A Day at the Park

It was a nice sunny day, Nicole was working, my mom was in town, so I thought why not, lets pack a lunch and go to the park. So we did, and no one was there, and it was great. The kids sat at the picnic table like they had been doing it for years. They didn't eat much but I didn't care because watching them sitting there like that was a great moment for me. It was like watching a small step toward a little more independence, for everyone! So here we are.

Hannah and Jonathan are next to Nicole and Liv and Hayden are next to my mom.

Liv on the tire swing.

Hannah walking in the grass! This too is a great accomplishment, because the girls hate walking on grass.

Me swinging with Big Boy and Nicole with Hayden.

Olivia having a blast with Grandma pushing her way to high.

Hannah trying to climb out the swing.

And down the slide Liv goes crashing into her into her brother and sister like bowling pins.

This was also the day of my 5th consecutive 24th birthday and it was wonderful.

Playing in the Rain

There is nothing like your first time playing in the summer's warm rain.

On the other side of the screen is Hannah and Nicole. This is before I figured out that the picture would turn out much better if I would turn off the flash.



Can you feel it on your hand Hayden?



Jonathan, Nicole and Hayden feeling the warm rain drops.

Peek-a-boo Jonathan. I see you back there!

Cole and Hayden.

Hannah and Hayden stomping in a little puddle.

Liv and Hannah. Don't ask me where Liv's pants are!



Hayden having fun!

 


Relaxing Before Bedtime

Watching dad do some yard work. Hayden is the one looking back.

Liv showing sisters how to put the puzzle together.

 Jonathan working on his own puzzle.

 Hannah and Hayden working together.

P.S. I love Melissa and Doug puzzles and toys.

Hayden trying it out on her own.

 Kids trying to find a spot on the couch to watch Mickey Mouse.

 Jonathan and Liv

 Hayden blocking Hannah's view.

 Hayden is so into Mickey that she thinks Hannah IS the couch.

Hannah letting Hayden know that she indeed is not the couch, and that this particular arrangement is not going to work for her.

 And my favorite. Left to Right: Hannah, Hayden, Olivia, and Jonathan.

I love this picture. Girls on one side, Big Boy on the other, all looking so sweet and innocent.



Hannah Chips a Tooth

Hannah chipped her tooth after taking a fall on the tile in the entry way. It wasn't bad but I did want to take her to the dentist just in case.


Here she is in Liv's car seat on our way to the dentist. I really don't think she minds the extra attention.

And here she is after.

So tired!

She did a great job and the dentist said everything looked good and that she should be fine. They even took a little bitty x-ray of her front teeth.

Liv's 3 Year Old Pictures

Angie Jungling of Jungling Photography took Olivia's three year old pictures and did a great job once again. These are just a few of our favorites. All of these pictures were taken on site at the Lily Pond in the Amana's.

Isn't she adorable?!!

Olivia's 3rd Birthday

A lot of planning went into Olivia's birthday this year. Our family is getting pretty big, and because we haven't had an "Eekhoff" family vacation since the 90's I thought it would be nice if we could tie it all into one. So after lots of emailing and a couple of site checks we decided to have our party in Des Moines at the Ramada Tropics Resort. It has an awesome indoor water park with three different pools for all ages. Olivia and Adam stopped by to check it out about four months before her birthday, and for the last four months before her birthday all she talked about was her birthday party and the pirate ship. (They have a pirate ship in the kids pool.) She would ask to see the pirate ship all the time! Finally, I saved their website as a favorite so when she asked I could just pull it up and she could see pictures of it from there! We had also planned to go to Adventureland but decided late in the trip that the younger kids may not be able to ride that many rides, so we went to the Blank Park Zoo instead. The older kids did end up going to Adventureland but complained of extreme temperatures and long lines, so I was glad we didn't go. So here are a lot of pictures from our little family vacation and Liv's party.

At the Zoo!
L
Olivia and Matt 

Jonathan, Hannah, and Hayden. I love Hannah's expression in this picture. She gives the best teenager looks that I'm not sure what I am going to do when she actually becomes one! Maybe it's God's way of giving me some time to figure out how to handle these looks, especially when they start coming at me from all directions!

Cousins Matt and Silas watching one of Liv's favorites, the sea lions.

Liv and her daddy feeding the fishes.

Matt joining in on the fun.

Our sleeping arrangements. Babies in one room, mom, dad, and Olivia in the other. (I should clarify that. We had a suite so there was a door between the bedroom and the living area. We did not actually have two hotel rooms.)

 Olivia, ready for her pizza party to begin!

The whole family!

Liv eating her pizza.

Cousin Hudson. He had his 1st birthday party the next day!

Aunt Paula cutting the cake, Liv playing with her new barbie, and Hannah sneaking in some frosting.

I think she thinks it's her birthday.

Holy Sugar High! Watch out here she comes!

Cousin Jaxen getting his bounce on.

Little Ella is pushing Liv in her stroller and Matt is making sure everyone is out of the way.

Cousin Silas. He is the CUTEST!

The next day we celebrated Hudson's First Birthday. It was a lot of fun and we are so glad that we were able to be there. I actually have video of it and that is why I have no pictures. I hate that. I wish I could video tape and take pictures all at the same time. So here are the two pictures I have from that, and unfortunately Hudson is in neither. Sorry Hud!

Hayden, Hannah, and Jonathan waiting for food.

Olivia found all these "acorns", actually pine cones, and her and Silas loved to collect them into that little box. They were called acorns because she had been on a Chicken Little kick for about two months. So we wanted to be like Chicken Little.

Then on her actual birthday we celebrated by having yet another pizza party, but this time it was at Godfather's in Cedar Rapids. At this party Adam's side of the family came to help her celebrate. It too was a lot of fun!

Olivia opening up some presents!

Her cousins Brady and Owen supervising.

All in all it was a great time and maybe we started a new tradition on the Eekhoff side, or maybe not. But either way Olivia had a great time and loved all the time she got to spend with "All her family"!