Daddy-Daughter Trip to Omaha

While Mom and Macy were in DC with college roommates, Daddy and Mia took a little trip of their own to visit Omaha. One of the highlights of the trip was definitely the zoo. Omaha boasts one of the top zoos in the country and Mia loved everything about it. Between the monkeys, penguins, and the tunnel where she could watch sharks and fish swim overhead...

...and her favorite, a polar bear, Mia was in heaven.

Mia also helped out with the grocery shopping. She's already bringing home the bacon. Good job, bubba.

Enjoying a meal (and coloring) at a restaurant.

And, of course, a trip to Home Depot with Papa was a must. I hope Grandma & Grandpa know that Mia now fully expects to get one of these puppies for her birthday. Mommy hopes it doesn't have a weight limit. She wants to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. We are going to arrive at the community pool in style this summer!

Mommy and Macy wish we could have been in DC and Omaha that weekend.

Daddy and Mia had such a great time!

Roommate Reunion in DC

At the end of March, I was able to fly to Washington, D.C. to meet up with 7 of my closest friends from college for a long weekend. Although we were not all roommates at the same time, most of us lived with each other at one time or another during our time away at school. It was definitely not easy coordinating 8 different schedules to make this happen, but we were all able to come!

Two of us had to bring infants with us (and one was pregnant), but the babies were troopers and everyone was kind enough to help us hold and accommodate them throughout the weekend.

The nursing mothers...

We did a lot of talking, shopping, eating, and just catching up. I ate so much candy that weekend, it was ridiculous.

It had been four years since we had last gotten together, and it was so great to see everyone!

Love you, girls.

Because Macy and I were already going to be on the east coast, I was able to see all three of my brothers, two sisters-in-law, and a niece and 3 nephews by doing some driving and extending my trip a little. They got to meet Macy for the first time & I got to meet my newest nephew, Bennett as well. Macy and Bennett are only about 6 weeks apart and they already get along great...

It was such a fun trip, but I was sad it was so quick. There were a lot of friends I didn't get to see while I was in DC. We will just have to figure out another time to get back there soon!

Little Angel

At the end of February, Macy had her baby blessing at church. The dress was a little big on her below-average frame, but she still looked adorable.

Weekend in Chi-Town

When Nick had business in Chicago the first weekend in March, we decided to tag along and make a family trip out of it. The drive from Indianapolis was just three hours and pretty easy with Mia and Macy. When we got there, however, the weather was cold. It rained and then snowed while we were in town. And even though I know Chicago was not nicknamed "The Windy City" for its weather, it still lived up to its name in the most literal way.

The highlight for Mia was going to the Nature & Field Museum. She was kind of obsessed with this polar bear.

In the museum, they also had a huge butterfly sanctuary, which probably tied for first place with the polar bear in Mia's book. She even got to throw pennies in the little pond under this waterfall.

At first she was a little weirded out by all the butterflies flitting around her head, but she quickly got used to it & loved watching them fly all over.

Since we visited the butterfly garden, Mia has become very attached to her The Very Hungry Caterpillar book & insists she is in a cocoon when we wrap her in a towl after her bath each night. We can't put lotion on her until she decides to spread her wings and emerge as a "butiful buf-fly!" It's both cute and entertaining... unless she decides the butterfly has to go potty (not necessarily in the toilet) before we get her lotioned up and her diaper on.

Ahh... potty training is so close. Not looking forward to it.

Michelle to the Rescue!

My dear friend, Michelle, came in mid-February to meet Macy and see our new digs in Indy. We were all so excited to see her! Unfortunately, (and fortunately) she arrived the week we all got the worst stomach flu EVER. The trip was probably not as fun or exciting as she was anticipating, but she was invaluable while she was here. I'm really not sure how I would have done it with a demanding newborn, demanding toddler, Nick at work, and me on my death bed if she had not been here to help. I can't thank her enough. And on top of it all, she got the flu herself two days after she left (and while she was traveling for work). She is such a great friend! Because of all the chaos, this was the one and only picture we have to document her visit (with Macy at her finest). You are the best, Michelle!