"First" 1st Birthday

Unlike my parents, we skipped church Sunday morning and headed out to Grammie and Grandpa's to spend time with the rest of the 'skippers':  Brian, Sarah, Carrie, Kevin, and Steph and Vince (Sarah's sister and brother-in-law).  We also moved our stuff out of Great-Gma Hohlen's and into my parents' home for the rest of our trip.  Thanks for the great hospitality Gma Colleen...you're such an amazing lady with a gem of a servant's heart!

Let the fun begin.  While waiting for our bellies to get hungry and for the steaks to grill, we headed down to the pond to do some fishing. 

Carrie reluctantly worming her line

Steph and Vince

That gal striking a belly pose is such a dork!

The crew down at the pond

One of the catfish that was caught

Natalie not so sure what to think of the catfish

When we heard the dinner bell ring, we all headed back up to the house for a delicious bday meal for Natalie (which she actually slept through) of steak, baked potato, sweet corn, green bean casserole, jello salad, and fruit salad.  Vince went on and on about how he had never eaten a steak of that size...funny...that's what we're used to!  Crazy guy filled his belly with not only his steak but his wife and my mom's leftover steak.

Following dinner and Natalie finally waking up to eat, we did an unofficial photo shoot.  Vince is a professional photographer and was nice enough to keep his camera shooting the entire day.  He took a ton of Natalie (click here to see them on his blog) as well as some of the entire family. 

Tony, me, Natalie, Carrie, Mom, Gma Colleen, Dad, Sarah, Brian, Biff (Kevin)

The girls, minus Carrie...I think she was checking her fishing line at the time

The grandkids and Gma Colleen Hohlen...hahah

Checking out some of Vince's photos

We then let Natalie open her birthday gifts.  (Keep in mind that it is currently October 10th and Natalie won't be one until November 16th, but we won't see my family again until after this second baby's arrival in January, so we decided to go ahead and celebrate Nat's 1st bday with the Hohlen clan a bit early...hence her "first" 1st bday!)

Her new shoes...she LOVES them

She also LOVES the tags on new clothes

Some of the onlookers

Great, now I have a vacuum buddy!

Man, there is so much tissue paper to get out of here!

My first dumptruck! and Legos!

Very interested already!

A quick family shot!

The 'soon-to-be' birthday girl...hard to believe she'll be 11 months by the end of this week!

Then it was cake time!

Aunt Carrie baked Natalie a bday cake!

She was in the zone

What a mess.  I'll post a video of this new experience for Natalie in another post. 

Uncle Brian gave Natalie a wild hairdo after her bath after cake.

And it wouldn't be a true fall day at the Hohlen house if we didn't head out for some clay pigeon shooting. :)

The bystanders

Sarah's turn

Vince's first time...he did awesome!

Tony's up

Kevin the "launcher" and Dad

Steph's first time...third shot was a charm for her!

Carrie and Natalie winding down for the evening

Saturday of Schinzels, Shower, and Sloppy Joes

Saturday was a fun-filled day as well. 
Staying at Great-Gma Colleen's meant a big breakfast each morning.  This morning we were able to enjoy it with my aunt Stacy Schinzel and her kids, my cousins, Riley and Clare from Omaha.  After breakfast, Clare presented Natalie with a bday present that she picked out for Natalie herself. 

Riley, Natalie, Clare

Natalie and her new boots...they're a little big still...funny to see her try to walk in them right now!

After breakfast, Tony headed to the field to help harvest, while Natalie and I went to Grammie's to spend some time with her and whoever else seemed to be around.  We started preparing the meal for a family get-together in the evening, spent time playing, and showered to get ready for my cousin Kelly's baby shower. 

The shower was beautiful and Kelly and baby girl were blessed with many wonderful gifts. 

Mommy and Natalie at the shower

Playing with the balloon centerpieces

Playing with her second cousin Ethan (5 months older than her)

Following the shower, we headed back out to my parents' home and got ready for the whole crew to get home for supper and fun. 

Cuddling with Aunt Sarah's sister, Steph

Riley trying out the pistol

Vince's turn

Brian and Vince on a four-wheeler drive out to catch photos of the sunset

Riley and Clare on the go-cart

The crew inside for some warmth

More of the crew

Jacob balling it up in the kitchen

Natalie enjoying the bag of toys

Hammin' it up for the camera

Drool, Stickers, and Football

We arrived in NE on Friday afternoon at 4pm, unpacked at Great-Grandma Hohlen's house, ate a quick meal with her and then headed back out to Grammie and Grandpa Hohlen's house to catch a ride with them to Holdrege for Uncle Biff's football game.  Up to this point, Natalie had been in the car all day on Thursday, and from 10-4 on Friday, so an hour drive to Holdrege was not all that appealing to her.  When we reached our destination, I took her out of her car seat while Gpa Hohlen searched for the football field in town.  A little fresh air was all Natalie needed!

What you can't see is that Natalie was drooling quite a bit, and like a puppy, there was drool all over the rear part of the window to the left.  Adorable!

Well, we finally arrived at the football field and made our way to the bleachers.  Natalie was antsy, so I decided to take her out in the grass and let her crawl around for a while.  After a bit of exercise she got distracted by some nearby gravel and wanted to eat it, so I picked her up and headed back to the bleachers instead.  To my surprise, this little lady was COVERED in stickers.  There were even a couple in her hands.  I felt like a horrible momma!  A quick pull and change of clothes, and she was feeling much better.  Too bad I didn't have my camera extra handy for that moment.

The football game went really well.  Halftime was probably Natalie's favorite.  She loved the color guard's flags and the movement of the marching band.  Uncle Biff played awesome, aiding the Adams Central Patriot's to a shutout against the Holdrege Dusters...28-0!  Way to go Biff!

Here is Natalie with her favorite player on the field!