Baby Hadley

The Bell family is growing by leaps and bounds lately.  Most recent to join our ranks is sweet (and beautiful!) baby Hadley.  She joins my brother Quentin & his wife Natalie.  She also has a super awesome big brother named Brady.  We were lucky enough to FINALLY get to meet her at her blessing weekend trip.  It was WELL worth the five hour drive to get there.  Especially since I made sure that we were the first to arrive for our visit which entitled us to get lots of snuggles and cuddles from her before everyone else pounced.  And I will report she is MUCH more beautiful in person than she even was in her pictures.  Gorgeous baby girl....and she's not even mine!  ;)

For the first leg of our trip we only had to drive 3 1/2 hours to Aunt Cassie & Uncle Kyle's house.  They were gracious hosts and it was a wonderful way to break up a long trip with little kids.  Addison and Jonas LOVED playing with their cousins.  How do I know this?  Because I did not see them from the minute we arrived to the minute we departed the next day.  They all played in the basement and were perfectly content just doing their thing.  It was lovely.  They even got to have a slumber party with each other in Alexa and Makinley's room.  I went and checked on them before I went to bed that night....

Addison and Alexa have been best buddies for years now.  They apparently had too much fun that night.  This is how they crashed...

Makinley had issues sharing her bed with Jonas so he got a nice comfy mattress on the floor.  He didn't seem to mind.   

Now I know why Makinley wasn't keen on sharing.  She apparently does somersaults in her sleep.  It's best to let her have the whole bed.  ;)

We had a great stay and visit before we headed on to my old alma mater/town the next morning.  It's so interesting going back to Columbia and seeing how much things have changed.  And how much I'm reminded why I'm soooo glad I no longer live there.  It was seven years of my life and they were VERY formative years of my single-hood but I'm grateful for the opportunity to have moved on.  Luckily, Quentin and Natalie give me a reason to visit and reminisce frequently.

It only took 1 1/2 hours to get to baby Hadley and it was well worth it.  We even got to tour their new house AND I got to hold baby Hadley while we did it.  So fun.  I loved their house....especially their shady and grassy backyard.  So nice!

Saturday consisted of a lot of errand running for luncheon supplies and of course some laying around as well.  And what is a Bell Family weekend without cramming into a hotel swimming pool?

Brothers being lazy.

I had to squeeze this chunky monkey into her swimming suit and as you can see it was WELL worth all the effort it took.  She was so excited for her first swim!

She's seriously SUCH a happy and easy baby.  

Hanging out in the pool with my babe.  She wasn't fond of the water....it was freezing cold.  I wasn't fond of it either.  She lasted less than five minutes.

Then she went and hung out with Grandpa and was perfectly content the rest of the night....out of the water.

Posing with my oldest baby girl.  I forgot to pack their puddle jumpers so I was a nervous wreck watching to make sure no one drowned.  It was exhausting!

Grandbabies with Grandpa.  Brooklyn & Jase hanging out.

Jonas and Daddy did a lot of swimming together.  He didn't seem to mind the cold water or his chattering teeth.

Brooklyn did some lap-hopping that night.  Hanging out with Grandma Bell.

Baby Hadley...the baby of honor...and her Mama Natalie.

This girly is going to have the next Bell baby.  Baby Keston we can't wait to meet you!

And one more pose with Grandpa Bell before we were off to get warm and catch some zzz's.

Addison and Jonas were thrilled to test out their new sleeping bags in our hotel on their sofa bed.  They were wired and exhausted from all that cousin play but they finally crashed.

Here's a glimpse of all of our shoes while enjoying ourselves at Quentin & Natalie's house and the luncheon after the blessing.

I didn't get any pictures of the blessing obviously but it was great to be there and hear how special Hadley is to her Heavenly Father.  And I hope she knows how special both sides of her family think she is too.  We are lucky to have her in our ranks....I can already tell she will be an amazing little girly.  Can't wait to see her grow up through the years.  Welcome to the family baby Hadley!  We love you!