A Visit to the Doctor

For Noelle today, tomorrow for me. We spend lots of time in waiting rooms these days. We had to get her 15 month visit in before the baby arrives. She is growing just right, 80th percentile for both height and weight and is developmentally doing everything that she should at this point. She is talking above and beyond most 15 month olds ... we knew we had a little chatterbox! :) So a good visit other than the shots, but once the nurse let her choose a toy to take home, the trauma was quickly forgotten.

A Typical Morning

As long as the sun is shining, Noelle and I head outdoors for a walk and some playtime each morning. Most days this includes visiting the cows and helping mommy water the flowers. I think it's just adorable how she wants to imitate everything I do, I didn't realize she would start doing that this soon!

Happy Campers

We're back home after enjoying a fun & relaxing week camping up at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac. You'd think after being there for 8 days, we'd be ready to come home but we all agreed we could have stayed another week. We went with a group of mostly people from church, we had around 20 sites this year. This was the third year we were part of the group and I think we add a few more families each year. Noelle had a great time being outdoors and socializing with the other kids. She went to the beach for the first time this summer and was pretty brave about going out into the water. Some of her other favorite activites were boat rides, wagon rides, stroller rides, bike rides ... meaning mommy got plenty of exercise :). The weather was beautiful, other than one very rainy morning. It left a little lake in front of our trailer and Noelle of course thought it was fun to splash through the water. Matt & I appreciated the time away from work and responsibilities at home, and we enjoyed socializing too with our family members and friends. I think this will probably be our last camping trip for the year, unless this baby is exceptionally content and cooperative, maybe we'll be brave enough to go out again in September. Otherwise, looking forward to next year!

Oh Happy Day!!

I'm an auntie again! Matt's sister Karin and her husband Steve have a daughter waiting for them in China. After 2 1/2 years on the list they received the phone call today telling them they are mommy and daddy to a 5 month old little girl who was born on Steve's birthday! Daddy and mommy have named her Kathrin Loren, aka Kate. They will be traveling to China sometime in the next 6-8 weeks, we can't wait to meet her! Tonight the family had a little party at Pizza Hut to celebrate and to see her pictures. They were pretty sure that it would be a girl so Kate and Noelle already have matching outfits in the closet and we've dreamed up many fun activities for the cousins to do as they grow up together. It's been a loooong wait, but what a precious blessing at the end of the road!

Fourth of July Weekend

Almost 10 years ago our family began the unique tradition of camping in dad & mom's backyard over the Fourth of July. We don't even remember how exactly that started, but every year we have such a great time, we wouldn't spend the holiday any other way. In the beginning Matt & I were still dating and for the first few years we were married we didn't have a trailer so we slept in the house, now that we have the fifth wheel we park that in the yard and sleep there for a few nights. I guess one of the reasons we began doing this is so that those family members that don't have trailers can still 'camp' with the rest of the family. A few of the weekends' activities include fishing, swimming, campfires, and lots of conversation and laughter. As the family grows we all seem to get so busy and spend less time together so I think we now look forward to this time even more. We've realized the location doesn't matter, being together is what counts. Thanks mom and dad!!