Special times with Gramma & Grandpa

The past few days have flown by in a whirlwind of special moments and building memories. Micah's parents arrived last Tuesday evening and we have been treasuring each second with them. I will write a brief summary of what we have done each day. The pictures can fill in the gaps :)

Tuesday - Mom and Dad P arrive after driving 24 hrs and 1200 miles. We had nacho dip and fruit salad for dinner and then we took a stroll down by the river. They loved seeing our house and our little life in this sweet town.

Wednesday - Micah had the whole day off and we enjoyed an egg and toast breakfast, sipping coffee, and then a picnic lunch and hike at a park near our house. We had decided to go for ice cream after our hike, but then it started pouring rain and so Micah came up with the brilliant idea that we should go to Tim Horton's instead! Dad treated us all to yummy coffee and donuts. Zayne even got to try a few pieces of the sour cream donut. That evening, we had a BBQ of hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, and green beans.

Thursday - Dad and Micah went out for a men's breakfast. Mom walked into curves, while Zayne took his morning nap. In the afternoon, Dad tackled cleaning out our garage. Micah has been frustrated with not having an organized garage since we moved in and hasn't had the time to do anything with it. Dad had said he would love to help with some house projects and he got the entire thing cleaned in less than 3 hours - it looks amazing! I told him he wasn't supposed to get ALL the house projects done in one day :). Thursday evening we had dinner at Rudino's and it was so fun showing off our restaurant and hearing Mom and Dad's encouraging comments and support.

Friday - Mom and I walked into Curves and worked out together. Dad stayed home and played "stay at home Grandpa." He even managed to bake his delicious muffins while we were gone. They made a perfect snack once we got home! In the afternoon, we met my mom, my brother Micah, and my grandparents on Michigan State Campus and went for a walk in the gardens and topped it all off with an ice cream treat from the MSU dairy store. Friday night, Micah's parents took us out for our anniversary. My brother Luke babysat and the four of us spent 3 hours eating and talking at Cheddars - a delicious restaurant near our house. It was such a fun evening. It reminded us of some of our old times just enjoying being together when we lived in FL.

Saturday - We all had a pancake breakfast together - even Zayne. It has been so fun as his diet as broadened and he can eat more "real" food. He loved the Pancakes! Dad P left to go to Canada for some speaking engagements. He will be gone until Friday :( Mom and I worked in the morning getting things freshened up around the house. It is so nice having some extra help getting things done and especially when it comes to entertaining the little guy! After Zayne woke up, we went out and explored our town. We walked around and browsed through the little shops. Later in the afternoon, we popped in to see Micah at the restaurant and then ran into Walmart to pick up a few things. In the evening, we put Zayne to bed a little early and had a girls movie night.

Sunday - We had a "home church day" and took off for the day to go on a hike/bike ride with our friends John and Maggie. It was a beautiful day and so nice to get outside and relax. We all feel refreshed and a good tired tonight.
Looking forward to another Monday "off" tomorrow and I'm pretty sure our day will consist of another Tim Horton's trip!
~Kara

Grand Haven

On Monday, we took a day trip to Grand Haven. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we enjoyed a picnic lunch, watching the boats go through the canal, a walk along the boardwalk, and a yummy coffee treat. Zayne seemed to really enjoy getting out. He loved all the dogs that we saw and would "growl" at each one. At one point we saw a teenage kid with really long, wild, curly hair that was blowing in the wind and Zayne growled at him as well. Glad Zayne can't talk yet, because we are pretty sure what he was thinking... :)
After the beach, we were treated to an anniversary steak dinner by our friends John and Maggie. Wow - it was amazing. I don't think we have ever had steak that good or big before.

Micah's parents arrived last night and it has been SO fun to have them here. They are such relaxing and peaceful people and it has been so nice having them visit. I think we are going to accidently "lose" their car keys so they can't ever go home :) Micah took today off and we are planning to have a picnic at the park and then a BBQ tonight.
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
~Kara

Nana and Poppy Great

My Grandparents (Pop and Nan) are in town right now from Arizona. It has been so fun to see them and to watch them love on Zayne. This is the first time Poppy has seen Zayne and, as you can see, there was an instant connection. We have been enjoying extra family get-to-gethers while they are here and lots of additional ice cream trips. My obsession with ice cream was learned early on from my Nana :) You could pretty much guarantee that every outing with Nan would involve some sort of "cone."

We had a nice weekend and enjoyed getting ready for Micah's parents to come, celebrating my brother Luke's 19th Birthday and an anniversary trip to Lake MI - More pictures to come...

Micah's parents should arrive in about 5 hours!!!! YAHHHOOOO.

Playing at the Park

Last Monday we took Zayne to a little park near our favorite Tim Hortans. We walked around on the trails and then let Zayne "play" at the park. It is so fun to watch his little face as he experiences new things. Somedays, I just wish he could stay little like this forever. My heart already hurts for the day he will experience life's sadness, pain, and dissapointments. Right now pretty much the biggest problems in his life are when he is tired, hungry, or bored.

Yesterday, I went to my brother Luke's HS award ceremony. Luke and my brother Micah presented the first ever "Micah Magnusson scholorship award." It was really moving to see the two of them up there together. Luke read what Micah had typed out to say and then my brother Micah(with some help) STOOD and presented the award to the designated student. They got a standing ovation and I'm pretty sure there were very few dry eyes. It was a really neat representation of everything that our family has been through these past few years and just the determination and perserverence that Micah has shown through everything. I am so proud of both my brothers!

It has been really nice and sunny here outside. We are getting ready for Micah's parents to come this Tueday and we are all SO excited. Zayne doesn't know about what yet, but he is soon to find out! My Nan and Pop are in town too and we are having lots of fun spending some time with them. On Wednesday, we all went to my little brother Nate's baseball game and then treated ourselves to ice cream.
Today, we are going to work on the grocery shopping and getting things picked up and organizing for our coming company.

Daddy's Boy

We had a super busy weekend. On Sunday it was my brothers' open house. My parents had a combined one for both Micah and Luke. My mom sure knows how to throw a party! It was a huge success and lots of fun for both my brothers. My Micah worked at the restaurant and made the pizza's for the event. It was a big day and pretty draining for both of us - so on Monday we just took it easy and enjoyed hanging out with our little family. Micah and Zayne spent lots of time together and even let me sleep in! We went to Tim Hortan's and then walked around a little park. It is so fun to watch Zayne and Micah together. This weekend I really noticed how much fun they have together. As soon as Micah walks in the room Zayne lets out this growl/squeal of excitement and sports huge smiles. They love to play "chase" together and both share a love for the outdoors.

My grandparents are in town so we are hoping to spend some time with "Nan and Pop." Next week Micah's parents come! We CAN'T WAIT!!!

A Special Visit

These pictures are from when my friend Sarah was in town. Her dad passed a way unexpectedly, and so unfortunatly her visit wasn't just for fun, but we did enjoy getting to see her. Zayne flirted some smiles out of her and we got to show her the restaurant and our house. Sarah and I have been friends since HS and she is loyal and kind to a fault. My heart has just ached for her and their family. Hopefully, these pictures will warm her heart a bit - I know they did mine.

9 Months!!!

It is hard to believe our little guy is 9 months old. His current achievements include: Crawling, Pulling and Climbing on everything, Saying Mamamam and once in awhile dadadaddada, Waving Hi (sort of looks like a Nazi salute, but we know what he means), Eating lots, Pooping lots, Smiling and Laughing, "Growling" at things he likes, Giving kisses, and lots of other little things that just warm our hearts. Last night he slept 10 hrs without me having to feed him!!! Wahoooo Hopefully we can keep it up. Zayne is normally more of a 8 hr guy at night and then he wants to EAT. His current schedule is normally - Wake up at 8:00am, eat, play, Nap at 10-11:30, eat, play, Nap at 2:00-3:30, eat play, eat play, Bath and bed at around 8:30, sleep until 5am, eat, sleep until 8am and start again!

We had so much fun taking some pictures of our perfect little boy yesterday on our hike. Zayne loves being outside and rarely makes a peep no matter how long we our advertures take. It took us awile to actually get on the trail though. I decided to change his diaper "quick" before we headed out and Zayne is now at the stage where he does not like to sit still while we change him. At home, I can lay him on the floor and give him a toy and we can accomplish the task. However, in the back seat of the truck it is slightly more difficult. After seriously about 5 minutes of trying to get the diaper on, only to have him flip over and out of the diaper, I gave up and handed him to Micah bare bum. We actually have a really funny picture, but Micah told me I couldn't put a nude picture of our son on the internet :). Needless to say, with Micah's help we finally got the job done and were able to begin our hike.
Today - we are back to our "normal." I am hoping to get some house work done, which means I should probably end this post :)
~Kara

A family Walk

We had a wonderful relaxing day celebrating my birthday. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with my two "boys." Above are just a few pictures - I have more and some funny stories to tell.
Happy 26th Birthday to ME! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

There is no sweeter mother's day gift! We haven't taken many pictures of Zayne sleeping, so I thought it was time. He is such a precious little guy. Yesterday, him and Micah spent most of the day together and my mom and I went SHOPPING!!! I won't tell you all the stores we went to, but if your thinking of one we probably made it there :). It was such a fun, special time. I haven't been out that long since Zayne was born! My mom spoiled me rotten and I pretty much got a whole new summer wardrobe for my birthday.
We are all gearing up this week for my brothers' open house celebration this coming Sunday. It is going to be a huge, fun party and we are all looking forward to it. Today, Micah, Zayne and I are going to spend the day together celebrating my birthday. I will take lots of pictures!

RUDINO'S!!!

Above our some pictures of our Restaurant! I thought it was time I posted some on my blog since it does happen to be a large, no HUGE part of our life right now. We had a nice weekend together as a family. On Sunday we went to church, Tim Hortons and then another Mt. Bike/Walk with some friends. We did this last Sunday as well and really enjoyed getting to know our sweet new friends John and Maggie. Monday Micah helped me around the house and I feel so much better about life now. It is amazing how hard it is to get things done now that Zayne is mobile and moving and getting into EVERYTHING! We also took a evening drive and then walked around our neighborhood. Zayne has caught another viral infection so we are battling that - AGAIN!!! I guess an average baby gets 9-12 upper respitory infections in the first year. This is Zaynes 6th one, but it feels like it just never went away! It seems to be going away faster so hopefully it will clear up sooner. It is hard not getting any sleep and having a sick, fussy baby.
Spring is definetly here now. The flowers are blooming and the Sun is shining more. It still isn't as hot as I would like, but I think I'd have to move back to FL to get the temp I really want :).
I am too tired to think of anything else intersting to say so until next time...
~Kara