April | 2022 | The Waid Chronicles

Another month down for 2022. This year just keeps marching on and I am being left in the dust.

We celebrated Hina’s 9th birthday on the 1st. How is she 9?!

We’ve had her since she was 3 months old. She’s definitely aging gracefully.

Then we got Little Man’s Easter photos done.

He had so many good ones!
📷: The Lovely Rose Photography and Design Co

We spent the rest of the day at the park with Indie, enjoying the nice day after going to one of our favorite pubs for brunch.

Such a beautiful day and we had a great afternoon.

Little Man learned how to blow on dandelions…then learned they don’t taste good.

We took a couple of weeks of leave to go to Nebraska, just in time for Easter and my 34th birthday. We didn’t do much to celebrate, but we had quite a few excursions and the break was much needed. We loaded up the whole menagerie in the Dart and made the drive home.

We started off our whirlwind trip with an afternoon at the lake. It wasn’t quite warm enough to be there, but splashing around is always a good time.

We even got to try out the real playground equipment.

This was followed by some frustrating shopping for family photos (which we haven’t had in about 10 years). With 3 girls with very different tastes in the family, we couldn’t make up our minds.

Little Man didn’t mind the shopping. He got to run around and play on a tractor display.

We finally (literally the day before) decided on black, grey, and red. I thought we looked pretty cute!

Sneak peek with the addition of Baby Sister’s boyfriend Bryan and dog Luna.
📷: K. Jensen Photography

We had a big meal on Easter with my mom’s side of the family. It was one of the biggest turn outs in recent years. I loved seeing everyone and catching up, so much so that I barely took any photos.

The Easter Bunny even found us in Nebraska. We put off the egg hunt until the tail end of our trip.

Quite the haul. Play Doh, new Bluey toys, a blanket, and an ImagineInk mess free coloring book.

Maddie was very helpful. She wanted an egg too.

He didn’t quite grasp that he could keep them in the basket once he found them. He’d take what was already in the basket and replace the eggs where he found the last one.

The weather was all over the place in true Midwest form. One day was a beautiful 65°, the next was windy and 45°, followed by rain, followed by almost 90°. On the chilly days we filled our time with visits and local food.

Baby’s first Runza. He was chowing down!

My aunt and uncle came to visit for a day from Iowa and they brought along (my) Grandad’s wife Bernadine. Can’t describe how wonderful it was to visit and for everyone to finally meet Little Man in person.

Aunt Judy, Nana, and Uncle Brad listening to Little Man’s fascinating story.

Bernadine squeezing in some one on (kinda) one time.

We got some health news for my Gramps last month (but I wasn’t allowed to mention it then), so I am so thankful we were able to spend some much needed time with him and Grammys during our leave over Easter.

Little Man’s first Gator ride. I used to ride on the three wheeler with Gramps when I was little, so this was super special.

Despite being shy at first, Little Man warmed up to Gramps and was excited to play with his old toys.

My cousin Scott took Little Man on his first tractor ride.

He wasn’t too sure about this at first but by the end of the ride, he was having a good time.

We had a nice visit on the farm. Though the years keep going by, it’s nice to have a place that always feels like home.

He wasn’t thrilled to have to be held still for photos.

So busy. Nana tried to help but Little Man was feeling ornery.

We wrapped up our visit with a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Despite all the construction going on, it felt like we’d come full circle since the Mister and I had our first date there and now we’re able to bring our first born.

The Mister, Little Man, Nana, and Grandad checking out the lower exhibits.

Grandad and Little Man checking out the new aquarium display. They have the same mannerisms!

Feeding/petting the sting rays at Sting Ray Beach.

Baby Sister checking out the Asian Highlands

This exhibit is fairly new and they did a great job on it

We finished out the day with dinner with the whole family, including boyfriends.

As always, it was really difficult to leave for Tennessee. It really didn’t feel like we were back home for 2 weeks.

Tulips from Nana’s yard before we got back on the road.

We spent the final week of the month trying to settle back into our home routine. Lots of yard work, laundry, and a more regular bedtime.

Poor Indie got very sick for a day (we think it was from the pest company spraying). She couldn’t keep anything down and was generally miserable. Thankfully, it seems to have been a 24 hour bug and she is back to her normal, Velcro self.

Dramamine kicked in and she slept hard that night. She woke up starving and begged for food (which she doesn’t normally do). I was so worried!

Little Man and I did a really fun Mommy and Me photoshoot on the very last day of the month. Can’t wait to share the photos once we get them back. We’ve never done just the two of us and I’m usually the one taking them, so it will be extra special.

I have a feeling May will either fly by or drag on. We have several things that could happen then, including a possible visit from the in-laws and Gramps’s big surgery (we are keeping our thoughts and prayers positive for an easy, uneventful recovery).

There’s also Mother’s Day, Free Comic Book Day, our 9th anniversary, and Memorial Day, as well as potlucks and hail and farewells. We’ll likely keep ourselves fairly busy as always.

Until then,

Cheers!

– A. xoxo