Thursday, August 29, 2013

Baby Hayden (+ DSLR Dump)

Aunt Stacey and Uncle Aaron welcomed sweet Baby Hayden - Jeff's and my first niece and the girls' first girl cousin into the world on August 8th. The girls and I went to meet her (Jeff had left for a bachelor party that morning) at the hospital. They were excited, but Kaitlyn was more toward thrilled. They both brought their babies and were talking about having to clean them up since they had blood on them. They had seen a picture of when Hayden was first born and got to hear all about what babies look like when they first come out. They puzzled for a bit, then went with it.

K was asking me in the car if she could hold Hayden, and I kept telling her that we'd have to wait and see. We had been there for a bit when she leaned over to whisper in my ear no to forget that she wanted to hold Hayden. She is SO my daughter. That's exactly what I would have done at that age -- way too shy to ask, but wanted to so badly.

So, we sat both girls down in a chair and lay (a supported) Hayden on a pillow in their laps. Kaitlyn was biting her cheeks, trying so hard not to smile. SO my daughter (I remember exactly what that felt like).










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And now, the big camera pics. These go back to June:

I can't believe how little they used to be! 









 Our short-lived rooster experience:


Little Buffy:


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 Stacey's baby shower. Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Roger made this fruit baby carriage. So cute!




The beautiful mama!



 Her helpers:


Austen is such a good cousin -- testing out the trike to be sure it's safe for Hayden:


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4th of July outtakes:








A real-live "I want to BE my big sister" moment, caught on camera:


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 Chelan:





Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Chelan -- Part Two

The rest of our trip:




 Austen went down the small slides by herself last year (toward the end of the day), but wasn't having it this year. She wasn't happy after this picture -- oops!









 Lakeview ice cream date with friends. From left: Charlotte, Owen, Carter, Kaitlyn, Austen, Campbell, Audrey, and Payton:





We went to dinner with the Meeks after Slidewaters (these are obviously out of order). The kids had a lot of (loud) fun. Check out the lady in the background of this picture. Sneezing? Telling a story? Either way, we got a good laugh. Makes me wonder if I've ever made it into someone's picture with a less than desirable face...

We tried paddle boarding. It was fun and great exercise...





K got to go out with Jeff. She loved it!



 So glad Rob was able to come again this year...









K was in the pool for most of the trip. (Brad and Judy visited for a day. It was fun having them there after so many years of missing them!)












Last evening ice cream walk (Uncle Rob is a good sport):




 No shame. Stuck 'em in front of a show to finish packing...



 The usual group pic right before we head out. They have a habit of not turning out great, but documentation is key.

The girls' new sand buckets. Classy! (It's possible that they once contained beverages.)


We stopped at the same little farm/play place that the girls and I did on our way back a few months ago. Same crazy cow train driver, and Austen was excited to reunite with the yellow plane swing.










K decided to skip the train this time, and instead hung with Grammie and Papa. It was pretty cute -- I asked her if she'd like to go pick out a treat and she said, "Um...nah...I'd rather sit and talk with Grammie and Papa." Such an adult. ;)


Chosen treats:






And there you have it: Chelan 2013. I'll eventually be posting a whole slew of DSLR pictures. I mostly use my phone these days, and forget about the ones on my card. For another day. We've been out and about most days and the whole fam is exhausted when we're home. We're soakin' up the summer and our house and yard show it, but we made a conscious decision to be okay with that right now.

Here's to stretchin' these summer days!