It's a Girl!

Today we had our 20-week ultrasound, which revealed that our baby on the way is indeed a girl! We are so excited and feel so blessed to have two healthy children. Here are a couple of shots of our little girl showing off for the camera: 

A Trip to the Zoo and a Wedding, Too!

Whew! This has been a busy week for us!  On Saturday, July 18, I was a bridesmaid in my friend Stefanie's wedding in St. Joe, so Jack and Joel came to watch Mommy walk down the aisle. Unfortunately, the boys spent the entire ceremony in the lobby because Joel was a bit loud and did not want to sit still. Oh well! At least now we know that our little man isn't quite ready to attend sophisticated social functions. Such is the life of a toddler. Fortunately, he did take time out of his busy schedule to take a cute picture with Mommy before heading to the reception. 

The day after the wedding, we headed to Omaha for a trip to the Henry Doorley Zoo and the Omaha Children's Museum. Joel really thought he was big stuff walking around the zoo wearing his monkey backpack. 

We ended up spending two days at the zoo during our three-day trip, so we got to see most of the exhibits. Joel loved all the animals, but he especially liked watching the monkeys playing and exploring the aquarium. I'll spare you the dozens of pictures of zoo animals that I took (I plan to make them into a book for Joel), but I will share a few more zoo pictures: 

We also visited Omaha's fabulous Children's Museum while we were in town. Joel was a bit overwhelmed with a lack of nap and by all the very loud children running around the museum, but he really found his comfort zone at the water activity center. 

The museum also had a very cool exhibit all about the human body that had a Sesame Street theme. This, of course, was right up Joel's alley. Here's a great picture of Joel and Jack in "Elmo's World." 

Overall, we had a lot of fun on our little family vacation. But of course, Joel was really the happiest when he had his "naas" (a.k.a. "snacks"). This child can really put away the animal crackers! 

Yankee Doodle Boy

On July 4th, Joel enjoyed being part of a Bethany, Mo. tradition, the Hogan 4th of July Parade. It was kind of a last-minute decision to put a "float" in the parade, which runs right in front of our house, so forgive the sparsely decorated John Deere Gator that Joel drove with Uncle Logan and Daddy. Anything goes in this parade!

Joel definitely loved riding in the parade, but he took his job very seriously. As the "float" drove by, I tried to get him to smile at me and wave, but he was all business. He kept his hands on the wheel and never cracked a smile! 

Here's a family picture of the three (or I guess four) of us before the parade.

Really, I don't the parade itself had anything to do with Joel enjoying himself. Rather, it was the lawnmower-type apparatus that he rode on. This kid LOVES lawnmowers, and I mean he LOVES them. If he so much as hears a lawnmower outside, he's at the window, nose to the glass waiting to see where the noise is coming from and if he could hitch a ride. Here he is mowing our lawn: 

And here is Joel sitting on his favorite mower of all, Grandpa Kelly's tractor: 

Joining the Blog World

Okay, so I've been putting off this blog thing for about two years now, and I've finally decided it's time to join the cyber universe. Wish me luck! 

Our son, Joel, is 17 months old now, and he is an active, insightful and curious little man who challenges me and inspires me each and every day. We are also very blessed to be expecting an addition to our family on or around December 17, 2009. Wow! Two under two here we come! 

Here are some recent pictures of Joel: 

Joel loves to perch himself (with help, of course) on the top of the couch. Here he is in Mommy's favorite pajamas.


Joel loves to hang out at Grandma Traci's house, but he especially loves to sit in his very own rocking chair when he is there. He really thinks he's big stuff!

At the end of May, Jack, Joel and I went on vacation to Clearwater Beach, Florida with my parents and brothers. Joel LOVED the ocean and the beach so much, I think we just may have to move!