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Saturday, April 1 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - hotel We stayed at a hotel during the drive down, and it had a pool and hot tub. Oddly, Xander didn't want to get in at all, but my dad and I enjoyed it. |
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Sunday, April 2 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - on the beach, lots of Kayli We headed down to the beach as soon as we got there. Xander loved it! A huge sandbox! What could be better? He made a friend there, too, named Louis. I also took a lot of pictures of Kayli on the bed in her beach outfit. |
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Sunday, April 2 - hiltonhead-dad: Hilton Head - on the beach Just a few pictures of Kayli, then pictures of our first day on the beach! I love the one in which Xander appears to be floating over the water. |
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Monday, April 3 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - at the pool, on the beach, horseshoe crab My dad took Xander swimming and they had a great time. My mom held Kayli the whole time, and I'm relieved to report that she'll actually go to other people now. Phew. On the beach, someone found a horseshoe crab and showed it to all the kids. |
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Tuesday, April 4 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - in the condo My parents went to play golf, so my sister and I played with the kids all day. There are some great pictures of Melissa with the kids, and a few of me with my adorable son, too, snuggled up in the papasan. |
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Wednesday, April 5 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - dying eggs, beach, Kayli, crafts, ice cream Very busy day. My parents dyed eggs with Xander in the morning, then took him to the beach. We all walked down to Coligny Plaza for ice cream. We walked on the beach and Xander loved it! He ate Superman ice cream, which was blue and red and yellow and evidently delicious. He ate a lot! |
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Wednesday, April 5 - hiltonhead-dad: Hilton Head - dying eggs, Kayli and Xander, just Kayli My dad took a few pictures of egg dying, then put his photographic skills to work to get a few pictures of my cute kids. As if that's hard. Hee! |
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Thursday, April 6 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - The Sand Box, Harbor Town, Kayli Melissa, the kids, and I went to a kids' museum to spend some time out of the sun. It was very nice! So different than the Boonshoft - it was bright and sunny. The Boonshoft is great, but so dark! Xander loved the climbing wall, and just clambered right up! So physically adept, that child. That evening, we went to Harbor Town to see Gregg Russell, but he wasn't playing (sob) so we had ice cream and danced around while another guy played. It was nice, but not Gregg! Of course, more pictures of Kayli. |
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Friday, April 7 - hiltonhead: Hilton Head - Easter Egg Hunt, Dolphin Cruise, cards, Kayli First we did the Easter Egg Hunt, allowing us to have egg salad for lunch. Then we went on a cruise to hunt for dolphins, but we didn't really see any. I really loved looking at the houses, actually. Xander did get to drive the boat, though! I walked into the Slees' condo, and my parents' friends just looked so bright and cheerful and happy that I had to take a picture. I'm so glad they have such great friends! There is also a picture of Xander with The Smartest Man in the World (Dan Slee). |
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Friday, April 7 - hiltonhead-dad: Hilton Head - Easter Egg Hunt, Dolphin Cruise, cards, Kayli Some pictures that my dad took. |
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Wednesday, April 12 - raymer: Kyle Benjamin Raymer Baby Kyle! Only 11 days old! Delia had a fantastic labor and delivery, just as she wanted, and ended up with an adorable little boy, also just as she wanted. Isn't he wonderful? |
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Thursday, April 13 - birthday: Happy 5-month Birthday, Kayli! Kayli is five months old! |
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Friday, April 14: Sleeping Kids |
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Friday, April 14 - momsclub: MOMS Club - Easter Egg Hunt Toni Mehrman had an Easter Egg hunt for us. Xander had so much fun (and one tantrum). He loved finding his special egg with his name on it. And he had a good time swinging with Julie while Becca sang. He kept saying, "Sing it again!" |
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Sunday, April 16: Young's Dairy Egg Hunt I took Xander to Young's Dairy to participate in their Easter Egg Hunt. It was chaos. I probably won't take him again. They lined all the kids up behind a line, then sent them out at the same time. They RAN and scrambled and grabbed all the eggs, and poor little Xander didn't understand and only got a few eggs. He kept looking back at me helplessly. Also, the eggs were all hardboiled. He ran past many of them at first because he was looking for the plastic ones with candy inside. He was disappointed. So, probably not again. |
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Tuesday, April 18: Videos Xander reading "How Do You Make a Rainbow?" to us at dinnertime. |
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Wednesday, April 19: Party with the Raymers We had a small birhday gathering with the Raymers, and Xander got to blow out some candles, and the Raymers gave him Molly (Thomas the Tank Engine). He loves trains! |
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Thursday, April 20: Happy Birthday to Me! We played outside for my birthday. |
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Saturday, April 22 - birthday: Happy Birthday, Xander! |
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Saturday, April 22 - whites: Happy Birthday, Xander! - Thomas the Tank Engine My parents took us all to see Thomas the Tank Engine at Greenfield Village. Xander LOVED it. He thought that seeing a huge Thomas was just so exciting. He said, "Thomas is looking at me!" We got to ride on Thomas, too, but unfortunately, Xander was a little tired by that point. |
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Saturday, April 22 - whites-dad: Happy Birthday, Xander! - Thomas the Tank Engine Pictures my dad took on our trip to Thomas. |
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Sunday, April 23 - whites: Happy Birthday, Jen, Sheryl, and Xander! We had a birthday for the three of us at my parents' house. It is always so much fun to get everyone together. Kayli had her first bite of food, and she loved it! Sheryl held her while Rebecca fed her some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. Yum! |
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Tuesday, April 25 - whites: Toledo Zoo with Grandma and Ash My mom, Xander, and I met Ash at the Toledo Zoo. It was a cold and rainy day, so the place was empty. Despite the weather, we had a good time. Kayli was snuggled up in the sling and Xander rode in Kira's borrowed stroller. He also had the umbrella that Rebecca had given him, so he was happy. My favorite was the hippoquarium! How graceful they are underwater! I had planned on having dinner with Justin and Ash that night, so Rebecca and Beth came over to babysit, but we decided to have dinner on the following night instead, so we just got to spend some time with Becky and Beth. |
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Wednesday, April 26 - whites: Hands On Museum with Angela and Kat We met Angela and her kids and Kat and Kira at the Hands On Museum. I've always loved that museum and have fond memories of being there as a child, with Angela, actually, during Girl Scouts. Fun how things come around. Also, I thought I spied Stefan Szumko, but I thought he was in Germany, so I waited too long to follow him and couldn't find him. That evening, I went out to dinner with Ash and Justin. We went to Real Seafood Company, and Ash and I had King Crab Legs and almost stiffed the waitress by accident. Oops! Then we had ice cream across the street. |
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Thursday, April 27 - whites: Stefan Szumko's Nature Walk, Playgroup with John Corey, Dinner with Mohan I was right! It was Stefan at the Hands On Museum! I looked him up on the Internet and sent him an email, which he responded to immediately, telling me that he was teaching a class at Matthai the next day and we could join him. So we did, and it was fantastic! Best hike I've been on with Xander. Stefan is a fantastic teacher! It was so much fun to get in touch with him again. That evening, I met John Corey and his daughter Mary at Eberwhite park. Despite the really cool castles there, the kids wanted to play in the sand box. Well, at least that kept them close together so John and I could talk. John had to leave pretty quickly, but there was an ice cream social going on in Eberwhite. Lots of activities for the kids, so Xander had a great time. One of my favorite pictures ever is the one with blue hands. So cute! After all that, I went out with Mohan and his wife to Grizzly Peak. What a busy day! |
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Friday, April 28 - brehob: Henry Marik Brehob Mark, Kat, and Kira have a new baby! Henry was born this morning at around 10:00am. He weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 21 inches long. He's happy and healthy and nursing a lot. Congratulations, Brehobs! |
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Friday, April 28 - whites: Playing Outside, Fantasy Forest We played outside for a few hours today, first at the park, then around the house with the neighbors. In the afternoon, my mom and I took Xander (and Kayli) to Fantasy Forest. It is a pretty neat place, but not any cooler than any McDonald's playland. Cleaner, though, I admit. They also have wireless, so when the kids are older and can play by themselves, I could use my laptop! How cool. |
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Sunday, April 30: Xander and his new John Deere Lawnmower Grams and Papa gave Xander a John Deere Lawnmower. He loves farm equipment, so that was a great gift! |