Hannah's blessing

The main reason Nathan and I took a trip out to California was so that we could bless Hannah. We thought about having the blessing here in Iowa, but no family members would have been able to attend. So we packed our bags and headed to the west coast.

Today Nathan blessed Hannah and we definitely experienced some tender mercies. Below are some pictures of the special day.

Here is a picture of Hannah in her blessing dress (this photo was actually taken in December).

There is a history with this white dress: My Grandmother Wilkerson purchased this dress for my mom back in the 70s. My mom had all of my sisters, and myself, blessed in this dress. She has kept the dress these 30+ years so I decided to have Hannah wear it for her special day.

Here is a picture with the entire group.

The Culmer family.

Rachel's family.

Hannah and her great grandparents.

A four generation shot.

Nathan's family.

Hannah and some of her cousins.

Birthday celebration

Nathan's birthday was a few weeks ago, but I did absolutely nothing to make it special for him as #1 I was recovering from being sick and #2 because I was still adjusting to a newborn baby (who at the time was recovering from an ear infection). So with some help from my mom we did a belated birthday celebration. We had family over, along with some good friends, ate lots of food and played games (Settlers of Catan, Blast from the Past, Nertz, and had a puzzle race).

Here is the birthday boy getting ready to blow out the candles on the cupcakes.

Happy belated birthday honey.

Aquarium of the Pacific

On January 21st, my family headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The weather in Southern California was SO FABULOUS! It was in the high 70s that day and I did not miss Iowa one bit!

Here is my mom, my sister Katherine, and I feeding the Lorikeets.

I love feeding the Lorikeets. They are such fun and colorful birds.

And one of the Lorikeets decided to give me a present.

Eeewwww is correct!

We got to see all kinds of fishes and animals: sharks, sting rays, jelly fish, some Nemo's friends, and we got to watch a show about sea lions and seals.

And a family outing would not be the same without a photo shoot. So here we are in Long Beach next to the harbor. Look at that beautiful sky and those tall palm trees. I love it!

Thanks Dad for taking us to the Aquarium!

Pre-engagement photo

When we found out we were having a girl back in July, Nathan and his friend Dave instantly made an arranged marriage. Yep, they betrothed our children. And last night the two "love birds" met for the first time and had some photos taken. It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for these two kiddos.

Happy Birthday

Nathan had another birthday! So how did he spend it?

First he spent the day working, then he went to the DMV to renew his drivers license, and then we went to go run some errands. We went to go pick up pictures from JC Penny's in Cedar Rapids, then we went to Sam's club to stock up on a few household items, and finally at about 8:00 pm we finally made it to a restaurant and went out to dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the entire day. But here are some pictures that we took while Nathan's parents were in town.

When we go out to California in a few weeks we are going to celebrate his birthday with a few more exciting events (and hopefully I'll remember to take a few pictures of the event). Happy Birthday Nathan!

It's Mom's fault...

Last week I somehow managed to get sick. I think it was a combination of the holidays, lack of sleep, and being a little fatigued. The unfortunate thing is now Hannah has an ear infection--and it's all my fault. However, Nathan just informed me that he had a lot of ear problems when he was younger. So maybe it's not all my fault.

She also has developed a sweat rash on her face, and her skin is starting to dry out a little. Again, Mom's fault. Poor Hannah has inherited sensitive skin from her mother. And the Iowa weather DOES NOT help with sensitive skin.

Sorry sweetheart. It will be interesting to see what else your parents have passed on to you.

First birthday cake

Nathan and I had a very good friend over for dinner tonight and look what he brought for dessert:

He brought Hannah's first birthday cake. That's right...our sweet little baby is 1 month old.

Culmer Time

Nathan's parents came to Iowa to visit for the holidays. It was nice to be around family during Christmas and the New Year. They immediately fell in love with Hannah. But let's be honest...who would not fall in love with her. She is such a sweet little snuggle bug (and no, I'm not biased).

During their visit we decided to take some family portraits. Hannah did not cooperate as well as she did when my mom was here. We did a photo shoot mid-feeding so she was a little fussy.

And believe it or not Kronk actually enjoyed their visit as well. He LOVED snooping and sniffing around in their luggage. Several hours after Nathan's parents left I was doing laundry and I noticed this:

During the Culmers' stay, Kronk would not sleep on their blankets. He usually just kept to his area and slept in his hammock. It appears however that he has rekindled his love for snoozing on blankets.

Thanks Roz and LaMar for coming out to visit. It was nice to have you and we are really grateful for all your help.