Hadley gone fishin

Here is some pics from a while ago. We have a small creek in back of our property that Hadley liked to practice here fishing skills. :)

Hike!

We have a treasury of trails behind our house. For a few weeks we were going on regular hikes. Here is a pic of Hadley and Theo having lunch next to Amity Creek.

Andy

Fall play

A few weeks ago we were able to get in some playing in the leave piles. Here are some pics.. Theo looks like he's under arrest! :)

Andy

3 year old stories

The other day Hadley sat down to lunch and told me this story:
"Mom, did you know that Jesus made me? He did, He brought me to you and daddy in the living room and then he drove away."
So, I asked, what kind of car does Jesus drive?
Hadley replied, "a cookie car."
Andy and I laughed and laughed....

Summer fun

On one of our only 90 degree days this summer, we decided to head to the lake. This is Brighton Beach, one of our new favorite hang outs! Theo was looking for rocks to suck on and Hadley was incredibly brave as she went into the chilly water as far as we would let her!

We moved in...

Here are a few pictures of our new home. We also purchased a new computer...and I am having some difficulties getting the pictures where I want them. :) But you can get an idea of our new place.

New Home!

We have signed a purchase agreement for the above home.
If all goes according to plan, we'll be moving in the beginning of August.
In the first picture, you see the front of the house and where the garage will soon be (in front of the house to the left. The second picture is of the back yard...lots and lots of woods!

Summer Time!

It's finally summer time in Duluth and Theo is loving the nakedness!

Window Washers

This spring we got to watch the window washers right outside our window! It was pretty fun to watch them work!

Graduation Parties

We had the unique opportunity to go to some graduation parties this spring. We attended parties for Russian and Iranian students (with some very interesting food) as well as this party that was at a lake cabin. Hadley loved wading in the lake and got to use an outhouse for the first time.

Ballet

Hadley took a beginning ballet class earlier this summer called Creative Movement. She LOVED it and we hope to get her involved more this fall.

Daddy Time

After a long school year we've all been craving a little more of this!

This week

It's an eventful week in the Larson household...
on Tuesday evening Hadley was running across the living room floor excited about an upcoming playdate with a friend...stumbled a bit and twisted her ankle. :( When she was still not able to walk on it the next morning we went to the Dr. The Dr. poked and prodded and showed Hadley her blue toenails (Hadley's toenails are pink). She took some Xrays and determined that there was no break. Today (Friday) Hadley has been able to walk on it without any pain of hesitation.
We still went to the playdate on Thursday...Hadley crawled or got around on her knees most of the time. :)

Today, the house that we are very interested in is on the market! It's MLS 140763 if you want to check it out. We are in the very long process of paperwork and etc. More to come...

Tomorrow is graduation at Harbor City International School- where Andy has worked this year. I think we are all glad that summer's coming (not really here yet in Duluth)
and we'll be able to see Dad a whole lot more!

Finally, today is Andy's parents 49th Wedding Anniversary and Monday is Lisa's parents 35th! WoW! We praise God for these marriages!

Almost forgot....Theo's update. He is pulling himself up onto everything and causing Hadley to be a bit more cautious with where she has her "things". He is eating almost everything we put in front of him and still a smiley little sweetheart!

Big Boat

Another sign of spring in Duluth...the big boats are back!
Today, Hadley and I went to the youth symphony. It was great. Hadley commented that the music was both "pretty" and "scarey" at times. She really liked the opera singer who accompanied the musicians in one of the pieces. We'll have to get her to an opera!
Anyway, on our way out of the performance, we peeked outside and saw that one of the big ships had stopped right outside. Had to get a picture....

First picnic

Last week the Canadian equivalent of the Air Force did a free show over Lake Superior. Hadley, Theo and I along with about a thousand other people had a picnic on the lakeside and watched the show. Theo had a great time eating cheerios and checking out the grass. We sat in the rose garden...if you notice in the picture of Theo, the rose bushes are still covered from winter... hopefully they will be uncovered soon!

New Friends

Earlier this winter, we met some new friends at the library....
Andrea just turned 3 and she and Hadley love to play pretend and shout and dress up like princesses. Andrea's brother, Ty, is just two months older than Theo- so Theo has someone to play with too! (Sorry about the sideways picture....I'm working on a new computer....:)

Brother & Sister

She Sang!!

Hadley and her classmates gave a spring concert on one of the last days of CBS and Hadley sang! She smiled and seemed to really enjoy herself this time! Next time you see Hadley, ask her to sing one of her CBS songs for you.

PS for Olivia's birthday

forgot to post this with Olivia's human birthday card...
Hadley's Happy Birthday performance (Theo's a back up singer just waiting for a microphone...)

Sleepy Theo

Now really, could there be anything cuter than this little sweaty, curly haired boy with chubby cheeks??

one more thing from the circus

i forgot to mention in the previous post...
Hadley also got a new friend at the circus.
(Spongebob Squarepants)
Here's a picture of him keeping her company in the bathroom.

Lions, Tigers, Clowns and Elephants

Hadley and Daddy went to the circus!
They saw elephants, tigers and lions jumping through fire and funny clowns.
As some of you know, Hadley's going thru a "pink" phase where all she wants is pink everything...well, today she had pink cotton candy!!! (very exciting)

Happy Birthday Olivia

Our cousin Olivia is turning 11. We pray your birthday is very special! We love you tons!

Last day of Spring Break

Spring Break ended this year with a blizzard! We've had wind speeds up to 60 mph since last night and it's expected to continue thru tonight. All of Duluth is shut down today...even grocery stores and the movie theater (where Andy was hoping to get rid of his cabin fever:)
We've spent the day playing hide and seek, board games and walking in the skywalk to see the crazy weather.
Hope wherever you are...you are able to enjoy a little bit of spring!

It's Official....

Hadley's a BIG girl now.
No more diapers (except for nighttime).
A few days after her third birthday, Hadley wanted to wear some underwear. I said, "OK"!!!
And we haven't put a diaper on since then. I had been wondering how much of this she was really getting on her own (without my promptings) until tonight. I was nursing Theo while Hadley waited for story time on her bed. She got up, found her little Hadley stool and turned on the bathroom light. Then she moved her stool to the potty and removed her nighttime diaper (even put it in the garbage!). She climbed on the potty, pooped, climbed back down and wiped herself...throwing the toilet paper on the floor.:) (We've still got a little training to do about that.)
WOW! Our little Hadley is growing up....
Sorry, no pictures of the great event....:)

Party time!

The girls' table....Hadley, Alaina and Becca...cousins and great friends!
Hadley making and tasting her cake the day before the party.
Cousin Julia who is always full of happy smiles!!!

Theo in his "Hello my name is Trouble" shirt (thanks Schwartz's) with Grandpa.
Last weekend we celebrated Hadley's third birthday with the help of many family and friends. We are so grateful to everyone who came and helped us shower Hadley with love! She has enjoyed playing with all of the her new toys this week. Wouldn't you know, her favorite seems to be the musical card from the Porter's with a princess on front!

Happy Birthday Ali!!

Our cousin Ali is turning 12 years old. Her last year of childhood! Say it ain't so, cuz! We still love you, though. Have a great day.

Painting

Hadley loves to paint...
on paper





and her face!

and no avacado either.....

No sweet potatoes, please

You'd never guess it by looking at our 19 pound
7 month old...he is not fond of solid food thus far.
The pictures are our third attempt at
sweet potatoes. As you can see, first we get funny faces and then out come the sweet potatoes...as if to say, "I really, really don't like them, Mom!"

Tropical Vacation 2008

Ok, so we didn't really go far away...BUT, Duluth has an indoor park that we decided to visit. We had a great time splashing in the warm water and spending the night in a hotel. We even ordered pizza. Hadley was pretty impressed with this surprise! Theo, well, he seems to have a good time wherever he happens to be. :)

Vacation Time

Andy had a week off in February so Lisa took off with some girlfriends for a few days and Andy, Hadley and Theo got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa in Hudson. Hadley enjoyed bedtime stories with Grandma and got to sleep in her sleeping bag! Theo enjoyed new arms to cuddle in and faces to smile and giggle with.

Six Months Already!!!!

At six months Theo loves jumping, playing with anything he can grab (including Hadley's nightgown while she stands over him) and smiling at anyone who catches his eye!























Here he was at one month last summer.....