HOLY TOLEDO!

okay, okay, i am finally getting around to starting up the blog again. yesterday marked three months since we arrived from portland. i know you've all been waiting, wondering what we are up to out here. facebook just isn't quite cutting it. i am here today to tell you we are all fairing well, getting to know our new city, settling into our new house. you'll still find boxes containing the contents of our office around the living room. we are otherwise nice and cozy in our new place.

my first photo (above) is a shot of lake erie a few weeks ago. we (some part of the three of us) have made a few trips out to the lake to different spots to take a peek. i hear it's usually pretty frozen, and the ferries don't make trips but between april or may and october. that is not the case this year, as you can see. it's clear of ice, and ferries are happy for some extra business, i bet. 

the first week hadley and i joined joseph, we were without our belongings. hadley was a real trooper, no toys, no furniture, no dishes. she played with one goodwill toy, and a new stuffed lion from daddy. she slept in her travel crib. she ate off paper plates on the kitchen floor. it really took a few weeks to get everything organized and baby safe. thankfully, we were able to quickly turn hadley's nursery into a similar safe place for her resembling her room in oregon. 

on december 17th, we celebrated joseph's birthday.  it was strange not to be able to plan anything for him that included his friends, but we had a super time out on our own. the three of us checked out a nearby restaurant, avenue bistro. it was delicious. if you come visit us, maybe we will take you there. hadley and i made a cake, joseph ceremoniously blew out the candles, and we sang to our favorite man. but our stomachs were so full that we waited until the following day to dig in to it. hopefully by the time hadley's birthday rolls around in june, she will have acquired a few friends. one cake for three people is a lot of cake.

we definitely want to thank our friends and family in oregon for all our sweet christmas gifts (mostly hadley's, of course) this year. even though we really enjoyed our first christmas away from our families and friends this year, we missed them dearly. all the knocks on the door by ups, fed ex, and usps really got hadley excited. or scared. if it wasn't one, it was the other. 

one of my favorite activities here so far has been "lights before christmas" at the toledo zoo. note: we went AFTER christmas:) i was so disappointed to move away from pdx, from zoo lights. we love the oregon zoo. but lights before christmas was awesome, and really gives portland a run for their money. we had a great time. we are looking forward to daylight zoo activities. our new friends zak and emilie tell us there are tons of baby animals right now. and who doesn't love babies?

this is another example of our unseasonably warm winter we've been experiencing our first winter here. hadley and i spent an afternoon outside playing in the sunny 60 degrees. there haven't been more than a few of these days, but i am under the impression that warm for a january day is unusual. it certainly wasn't what i expected.

since most of you have seen her, hadley has grown up a lot. by grown, i do not mean physically. she still barely weighs 19 pounds. i am more referring to her other milestones. in january, hadley got her first haircut (check out had's new bangs!) turned her crib into her toddler bed, purchased a princess potty chair, and learned a four letter word. we also left our high chair that was on loan back in oregon. so hadley has a pretty pink booster seat and now enjoys sitting at the table like mommy and daddy. notable additions to her vocabulary: orange, cheese, see ya, elliot, austin, justin, meemaw (grandma), snack, snow, duckies, waffles, flowers, colors, and peace out. 

we have had one great snow that was enough to last a few days. we went out at bought a hadley sled and a parent sled. the next day, we took little miss out to play outside our apartments. i think it is safe to say she had a good time. but did joseph and i have an even better time? it was good fun. i see our sleds outside the sliding glass door and wonder if we will get any more use out of them this season? it might be time for me to start looking forward to spring instead of gasping at the one snowflake that falls every few days hoping it turns into six inches. to emilie, my first ohio friend, i apologize for bringing the oregon winter with me. 

we were so happy joseph's nephew austin was able to fly to us for a long weekend. while joseph worked the week days, we spent some time home and did a couple smaller activities. this is when one of our lake trips happened. boy was he ever excited to see a great lake! i admire the enthusiasm of an 11 year old. we also spent a couple hours at chuck e cheese's for some cheap entertainment. $20 can last forever there. i have decided that's a blessing and a curse. the four of us enjoyed an afternoon at toledo's imagination station. to compare, it's the OMSI of toledo. it's been a while since i have been to OMSI, but i have to say, toledo might win the science center competition. imagination is exceptional. 

austin's trip also prompted our first walleye hockey game. it was a lot of fun. we know next season to start earlier and get a few more in. good food. good fights. good fun.  this little sports fan experienced hockey for the first time. i think he is sold. he stocked up on souvenirs, including a hockey puck for himself, and an adorable stuffed bear for his baby sister. what a sweetheart. we'd take him back any day.

okay, not pictured, but very notable. my mom, grandma beth, meemaw came to see us in january. we loved having her here with us, and not just because we got a couple of dates out of it. hadley was a lucky girl, sleeping in grandma's bed in the nursery was maybe her favorite part. my mom must have really missed us. she's been refusing the minnesota winters for years. also, when austin flew home to oregon, so did miss hadley and i. we went to start our wedding plans and spend some time with friends and family. what a busy trip! hadley's favorite part of our oregon trip was staying a few nights with her bestie, cousin elliot. mine was my date with my bridesmaids for their david's bridal fitting. check that off my list!!

so, there you go. three months in one blog. now let's make this a little more regular thing. we hope you are all well and happy, but also desperately missing us. 

as hadley would say, "buhbye, see ya!"