Happy 90th Birthday to Grandpa Dougan!!

Grandpa Dougan turned 90 on March 15th, so this is a little belated Happy Birthday wish.  We officially celebrated it yesterday back in Hubbard with an open house at his church.  It was Irish themed since he is Irish and born so close to St. Patty's Day.  He had quite the turnout with many of his friends, family, and neighbors to help him celebrate...we are still waiting for the official count of how many people came.  I think he had a great time and it is pretty clear that he is loved by many people!!  We wish you many more years!

BIRTHDAY BOY 

Al loved Grandpa's flower.

Finally a good picture with Uncle Chris.

I think someone is tired.

Cousins (Kade in the background looking for
Tanya's confirmation picture.)

Hanging with Great Grandma.

and Grandma.

Pesky teeth !!!!

Spring

We are very hopeful that spring is here and to stay!  We have gotten out for a couple stroller walks, which Alexandria loves.  She pretty much just lays back, relaxes, and takes everything in.  With spring we are hoping that health comes with it.  Alexandria is still battling her initial ear infection, which was 2 months ago.  Her right ear has cleared up but the left one continues to be infected.  Her eardrum ruptured this morning, luckily Heath was already taking her to the Dr. to get her ears rechecked today.  She had to get a shot of Rocephin, another one tomorrow, and the 3rd one on Thursday.  No fun!  But, we are hoping this takes care of it, otherwise we have 1 more antibiotic to try and then it's tubes.  She is also getting ear drops for a week.  She has shown no signs of being in pain and hasn't ran a fever...poor punkin.  On the brighter side of things, we have been working on her sitting skills which are really improving.  She just has not shown much interest in sitting by herself.  When everyone asks, "How old is she?" and I say "7 months", the next question is usually "oh, is she sitting and crawling?" and I have to say "nope".  I think we have only seen her roll 2 times...but, I've been told that she does all the time at daycare.  Being a PT I'm totally aware of the developmental milestones and when your own child isn't hitting them I have to start my own therapy sessions with her.  I know there is nothing to be concerned about because she will do things when she is good and ready.  She has already started to show us a little taste of her stubborn personality...hmmm...wonder where she could've gotten that from?! 
Kade was on spring break all last week and got to go have some fun with the Cathcarts at the indoor waterpark in Des Moines.  He had a blast! 
Happy Spring!!!!

Going for a ride in my spring jacket.



Mommy thought I needed my hat.

Uncle Brad and Holden in Cancun, Ia

Bug doing his pool tricks.

I'm getting better at this sitting thing.

This is fun stuff.

Hanging out with my spotter.

All this sitting and riding is tiring.

Baby Bug Jams

Bug N Bean Horsing Around.

Bugs N Beans

Ready for church.

I don't like to wear my shades to bed.

Chillin.

Kade finally got his Ipod-Touch after saving for 1.5 years.

Alexandria takes over the Kid's bathroom/move over bug.

A Trip Back Home

We went up North this weekend to help celebrate Papa Mike's 60th Birthday!!  What a fun weekend!  We did a lot of driving around to see family with our first stop being Alden to drop Kade off.  He got to spend some time with cousin Levi and had a great time.  We hung out at Mom and Mike's for awhile, ate lunch, and then headed into town to visit Great Grandpa Dougan and Grandma Renae.  They were both very excited to see our "little package" as Grandpa likes to call Alexandria.  By this time, Alexandria was getting pretty worn out, so we decided to take a round about way to the farm to put her to sleep and to see Brandon and Jess.  We got to see the kitchen updates that they have made, which look wonderful!  Our last stop was Grandpa and Grandma Winter's house to drop off Alexandria.  They braved keeping all 3 grandkids overnight while us adults helped Papa Mike celebrate his birthday!  They seemed to have everything under control when we left so I wasn't worried, but daddy had to remind Grandma Brenda that he would have his phone on vibrate if they needed anything.  :)  From what I hear, all went well and all 3 kiddos slept through the night.  Good job and Thanks!!!  This was our first night away from Alexandria...both mommy and daddy did ok, but I think it will be awhile before we do it again...I just miss seeing her right when she wakes up because she always has such a huge smile on her face. :) 

The party was so much fun!  Tons of family and friends were there, some of which we hadn't seen for quite some time.  My Aunt Patty even made it back...to stay!  Yes, she is back for good and is now living in Davenport.  She will continue her career as a 911 Dispatcher.  We are so glad to have her closer to all the family!  At one point in the evening, Brandon, Brad, Heath and Chad (Jess's brother) left to check cows.  It is calving season, so Brandon has to check cows about every 3 hours.  It was pretty funny because I received a text from Heath that said "We got one going and I'm having flashbacks"!  Too funny!  It was this cow's first time having a baby, so all the guys went to the house and had a drink and by the time they were done she had had her baby.  Heath was SO upset that he missed the birth.  According to the guys, it was quite a comical experience!  There were lots of laughs the whole night...thanks for such a great party Mom and Mike!!!

GIRLS

I love my Aunt Stephanie and her pretties.

This is serious.

Great Grandpa just told me I was his special little package.

Alexandria loved Grandma's shirt. Any guesses why?

I love my new Grandpa Winter high chair.

Al loves to be read to and loves to touch everything.

A little love from my cuz.

The birthday boy and his backstreet boys trying out for American Idol.  Happy Birthday Mike!!

Mike with his favorite gift.

Sisters and soon to be sister-in-law.

The Ol'  Winter crew back together.

Happy12th Birthday, Kade!!!!

Kade turned 12 years old yesterday and we can't believe that he will be a teenager next year!  Where in the world does the time go?  Heath and I were just talking a couple nights ago about when I first met Kade because he found a picture of him around the age of 7, which is when I first met him.  I still remember that day and I shared that day with Kade lastnight while we were at Buffalo Wild Wings for supper.  I was living in my townhome at the time and he was SO excited to meet me...we had spoken on the phone prior to meeting.  He poked his head around the corner to get a sneak peek at me, giggled, and then hid again.  After a little coaxing from dad, he braved his way over to me to give me a picture that he had drawn for me.  He had the biggest smile on his face and I just remember thinking how dang cute he was!  Well, I think he has definitely lost the excitement of seeing me (I know it's purely just an age thing), but he is definitely just as cute as he was 5 years ago!  He has still got the biggest heart in the world and is the best big brother!  Alexandria just adores him and it is so fun to watch how excited she gets when she sees him.  We are so blessed to have Kade in our lives...Happy Birthday, Bug!!!

Kade said that seeing his sister was the best present he would get for his birthday. She stayed up just long enough for cake.

What did I get myself in the middle of this time?

More B-day fun at Buffalo Wild Wings.


 Now a trip down Kader Bug lane.

Baby Bug in the hospital - Kade looking like what we like to call HUSKY.

Bug has always loved bath time, just out grew it with big bro.

Kade & Mrs. Judy

Shortly after the meeting.

And the fun begins.

Love You

Freddy Hoiberg Basketball Camp.

Kade's first year of Bear football.

The Champ !!!

Bug the Blue Devil

Kade with Grandma after a game.

My Studs

Me with my main man and some slobber on my shoulder from little sis.

And now what Kade is up to these days.