, "can I sleep w/you guys if it's storming?" and Chris walks them up at 8:00. He comes downstairs and says, "melt my heart..."

When he walked upstairs, Lydia was laying across the steps at the top of the stairs and she sat up and said, "The clouds were loud Daddy." (tear) Lauren picked her up and carried Lydia to her bed (double tear)...

More to come & soon - promise Mimi :)