Playgroup at our house

Today we hosted playgroup in our new house for the first time. One nice perk of not having much furniture is that there is lots of space for running and playing. The kids had a great time and Anna enjoyed having them over.

Anna and McKeiley snuggling on Christine's lap.

Lucas, Rowan, McKeiley and Anna having a snack.

Visiting Frederick Meijer Gardens with Grandma and Grandpa Van Hal

This is Anna "taking a nap"

Just hanging out

More of Anna's favorite things: playing with Daddy, blocks, coloring, and water play.

Happy Fourth of July!

We had such a fun day today! First we took Anna to her first Fourth of July parade. She was a little bit afraid of the loud sirens but otherwise loved it. Then we went to a small community fair where we let Anna choose a wooden toy from a local craftsman (she chose a helicopter) and went on her first big girl ride. We thought the ride might be a little scary for her since we couldn't come with her, but she absolutely loved it. She grinned the whole time and cried when it was over. Next we headed home for lunch. I attempted to make my first potato salad using the red, white and blue potatoes from our farm share and Anna and Bryan played with blocks. In the evening we went to a park where Anna (and Bryan) had a ball playing in the sand. What a fun day!

Anna having a snuggle with Daddy while we waited for the parade to start.

Anna's first big girl ride!

Of course Anna's new helicopter had to be included in the block fun.

Wiped out after a busy morning.

The red, white and blue potatoes before...

... and after.

Checking out the sand pit at the park.

Anna's first potty!

Anna's first haircut

Anna was a very brave girl for her first haircut! We just trimmed her bangs. Afterwards we went out to eat to celebrate. The restaurant had TVs all over tuned to different stations and we discovered that Anna adores monster trucks.

The last photos before the big haircut

Anna is going to have her very first haircut later today, so here are some "before" photos. Anna has just begun to stack her blocks well and she's very proud of herself.

One of the many benefits of having more house than furniture...

We're still here

The Van Hal clan is still here, just super busy! I apologize for the lack of updates. Today I will restart my quest to catch up- I think as far as the blog goes we're still stuck in April (for a laugh be sure to check out the video I posted yesterday for April 23rd- drama queen).

For now, though, here's some current news from our family.

We've been living in our new house for just over three weeks and Anna is absolutely loving it (as are we). She loves having lots more space to run around and play with her toys. One of her favorite new hobbies is to transfer objects from one room to another, resulting in me finding some items in interesting locations- for example, a half-eaten apple in the bathtub. Anna has been taking full advantage of the fact that Bryan and I have not gotten around to putting latches on the kitchen cabinets and drawers. She enjoys scattering random kitchen items all around. Anna has also been honing her climbing skills by practicing getting on the couch, climbing into her high chair, climbing onto the dining room table, etc. Oh, joy.

Anna's vocabulary has expanded dramatically to fit her new surroundings. Up until a month or two ago her words/signs were somewhat limited, but she's suddenly surprising us with new words all the time. Here are some she has picked up since we've moved:

lawnmower
mulch
dirt
peach
cucumber
hurt
aw
ouch
blanket
swing (for some reason, Anna says "eesh" for swing, so I'm not sure that this one counts)
stop
go
helicopter
box
chair
drink
pancake
crash
trash
cheek
kick
push

Hmmm... that's all the news I can think of for now, I'll try to post more later!