On top of the World!

Today was THE DAY. I woke up with my alarm (not pressing snooze 3 times). Got ready for work and didn't feel like I needed a cappuccino so made it to work decently on time. Finished my 3rd quarter projects. Wasn't the last parent to pick up their kid at daycare. Hailey listened to me-we played outside, took a bath and ate dinner with no problem. :) Fixed dinner (Tacos-Nich's new fav). Folded the clothes. Put Hailey to bed, without a fit. Was greeted with flowers when Nich came home!

Ever have those days, when things just go right and you feel like you've got a handle on things?! They don't come often, but man does it feel good! :) We just got back yesterday from vacation, that's probably a huge part of it! Pictures to come...(I'm not THAT on top of it!)

HaPpY bIrThDaY hAiLeY!!!!

Sunday we celebrated Hailey's 2nd Birthday with family and friends. When she woke up she knew something was going on...She was so excited to get to wear her pretty yellow dress and see things getting ready. She was a totally different girl! :) Here are some pictures from the day!

People started arriving at 2pm and we chatted for awhile then got ready for dinner. We enjoyed hamburgers, hotdogs, spaghetti bake, potato salad, and Chinese coleslaw (thanks gram!) Riley, Mia & Hailey loved having their own table to eat! They shared food, played musical seats, and cheesed for the camera!


We're so thankful that Hailey has friends her age :) After everyone stuffed themselves we headed outside for presents. The girls were definitely more excited for the kiddie pool than presents, but eventually we coaxed them over. Hailey got so many great presents! Thanks everyone!

We were sooo excited for 101 dalmatian lunchbox!



... and her new baby and crib






(She kept laying down with baby in the crib. How sweet!!)



... and her bike! Papa had a great idea to tote baby around with her! Not just a hat rack! ;)

We had so much fun and are so blessed with so many family and friends! Thanks for coming! More to come I'm sure about our beautiful 2 year old! (Still can't believe it!) I'm so excited to see what's in store for us this coming year!

Sweet girl

I promise to post pictures soon, but have to tell everyone we had the BEST morning! Hailey was up at 6am and I was kinda awake, but didn't want to get up. Nich got her and she laid in bed with us for 1 hour watching TV (JoJo's Circus & Higglytown Heros-two of her favorites!). She and I shared a pillow and every so often she gave me a "super hug." She wraps her arms around my neck and pulled me on top of her a bit to give me a great hug. She is SOOOO sweet. I felt so loved. :) We just cuddled and loved on each other all morning. She kept looking over at me to make sure I was still there and gave me an "I love you mom" look. It was the best 6am ever! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Family Meals

The last couple weeks we have been doing really good about eating dinner together at the table -- thanks to Hailey! :) She won't eat in her high chair in the kitchen or family room anymore, but prefers to be right up next to the table. We've also started holding hands when we're praying before eating and she ABSOLUTELY LOVES to pray!!! We probably pause to pray about 10 times per meal. We generally sit her down first while we're getting our plates in the kitchen, meanwhile she's yelling "Sit! Sit!!" We hurry into our seats and get settled and she holds out both hands to pray. We all hold hands and either Nich or I prays, then a long pause (for Hailey to get it) and we all say "Amen!" or "Ayen!"-for Hailey. She even bows her head and closes her eyes too! How sweet! About the third or fourth time we pray, we ask her to. She rambles something then looks up at us and says "Ayen!" How did we get so lucky?!!

Fun-filled weekend

We've had an laid back and exciting weekend! Here are some of the cute things Hailey today this weekend. We weren't able to get pictures of anything, but you can imagine! I'll post pictures as soon as I catch them!

1) Saturday, Albion got quite a storm. The worst of it blew over house, but we heard downtown got it pretty hard so after the rain we went out to "gawk." We'd been driving quite awhile when it started to rain again. Hailey apparently didn't like the sound and tried to cover her ears. All she could do what fold them in half. We looked back and saw her smiling, with her ears folded. I tried to get my camera, but of course, she stopped. We started laughing which made her laugh harder too! Goofy girl!

2) Later that night, after everything cleared, Hailey was getting cabin fever. Hailey, Nich & I went for a walk down to the nursing home in her Radio Flyer wagon. It was the first time we've gotten it out since last fall and she was SO EXCITED! Just before we got to the nursing home, she insisted that I sit in with her. Nich got his workout! He pulled both of us up and down the driveway of the nursing home. Some of the ladies that we've come to know saw us coming up and laughed right out loud! Leave it to Hailey!

3) Today after church we went shopping to spend some of our giftcards and coupons. We bought Hailey some movies, Happy Feet, Veggie Tales Jonah and Doodlebops. She LOVES the Doodlebops and this movie came with a kazoo. We put it in on the ride home and gave her the kazoo and played it the entire way home! She was singing along when Deede, Rooney and Moe were singing, then played the kazoo when they played their instruments. Hilarious!

4) After nap we started potty-training. She has been really interested for awhile. For the last 2-3 weeks she wants to hop up on the potty, but doesn't go. She just likes to flush. We bought a cheap one to keep in the family room, thinking she wouldn't feel like she had to stop playing to go. She went 3 times! We only had accidents twice, she isn't comfortable pooping in her potty yet. We let her pick out a sticker (which goes right on her belly) whenever she goes. So far its working! Wish us luck!

Vote for Hailey!

So I did it. I entered Hailey into a baby photo contest. We were goofing off on Tuesday night and she was posing like crazy, being silly...then we got it! Our little model!



Go to www.contestformoms.com/babycontestphotos/

Click the search link, then just type in "hailey". To vote all you have to do is click on her picture to make it bigger. They pick one winner based on number of views and the judges also pick three others.

Go Hailey!!