Duluth

This month we made a road trip to Duluth, MN to pay our respects and celebrate the life of Branden's Grandma, Patsy Thompson. Though the reason for our visit was sad, we had a wonderful time gathering and catching up with the Johnson family.





Some highlights from the trip included:

• Celebrating Branden's 30th Birthday
• Seeing and staying at Branden's sister Julie's house
  
• Seeing aunts, uncles, friends and cousins for the first time in over 5 years
• Annika's first experience with a dirt bike
• Annika playing with Lake Superior stones at Canal Park
• A chance visit with Annika's cousin Will
• A rest stop at a petting zoo in the Dells on our way home

We will miss you Grandma

Tulip Time

About a week ago we took a trip to Holland to give Annika a glimpse at our collegiate Dutch heritage. Not having grown up in Holland I didn't have a little Dutch outfit for Annika to wear, but we did enjoy watching Dutch dancers, some delicious carnival food, fun with our dear friends Courtney and Curt and of course, photos by the tulips.

This was Annika's reaction after I told her she was going to get a $50 fine for picking a tulip

Happy Easter

This Easter my sister Becca and her husband Chris moved into their first house. We had a lot of fun helping them paint and are so thrilled for them and all of the memories they'll create in that home. In-between the craziness of the move, we took a little time at the Peckenpaugh cottage to celebrate Easter. Annika had a blast pulling things out of her Easter basket and playing with Easter eggs. Unfortunately she experienced a little separation anxiety during church...I think we have a task ahead of us to make sure she likes worshiping at church as much as she likes her Easter basket.

Because of the beautiful April weather, we also had the treat

of a walk to the beach. It made us excited and hopeful that summer is just around the corner.

P.S. For those of you who are familiar with my mom's beautiful smocking, you might recognize Annika's Easter dress. I've been begging her to pull some of it out of storage and she shared some very special pieces with me, including this dress that Jacki wore for her first birthday. It was so fun to see Annika in it.

Not so good...

I'll admit that I'm the type of mom that takes hundreds of photos of Annika to get just one good one that I can share with all. I've had a few conversations lately about how digital cameras give us such an easy ability to filter out all of the bad photos and how our kids aren't going to have any photos worth looking back and really laughing at.

So...about a week ago I was in Chicago for work and because the timing corresponded with Branden's spring break, he and Annika came along. Since they were getting to spend a fun day without me, I instructed Branden to take a few photos. He's going to kill me for posting them, but this is what I got. I thought everyone might enjoy a chuckle today.

Nana's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend the Peckenpaughs all met at the cottage for a celebration of Nana's birthday. We went out for a nice dinner at Tabor Hill and spent some down-time playing cards and enjoying being together. We also took a trip to the playground and let Annika experience her first trip down a slide. She wasn't too impressed. Our dog Gordy enjoyed it more than she did.

We were excited to show off Annika's walking, but unfortunately she refused to perform when under pressure. Of course, as soon as we returned home she was walking all over the place. Hopefully one of these days we'll get a good video we can post.

Here are some photos from the birthday weekend.

Nana making Annika giggle

Playing peek-a-boo with Papa

First trip down the slide with Dad

Teeth!

Annika has been a little slow in the hair and teeth department, so when her 2 bottom teeth poked through the week of her first birthday, we (especially Branden) were pretty excited. It has taken a while for them to come in enough for a good photo, but I finally got one at bath time tonight. I don't think my cropping of the photo can disguise how displeased Annika was for trying to get her to show her new smile.

Happy First Birthday Annika

On Sunday we celebrated Annika's first birthday with the Peckenpaughs and Johnsons. Annika was thrilled to wear her special pink dress, open her (many) gifts and eat cake. Although we expected cake to be a insanely messy experience, Annika proved that she is a dainty girl by neatly picking out small bites. It took her almost ten minutes to dig into the whipped cream.

We remember Annika's first days so vividly, it's hard to believe that a year has already transpired. We love every day with her and pray often for her future and for God to shape us as parents.

Happy Birthday Annika. You are a gift.