In love with my nephew

It's official, I am head- over-heels-in-love with my nephew!

Kiernan Addison Boyd is the most adorable bouncing baby boy I have ever met ( that may be a biased statement!) and I have had a great time with him and his mom and dad (sister Betsy and brother in law John) over the last couple of days.
Kiernan is quickly approaching 6th months and it boggles my mind how active and engaged he is in his world. He has a contagious smile and giggle that commands attention and he is now rolling over, scooting across the floor and bouncing around like crazy.
I spent Friday and Saturday nights with Betsy, John and Kiernan at their home in Rosemount. Friday morning brought about 6 inches of snow to Rosemount and so we packed up the baby and went hiking in Lebanon Regional Park. It was so beautiful tromping around in the fresh snow. We put Kiernan in the backpack which I eagerly volunteered to carry and went out for a nice 45 minute hike. It was so much fun!!!!
On Easter Sunday we went back over to my parents house for dinner and Kiernan was all dressed up in his Easter duds. He looked so cute, but we joked that he looked like the second coming of Orville Reddenbacher or the Music Man.
I am so excited that this little man is my nephew, and that he is going to have a cousin coming around the corner. I envision them being best buds, sharing some of life's land marks together like starting kindergarten, getting drivers licenses, graduating, and on and on.
I love you Kiernan and I cant wait to see you again soon!

I Heart MN!

I have been back in the midwest for a few days now and I am having a blast with friends, family, and Minnesota March.

As winter is winding down, I know many people think I am crazy for being so enthusiastic about being back in the crisp cool air. Admittedly, it is not the prettiest time of year in MN, but I am enjoying it all the same. I went up to Duluth with Laurel on Monday for a quick overnight, and was rewarded with a beautiful 4 inches of fluffy snow which transformed an otherwise grey and brown landscape into a fresh, white, winter wonderland. I was in heaven for about 6 hours until it melted all away!

Last weekend I was blessed with 3 baby showers! On Saturday, Phil's family honored me with a really beautiful gathering. Thank you Meaghan and Maddie for orchestrating such a fun time. We played some games, had a delicious brunch, and decorated onesies with puffy paint and stencils. One of the games we played was estimating how big I am using toilet paper. For the number of squares over my actual size, I was given that number of compliments or advice. I got some pretty good advice, some of the most memorable included:

1. Enjoy every minute because it goes so quickly

2. Don't stress out about the dishes and the laundry, spending time with your little one is the top priority

3. If the baby feels like it is coming out of your butt, don't worry, it WILL come out the right hole!
After all the fun with the Bonin's, I continued over to Becky's house for shower #2 with the Minneapolis ladies. A big hug and thanks to Molly and Meaghan for planning and organizing the event and thanks to Becky for hosting. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends I haven't seen or been great at keeping in touch with, and I appreciate you all. The theme of the shower was children's books and so each guest brought me their favorite book from childhood. Some of the highlights included classics like "The Giving Tree", " Richard Scary's Mothergoose Stories", " When You Were Born", " Goodnight Moon" and a bunch of new books that I am excited to explore.
On Sunday, I was blessed with shower #3 at my mom's house hosted by my sister, Betsy. This was a very exciting event for me because I got to meet my nephew Kiernan for the first time! He is so adorable! It was great to see family: grandparents, aunts, and cousins, and Betsy put together a great spread and fun activities. The theme was bees and honey, which I love, and Betsy made these great parfaits that looked like bees - so creative!
The weekend was a great welcoming back to MN. Thank you everyone who came to support me and my little bean. I feel blessed to have such amazing women in my life to lean on.