Weekend Yardwork

Our Saturdays, in April, have been spent working in our yard.  Last spring was our first spring in our new home, but because I was pregnant, I didn't feel like doing a ton of bending and pulling weeds and all those necessary things that must be done when working in the yard.  When we purchased our house, the landscaping had been neglected for a very long time.  So all we really knew to do, last year, was try to cut back overgrown shrubs and get an idea of what we had to work with.  Oh, how I love a good project and just being able to make things your own.  Hadley was super pumped about helping her Daddy, but had to eat a banana in her Dora chair before she could get started.

Justin had to dig a trench to put our new stone edgers around the landscape, which meant a lot of our rock mulch made it into the yard.  So Miss Haddy helped pick up the rocks.

I guess she got a little bored after picking up rock after rock because she started making soup in the bucket, which consisted of rocks and wildflowers.  She even found a few worms, which excited her.  This spring, I still have to be the cheerleader from the sidelines, for the most part, since Canaan needs someone to be inside with him.  But I sure can make a mean "honey-do" list ;)

Take a look at what we discovered when we uncovered our pool this season.  Can you say leak?  Yikes.  Justin even pulled a dead squirrel out of the pool.  After further investigation of the situation by the people at the pool store, we determined that we will indeed have to have a new liner.  Yikes again....pools are expensive.

Last weekend's landscaping project consisted of a twisted river birch tree and some new shrubs.

This homely-looking tree is a Redbud, and has a long way to go to reaching maturity.  The pencil holly shrubs on each side of the redbud are supposed to reach 6-8' so that should help provide some nice height to the brick expanse.  The small rose bushes should provide some nice pops of color this summer.  We are excited about our little projects going on around our house.  Spring is an exciting time of the year!

Spring Swim Class

Last summer, the puddle jumper was the absolute best invention ever for our timid girlie, in helping her not be afraid of swimming.  The puddle jumper is coast guard approved, and your little one will not go under if he/she has it on.  However, they also won't be able to actually learn HOW to swim. 

This spring, when I signed Hadley up for her swim class, we took our puddle jumper to the pool and I just knew she was going to take off.  However, I quickly noticed that kids even smaller than her were so much more proficient at swimming and they weren't wearing a puddle jumper.  They wore the special swim belt, which is not coast guard approved, that the YMCA provided.   So then came the fun part of breaking it to Hadley that she just wasn't going to be able to wear her puddle jumper to swim class.

The first week of her using the AquaJogger swim belt was interesting, to say the least.  Kids have full use of their arms and must use them to keep from tipping over.  Also, it takes some practice to learn how to balance yourself.  The rubber ball activity is super, though!  The instructor tosses in front of the little swimmer and he or she wants that ball sooo badly.  But you can imagine that the closer they get, the more it floats away, which encourages them to swim even more.  We still have a long way to go, but at least Hadley is starting to use her arms a little more.  Spring swim classes Part 2 start in a few weeks and we're hopeful that she'll start to get more comfortable, as well.  I'm pretty sure her baby brother is already more fearless than she is at 7 months of age!

Rubber Ducky, You're the One

Any mom of little ones knows that bathtime can be a somewhat stressful time, especially now that I have two little, precious bodies to bathe.  Recently, we have started letting Hadley and Canaan take a bath together, and both kiddos absolutely love it.  Hadley gives her brother toys to play with in his little bathtub, and she entertains him in her wild imaginative play world.

This little guy practically drowns himself because he splashes so hard and fast.  He's gotten choked on more than one occasion from all his crazy antics. Yes, he loves his bathtime and I've noticed that it sure helps him sleep better, too.  Not only does he wear himself out with all the splashing, but I think the soothing bath and baby massage with lotion he receives when he gets out of the bath, really puts him into sleepy mode.

Ah, there's nothing like a clean baby now is there?

Seven Months and Feedin' Ducks

A day after Canaan's seven month birthday, we met my parents at Basil-Griffin Park for a picnic lunch after church.  Canaan's first experience in a swing was priceless!  He laughed and squealed and blinked his eyes super fast as the wind hit his face.  

Canaan is a rock star at sitting up now and will lay completely out, flat as a pancake, to reach something that he wants.  He hasn't started trying to crawl just yet.  He gets so excited, when he's sitting up playing, that his whole little body jumps and down and almost seems like it's going to leave the ground.  Yes, our Canaan is an active little guy.  We can tell the biggest difference in he and Hadley at this age.  He still enjoys jumping in his exercauser, for a little change of pace from just "sitting."  And guess who is saying, "Da-Da?"  Of course, I work on "Mama," but it's not happening yet. 

Canaan takes a bottle and cereal for breakfast, a veggie and bottle for lunch, a fruit (snack) in the afternoon, followed by a bottle around 3:30 or so.  Then we do another veggie and fruit around 6:30 and his 7-8 ounce bottle at 7:15.  As soon as that nighttime bottle hits my little guy's mouth, it is light's out for him!  Oh, I love that sweet time with him.  We've recently switched to super soakers (what we call them) for his nighttime diapers.  He was wetting through his clothes and sheets almost every night.  Poor baby would wake up screaming when he realized how wet and cold he was.  The super soakers have been fantastic so far!  Still not a tooth in sight for our big seven month old, but he wants something in his mouth 24/7, for comfort purposes.

After our tasty picnic lunch, we walked down to the pond to feed the ducks.

My mom had actually gotten on the internet so see just what ducks like to eat.  She found that they actually don't like bread, which is what everyone thinks to feed ducks.  So we fed our lucky ducks crushed tortilla chips and bird seed.

The wind wasn't working in our favor, as it tried to blow the food back at us.  Hadley was so determined to feed those ducks, though.  I know her poor arm had to be sore, the next day, she tried so many times.

Of course, no park visit is complete without playing on the playground.  Sweet girl wanted to make sure we watched her every move.

This little outing was a perfect way to spend our Sunday afternoon.  There's nothing like a picnic lunch and playing in the park.  Love these fun times!

Easter 2013

Justin's Aunt Lorie gave Hadley the "What is Christmas?" book at her first Christmas at the Stinson's.  We have put a lot of miles on that book over the years.  I was so excited when I found the "What is Easter?" book earlier in the month.  It quickly became our go-to night time book with Hadley, and I loved the message it taught her.  When you ask Hadley why Jesus died on the cross, she responds "to save us from our sins."  

The Easter bunny sure knows our Hadley.  Yes, from the Princess paddle ball, notebook, jump rope, and kite, the Easter bunny hit the nail on the head ;)  The miniature Doc McStuffin's kit was a major hit, as well.  She loves that adorable show on Disney Jr.

Can ya tell she's just a litte bit excited?  It amazes me how kids today really don't know what some of our throw back toys even are.  She had no idea what the yo-yo, paddle ball, or kite even were.  Whew; glad I realized this before she got too much older!

I felt so blessed having sweet Canaan with us this Easter.  Oh, the joy he brings to our lives. 

Love those precious smiles.

All dressed up in our Easter finest.  I purchased Canaan's outfit when Chatter's had their big sale, before he was even born.  I lucked out when I found this little lamb dress for Hadley; seemed like a perfect match.

Getting great pictures with little ones is a challenge, for sure. 

But I'll take imperfect pictures with my babies any day of the week.  Maybe it will help me appreciate good ones later.  ;)

After church, we headed to Auburn for lunch at Nana and Grandaddy's house.  I always love visiting my grandparents, but catching up with my cousin's and their families is so special as well.

Hadley, Rylee, and Addison getting all geared up for another egg hunt.

Grandaddy and Nana put a lot of work in to our egg hunts every year, and we appreciate it so much.

Our egg family.  Grandaddy has dyed eggs and written our names on one ever since I was a very little girl.  I love this tradition so much!

Justin and I went to great lengths, this year, to make sure Hadley understood that Easter is not about the bunnies, eggs, and dollar store finds.  It is, indeed, about our glorious Savior's death and resurrection.  Celebrating, today, that we serve a Risen Savior!  Praise the Lord!

Stinson Egg Hunt

The day before Easter, Justin's Uncle Kerry and Aunt Sheryl always host a family egg hunt for all the Stinson grandchildren.  Sheryl even prepares a delicious meal for us to enjoy after the hunt.  She has a couple of larger-than-life bunnies on her front porch, which make for great photo ops.  

Jill and Sydnee were in for the weekend, and Hadley was beyond excited to see her younger cousin.  These two girls love each other very much.

Canaan took in his first egg hunt from the comfort of Granna's arms. 

Hadley was much more competitive this year in her egg hunting endeavors.  She was on a mission to get all the candy she could possibly find.  Several of the eggs had quarters in them, which made her very happy.  I don't recall the Easter bunny ever bringing me money in eggs. :( 

Sheryl had well over 200 eggs prepared for our crew. I am certain we didn't let a single egg or piece of candy go unearthed. We so appreciate her taking the time to do this, as it's a special tradition for our family!

Later that afternoon, we headed back to Granna and Grandad's house.  All three kids enjoyed playing with the toy that Aunt Jill gave Canaan.  The girl's were just showing Canaan how the toy worked.  I'm sure these two will show him the ropes over the years, that's for sure.  Thankful for sweet family time! 

Picture Milestone

The Sunday before Easter, I wanted to take the kid's pictures because they were all dressed up in their pre-Easter outfits (pathetic, huh?).  Let me defend myself...because I am so proficient at consignment shopping, I find great deals on Holiday themed clothing.  So both kiddos had an "extra" Easter outfit :).    As I started to plan out how to "prop" Canaan up in the picture, I realized that I don't even have to "prop" him anymore.  That does hurt my heart a little, but it's so much easier, too!  So these pictures are extra-special as they are our very first pictures with Canaan sitting up all by himself; a milestone, for sure!

Easter is earlier this year, than normal, and we are experiencing some unseasonably cool weather.  So we are getting creative with our spring-like attire.  Sweaters and hats are necessities right now. 

Hadley is crazy over her baby brother.  She is unbelievably protective of him and I love it.  Hope it stays that way.

Hadley racked up on candy at the egg hunt after church.  We have to ration it out so that it doesn't get eaten too quickly.  She was very proud of her stash, though.  Looking forward to Easter around here, and happy to not have to "prop" baby boy anymore!