Absolutely Adorable!

This has to be my most favorite picture ever....no words!

Connie & Gary

Aunt Connie & Uncle Gary have come up to MN to visit their family and to see us! We are so excited to see them! We had thought that we would be able to get together with them sooner but their schedule has been understandably busy. Today however, we were able to plan a cookout at my parents house and spend some time with them which was very nice. It's not often that we get to see them (actually years go by) so this time is very special. I hope we get to see them again soon.

Back to the 50's 2009

This time of year we always welcome the "Back to the 50's" car show. They come to the State Fair grounds and a lot of the food booths open and it just gets us even more in the mood for the State Fair (yes, the count down has begun!)

We always go with Mom and Dad Henderson and this year was no exception! The night was pretty good but we had to dodge a bout of rain and luckily I found shelter under an awning but unfortunately had forgotten that though I was dry the other three adults that had to walk couldn't get at the umbrellas that were in the stroller that I was so eagerly pushing! Doesn't make for a very happy husband! :)

Mike and I left Taylor with Mom and Dad while we went and got footlongs and drinks for everyone. Taylor can't quite help with that just yet.

It was a great night and this year, amazingly enough, not so many pictures were taken of the cars.....hmmmm......not sure what happened with that but then again, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the hundreds of pictures I have from previous years! :)

Baby #2 Is On The Way!!!

We are so happy and excited to announce that our second little one is on the way! I had hoped that Taylor and this little one would be closer together (I know I'm crazy!!!) but God truly knows best and I am so thankful!
It was very exciting to be able to tell Mike as a pre-Father's Day present and he is so very happy and excited! From my calculations, since I have not been to the doctor yet, this precious baby should arrive around February 21st. A winter baby!
I think that I am going to be pregnant during the perfect time because I am always cold so being a little warmer during those cold months will be a blessing! Also I will be able to eat whatever I want during the Fair (only 11 more weeks to go!!!) and during the holidays and feel okay about it! :) Then once the baby arrives, I will have March, April and May to get healthy and back to pre-pregnancy weight before the summer!
I'm so thankful that God has gone before us and picked this time for us and I cannot wait for Taylor's little brother or sister to be here!

A Trip to the Zoo!

The Como Zoo....always so much fun and always the same, really never different. But today, we took all the kids to the zoo to celebrate Ryan's 4th birthday. I can't believe how fast he's grown up and how big he is getting. After we looked at all the zoo animals, we had a picnic in the park. Heather made cupcakes for the first time and they were really good! I hope that Ryan had a great birthday!

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Garrett's Family Night

Last night, we all got together to spend one last night with Garrett before he left for college. One our most favorite places to eat is Carbones Pizzeria but normally we don't eat at the restaurant itself, we just take the pizza home. This time though, since they have a pool hall, my parents rented it out for the night and we all played pool and ate pizza there. It was a wonderful time and will be a great memory!

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Garrett's Graduation Open House

Today we celebrated Garrett's Graduation with an open house up at my parents' house. I did all the invitations, thank yous and scrapbooking along with the decorating design and the only thing my mom asked me to make was potato salad so this day hasn't been too hectic because most of my work was done before! Heather and I went up there pretty early and Mike and Taylor came later so that I could focus on helping my mom as much as possible. The guests started arriving right on time. My mom and dad know how to make good food so I think everyone really enjoys coming over. My aunts were there in full force just like they have been for each one of our graduations. They are so awesome at making sure all the food stays stocked and ready. The only bummer about the whole day is that it rained consistently from morning til night and that can really put a damper on things especially when there's not enough room in the garage and you're trying to keep the traffic from the house....but what can you do? Nothing! :) So we all just did the best that we could. Oh and the other sad thing is that I barely got any pictures of Garrett....wow.....another lesson learned to take pictures constantly even if you think you are taking too many. It still was a great day even though I cannot believe that we are already to this point in our life! I never thought the day would come when Garrett would be graduating and on his way to college. He's such a good guy and I pray that God will lead and direct him in every step that he now takes as it determines his entire future. Love you Garrett!

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Garage Saling!

My sister Jess loves to garage sale and since I haven't been since we were little, we decided that it was time that I should go.....I'll have to wait to see if I agree with that until after we are done. Anyways, we packed the kids in the car and emptied the back of the truck to store all our goodies, and away we went. I found some really good deals for Taylor, from church clothes to pajamas and only ended up with about $8 lost! So I'm happy! The steal of a deal was this Pottery Barn coat storage rack thing - not quite sure how to describe it so that's the best I can. It's what I've always wanted to get for the entry way but of course, anything Pottery Barn is just a little out of my price range so this was the blessing of the day. Here's a picture of the kids after all the events of the day......so very sweet!

Garrett Graduates!

Garrett is finally graduating! Since he was home-schooled, he graduated with other home-schooled students in one big ceremony through YEAH. Each student was able to put together a profile with personal pictures that they narrated and added a meaningful song to. Garrett's was very good except for the lovely picture that he put of me in there - my mouth is wide open....wow, what a great brother! :)
I had to sit in the quiet room with Taylor the whole time but that's okay because he was able to walk around. Sitting right now is a very hard thing to do. I'm sure that phase will pass. Actually, not very hopeful but I can dream, right?
After the ceremony was over, we all went to Red Lobster to celebrate Garrett's birthday and since seafood is his favorite, we obliged.
What a memory and what a time - it feels really strange now that we are all "grown up".

Birthday Sunday

So I indulged myself and put Taylor in a seersucker suit yesterday for church. It was the most adorable outfit ever and I'm sure that it will only be this once that he will wear it because already he is almost too big for it.....so sad how quickly they grow.

We sang to him in the morning and he put his penny in the world and we also got to sing to him at night. I took him out of the nursery just for that song and then had to put him back in and that's not the funnest thing when he's going through that separation anxiety and just screams and clings as I drop him off. But I've found that once I've walked away, he is just fine and plays with everyone very well. Out of sight, out of mind, huh?

I took a picture of him and Keira in the morning and just had to post it so everyone could see just how adorable he was. Thank you for indulging me! :)

Taylor's First Birthday!

We celebrated Taylor's first birthday on Saturday!!! We were able to do it on his birthday because it fell on a Saturday. So we invited the entire Henderson clan and the entire Anderson clan along with Auntie Erica and celebrated in style! I'm not sure that Taylor actually knew what was going on but he did LOVE the cake and presents....what child wouldn't? :)
The whole family came out except for Heather & Donald and the boys since they had planned something months previously. We had a hotdog cookout and my mom brought her famous potato salad. It was a beautiful wonderful sunny evening and we had a great time!
The funniest story of the entire night was when we lit Taylor's candle for him to blow out and put it on the high chair. He looked at it for a few seconds and then proceeded to touch it with his pointer finger and burn the tip of his finger! Which accounts for the tears right in the beginning but as soon as there was some frosting on that finger, there were smiles all around!
It was a wonderful wonderful day and I'm so thankful for all the family that showed us how much they love Taylor - it means so much to us!

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