To Gray's Lake

We have wanted to go to a lake around here with the girls, but several of the ones that we have looked at have been flooded due to all of the rains and snow that Iowa has had this year so far. Danny checked into Gray’s Lake in Des Moines, and he decided that we should go. I am so glad that we went! It was a beautiful day – one of those that had little humidity and just a few high wispy clouds! It was fabulous.

Grace just loved the water. She was a little fish. She bravely went all the way up to her neck. She loved practicing swimming with daddy… being with him makes her so brave! J

Hannah wasn’t too sure about the whole adventure. She didn’t really care for the water—she only splashed a little, and she didn’t really care for the sand – it was hard and compact. Most of the “real” beach was underwater due to the flooding. Hannah just liked to explore a little, walk around a little, dig in the sand a little, put her feet in the water a little, etc. She was BUSY!

By the way… we were really near the airport so we were seeing and hearing these jets practicing… cool!

And one more thing... while we were eating there was another family that came to eat near us. They had twins -- a boy and a girl -- the same age as Hannah, but they were born at 24 weeks! YIKES! That is so early... I am over 25 now!!! The babies were not walking or talking... but they looked really good for all that they have been through! :) I will praise the Lord for every sleepless night and ache and pain...I know our son is in the best place for him now...just wait a few more months, baby, then we will see you!

Striking a pose

For those of you who have been dying to see a pregnant picture of me... here you go!

I will post more photos of our morning trip to Gray's Lake later tonight or tomorrow!

(Mom, this is the shirt that I got at a yard sale for $1!)

"Yummy, yummy in my tummy!"

“Yummy, yummy in my tummy!” That is what all of us said after the delicious meal we had for Father’s Day! We had our first Iowa corn, grilled steaks (hot dogs for the girls) and mashed potatoes! It was a meal designed for Danny, but we all enjoyed it… a lot!

We had a blast husking the corn together (Hannah was prematurely eating the corn), and of course, eating it (after it cooked). Seeing Hannah eat corn on the cob for the first time was great; she had kernels all over her face! What a fun family day!

A Fab Dad

My girls just cherish their daddy, and I love every second of it. They squeal when they see his car in the distance as it approaches our house, and they dash to him when they see him down the hall at church. They scream, "Daddy!" or "Dadda!" They just light up when daddy is around. He doesn't get much rest when they are around... they love him and want to be right with him or ON him. They wrestle and giggle A LOT when daddy is near.

He is a wonderful strong daddy for our girls... I knew he would be. He had great potential. We both have evolved as parents and I am so glad that he continues to want to learn more and love Jesus more so he can be a better daddy. It makes my heart melt to see him read the Bible to them and pray with them!

This Father's Day I truly am thankful for Danny Lee... and I am excited to carry a son for him. He is not only a great daddy to the girls but he will be great daddy to our son as well. When I see them together for the first time, I will definitely be wiping away the tears! It will be awesome! I pray that he will grow up to be just like his daddy!

I love you, Danny Lee!

My Little helper

I am so thankful to have a little helper like Grace! She LOVES to help -- whether it is helping to wash the mirrors, folding the laundry, getting Hannah's shoes, or picking up toys! She is delighted to stop what she is doing to help her momma. I love that about her..... and I am going to need that more and more as the time comes for Baby Brother to come.

She has been helping me with dinner for a long time by putting things on the table -- the milk, bread, ketchup, etc., but I wanted to make a way for her to easily set the table. Today was the day to tackle that! She and I created paper place mats and added each of the elements of the place setting to it... not making sure it was perfect but things had to be on the correct sides and we just put the napkin on the plate. I want her to get the idea that things have to go in certain places. She LOVED IT! She made a place setting for herself, mommy, daddy and Hannah (even though Hannah doesn't use all of those things yet).

When we were done, she told me, "Mommy, I could do that for real!" ....that's the point!

New Obsession

Hannah has a new obsession here in the Lightner house.... it isn't new to this house, though. I think it is something that each of the older Lightners are obsessed about. It isn't chocolate (yes, that will be coming), it isn't sports/balls, it isn't being outside, it isn't food in general (she has had that obsession for a lllooonngggg time).

Hannah is obsessed with BOOKS! She just can't get enough of them. She loves them in the morning, she loves them at night, she loves them here and there, she loves them every where! It all started over a month and a half ago when I was trying to start a new bedtime routine with her. I had been giving her a bottle before bed and with all of the other changes that she has had in the passed several months (no more nursing, packing, moving, new house, new church, etc) I wanted to ease her away from that nightly feeding.

I started with reading one of the picture books that labels many things. She had a good attention span for a 12 month old, but she had room for improvement. She loved it and after only a night or two, she was saying a few of the words. This snowballed. Her language took off and she delighted to see the pictures and copy what I did. She loved looking at the "C" page and making the noise of the car or at the "H" page and putting her hands on her head because there was a hat there. These precious moments have grown and grown into great learning experiences and fun-filled giggle times. She thinks it is fun to play peek-a-boo with the books that have the part that you lift up to reveal another picture.

She LOVES snuggling up with mommy, daddy, or Grace to read a good book, especially a Corduroy one. Lately, when she finds a Corduroy book, she demands that the world stops, so she can read it with you. It is hard to say no to a precious little one who wants to read.... especially one with THOSE BLUE EYES!!

The mommy and teacher in me is proud of my baby's new obsession. There are other things that could consume her time -- TV, Barney, fighting with her sister, etc. So I am thrilled that she has chosen this one.

PS Just to let you know how much this runs in the family, Danny completes AT LEAST one book per month! And the other night I found Grace reading in her bed with the light on at 10:15 when I went upstairs to go to bed after the Celtics game! Of course, she is not allowed to be up at that time, so we had to make new rules about reading. We actually have to limit how much she reads... there are times that I have to make her play with some thing else!! :)

This Saturday...NEED HELP

So... I need your help! We are having a GIANT yard sale in our area -- there are 20+ houses in our development (our street and the ones around us) on Saturday!! YAHOO! I can't wait to shop! We were hoping to participate in this by selling things, but we don't have much junk since we just moved and got rid of a TON on craigslist.

I need your help... we would like to sell food. What do you think would make the most sense and the most money? We were thinking of selling cold soda and bottled water (it is supposed to be hot out) and maybe some baked goods -- cupcakes -- or maybe some hot dogs? Please help. What would you buy -- if any thing -- from a stand outside some ones house? Should I make a bunch of loaves of homemade bread -- banana, white, pumpkin etc? What would YOU pay for these things?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!! Please leave your comment here for me... I only have a few days to get things in order if that is what I'm going to do!

Garage Sales

I really do enjoy going to Garage Sales... it is one of the best times of the year for me. It is a hobby that I enjoy... I love hunting for the sales, I love getting deals (like 10 cent onesies instead of the $3 ones I found last week), I love sorting through bins, and I love bringing back the items to show what I found. There is a thrill every time I even see a sign for a yard sale.... there could be wonderful treasures for me there! Here in Ankeny the sales are NUMEROUS! A few weeks ago our family went on an errand on a Saturday morning only a couple of miles from our house. On the way I counted 26 yard sale signs! That is crazy....we never had that in NH! Every part of yard sale-ing is fun... except when you return empty-handed! :(

But yesterday wasn't one of those days. There were too many sales to go to, so I had to be selective. Danny stayed home with the girls so I could have a little break. It is SO MUCH easier to shop without them! I love hitting neighborhood sales so I can go to many houses in a short amount of time. Yesterday I was able to find a few of those.

Here is what a got:

13 oneies for baby boy

14 books for Grace including 3 Berenstain Bear Books!!

1 boy bib (a man just gave this to me when he saw that I was pregnant)

1 shirt for Grace

A cozy coupe

What was the total? ONLY $8 I thought that was AMAZING!

Grace loved her books and Hannah loved her car.... Check these out!

And yes, I WILL go out again next Friday to find more deals!