Stina Ellen Has Arrived

Stina Ellen was born today at 4:45 am. She was 6 lbs 4 oz and 19 3/4". Jessi is doing great. Luckly, after being induced for 2 1/2 days, she only had to push thru 4 contraction cycles and out she came, so the wait was well worth it. Stina is currently in the NICU being monitor and receiving some oxygen. Her breathing rate has been a little fast which is most likely caused by some residual fluid in the lungs. They will keep her there for the next 48 hours.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and encouragement. We really appreciate it.

Lars is walking!!!

Lars has been walking while holding onto someone or something for at least a month now, but recently he has decided to do it on his own! He took his first steps (without help) about 2 weeks ago. Now he is walking by himself a lot! He will just stand up and go for it. Here are a couple videos of Lars showing off his walking skills!! :)

15 months!

Lars continues to grow at his rapid rate! He is 31 lbs 2 oz and 34 inches tall! At this rate he is going to be 7 feet tall!!
Dr. Ben said he looked great and loves the fact that he is such a big guy!

Corn on the cob!

Lars loves to eat corn on the cob! We have given it to him twice now. The first time we tried cutting the corn off and giving it to him, he wanted nothing to do with it, he wanted the whole thing! Now we have to give him his own ear of corn.

Happy Father's Day!!

Father's Day 2008
I just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a wonderful Daddy and husband Karl truely is!!! I can't believe he is on Father's Day #2 next thing you know it will be 20! Time has gone by way too fast since Lars' birth! Sometimes I wish life would slow down a little bit!
Karl is not only my best friend, but he is a wonderful husband! He works very hard to provide for his family. Then somehow in his free time manages to paint, build and entertain!! :) Every once in a while we let him have some time off to ride his motorcycle or go to the gun range, but he always manages to be home in time to grill dinner for us!
Karl also spends time playing with Lars, which is one of the greatest joys of my life. I love to see Lars' face light up when Karl comes in the room! They spend lots of time playing ball, drumming (make noise:), building things and splashing in the bath or pool.
THANK YOU KARL FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT DAD!!

1917 Military Truck

For those of you who know my dad, Dale Hardy, you will not be suprised at all by his resent request. He has been a major player is having several old LeTourneau Vehicles located, rebuilt and modeled. As a result of his interest in LeT vehicles he is a member of a Historical Truck society. One of his good friends in the society is the owner of this 1917 Military Truck, that is currently the oldest vehicle taking part in the "Transcontinental Motor Convoy", traveling from D.C. to San Fran. For more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Motor_Convoy
Dad's request was to have Lars' picture taken in the 1917 truck! Lars and I had a great time checking out all the military vehicles that are taking part in the TMC. Lars took a particular interst in the motorcycle:) The owner was nice enough to let Lars sit on it for a photo op!
Dad, wish you could have come with us!

Big Boys!

I can't believe how big these boys are getting!! Our friends Dave and Kristen just moved into a new house and their barstools are the perfect height for the boys to sit in, by themselves! It's hard to believe they are big enough to sit in a stool by themselves!! They were all so cute sitting up at the bar eating their lunch.

Time has really flown by this past year, Luke and Lars are 14 months old, Isaiah is 11 months and Davis is 10 months! Next thing you know they are going to be going to college! Now I know why "adults" are always saying kids grow up way to fast!! (that doesn't mean I'm an adult, does it? :)

Fun with the Fam!

Lar and I went to Nebraska this past weekend for my cousin Jake's wedding. As you can tell we had a great time hanging out with the fam! Although, Lars has some stranger anxiety with most people, he felt right at home the the craziest people around. Maybe cause that is "his normal", with me for a mom!!

My Aunt Becky took us to the Omaha Zoo on Friday before the wedding. Hands down this is the best zoo I have been too in a long time! If you are ever in NE you have to go!! If you see any crazy animals out of the cages, don't worry, it's probably just my family! :):)

Lars is normally a great kid, but I have to give him major props for this weekend! He was really on his A-game the whole time! For four days he never got to have a whole nap and he went to bed around 11pm each night. He didn't complain, he just kept rolling with the punches, and hammin' it up! We had such a great time!!

Painting Pottery

This morning I was just trying to waste a little time before Lars needed to take a nap. I decided to go into a local pottery store to check their prices. Well, as you can see, we ended up staying more than a few minutes! The girl working at The Pottery Wheel in South Riding was very helpful and their prices were reasonable!! Don't tell Grammee, but Lars painted a flower pot for her birthday next week!

I was really bummed I didn't have my camera with me! He looked so cute and had such a great time painting! I did have my phone with me, which I used to take some pics, but they are a little grainy. We are definitly going back, WITH the camera!!

You can tell he had fun by the paint that he wore home and tried to share with Garfunkel!! :):)

Lars' new shoes

My sister, Kim, sent Lars these shoes that have a squeaker in the heel. Every step he takes they squeak! Today is the first day he has really worn them enough to realize that he is making the squeak sound. This is a great way to get him to walk, because he loves to hear the squeaker!!

After he was all dressed for bed and just playing a little more before going up he spotted his squeaker shoes. He brought them over to Karl and started trying to put them on. Karl helped him put them on and then he proceeded to "walk" around the kitchen, squeaking all the way!!