Hazel is 1!

She's come a long way in a year...

Max's Birthday

The Tally Zierdens came up for the celebration.

Maymont Park

Not a real bear...

Real bears...

Emory sucking on her toe...

Max ran in a 400 yard Caboose Run...

In his words, "I ran so fast. I didn't even slow down!"

What happened to your belly?

If you read this blog, you should be aware by now that we are going to have a baby in November. (If not, I am very sorry that you are finding out this way!) We just let everyone know last week, which is good, because I was feeling self-conscious about my stomach. It's an awkward stage where maternity clothes are too big, but a lot of my regular clothes are getting tight. My stomach started to stick out a little bit before we told people, so every morning I was really stressed about what to wear.
There is a freedom in telling people and feeling more comfortable wearing something that clings a little bit!
I work with Kindergarten, First, and Second graders, and I decided not to tell them that I am pregnant...just see what happens. A Kindergartener won the prize today as the first to notice. I was sitting at the table with them and I leaned back in my seat and held a game right in front of me so they could all see. This little girl (who always says whatever comes to her mind), said, "What happened to your belly?" Like any good teacher, I ignored her at first and finished what I was doing. Although it sounded like one of the boys said, "She's pregnant" under his breath.
So she asked again of course and I said, "Do you think something is wrong with my belly?" To which she replied, "It got bigger. It looks like you are getting ready to have a baby."
So I explained that I am going to have a baby, but not soon. Then, that was it...they moved on.
It will be interesting to see who says something next. I think second graders are a little more socially aware, and may not say anything until they are sure. While I am showing, I don't think it looks like I am "getting ready to have a baby". I suspect there is a lot more growing to do.

California

Since we got back from our trip, our focus has been getting the house ready to go on the market. That finally happened this week, so here are some pictures from the trip. Of course, blogger is not doing what I want it to do...so I am only going to put a few pictures here, and if you are a die-hard Quotidian Saunders fan, you can look at more pictures on the picasa site here.

Yosemite

El Cap

Bridal Veil Falls

King's Canyon

Sequoia National Park

Route 1


























Point Lobos

California Teaser

California Here We Come

Winter has been a little disappointing. There was really only 1 snow that was worth anything. So, we are ready for Spring. March is here and there are daffodils and crocuses coming up outside. The last 2 days have felt Spring-like, but I'm not sure how long it will last. What's keeping me going right now (as I go through my 2nd sinus infection in 4 weeks) is California! The Colonel is going to take off during my Spring Break at the end of March.

We talked about going to Paris, but just couldn't find any good deals. I looked around on the internet, and found that the National Parks website has Pre-planned Routes that include the parks. So, we decided on a trip to Yosemite, King's Canyon, Sequoia, and Big Sur National Parks. We'll fly in and out of San Francisco, then do the parks and a little bit of the coast. It may still be a little chilly in some places, but we'll be in California, so that's okay.

So we have an outline for the trip and plane tickets...that's it. We still need to get a car and figure out where we are going to stay along the way. If you have any ideas for us, please pass them along!

Hazel and Ella

Hazel got to play with her sister Ella on Friday.
They were on the move the whole time.

They look so vicious, but they are having fun...

I noticed these confused crocuses while we were out...