a winters getaway

In an effort to provide a fun distraction from the fact that we are now only one week away from the due date - we went on a mini family getaway this morning to the small town of Winters (it's just 14 miles west of Davis). We had breakfast at our favorite restaurant there - Putah Creek Cafe.

As we were waiting for our food to arrive Hannah got very tempted by the lemons I'd requested for my water.

Here's what she thought of them!

Luckily, she enjoyed the french toast that came soon after and forgot about the sour lemons.

Then we headed out to the Lake Solano Recreation Park to do some bird-watching.

Birds are still the most fascinating thing for Hannah and she always wants to see "moh" (more). After seeing the standard Canadian geese, some swallows and a heron, we stumbled upon a very friendly peacock.

Who let us get close.

So we could see his gorgeous feathers!
We had to pry Hannah away from the peacock and Matt took her down the slide at the playground there.
We went by for one last look at the water and then headed home!
(P.S. My belly is getting fairly ginormous at this point!)

strawberry picking

As we wait for our little guy's arrival, I've been trying to think of some fun things to do.

This morning Hannah and I joined our local MOPS group for some strawberry picking just outside Davis. (One of the joys of living in this smallish town is that we are surrounded by so many farm animals and fun crops!)

Once she got the hang of it, Hannah really enjoyed plucking the strawberries

and putting them in her basket.

That is, until she figured out that they were good to eat!
(Not many made it into the basket after that.)

just the 3 1/2 of us!

I was talking to an older woman in our church a few months ago who told me that her second child was just sure he was adopted because they didn't have any pictures of her pregnancy with him and they had so many from her first pregnancy.
Thus, I was inspired to get some pictures of this pregnancy. And since I am usually the one behind the camera, I recruited my friend and college roommate, Holly to head to the arboretum with us and capture this special time in our family (she did a great job!).

Of course I wanted to get some shots of Hannah interacting with my tummy, but being very much an almost 2 year old - she didn't quite cooperate and needed Daddy's help!



This is a more accurate depiction of her feelings toward the coming baby...



Here's one that captures Matt's feelings about our coming boy and my ever-growing belly:

Matt and Hannah had a great time rolling around in the grass giving each other tackle hugs (fyi: a tackle hug involves Hannah getting a running start and then heading at Matt to hug him and he falls over)

This finally got Hannah smiling and we got some great family shots with us all smiling - here's one of my favorites!

Picnic Day 2010

Last Saturday, Matt & Toby competed for the second year in the Frisbee Dog Competition at UCD's Picnic Day.

In case you missed their stellar performance - here's the video:

I'm so proud of both of them!

one month from today...

One month from today....
our little boy is due to make his arrival and Hannah will be on the eve of turning 2!

Countless people have told me, nostalgically & sadly, how fast kids grow up. And I have this feeling of wanting to dispute that comment. Because yes, they do grow up and change - one day they lay on the ground and stare, the next they are able to grab a toy. Another they have previously stayed sitting where you left them - then a day comes and they can move around on their own. Yes, change happens quickly in babies. But it's not a bad thing or something to be grieved. I think that it is in God's divine knowledge that he doesn't allow babies, or children, or even adults to stay where they are - but to change and grow! If Hannah had taken any longer to start walking, I'm pretty sure my back would be permanently crippled from carrying her up and down the stairs in our house. As much as she needs to grow for her own development, I also need her to change. And I need it to happen in a swift manner. Otherwise I might go crazy!

Maybe it's being a stay-at-home mom, but I feel like I've gotten to soak in every stage with Hannah and enjoy it and welcome the coming of the next. It's amazing to see her grow and her personality develop! I would not trade anything in the world for her to go back to that helpless infant stage. And yet, we have another coming - in whose change & development from baby to toddler I can once again rejoice!

Hannah at 4 months grabbing a toy for the first time!

Hannah at 22 months, getting ready to be a big sister!

recapitulation

Recapitu...what??

Matt preached yesterday on one of his favorite stories in the Bible - the reinstatement of Peter in John 21. If you're interested in hearing it or being reminded of what recapitulation means, here's the link to listen to his sermon. (I thought it was pretty darn good, but I might be a little biased.)

http://www.ucov.com/content.cfm?id=213&content_id=226

(And yes, he does find a way to tie in Forest Gump.)

meeting baby kylie

Yesterday Debbie and I took our kids to go meet baby Kylie! She is visiting her grandparents (Dan & Sue) for the week. I can't totally figure out the relation - but maybe Kylie and Hannah are second cousins??? Kylie's mom, Becky, is Matt's first cousin. (Which could be confusing becausing Becky's husband is also named Matt.)

Kylie is 13 pounds and 5 1/2 months of cuteness!! Hannah & Reagan were sure interested to watch her!

Hannah and Caleb were having fun sitting next to each other on the couch.

It was great to see Dan & Sue as grandparents!

And the older girls gave them a taste of what is to come!