the beginning of Summer

Well, we've been pretty busy the last 4 weeks but are settling into a routine of sleepless nights and days spent trading off holding Archer and chasing Oliver. It's been a bit crazy but wouldn't trade it for anything. Oliver has been great with Archer and likes to sing songs to him if he is crying. Oliver also gives him lots of kisses and calls him "tiny". We got out of town last weekend and drove up to Sipapu ski resort and rented a cabin for the night. Oliver was content to sit by the river and throw rocks and sticks in for hours at a time. It was a beautiful drive up and nice to get out of dodge for a bit.

Archer has arrived!

At 1:46 this past Saturday morning, we celebrated Archer's birthday. He weighed 6lb 11oz and measured 18 1/2 inches. He's a tiny handsome little guy! Tracie was amazing during labor and she's bouncing back so quickly. She's a tough gal! Ollie is a proud older brother and we're all really enjoying our time off together...

Whoahoo!

the big sandbox

we took a quick road trip up to the colorado this past weekend. it was probably our last opportunity to get out of town before the baby comes... the great sand dunes and the hotel water park were definitely the highlights! ollie called the dunes sandbox and they were impressive!

dos años

We celebrated a couple birthdays here this past month. Tracie turned an unknown age last week and Oliver turned the big numero dos a few weeks ago. We had a fun little party for Ollie with a few friends and family over. Bob and Trish flew out for the week and were probably worn out by the time they left. They taught Ollie several new songs, took him on long walks and they gave him some proper horse riding lessons. At two years, he's certainly getting more wise and much more verbal and independent. His vocabulary is growing at an insane rate and he's learning so many songs and sharp little phrases. He's also invented a few ways to test our patience and he wants to do EVERYTHING by himself - Ollie do it. What an age to experience as a parent!

Tracie is 35 (or maybe 36) weeks into this pregnancy and she's looking as amazing as ever! The little one is quite active and for the most part Ollie has been very gentle playing with her and the baby. I'm not sure how he'll react when his little brother is no longer just something moving in moms belly. The dynamics of this house are definitely about to change soon and we're getting anxious and excited!

The spring here has been crazy so far. We're still getting snow one day and 65 degrees of sunshine the next. The one constant element is the insane wind. There's tumbleweed blowing everywhere and the Juniper and dust seems to be disturbing almost everyone's sinuses. Luckily Michiganders are immune to the Juniper pollen.

A few pics from March...

Snow Days

Time is flying by since the holidays were here. Oliver started a new daycare in January and is loving it. Lot's of kids to play with and it sounds like he's making some buddies (mostly girls). We've had several snow storms with school/work closures so we've taken Ollie out sledding a couple of times. He seems to like going down the hill fast the best. What a surprise huh?
90 days left until the due date of our new little man. He seems to be growing right along to schedule. I gained a TON of weight over the holidays but that made up for what I didn't gain in the beginning. I think I might have had a few too many Christmas cookies back in Michigan. :)
The month of March has big things happening! Oliver turns 2, grandma and grandpa Hanna are coming for a visit and I get to travel to LA/Santa Barbara for my high school friend Chelsea's wedding. We've also got spring break and my big 36 shoved in there as well. It will be a busy month but lot's of fun so that we can settle in during April and get ready for the baby to come. We haven't decided on any names yet for those of you who are wondering!

Holiday Hootenanny

We had another busy holiday season this year!

The four of us had a feast here in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving. Brining the turkey was definitely the way to go! Ollie ate everything that we made - if it had cranberries on it.





















This kid loves those tassels!





















The winter has been sunny, but definitely a bit colder than anticipated... We escaped the temps in December with a 9 day getaway to even colder Michigan. We had a great time as usual! There were too many friends and family to visit in the time that we had, but luckily we're hardcore holidayers. Ollie did an amazing job dealing with our schedule. I certainly would have freaked out after falling asleep in the carseat every few hours and waking up in a new house filled with strange faces. Maybe strange isn't the right word. Thank you to all of his cousins that were so patient and helpful with him... he had such a great time with you guys! Anywho, we didn't take many photos of the trip for some reason and are really hoping that somebody out there will send us some. The few that made it onto our camera are...

Grandpa Ernie and Ollie opening gifts (early).





















Ollie, three teddy bears and a football - asleep in Grandpa Earls wheelchair. Grandpa's doing much better by the way. Whoahoo!
















Zac teaching Ollie the art of shredding Santa's paper.
















Part of the fam holding that smile for 10 seconds early Christmas morning. Dude, part of your head was missing in all 5 shots.
















We flew back to New Mexico Christmas night. There were a few delays at the airports, but we got home safely and with just enough time to turn on the heat and crawl into bed. We slept very well that night!

A few other pics taken since getting back...





















New underwear and trains have been very popular so far this year.





















His first Wings gear from Uncle Dave.
















Playing a mean harmonica under the kitchen table!





















During the holidays, we were also very excited to find out that Ollie's sibling is going to be a brother (thanks for your help Ginny). We had a few 3-D pics taken, but the little mans hands were always covering that handsome face. Our due date is May 7.

Halloween

Halloween was great. We moved all day and were so dead tired but Ollie deserved a night out for being such a good kid and putting up with us all day. We took him over to one of Johns coworkers houses and went trick or treating with them. He didn't quite get it but he was more than happy to run and follow the other kids up to the doors of houses. I think he's had more sugar this week then he has had in his entire life! He had a great time! We are getting settled in the new house and have most things unpacked. Now on to things like actually decorating. We're looking forward to the upcoming Holiday season. Maybe it's just from working in retail all of those years but I still get excited when I feel the holiday spirit! I'm looking forward to finishing off this semester and having a whole month off of school. Oh the novels I will read!