Diaper Junction Give-Away

Love me some cloth diapers - and what I love about Diaper Junction is the option of "testing out" different brands to find out what you love!  Here's another opportunity to fall in love with my favorite brand - Diaper Junction's Gro Via One-Size sampler pack!

http://www.diaperjunction.com/72712-FYSF-Win-a-Gro-Via-One-Size-Diaper-Sampler_b_391.html

Feed Your Stash Friday - Enter a give away, test out some diapers, and if you don't love them - Give them to me?? ;-) hahah <3

Keep it fluffy!

A Big Day in the Haws Household

Silver Beach with Auntie Margaret

Well, it's been a big day in the Haws household today ..!

The day began with Ryan receiving his first post doc job offer - Yay, Ryan!!  Over the next 2 weeks he has 1-2 interviews scheduled and the opportunity to consider whether or not he will accept his first offer following those interviews ... AND ... he submitted his dissertation to his committee members for review prior to his defense!

DJ Tommy Tooth Brush...!!

 I am so so proud of him for his months and years of hard work - It is so bittersweet to think of our time here in South Bend coming to an end!  We have had a nice farewell tour visit from Margaret this summer - visiting the St Joseph Silver Beach, Fernwood, and local attractions like Fiddler's Hearth, the Farmers' Market, and the busiest place to grab breakfast on a Saturday morning - Annie's ..!  It was so great to have Marge in town the week she came, as it wound up being Ryan's busiest week - To have someone help out with Thomas and get us out of the house was terrific!

Our next farewell tour begins the first weekend in August, as we will have our annual Haws family visit from Rick, Kathy, Amanda & Clark - I've already told Kathy to start getting her list together of things they'd like to do while here ;-)  It'll be  a great time of year to visit, too - so much in season!

Toes in the Sand - Silver Beach, MI

Other highlights from today come from Thomas - the little mister decided to start walking!!! Not just taking steps (as he took his first steps to Dr. Rice on Friday July 6.... little turkey), but WALKING!  All of a sudden we were vegging in the living room and he started to crawl to the couch, stand up and lean his back against the cushion, and walk from the couch to the television stand and back, although my excited hand-clapping self distracted him enough to make him fall ... hahah

It is so so silly and amazing to watch him work on mastering his walking - those little baby bow legs, seeing him work on balancing himself, carrying random items in his mouth or hands, waving his arms overhead .... Here's a video treat for you all ... Pay no mind to the random '80s horror film on TV, lol .......  ;-)

The final big day moment for our family is from me!!  I eagerly sent off my Intent to Student Teach form as well as my Student Teacher Profile ..!  I am genuinely excited to take on the workload that is to follow - I have two courses to take this fall (Teaching social studies + teaching literacy) before I student teach next spring.  I cannot wait to obtain my K-6 license!  It is so exciting and groovy (for lack of a better word? hahah) to think of what is to come for our little family - By the time T is 2 I will have my teaching license and Ryan will be on his way toward establishing himself as a Phd in Chemistry ... Wow!

Another video treat - "Pillow fights" in our house have a brand new meaning ...

This week Thomas and I are taking a 2-day trip to Indianapolis to see our friends and explore a bit of Southern Indiana - Something we haven't done over the last 5 years!  It'll be the farthest south I've been while still remaining in the err ... midwest? ;-)

On Friday Ry has an interview and will be out all day - I hope to take Thomas to the pool if the weather holds out ... Alternately, I'm sure we can get some more "stuff" packed around the house.  It is a bit strange packing boxes knowing some will go to Minnesota ... and some will go with Ryan, where ever he may end up.  My parents have offered to drive down should we need the extra space when T and I make our final move up to Minnesota - some time in August.

I have so many sewing projects bubbling in my mind.  It wasn't until this weekend that I realized how much, exactly, I depleted my sewing stash when I participated in a garage sale last month.  I concocted not one, but 2 sewing projects in my head for a friend of mine (as we were invited to her wedding reception) only to discover that I was missing over a yard of fabric I thought I had (Did Marge take it with her? Did I yard sale it? Did I donate it to the Good Will?) ... I then moved on to another hand towel project, cut my fat quarters that I DID have ... only to discover that I had donated the actual hand towels to the Good Will ... hahah

Needless to say ... It is about time to pack up my sewing machine and fabric stash since I am at a bit of a stand-still until all of this excitement settles down.   <3

What Happened to June?

Mmm ice!

Woah, Long time no update!  Things here in Indiana have been wildly busy ... From chasing T around the house to being on Mom-duty while Ry works, meeting with friends, La Leche League, and Mom's Group ... heading up to the pool for an hour or so, or just goofing around in the garden ... June absolutely flew by!

Some Highlights -


Our little family had a 2-week vacation in Minnesota - and it was fabulous, albeit too short.  We spent so much time at my sister Margaret's new house - it is so perfectly baby proofed and centrally located to our favorite spots, whether it be down town for shopping and browsing, or up to Forest Lake for a quiet and peaceful reprieve in the woods.  (She even had baby proof locks on her cabinets, people! I don't even have those!! hahah)

Thomas turned 1!

Cake smash!

We threw a Birthday Party for Thomas at Margaret's house - It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, all wrapped into one.


I cannot believe my little tiny peanut-baby is one!  It's a bit unreal to reflect upon this time last year and see how different it is with a toddler who loves to go up and down the stairs, feed himself, speed-crawl all over the place, chase the dog, open and close doors, play tricks on Otto, brush his hair and teeth, throw balls (and toys...), stack blocks, put on necklaces, snuggle, hug and kiss, and get into all kinds of mischief .... compared to our life last summer with a very new little baby!  .. and yet so many things are the same: changing diapers, affectionately caring for a little life, laughing at new milestones and antics with Ryan, laundry laundry laundry .. hahah these lists could just go on and on.

Here are some birthday photos -

Dad + Tom

Mom + Papa + Tom

Birthday Wall - Photos from Birth to 1

Peter Rabbit Theme - Carrot Cake, anyone?

"I love balloons!"

Nomnomnom Cake!

"Hey mom, this is good stuff!"

Frosting + Cement = Slip!

  

Taking 1 for the Team / Tired Birthday boy!

The day went so so quickly ... I wish we had had more time to enjoy the company of our guests =)  The day was hot, spotted with rain and sun - needless to say our balloons and birthday banner didn't survive the weather!

T + Uncle Ry = Love!

 On our visit, T fell in love with his aunties, cousins, Uncle Ryan, grampas and grammas.  It was so sweet to see him be affectionate and friendly with our family.  We are eager for our next visit home, which may be a bit more permanent for Thomas and me. 

Who doesn't love Zelda?

Ryan received an award for excellence in teaching that is awarded to the top 10% of teaching assistants at Notre Dame - pretty cool, huh?  We attended the awards dinner a few months ago, and as one of the guest speakers was describing the rewards of being a teacher I was bitten by the teaching bug - I felt "called" to teach - not necessarily in that Jesus-peaked-at-me-thru-the-clouds sense ... but in the "Man-alive-this-is-what-I-love" meaning of the word.

Baby Love <3

In honor of said mission, I've applied and been admitted to the MaT program at Hamline ... and since I've got so many courses completed as an undergrad student, I only need to take 2 courses before I student teach ... and both are offered this fall!

Ryan and I decided to spend a year apart (or rather 2-12 week periods...) so I can get my K-6 license while he works as  Post Doc ... Not going to lie, I am a little bit scared ... but I know my family will support me when I need it ... and as Ryan said ... he'll always be a plane ride away ... or a car trip ... and we are no strangers to those.

In other news, we are taking summer one day at a time.  We've fallen in love with the pool - the wading pool and the Big Kid pool.  Thomas loves to watch the big kids splash, play and swim ... and they love to swim around us and pop out of the water to say "Hello" to Thomas!  It is hard to find a balance of outdoor time and cool indoor time while also mixing up our routine enough to evade boredom.  For both of us. Hahah  Thomas can successfully navigate the stairs, turning around to go down "feet first" at the top.  He enjoys standing at the open railing and talking, waving, sitting ... and has discovered how exciting it is to throw things from the top of the stairs <palm-to-face> ... phew he's a busy guy!

Thomas is sprouting 4 new teeth and growing 2 molars, so he can be a wreck from time to time ... but it's nothing we can't handle with ice cubes, soft fruits and scratchy toast.  He's been sleeping thru the night, so we can't complain too much on that front. =)

Ryan is still awaiting an offer on a post doc position - he's got some nets cast wide, so it really is just a waiting game...  He's anticipating completion of his dissertation early this month and defending later this month ... it's sort of unbelievable to realize that our time in South Bend is coming to an end - it'll be bittersweet to pack up this apartment and leave South Bend behind.  There are things we've come to love and times we've been so pleased to leave behind and forget about ... 

Needless to say, we've been very busy and we are anticipating another very busy year ahead!