Beth and Jay got married!

We ended up in Kansas for Babyhawk's birthday (see post below) because of the celebration of the marriage of two of our best friends - Beth and Jay! Jay and Papahawk were roommates and good friends in college (people often mistake them for brothers) and although we didn't make it to the Dominican for the wedding we were sure to get back for the reception. The happy couple:

Guys from Papahawk's faternity days:

Mamahawk and our good friend Doug:
Papahawk and Jay:
Eric and Papahawk:

The guys getting a little crazy:

Congrats again Jay and Beth! I hope we can all get back together soon - it is always a good time!

Happy Birthday Babyhawk!

Babyhawk's third birthday was quite an event! We traveled to Kansas and met up with ALL of her cousins for a great weekend! We started the festivities at the T-Rex restaurant. Babyhawk and B sat by each other EVERY meal we were together:

Babyhawk and her oldest cousin A:

Then we went to see Despicable Me at the theater. With popcorn, skittles and some licorice - everyone had a good time! Babyhawk is sitting by her cousin K and then B of course:

The girls! A, K, J and babyhawk:

These girls are about six months apart and have a blast when they are together:

The next day we went to the Science museum for the dinosaur exhibit. We were joined by the final cousin E!:
Optical illusion at the science museum:

B, K, A and J flying a helicopter:
Babyhawk holding the spike of a stegosaurus:

Mamahawk and Cousin E watching the kiddos swim:

They got wild in the pool!:






Babyhawk was worn out and ready to sleep every night!:

Babyhawk had a fantastic time! Thanks to Geema Papa and all the cousins for traveling all that way to spend some time with us - it really means alot to Babyhawk and to me.

Babyhawk got a little slappy on the way home:

The Fourth and Birthday prep...

We had a great long holiday weekend, recovering from our CHASA trip (see post below) and preparing for the birthday celebrations! Babyhawk is all about demanding photos of herself. This was one of her posed shots:

Babyhawk and Papahawk dancing to her favorite song - "bulletproof":

And her birthday/good behavior present. Her very own firetruck with fully functioning water hose!:

Another posed shot with her dog "Ty":

Our little fourth of July celebration - complete with a firework show by Papahawk!

We started out with some classic snakes. Listen carefully to what Babyhawk things they look like:

The big finale was a couple of fountains... She thought it was pretty cool:

We finished the night with some fast running and watching the fireworks in the sky from other neighborhoods:

You know Babyhawk loves to cook, so we made cupcakes for her class at daycare for her birthday. Pink cupcake papers with pink strawberry cake, pink icing and some star sprinkles!:

We conveniently had two extras for these sweeties:

The finished product:

Have a great week and Happy Birthday to the love of our life on the tenth - Babyhawk will be THREE!!!

CHASA 2010 Retreat!

We traveled to Alabama for the 9th annual Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA) retreat. There were over 200 people there representing the families of children with Hemiplegia - just like Babyhawk. We were one of the younger families there, but we learned a lot and met so many amazing people. We have a fight ahead of us - which was evident from the older kids and their families - but we have a great support system in our family - which includes CHASA - to get there.... I'm ready to go back next year!!

Our family photo:

Babyhawk and I took a break from setting up for a cute photo:


The evening before the retreat started we had many things to do as a board member. Babyhawk made quick friends and cuddled up when it got too late:


Ready to go to the pool!:



The pool was fabulous!:

Babyhawk and her "girls." She loved these two so much! The mom of S - in the green shirt - serves on the CHASA board with me and L - in the pink - is from Singapore!:

Our group by age. We visited with these parents for about an hour and learned so much. It was also nice to see folks with the same questions we have on a daily basis about treatment and care:

More pool time!:

Too much fun! We missed the final night karaoke party b/c she just couldn't keep those eyes open!:

The ice cream social. There were clowns - which she steered clear of!:

She loved the fountains at the park right next to the hotel:

She was a little reserved at first:


But got into it before long! Papahawk had to carry her like a baby all the way back to the hotel she was so tired:


The girls doing some coloring:

This toy was a big hit with all the kiddos:


A final fairwell to S!:

There is so much to say about this experience, but I won't bore you here. I think Papahawk learned a ton, discovered some new and alternative therapies he is taking the lead on and found a new passion for CHASA - which is so great! I had mixed emotions, but have to say that joy, acceptance and a sense of community were some of the strongest.

We will be going back next year!!

"I love my daddy because....

...he watches TV with me and takes me bowling..."

Hot! Hot! Hot!

After talking to Geema up in South Dakota this afternoon about how her heat is on today, I feel a little guilty posting these... It was a steamy one so we cooled down with some good ole fashion sprinkler running!

Tinyhawk continues to grow! We are doing some big renovations to the house right now shifting rooms and storage to make room for the new addition. We have another ultrasound on the morning to check things out and get another peek of Babyhawk's little sister!

Have a great week everyone!

Dance Explosion 2010!

Babyhawk has been in dance since January so she was ready to perform when it came to recital time! Her class did a ballet dance to "You are My Sunshine." We took some photos prior to the big performance:

Babyhawk and her friend E waiting backstage:

Lining the ballerinas up:

The performance:

She did very well as you can tell! We have some professional portraits to share. Let me know if you want a wallet of her in this get up!