Domestic Kate

The past couple of weeks have just been what we've needed. Time at home. Time together. We had time to get a little creative with our toys. These pop can boxes served as trains and boats. Hans is so creative. I love getting in his little imagination and playing along with him. Enjoying a snack, bundled up with his new coat on. Caroline has discovered the love to grab toys and put it in her mouth. She is getting so big already (4 months!) A trip to the library and bringing home books on tape. Hans really enjoyed the books on tape! When I sit with him, I help him turn the pages when the "chimes ring". He still needs to be supervised though otherwise I hear from another room, "new page, new page" and come back to find that he is on page 14 while the reader on tape is only on page 5. ;) Good times at home! My heart is refueled and refreshed!

For those of you that have noticed, I have had a lack in posts lately. We're going through some changes over here. Things like moving and having baby number 2 have gotten our priorities all out of whack. ;) I'll be posting pictures soon, most likely after our precious little girl arrives. She is due this weekend and we're eagerly anticipating her arrival! We have been reading "Big Brother" books to Hans and have been smothering him with snuggles and kisses. We'll be back and posting soon!!

This past weekend we flew out to visit my sister, brother in law, and family out in Ohio. At the airport with Papa We stayed with my sister in my nieces adorable room (I'm going to do a post soon with pictures of their room, it is that adorable). Hans decided that he wasn't going to sleep the greatest the first couple nights and that made for an exhausted and overly emotional mom, but I had good help from my sister and mom (and nieces!), so it was all okay! We were able to fly out and be there for my niece, Emily's, baptism. It was a really great experience. She gave her life to the Lord last year and has been waiting and waiting to be baptized. They wanted to her to wait awhile so she fully understood the meaning and reason for being baptized. She gave her testimony to the church and was baptized in Lake Erie. I took this picture of my mom and Hans on the beach and liked it so much I had her switch with me and hopefully recreate the picture of Hans kissing...

Meet Johnny Appleseed... We took Hans out to the golf course the other day. It's a really fun family outing for us. Hans is so intrigued with everything that Tom and I are actually able to play a few holes with him. He loves playing on the golf cart and when he tires of that, he hops out and sets up his own tee and does a little golf practicing. And when he tires of that, we pick some apples on the course and he has a snack. We love our trips to the golf course together!

Last Sunday we went up to Tom's cabin (not to be confused with 'uncle tom's cabin') for the day. It was hot and sunny. A perfect day to be out on the water....and IN the water! Hans had fun with Grandpa! Hans has no fear of the water. Whether it be a pool, pond, or lake...he will just head straight to the water! Hans also enjoyed some fun talks on the deck with GG.. Tom took him for a fourwheeler ride which he loved. He drove him over to a farm to see some cows. Hans and the cows had a lot of fun "moo-ing" back and forth. The day went by fast and we all had a lot of fun! I'll leave you with a short video of Hans and me talking together at breakfast this morning. Lately he has been so chatty and we love it. He is repeating a lot of things we say and identifying things he knows around him all day long.

So I finally got all of the San Diego trip pictures on my computer and edited. It was so much fun going through all of the pictures last night with Tom and telling him all about the trip. Originally I planned this trip to San Diego just for Hans and me. I wanted to visit some old friends and show Hans around the city where I spent 4+ wonderful years in college. When I was talking to my mom about the trip, we kind of nonchalantly talked about her coming out too (and Hans and I extending our trip). It actually worked out and after a few days staying with friends, my mom flew out and we got to hang out for a few extra days with her at a hotel. It was so much fun extending our stay and hanging out together. We had fun exploring the city, eating great food, swimming, relaxing in the sand, and taking pictures of it all! Hans and I stayed with my friend Sarah, her husband Mike, and their little girl Poema. Hans and Poema hit off wonderfully! They would play together very nicely and k...