Things That Happened In January:

Well, I'm getting caught up! Here are a few of the memorable things that happened in January.

* By far, the most exciting thing to happen in January was the birth of our dear friends Mara and Jon Bailey's little boy Elijah (Eli) on the 12th. We went to visit along with the Olson family and got to meet and kiss on this new little guy in our lives. :-) Eric and Evan showed little interest in the baby, but got some good time to play together. The weather was, again, unseasonably warm, so the daddies took them to the park to play for a while. We're so happy all three boys are now with us! We anticipate a lot of fun will be had in the coming years.

* We bundled up and got to use our new backpack carrier with Eric. It's exciting to have a new way to go for our family day hikes and walks with him, since a lot of the time, we like to walk in places where we can't really take the stroller. Thanks for the carrier Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Pete!

* Eric and I took a trip to Des Moines for about a week this month. We went to the botanical center, the historical building, and out to eat. We also made kolaces with Babi and saw a bunch of family and friends!

* Eric got his first haircut. It was pretty much a disaster. Maggie and I took him to The Lollipop in West Des Moines. They have little cars kids can sit in and have toys and stuff. Eric enjoyed the car and the toys, but, for whatever reason, he didn't like the lady who was going to cut his hair. He's never liked being handled, anyway, so, combine that with a lady he doesn't trust, and you're asking for a fight. He screamed with the first cut and never stopped screaming and writhing the whole time. He got a sucker half way through, which worked for about 30 seconds, then became hair-covered. So, about five minutes and one bad haircut later, he got a balloon and the horror was over. He loves balloons, thank goodness. He already looks like he needs another haircut, but we're just going to let it grow out some. I'm in no rush to put him through that, again.

Here are some more pictures from the month: