Hattie is 2!

This weekend, yesterday actually, we celerated our sweet Hattie turning 2. Turning 2 is always a tough for one me. It's the official move away from being a baby. And of course Kiersten reminds me all the time that Hattie isn't a baby, she is a toddler. She may be a toddler but she will always be my BABY!

Since her actual birthday fell on a Saturday it seemed like the perfect opportunity to host another cookout. We were so happy to have the Gray's, the Jable's, Fawer's, Hilton's, White's and Jaci and Bella to join us for the celebration. The Habrock's, Brown's, McCleary's and Zavela's...as well as Ellen were all out of town. But we managed to have a good time with out them. The forecast looked good all day long, but then an hour into the party the ran hit. Oh well, we made the best of it and headed in doors.

Hattie was so excited to blow out the candle on her cake. She kept saying "Yay!" and I kept having to cover the candle so she couldn't blow it out until after we were done singing. She loved being the center of attention...shocking, I know. And opening presents was the best, she didn't even take time to really look at what she got before tearing into the next gift. All in all, it was a wonderful night celebrating my sweet girl...who is now 2!

We Are Moving!

You know the saying..."Home is where the heart is." Well, I can't help but feel like a part of my heart will always remain here on Dagmar. I can't tell you how much I have LOVED living here. Mitch and I both said when we bought this house, it was just the type of home we always envisioned raising our family in. And that still holds true today...and the YARD. I will be so sad to leave this yard. It's as green as a yard can be full of mature trees in the front and back. Leaving the yard is probably what makes this the most difficult.  Leah turned 3 about 6 weeks after we moved here so this is really where she learned what it meant to play outside. With that being said it is clearly the only yard that Kiersten and Hattie have ever known. I know it's just a house, but it's also so much more!

The house on Dagmar is where we came when we started our new adventure, back from New Jersey, to be closer to family. Dagmar is where we decided to have a third and last baby to complete our family...and it's where our family bonded and became whole. It's where we said good-bye to our faithful friend Neo. Can you tell I'm struggling with this?  As much as I LOVE this house (and LOVE is probably and understatment) we outgrew this space. Mitch wanted a finished basement and a third bathroom...soon enough we will have three pre-teen/teen girls so can you really blame him? And I knew he was right. With ADM preparing to move their global department to Chicago we knew that Decatur's housing market would soon be flooded with homes. We also knew that looking for an ADM relocation house would provide some great financial benefits to us. So that was the plan.

We listed our home on Feb. 28th...just in time for optimal home buying time. And March, April and most of May went by with barely a showing. The last week of May we had a third showing...and it went well. On Sunday June 1st they called at 6:30 wanting to see the house that night. We said we could be out by 7:30...so we cleaned up a bit and hit the road. At 9pm they were still at our house and we could see them through the front door sitting at our table.

The offer came the next day, and on Tuesday June 3rd, my birthday we signed the contract. So we high tailed it into house hunters mode. It didn't take us long to find one...we love it. I'm trying to be optimistic that I will love it as much as our current home. It's on a great lot, in a GREAT neighborhood. It has a newly remodeled Kitchen, a great mudroom feature, AND a perfect finished basement. And did I mention a third FULL bathroom. We took the girls over the other day during inspections so they could see their new home and they were so excited. They said the basement was their favorite...shocker. But I don't think they realize the toys that are there won't be staying, ha! So cheers to our next great adventure and all the memories we are going to make!

Cinderella

This absolutely, without a doubt has become one of my favorite traditions. Every summer Gigi gets us season tickets to the Little Theatre on the Square in Sullivan. The kids adore the shows, and I know they are making wonderful memories with their cousins and Gigi. What fun! This year the season kicked off with Cinderella. Colby said he would go, but he wasn't gonna watch it, lol! But I caught him laughing a time or two, especially when they danced the "sneeze polka" at the ball.

When the prince was searching for Cinderella with the glass slipper he went up and down the aisles. Bug was sitting on my lap and they gave it a try on her to see it it would fit. She was so excited. Of course, it was disappointingly too big...it would have been fun to have some royalty in the family.

I couldn't believe how well Hattie sat through the show. Mostly on Gigi and Macy's laps. She laughed and clapped and she kept imitating the sneezes from the "sneeze polka", but after the show when the big kids were getting autographs and posing for pictures she clung to Gigi. She wanted no part of that...all in good time. Can't wait for the show in July.

TOES

She looks all cute and innocent, but she is a Diva in disguise. Man, oh man...I love this girl. It's starting to sink in that she is only 3 weeks away from 2 years old. If I could keep her small forever...

Lately she shows me everyday just how grown up she is. I can't open the cabinet with nail polish in it without having to paint her toes. Once in a while she climbs up into Bug's big daybed and says "ni-night" with a devilish little grin on her face as she pulls the blanket up to her chin. She is eager to be just like big sisters. And I just want to stop time.