House Tour- Garage Entryway.

The garage entryway, though quite small, is one of the spaces we made the most changes to. I love it. There were three doors in this very small area- one for the basement, one for the closet, and the garage door. We changed the garage door from opening inward to opening outward into the garage. This was a really nice move in making it feel like there was more space than there really is. 

We also removed the door from the closet, so there are only two doors in the area instead of three. I love that we did that. It makes it seem much more open. It was a regular closet before, with a hanging rod. We took that out, because we have another coat closet by the front door (yay!), and installed a bench and hooks, and put storage baskets on top. It's so nice for hanging coats that you wear regularly, storing those misc. items, and having the bench is great for setting things down, like the diaper bag.

I also love these two things we have hanging in there- my sister painted this verse, and the black signs were a housewarming gift with all of our previous/current addresses on it. So neat!

This is what it looked like BEFORE:

Also, you can see the other rooms in our house here, if you'd like.

Minneapolis weekend!

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in Minneapolis! It was super busy, but we got to see lots of people we love and celebrate lots of wonderful things! 

We headed up Friday after lunch and headed to David and Jacquie's house (after a quick trip to Target, of course), where we stayed the weekend. They are our good friends from college, and David and Kley were roommates for years. 

Saturday morning we went to Rose's graduation from Bethel. She is marrying my brother in July! She graduated with an Elementary Education degree, just like me! It was great to be there and to be back at Bethel again!

Rose's family.

All the girls! (On the left is Rose's sister, Meagan, and sister-in-law, Maya.)

Keaton and Rose.

After graduation we had brunch at The Original Pancake House, where I think (no, I know) I had the best strawberry chocolate chip pancakes I've ever had. Then Norah and I went to a baby shower for Allison, a friend from Bethel, while Kley headed to hang out with all the Bethel guys, while the ladies went to the shower. 

After the shower, we headed to MOA to see my family and have dinner at Bubba Gump. So glad we got to spend some time with them!

Sunday afternoon we had a bridal shower for Rose. Here is her sister-in-law, mom, and sister.

We are so excited for Rose to be a part of our family! Yay for another sister!

Sunday night David and Jacquie hosted a BBQ at their house, so we got to see our Bethel friends again. It was a fun-packed weekend!

Norah- Seven Months.

Norah is 7 months and is getting so big! She had her 6 month wellness check this month and is doing great. She was 27.75” (96%), head circumference of 17.25” (84%), and weighed 19 lbs. (88%). She didn’t like the shots, but handled it pretty well. The doctor said she is developing well and can start eating basically anything whenever we think she is ready!

Norah has gotten even more interactive this month. She loves to be in the action and to see what’s going on. She does well with other people holding her, most of the time, and has been to the nursery a few times! She can pull herself up a little on things, but not all the way yet. She sits up well with occasional topples, and wants to go from laying to sitting on her own in the worst way. She can lift her bottom up a little and wiggle back and forth when on her tummy, but doesn’t crawl yet. She can scoot backwards a little when she really gets kicking and moving.

She can do a few tricks sometimes, like giving kisses, high fives, “so big,” and arching her back and going upside down. A few times she has been a show off, and knowing when people are watching/laughing, so she will continue to do something. (There were two times this month where she threw a mini tantrum and cried when we took something away from her, which was a first, but thankfully that’s not a regular occurrence, and hopefully won’t become one!) We are still working on baby sign language, but she hasn’t done any back yet.

Norah was on a really good schedule this month. She had been before, but her naps improved a lot this month. She has never been a long napper, but got more regular with naps this month and a little longer. She usually takes three naps a day now- late morning, midafternoon, and early evening, each about 45 minutes. She still nurses 4 times a day and eats solids twice a day. She is a good eater, usually, and eats everything! Bananas are her favorite, we think. She tends to like fruits better than vegetables, but will eat it all. Norah has been sleeping awesome at night and usually sleeps from 10-8:30 or 9.

Norah loves to go for walks outside, talk/babble, chew on cups, take baths, play with toys, sit up, reach for objects, and be with mom and dad! We think Norah’s front teeth are starting to come in, but can’t see them yet. We love you Norah!

Blindfolded children finding their moms (video).

Pandora video- Blindfolded children finding their moms.

I saw this video shared about 7 different times in Facebook yesterday, but it was so sweet.

I liked it for two reasons.

1. So many moms write about their body insecurities/how different they are after having children in a negative light. Yes, your body is different after having babies, but that doesn't have to be seen or taken as a bad thing. You carried a child! That's beautiful. Those kids knew their mamas. Your babies don't care what you look like, just that you love them.

2. I really think Norah has/will grow up to have physical touch as one or one of her top love languages. She loves to be held and always have me in super close proximity, so it was neat to see this because those kids knew their mom so well and could pick her out quickly. Thinking about Norah's connection to me like that is amazing.

House Tour- Some of my favorite things.

We have been in our house since Christmas now, and we are so grateful to have a house. It's so nice to be able to have a place that's really ours and to have more space than our tiny apartment before. Here are a few of my favorite things about/in our house:

Our nightstand lamps in our bedroom (from Pottery Barn).

Some of the sentimental things in our dresser in our room (the wedding figurine from my parents for our wedding, one of Kley and I's first pictures together back in college, and some gifts from my sister- she painted the "D" for us back when we were dating and she came with one of the weekends I came to visit Kley and stayed with our grandparents). 

This wall in Norah's nursery.

My travel wall in the office/den.

All of our important invitations/announcements in the kitchen (wedding invites, bridal/baby shower invites, christmas cards, Norah's birth announcement, etc.).

The light fixture in our dining room (from Menard's).

Our dining room table and rug (table is from Kraai Furniture here in town, and rug is from Target).

This cross hanging by our front door from our honeymoon.

This framed Thomas Mangelsen poster- I love his pictures and so does my dad, so it reminds me of him. And it's so pretty!

My great grandmother's china.

My grandma's piano with the hymns we sung at our wedding framed above it.

Our sectional couch (from Homemaker's) in the living room- I always wanted a sectional couch growing up.

Our living room lamps (from Pottery Barn).

Having a big kitchen.

This verse that my sister painted right inside our entryway.

These signs with all of our previous addresses on it, given to us as a housewarming gift. So cool.

Last but not least, having a washer and dryer!

Too cute.

I had to post this from the other day because it was too adorable.

While I was pulling weeds outside, I blew up Norah's baby pool and filled it with balls for her to play in. So fun!

Tulip Festival 2015.

This year was Norah and I's first Tulip Festival! If you have never heard of it, you can learn more here. Basically, Orange City is a very Dutch town, and Tulip Festival is a huge annual Dutch celebration.

Wednesday night is Ride Night with all the rides, so Norah tried her first poffertjes (basically mini pancakes) and rode the Merry-Go-Round!

This is The Little White Store where they sell the poffertjes. It's only open during Tulip Festival (so only open 4 days a year!) and that's all they sell. Pretty crazy!

Aunt Elizabeth and soon-to-be Uncle Brett came along!

Thursday my grandparents came from Rapid City, SD to stay with us and join in the fun. We went to the night show, which was Mary Poppins. It was super good and I was extremely impressed (it was put on by locals). 

Friday we hit the parade!

The Queen and her court at the parade.

Dutch dancing.

Sweeping the street (a big tradition!).

The Pride of the Dutch marching band (my husband's high school). They march in every parade and play the same song each year and Kley gets so excited every single time. :) Here is our cousin, Ella, marching in it!

Saturday morning we ran the 5k race. I actually convinced Kley to run with me! (Kley really likes to play basketball with friends for his exercise, but doesn't really enjoy running like me.) We got poured on while running, but it was still fun and I am glad we did it!

My realistic goal was to beat my previous time (since this was only my second 5k), which was 31:32, and my dream goal was to run under 30. I finished at 30:47, so I was pretty happy! Kley finished at 32:56 and I was really proud of him! I think that's incredibly good for not being a regular runner- even good for running a lot!

Saturday my mom and brother came up and we hit the parade again. We got some great tulip pictures after!

Great Grandpa and Grandpa!

Grandma and Uncle Keaton!

Tulip Festival, you were a good one. Until next year, where you will see us debuting Dutch costumes!