We made it!

Although I wasn't the best at taking pictures on 

our trip, it sure was fun and so great seeing everyone that we did.  We know we missed some of you, and that makes me a little sad, but I'm trying to think of it as "next time!".  Here are a few pictures from the rest of our time with the Z's! 

            

Playing in my new excersaucer!  And talking to The Mr. on the phone.  Felt like that is all we did, and I don't want to talk on the phone ever again.  (Those of you who know me, know I'm not very good at talking on the phone anyway...)

 Trying to capture his beautiful nose in profile!  I got to enjoy sleeping in the same bed with him the WHOLE trip!  (It is a bit of an adjustment for him getting back into the idea of sleeping alone in his crib again!)

 

More talking on the phone with dad!  I held the phone (and tried to eat it) really well!

Look, he's Norwegian!  Grandpa Z (far-far -I'm trying to get it to stick...) wore it in the parade where he was titled Honorary Norwegian!

Overall, it was a ton of fun and hard to say goodbye again... but we were on our way to AR!  I normally took the drive in one day... Hagen and I split it up into 2.  As stated in my previous post we stayed in a hotel.  We stayed in a Super 8, and it was the nicest Super 8 I've ever stayed in!  I was spoiled as the next Super 8 we stayed in was lacking by far in comparison!  

Anyway, here are the FEW pics I took in Arkansas!

We got up early and went to both the Lexa and Marvell Worship services.  Only got a pic at the Lexa church, as I was far to busy hugging everyone at the Marvell church (not that I didn't hug people at Marvell, but as you can tell there weren't that many people there...)  It was great to worship with my old church again.  I sure do miss the choir (who knew I'd miss directing, when I still remember the day Miss Barbie said I'd be the new choir director.  I laughed and thought it was a funny joke, till I realized she wasn't joking...)

 

Hagen at El Canaveral... THE mexican restaurant in Helena with the BEST salsa ever!!  It was his FIRST time in a high chair!  He did pretty well!  Then there is Julian in the tractor (or combine or whatever you call awesome farm machinery these days...)  He called me out to see if I wanted to watch him harvest wheat.  I thought I was going to sit on the trunk of my car and watch him go round and round!  I was WRONG!  I got to sit INSIDE the cab!!  SUPER COOL!!!

 

A couple of Ms. Emily holding the sweet thing!  It sure was SUPER nice of them to let us invade their house.  And I do mean invade.  If you ever travel with a 4 month old for a MONTH, you take a lot of stuff, and accumulate a lot more stuff along the way!  (I'm still trying to unpack and we've been back almost 5 days now...)

 

Then we have Miss M!  One of the sweetest girls I know... there are a couple in the area, but I only got pics with this sweet one!  When I first saw these kiddos my jaw dropped.  They are little adults!  They were LITTLE kids when I left!  Hagen won't grow that fast, will he???  See, look at his smile... don't grow up baby boy!!!  (Ok, you can, I will enjoy you at every age, but I just can't believe you are growing so fast!!!)

Horrible picture, but I figured I'd take one of the road... since A WHOLE WEEK was spent driving!  My kid is the world's greatest trooper!!!  He did so well right up till we hit DC RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!!  2 hours of extra sitting, after sitting for 2 hours already.  Dirty diaper, hungry, sick and tired of sitting in his car seat, not moving and worst of all, sun was shining directly on him through the rear window.  Nothing I could do for my screaming baby, as we weren't even going fast enough to get off at the next exit. (even if I did, we'd just be stuck in more traffic till I could find somewhere to pull off!)  I could have done without those last two hours!!  We called The Mr. and had him navigate us to the nearest restaurant where he could meet us.   

 

What a GLORIOUS site it was to see him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Look, they even dressed alike!!

It was a really great trip, but it has been nice to get back.  It has been a bit of a rough transition.  I still have stuff in suitcases, I have stuff thrown all over the ground as I attempted to find things in said suitcases.  I (or rather The Mr.) has done tons of laundry, but still have more laundry to catch up on.  So needless to say our house is a disaster.  Hagen is not used to sleeping in his crib so nap times and night time is NOT consistent (5 minutes here, 3 hours there... you know...).  On top of the mess and craziness I still have homework, and let me tell you the class I am currently in is INTENSE!  (No not as intense as The. Mr's, but for an associates degree it is VERY time consuming!  We are slowly making our way to recovery from the trip.  I miss seeing everyone, but it is good to be back!

Well, I'm done with my homework for the night, and I'm showered (big accomplishment) so I'm going to hit the hay BEFORE 2am tonight!  We have our 4 month appointment tomorrow (had to be pushed back due to our trip), so we will see how vaccines go this round.  Thanks to a good friend, I am able to have help with shots as well as I am squeezing in a doctor appointment for myself as well!  YAY??  Wish us luck!!

-Bekki

Hotel Awesome? Hotel gross?

As I lay here in my King size bed with Hagen dead center, so as not to roll off, I ponder if I really like hotels or not.  There is something magical about staying in a hotel.  But at the same time, you think of all the people that have stayed there, and what they have done.  It's like totally gross and totally awesome at the exact same time!  We started our trek towards Marvell today.  It was hard to say goodbye to Minnesota and our families, knowing Hagen will probably be crawling before they get to see him again.  I'm trying hard not to dwell on the missing them part and just enjoying the memories of our time together part.

OK, no deep thoughts except to share how cute Hagen is laying here sound asleep next to me holding onto his giraffe... Wish you could all crawl into our King Size bed with us and ponder if Hotels are awesome or just gross!  I'm going to think they are awesome as I fall asleep wishing The Mr. could be with us!

-Bekki

Half way home

Well, Hagen and I are now about at the midpoint of our journey.  It has been fabulous to spend so much time with family and friends, but we are ready to be home with The. Mr, and our routine and our things.  I will give a brief picture update of our trek so far.

 

I got my hair cut and colored as a birthday present from my parents!!  I definitely feel like a new woman!  I have my 12 inches in a pony tail waiting to be mailed off to Locks Of Love.  (Maybe I should do that now and have one less thing to travel with...

 

Hagen got to meet his Great Grandpa and Great Grandma where he got his name from.  I have better pictures from our family get together, but those are still on my camera.  I'll eventually post about out family get together! It was AMAZING!
 

Cousin T and Hagen got to hang out!  Look, they're so excited they're... sleeping!

 

Auntie S. got to meet Hagen for the first time!  AWW!!!  She's a proud mommy of her own, but I have to say she looks pretty good wearing the title of Auntie!!  This next picture of cousin T, Hagen and Grandpa (we are still wondering what the boys will call him, so for now... Grandpa) is taken right after the boys FIRST bath together!  It was so much fun to watch the boys together!  It is times like those that I realize how much they might miss out on living so far away from each other.  As a military wife who will move a lot though, I can't dwell on those missed moments, but rather truly cherish the ones we get.  I will have to figure out how to steal photos from my parents camera since I was busy holding a very slippery, wet baby during the process.  But know, it sure is a moment I will never forget (Sadly the boys will probably have no memory of it when they get older, but HOPEFULLY they will get more opportunities to cherish themselves with each other!)

 

S. got all the ladies together for a night out on the town!  We all got manicures and pedicures!  It sure was fun just to be girly together!  We even had champaign poured for us!  With all that Grandma Dorcy does for her family and our Papa, she was very deserving of a little pampering!  I believe it was her first time with this experience.  (Same with my mom and aunt, and probably my sister too!)  It is fun to see all the hands that have influenced my life and all the stories those hands are a part of!  Then on Sunday at our family get together, we celebrated Cousin T's 1st birthday!  S. made the cake WITHOUT a mold!!!  It is pretty darn fantastic! I think she could go into business!  T. was the neatest cake eater I've ever seen!  Again, hard with moments like those to not dwell on what we miss, but trying to cherish them instead!  We sure missed The Mr. though!  It is hard when one member of the family is absent for a family get together that everyone else is a part of!

Hagen found his toes!!  That has been a fun new skill and we sure can't wait for The Mr. to see it in person!!

 

Then on Transition day from the H's to the Z's, were had an opportunity for both grandparents to be with Hagen at the same time.  Hagen with his Grandmas and Hagen with his Grandpas!  Pretty cool if you ask me!  Hopefully we'll get these opportunities every year to take grandma and grandpa pics!


 

There, Hagen with BOTH grandparents!  Then Hagen got to meet his Great Grandma Z.  If Hagen had been a girl, he would have been named after her!  We'll leave it a surprise in case we ever have a girl.  (I suppose it's only a surprise to a select group of people...)

 

Then we had a 3 generation picture.  Just missing The Mr. to make it a 4 generation!  Then we have Uncle P!  He was hard at work making sure we didn't have things in the background of our pics!  He was pretty excited to meet Hagen for the first time!

 

Then Hagen got to meet his OTHER Great Grandma!  She thought he was pretty nifty, except when Hagen grabbed at her.  She told him that it wasn't ok to grab his grandma like that!  I think he learned a lesson :)  The best picture was when Ben was up!

 

Far-Mar and Far-Far took Hagen to Winona where we got to hang out with Godmother M.  We also met up with some other pretty cool friends and had dinner at Bub's, pronounced boobs!  It was good food, and Hagen had Boob and Bub's!  Classic, I know!  Then we went to Walmart to get a few necessities and Far-Far put Hagen to sleep by humming.  He was so cute all snuggled up!

 

Hagen had his FIRST bonfire.  And we went to Doc's and I FINALLY found the beer I've been trying to remember the name because I LOVE it!  And the last picture is of cute Hagen and his bump on his head from where mean Far-Mar (or Mar-Mar because I think it's cute) let him bump his head!  HA!

Hagen was weighed on Friday (5-25-12) and came in weighing 18 lbs. 6 oz. and 27 1/4" long.  That puts him in the 98th percentile for height and 90th for weight!  I am super thankful he is a healthy eater!  Leave a comment as to what age you think he will pass The Mr.  (We'll look back and take the "winner" out to dinner!!)  

It certainly has been a WONDERFUL trip, but like I said before we are really missing The Mr.  We wish he could be experiencing these new things together!  We are looking forward to all the many new experiences we still have yet to discover on our journey!  Thanks for checking in on us!  

-Bekki

30 before 30

Ok, so we've all seen lists.  Bucket lists, new years resolutions, etc.  I googled 30 things to do before turning 30.  WOW!  Some people have TONS of money and TONS of time.  Their lists are quite fun to read.  Here are three that I found.  Enjoy reading their lists.  Maybe we can live vicariously through them!

BLOG #1
1. Dance my ass off in Ibiza. 
2. Swim with whale sharks in Donsol. 
3. Run a marathon. 
4. Party at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. 
5. Skydive. 
6. Master cooking up a gourmet 5-course meal. 
7. Learn to surf. 
8. Bungee jump. 
9. See the Grand Canyon. 
10. Conquer the 30-Day Bikram Yoga challenge. 
11. Go on a classic American road trip. 
12. Eat the worm in the mezcal. 
13. Explore the Mayan ruins. 
14. Find the cojones to converse, however crappily, in Spanish. 
15. Take pole dancing lessons. 
16. Go spelunking in Sagada. 
17. Give snowboarding a shot. 
18. Ride a motorcycle. 
19. Hike to Mt. Pinatubo's crater. 
20. Rock out at a music festival. 
21. Find my go-to karaoke song. 
22. Walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. 
23. Learn the basics of burlesque. 
24. Go vegetarian for one month. 
25. Sunbathe topless in Europe—somewhere where it's expected, of course. 
26. Go on a speed date. 
27. Watch the cherry blossoms bloom. 
28. Learn the art of aerial silks. 
29. Put in my application to go on mission. 
30. Forgive.

Source:  http://www.30before30project.com/



BLOG #2
• Visit the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park
• Attempt to donate blood
• Hike the Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina portions of the Appalachian Trail
• Sky dive
• Pay off accrued debt with parents
• Pay off one of my three student loans
• Learn to Snowboard
• Hunt a deer
• Learn to fly fish
• Make a wood desk or furniture item from scratch
• Read the Bible all the way through again
• Play a full round of golf
• Visit the Biltmore House
• Return to UT for a football game
• Grow facial hair for a month just to see what it looks like
• Get licensed in Counseling
• Get BachelorBytes website started
• Get weight below 200 pounds
• Edit My Grandparents’ Historical Videos into a DVD
• Visit either Wrigley Field or Fenway Park for a game
• Ride on a motorcycle
• Make my "40 Things to do Before Turning 40" List
• Attempt a back flip off the ground
• Learn to sew on a button and fix a seam
• Run a 10K
• Complete the outline for my book/screenplay
• Watch The American Film Institute's entire top 100 List
• Sponsor a child through Compassion International
• Work on a Habitat house
• Learn to play three full songs on the piano

Source: http://30thingsby30.wordpress.com/

BLOG #3 (Although there are 150 things, fun to skim through...)

Bold are things I've done.
Italics are things I have yet to do and will someday, if not this year. 
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins 
03. Climbed a mountain 
04. Taken a sports car (Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari, etc.) for a test drive 
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid 
06. Held a tarantula 
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it 
09. Hugged a tree 
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris or Italy or Greece other romantic European location
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea 
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise 
14. Seen the Northern Lights 
15. Gone to a huge sports game (South Korea / North Korea World Cup Qualifier!)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (Camping during Chusok in Seoul)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon 
22. Watched a meteor shower 
23. Gotten drunk on champagne 
24. Given more than you can afford to charity 
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 
27. Had a food fight 
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger 
30. Had a snowball fight 
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Be considered an expert resource on something 
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster 
35. Hit a home run 
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking 
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day 
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Driven a motorcycle/scooter abroad  (...and maybe I crashed one..shhh)
40. Visited all 50 states 
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk 
42. Had amazing friends 
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country 
44. Watched whales 
45. Stolen a sign 
46. Backpacked in Europe 
47. Taken a road-trip 
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach  
50. Gone sky diving  (THIS YEAR!!!)
51. Backpacked in Asia
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them 
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs/computer music files 
57. Pretended to be a superhero 
58. Sung karaoke 
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football 
61. Gone scuba diving (but I want to be certified)
62. Kissed in the rain 
63. Played in the mud (Mudfest 2008!!)
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre 
66. Visited the Great Wall of China  (10k hike in January baby)
67. Started a business  (Thecommunitymanager.com)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites 
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Seen Niagara Falls
72. Gotten married 
73. Been in a movie 
74. Crashed a party
75. Camped outside & slept on the ground
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo  (3...w/ #4 coming soon)
81. Gone White Water Rafting 
82. Been on a news program or in a newspaper as an “expert” 
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas 
86. Recorded music  
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date 
89. Lived in another city internationally
90. Bought a house
91. Gone strip club hopping
92.  Ridden a camel.
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95.  Watched 25 of the top 500 movies out there
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour 
98. Passed out cold 
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign county (Multiple times in China)
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open 
103.Had a One Night Stand
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived 
105. Wrote articles for a large publication 
106. Lost over 100 pounds 
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback 
108. Piloted an airplane (thanks Hans!)
109. Touched a stingray 
110. Broken up with someone who wasn't the one
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone 
114. Gone on an African photo safari 
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears (eyebrow AND tongue)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol 
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild 
118. Ridden a horse  
119. Been on a plane longer than 8 hours
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for a full day
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents 
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (Found out I was allergic)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper 
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school 
131. Parasailed 
132. Touched a cockroach (UNFORTUNATELY.)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes  (Dinosaur BBQ baby)
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read on your own
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions 
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Write a book
140. Built or played in an Igloo
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Gone skiing/snowboarding
143. Gone Surfing
144. Done something nice for someone just because
145. Compete in a sports competition
146. Dyed your hair 
147. Been a DJ  (WERW!  Z89!  K-Rock!)
148. Shaved your head/donate your hair to charity (Locks 4 Love)
149. Excel at public speaking in front of a large crowd  (LOVE IT!)
150. Saved someone’s life

Source:  http://thesocialchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/02/things-to-do-before-turning-30.html

So these lists are great.  But very much unrealistic for me.  (ok, not EVERYTHING, but the majority of them are!)  Although 30 isn't the end of the world, I thought it would be fun to make a REALISTIC goal and see how many I actually can accomplish in ONE year!  Some things are going to be on the list because I want them to get done.  Some because I already have them planned.  Some because I would like to re-introduce something back into my life.  Some because I want to try something new.  And some are going to be JUST FOR FUN!  Anyway, thought I'd write them down and see a year from now what I did (and maybe what I did without it being on my list!)  Hopefully I inspire you to think about your goals and dreams for your life (OR at least by your next birthday!)

My list:

1)  Design someone's wedding invites

2)  Paint an oil painting (maybe sell it?)

3)  Go camping at least once in every season (even with Hagen)

4)  Go on a date once a month with The Mr. (without Hagen...gasp!)

5)  Be able to do 20 pushups!

6)  Cut my hair and donate it

7)  Do a Yoga DVD enough to actually be able to do it!

8)  Be able to touch my toes without stretching first!

9)  Bake a cake/cupcakes for friends and families birthdays and deliver to them!

10)  Write in my journal

11)  Become an effective blogger

12)  Have only 5 late assignments in my classes from 5/9/12-5/9/13

13)  Try new sex positions, heck let's be honest, HAVE sex again... (sorry family, but I had to put in on my list...!)  

14)  Find a frosting recipe I LOVE!

15)  Learn to sew to mend up clothes that need mending

16)  Write down Hagen's milestones

17)  Organize printed photos (computer files will be the next year...)

18)  Re-build my guitar finger calluses

19)  Go on DAILY walks (even if they only last 5 minutes)

20)  Take Hagen to 5 museums

21)  Write birthday cards to family members and close friends for their birthdays    (even if they are belated) Starting 5/9/12 to 5/9/13

22)  Go to a drive-in Movie theater

23)  Go running in the rain

24)  "Sleep" with the window open during a thunderstorm

25)  Take in every moment I can with Hagen and The Mr. (Enjoy my life, even when   things are hectic and crazy-like they will be this next year)

26)  Complain less- for every negative, I have to say a positive!!

27)  Have a movie marathon date with The Mr. (AKA, let Hagen be a big boy and sleep overnight WITHOUT us... can I do it??)

28)  Finish my Clay Baker pottery

29)  Buy a new pair of earrings

30)  Go on an overnight bike ride with Hagen and The Mr. 

30 seems so grown-up and adult like and I thought I'd feel more like a grown-up and an adult than I do.  But whatever I thought my life would look like at this stage in life, I no longer care about what it was I had thought it should be.  I am where I am.  I have a wonderful husband who supports me.  I have a son who is more perfect than I could have ever imagined.  I have a puppy that has come a long way and is the most precious dog in my world.  I have family that is crazy, supportive and MINE!  (and even only a year or 2 into this, I consider the in-laws falling into that category!)  I have some of the closest friends I could ever hope for.  I have a past.  I have a future.  And I am going to take every day in as I celebrate my last year in my 20's.  This is not a remorseful event, but rather an opportunity to be thankful for everything that has happened in my life to get me where I am today, and to get ready for this new chapter in my life as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.  


Happy Birthday to everyone who will be transitioning to a new age in the next year!   

So the last title said Easter.. but I didn't take many pics on Easter...

Dying Easter eggs AFTER Hagen's baptism.

Like I said in the last post, we had a REALLY wonderful weekend.  M flew in on Wednesday evening, B came in Thursday LATE night, and J and I flew in on Friday afternoon.  Wednesday we also had a visitor from Andrew's hometown for the evening, so we just made dinner and stayed up talking Wednesday night.  M and Hagen had some great meet and greet time!  Thursday M, Hagen and I went to Annapolis to explore the city.  I didn't take any pictures this day... Too busy having fun I guess.  We were all zonked out by the time B joined us.

Friday, we waited for J and I to come in.  M, B, Hagen and I went to the Noon Good Friday service and soup lunch after that.  It was nice for church people to meet some of Hagen's Godparents.  The Mr. picked up the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs., and brought them back to the house.  It was so nice to finely meet my future sister-in-law.  (I'm excited to have another girl in the family since we're outnumbered by boys!!)  We loaded up 2 cars and headed towards DC.  We explored ALL of the big monuments, including Jefferson, which is a lot of walking.  We had a ton of fun, but by the end of the night we were all starving and sore from all the walking!  Here are a few pictures from our trip.

A windy afternoon, perfect for kite flying.

The capitol.

Jefferson is SOO far away, but it sure was a pretty walk around the lake.  

Hagen and his Godparents in front of Washington

See, it WAS a long walk, Hagen is tired out.

I believe we finally decided these are Ionic columns...

We had the opportunity for a family picture with so many people there to help snap the shot!

Only M went up to see Lincoln... personally my feet were shot, and Hagen was hungry (so were we...)

A beautiful shot of the moon as we rushed to walk towards dinner.

 It was a long afternoon, but it sure was fun.  It was nice to get to know J better, and a great time making new memories with each other.  Hagen won't remember this trip, but I enjoyed it.  Hopefully when he's bigger we can have an excursion with the whole gang again!

Saturday was a prep day for that night.  Meal planning, grocery shopping, cake making and just getting everyone ready.  6 people sharing a very small space is a challenge.  We had hoped to be to church super early to set up computers and just have things planned out.  We didn't.  Everything turned out in the end.  Skype calls to grandparents failed, but I think that might have happened even if we got there early.  

The first part of the service took place outside lighting candles, then we processed into the multi-purpose room for readings and reflections.  After the sermon, we processed to the entry of the sanctuary where the baptism was held.  During the sermon Hagen, B, the Mr. and I left to go get ready.  I changed his diaper and into the historic gown.  I learned that not only did Andrew wear it but so did Andrew's grandfather!  (And many aunts/uncles/siblings and cousins as well!)  It was a little tight on my big boy, but he sure looked cute in it.  And Molly had many conversations with him to prepare him for the fact that he might look like a little girl, but that he would still be really handsome!

I started to feed him but shortly after, everyone started processing in.  It was time and he wasn't done eating.  I stopped feeding him and boy did he scream!!  HE WAS MAD that I stopped feeding him.  He screamed through the beginning part of the service...  During his baptism, the Mustard Seeds (a puppet ministry at our church) helped.  I finally turned him to see the 2 puppets and he quickly quieted down.  He stared at those puppets and was super intrigued.  Yay, a non-screaming baby for his baptism.  The service was beautiful, I definitely teared up.  The Mr. and I were proud of our baby boy and having the love and support of our family and friends was a blessing. (Not only were his godparents there, but church friends, some who never attend that service even, and the Mr's military bud.)  Pastor Bill did a GREAT job with the service.  We then processed into the sanctuary for communion.  We pinned his leaf onto the new banner (first name on the NEW banner- the new design is AWESOME too!) I'll have to get a picture of that!  Being now baptized Pastor Bill could now say "Hagen, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever".  YAY!  

After the service we took pictures then went back to the multi-purpose room for a chocolate fountain, champagne and the cake I added in.  It was a great celebration indeed!  We were all exhausted by the end, but it truly was wonderful.  We then went home and decorated eggs! HAHA!

In the morning Andrew finished the egg bake, while I hid eggs and got out everyones baskets.  Once everyone was awake we had an egg hunt, then ate breakfast and got ready for church.  Church was a beautiful Easter service with beautiful flowers everywhere.  We then went home, made lunch and feasted.  M and S joined us for lunch too.  I can't believe I didn't take many pictures on Easter, especially none of Hagen in his cute Easter outfits.  M took some, so check out her facebook page to see them.  We sadly had to say goodbye to J and I and B, and then M on Monday morning.  

Our house seems too quiet now.  Hagen was exhausted from the busy weekend as he slept for 8 hours two nights in a row!  (Too bad I was up working on homework all night to enjoy those 8 hours of sleep...)  We sure wish we lived closer to family and friends, but we learn to cherish these moments and soak everything up from our time together.  

 

        

So Hagen was stretched out like an old man sound asleep on his changing pad as we were changing him.  The flash startled him and this is what we got, still pretty darn cute!  I LOVE his leg rolls!!!!!  Also, he has started to find individual fingers instead of just his WHOLE fist to suck on.  

         

Hope that was enough info for the people that wanted it and enough pictures!  I will get better... even though I keep saying that and then don't, but I'm really trying!

Bekki