Fun with Nana!

Last weekend we went to see Nana since Papa was up north, so she was by herself and we wanted to show off the new car! We went over to the church next door to play and got some GREAT shots!

Such a sweet picture of Nana watching Hailey!

When I was a senior in high school we took our Sunday school class pictures here, and now Hailey's playing here!


Peeping through the portholes of the ark



On the ride home Daddy sat back with Hailey and really enjoyed playing with her. They were singing, reading and just having fun! I was lucky enough to get a video of her singing! It's a little dark, but turn the volume up!

Our little singer!!

Bibs! Bibs! Bibs!

Toddlers just amaze me...This weekend Hailey found her bib drawer and put on ALL her bibs!

There were probably about 20 bibs and she put them all on, walked downstairs and took them off and walked away. That's all she wanted to do! Sometimes I wish I could have a peep into her thoughts!...Sometimes not!

New Car

Our Snazzy new car!

(I wish I was at the beach! - Google Image Search, gotta love it!)

It's a 2008 Dodge Caliber. We traded in our beloved Durango to be more fuel efficient. We're actually SAVING money each month! Crazy! Watch out for this now!

Pollak Menagerie

This morning was quite eventful! Sugar got locked outside last night and I remember after I got out of the shower this morning so I opened up the front door to let him in when he wanted to come in. I looked out the front window and saw our turkey friends who are out almost everyday between 7-7:05am. There are about 20 of them all together, usually 5 adults and 15 babies. They usually start in the back of our house and walk around to the front, through Jerome & Delma's yard then finally across the street into the field. Today the "King Turkey" led the pack (not quite sure what a pack of turkeys are called :) to test the water and he got a surprise! Out jumped Sugar from the bushes! This scared the turkey and he made a lot of noise and ran back to the rest to get a buddy. The two of them tried to cross the yard, but Sugar was still there! They chickened out and got another. ...and another....and another! Strength in numbers! Finally 5 turkeys intimidated Sugar and he came running back in the house.

These are the first 4 turkeys. Sugar is just out of the shot to the right.

"King Turkey' is the furthest right.After the turkeys had full reign of the yard, the deer came! We had 4 deer total. Three came to the east of our yard and the last came up the driveway! The deer thought about coming up the yard but changed it's mind and stopped in the middle of the road to talk with the turkeys as they were crossing. It really looked like they were talking! The deer bent it's head down and the turkey looked up. The deer decided to go party with the turkeys and went back across the road. Nature amazes me! I was almost late for work but was glued to the window!

A day with her friend

Sunday we got together with Ryan and Melissa Betz for Hunter's 1st Birthday party which was a lot of fun! We met new people and also hung out with the Paulk's, which made Hailey's day! It kept getting better for her because they came over to our house after. Lately every blonde haired girl Hailey thinks is Riley. She was so excited to see her Sunday!

Hailey convinced Riley to go say hi to the nursing home folks! Both of them had their babies and their strollers. Both girls did so good! Hailey was so proud of having Riley there that she just walked into each room and said hi! Eventually the girls got smart (or lazy) and pushed each other!

At least they took turns!

I'm so thankful for Riley and her family! We all have so much fun together and it's really nice to have someone at about the same stage!

Answered Prayer!

Hailey colored two pictures to take to the nursing home today. One for Mrs. Meri and one for Mr. Jerry and Mr. Anthony to share. Praise God today we heard answered prayer!! Mrs. Meri will be leaving in two weeks to go home. She lives in Jackson with her husband and she's making tons of progress. I'm going to miss her though. Mr. Anthony will be leaving the 26th to go back home to New Jersey. Two of our favorite people will be going home! That'll bring new faces for Hailey to brighten their days!

Summer is complete...

Saturday we spent the day at the beach and it was BEAUTIFUL!! We drove 2.5 hours to Saugatuk to the beach we accidentally discovered last year (now our favorite!) with Britt and Nick. Fortunately Hailey napped most of the way up. Enjoy pictures!

It's about 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot to the beach through the woods and an open field. Here's my adorable backpack! She now asks to be carried "like a backpack!"

Britt buried herself in the sand and Hailey thought it was pretty cool too! We asked where her legs were, and she raised both arms and said "I don't know"


Hailey made friends as usual, but this friend was a little different. She only spoke German! Hailey and I played with Louisa and her mom who spoke decent English. We learned Nine and Louisa learned Thank you. It's so neat that kids can play with anyone regardless or language or any other difference. They just play.

She loved just laying in the sand and soaking up the warmth. She started rolling and rolling and rolling! Below is a picture of where she ended up...quite a way away!

She was so proud of herself!

It was so nice to just have fun in the water and playing in the sand. Britt and Nick watch Hailey so (my) Nich and I could play in the waves and just have fun together. MUCH appreciated!! One happy family!! Our summer (at least my summer) can now be complete! :)

Picnic

Friday night we decided to get KFC and go to the park with Britt & Nick. Perfect summer night!

Hailey and I had some precious mommy-daughter moments while the boys were playing frisbee!

She and Daddy had fun too!

Mrs. Meri

Hailey and I are still going visiting to the nursing home every couple days, just to brighten their days. Hailey walks out the door with her stroller and baby of choice and says "Say Hi!?" which means she wants to go the nursing home. It's such a joy for me that she doesn't mind going and actually enjoys it! I haven't posted for awhile about our visits but Friday was special. Nich came too and we went to see our regulars, Mr. Anthony, Mrs. Christiana, Mrs. Meri, Mr. Jerry and Mrs. Opal.

Mr. Anthony & Mr. Jerry share a room and have a stuffed dalmatian with a fire hat on top of their dresser and Hailey knows exactly which room to go to and where to point for the puppy. She usually takes puppy for a walk around the nursing home (always returning it to Mr. Anthony so we can play next time). It seemed like everyone was in kind of a down mood, which made it perfect for Hailey to see them! She can just brighten up a room! She gave Mr. Anthony and Mr. Jerry high knuckles and let Mr. Jerry tickle her. Both men were baby talking and laughing with her!

We stopped and saw Mrs. Opal, who always tells us of her 2 grandsons that are about Hailey's age that she misses. Her daughter was visiting, so that was just a quick visit. Mrs. Christiana wasn't in her room.

We stopped to see Mrs. Meri who is quite a bit younger than everyone else and so fun to interact with! She just looked like she was about to cry the whole visit and Hailey said hi, grabbed her honey graham bears, and ran off to someone else - Nich followed, which gave me a chance to talk to Mrs. Meri. She's probably in her late 40s, early 50s and is in the nursing home for rehabilitation of her foot. She started crying and asked me to pray for her foot. She now has 100% mobility, but tried stairs and fell. (Once she can do stairs she can go home). I gave her a hug and said let's pray now. We did and she and I both cried and asked God for strength and encouragement. She gave me another hug and told me how much of a blessing my family has been to her. That moment made everything make sense. Those residents hardly see young kids, rarely have physical contact, and don't often have family visitors. Hailey makes everyone's day. She doesn't hesitate to give them a high five, or let them touch her. She is just her friendly, lovable, caring self and God is using her to be that blessing and ray (how ironic - Hailey Rae) of sunshine in each visit. It's amazing to see this little girl making such a big difference!

Trip to Muskegon

Absolutely ADORABLE! I just love this child! (I'm her mom though!) This weekend was her cousin Abrial's 2nd birthday party up in Muskegon. Hailey did great on the drive up there - she slept the whole way up which was nice for us. The birthday party was at a park and we just knew it was on Sherman Blvd, but really didn't know where. We just drove until the road ended at Lake Michigan. It was beautiful! We didn't see the signs showing us where the party was at the park so we just saw to go down to the beach. It was such a gorgeous day! Hailey loved being at the beach and playing in the sand as we walked trying to find the rest of the family. She was beautiful and I was able to snap a couple pictures without her noticing!

We walked a long ways on the beach and didn't find them, but noticed we had a stinky diaper on our hands so walked back up to the car to change her and saw the signs pointing the opposite way to her party. Nich's sister Amanda did a GREAT job organizing the party with lots of things for the kids to do. This picture was the kids bobbing for apples. All the other kids were playing with the apples in the water and throwing them around, but Hailey grabbed one out and started eating it. She's just watching the other kids, enjoying apple #3.

Picture of Hailey and Abrial swinging...not quite sure what they're looking at! They are a month apart. We're so lucky to have cousins so close in age!

Absolutely In Love

I just love Hailey! I know I'm such a mom, but I just look at her and am so proud/excited/impressed/surprised by her all the time! All I can do is just smile, kiss her on the top of her head and say I Love You. This weekend was full of those moments. I hope she sees it and feels it everyday. I cannot believe how much I love her! I treasure these moments!