Indiana Part 2

The hospital was amazing and let us stay in one of their apartments for a ridiculously low rate. And while we were very grateful for our accomodations, four people living in a one bedroom apartment can make them ALL go a little crazy... 

 (Courtesy of Grace)

 

...so we had to get creative to keep ourselves sane!

Like I mentioned in my last post, the Rileys were very kind and invited the girls and I out a few times for lunch, play dates, shopping, etc. (Thank you again Casey! You were truly a lifesaver!) But when were stuck at home, we:

 

Read stories:

 

 

 Went on walks:

Took naps: (This picture is more than it seems--if you look closely, you'll see Grace's bedding on the floor beside our bed. Grace had taken my pillow, put it on her bed, then plopped herself on our bed to take a nap. The clever little stinker!)

(And since we're posting pictures of sleeping babies...:) )

Fed the ducks at the little lake near our apartment:

Went to some parks:

And of course got silly! Oh, how I love these smiles!

 

I had my 27th birthday while we were in Indiana. It was really kind of a pyscho day at first (early risers, pottying accidents, naptime craziness, etc.), until Travis came home on his lunch break to make my cake (it melted my heart that he used his lunch break to do it :) )...

                                                   (molten chocolate lava cake, yum!)

...and then (very) thankfully was let off earlier than expected so he could spend some time with us (thank you Austin for saving the day!!). Travis met us at the park:

(These girls--especially Bethany--LOVE to swing! We spent LOTS of time at this little park just down the street from our aparment while we were there. Sanity saver, I tell you.)

 

After the park, we went to Red Robin to celebrate, then finished the evening eating cake and ice cream.

As crazy as this month was at times, we really enjoyed Evansville. The ward and hospital staff were great, the scenery beautiful, and the town people friendly. Thanks for the good time Indiana!

April in Indiana

During Travis' 4th year of Podiatry school (this year), he has had to complete five "outside externships" (aka mini internships outside of the school). His first externship was in April in Evansville, Indiana.
Heavenly Father has blessed us throughout his externships this year, and Indiana was no exception. The residents in Evansville were not only members of our Church, but also super nice, as was the nursing staff there. One resident had also gone to OCPM, and his family (the Rileys) were SO nice to invite us to various events and show us the town while we were there. We would have been lost without them!
The head nurse at the hospital was very sweet to recommend to Travis places that our little family could go, and CMOE (the Children's Museum of Evansville) was one of them. They have a monthly free night (sponsored by the hospital), and so we took that chance to check it out. It was a lot of fun!

This was an electrical harp--there were no strings, just lasers. SUPER neat!

Grace girl LOVES cars and will jump in them any chance she gets. :)

There were so many fun things to do! Puzzles:

Coloring and face painting:

And this super cool weather room. It was amazing!

We had a really fun night!

The Rileys were kind enough to invite us to an Easter potluck bbq the Saturday before Easter, which we spent with the other residents and some of their friends at a beautiful park by a lake. We ate, talked, and did an Easter egg hunt for the kids. (I brought my camera, but didn't bust it out. We DID have a great time though!)

On Easter, we opened Easter baskets... 

Played with Easter eggs...

 

Made our traditional resurrection rolls (LOVE this new tradition)...

 

  

Went to Church, and then got dressed for a walk along the river.

 

I love this picture of the two of them running.

 

 

 Evansville is a really pretty area, with lots of trees and right by the river, and we loved taking the beautiful scenery in. Check back soon for Indiana Part 2!

Bethany's Birthday Bash!

In early November, our sweet Bethany turned 1 year old. I cannot even believe how quickly this year has gone by. It feels like just weeks ago I was taking daily walks around the neighborhood in hopes of getting labor going! And yet here we are now with this cute little person (no longer baby) who has become such an important part of our family.

 

We started off the day with Bethany's favorite breakfast--cinnamon rolls. I think all of us were grateful for her great taste in food. Good choice, Bethany. Good choice. ;)

 

And what's a birthday without a fun activity? Travis had to work, but the girls and I headed out to one of our all time favorite places--the zoo--to help celebrate our little girls big day. We always love visiting the Rainforest part of the zoo, and seeing our animal friends there. 

 (She did have a good time. I promise.)

 

After the zoo, we came home and ate another favorite food--macaroni and cheese--and took a nap.

 

Then it was time for the real party to begin!

 

Our princess in her (first) birthday suit:

One of Bethany's favorite things these days is to be chased around the house. She'll crawl a few yards away, pause and turn to see if you're following her, and then smile and BOOK it as fast as she can (which is pretty darn fast) to another room, and giggle when you catch her. I love it!

 "I'm the birthday girl!"

 

"Nothing says special like colored balloons!" She loved playing with these balloons and continues to love it (yes, they're still floating around our house, and yes, it drives me slightly crazy).

"These are a few of my favorite things..." For dinner, we had some more of Bethany's favorites--cheese pizza and mandarin oranges. This girl could eat a whole can of oranges in one sitting, and excitedly claps her hands for them when we bring them out. They're stuck in her teeth here, but her smile was still too cute not to share. :)

I've got two cheesey faced girls and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Travis had to work late, but got home just in time for some dinner before we broke out the cupcakes. Bethany's a big daddy's girl; it's so sweet to see these smiles come out of her when he's around.

She LOVES to give him big hugs. (She'll cling to our shoulders and sometimes even squeeze our arms a few times while she's hugging us. Melts. my. heart.)

 

 Travis insists that party hats are a MUST, so have them we did. :) Grace was great at distrubuting them...

 

 ...to everyone. :)

Bethany making sure Travis gets his dinner...or seeing if he wants to share...

 

 ...and get some snuggle time in.

 

Yay for birthdays!

 

 

I felt (pathetically) awesome about the fact that I made homemade cupcakes AND frosting this year (hey, it's a birthday first). And since our Bethany is a fruit lover, yummy strawberry cupcakes and frosting was just the thing! (Grace helped me put on the sprinkles.)

"We're number 1!"

 

Bethany wasn't really sure what to do with the cupcake at first, hesitantly reaching her fingers out towards it and looking at us for a "go," but Travis came to the rescue and cut it in half, and then it was game on. A bite of this half, a bite of that, finally some with frosting, and she was a fan!

 

Her look of "It's ok if I eat this?"

 "Yea, this is the good stuff!"

 

Mmmm. *Happy smile. :)

 

It's definitely not a birthday without presents, so we had some of those too. :)

 

 

She REALLY didn't know what to do with the presents--

here's her "What am I supposed to do with these, mom?" look-- 

 

so Travis and Grace helped her out a little (Grace of course was more than happy to help).

She loves to touch baby dolls eyes (thankfully she reserves that for dolls and not people). We got Grace a baby doll for her first birthday as well and it was a big hit, so we thought we'd make it a tradition.

Big sister showing her how another new toy works:

Playing together. I LOVE moments when I see them doing this so nicely. :)

With all the festivities complete, it was time for baths, pjs...

 

...and a little more snuggle time.

Partying hard can tire out a 1 year old you know!

 

Dear, sweet angel baby. You've stolen a big piece of my heart, and I'd do anything for you. I love the sweet, patient, silly, and fun girl that you are and am so grateful you chose to come to our family. I love you Bethany. Happy Birthday!