June 2011- After the arrival

Life has been fun and wonderful since our beautiful little girl came home. My recovery has been surprisingly easy this time. My only complaint has been some awful cramping. I was up and around after 1-2 days, and Alyssa is a joy.
We have enjoyed the visits from family and friends. Aunt Claudia and Uncle Michael came up for the day. We loved chatting with them all afternoon. Aunt Susan drove up from San Jose and brought blackberry bushes for our yard. We have now spread the Hartley blackberries from Montana to San Lorenzo then San Jose and now to Elk Grove. We hope they flourish and we can eat the wonderful berries all summer long.

Our first adventure out and about with a new baby was to our friend Sam Sorge's birthday party in Livermore. We went down to the bowling alley and ate pizza and bowled. We had cake and the boys were in heaven with the toys from the party favors. We love the Sorge family and it's fun to be part of their major events. That same afternoon we got a chance to visit with Wendy and Bruce Darrington for the afternoon and show off the little munchkin. We felt really fortunate to grab some of their time and enjoy a gorgeous afternoon.

This month Tanner ended his CSD preschool experience. His teachers were Miss Mallory and Miss Mandy. For graduation all the parents were invited and the kids had a chance to walk down the center isle and accept a certificate. Tanner's plans for the future include: becoming a farmer, live in a house all by himself and get a dog. Tanner loves the monkey bars at the playground best of all. He also hates singing and being the center of attention. He likes math and learning letters, but his favorite time at school is recess.




June was a lot of fun for Tanner because we celebrated his 1/2 birthday. He turned 5 1/2 so we had a waterpark birthday party with all of his friends. Darryl built a kid wash out of PVC pipe and when the hose was hooked to it, water went everywhere. We also had a slip and slide, a kiddy pool and water balls that the kids could throw at each other. We ate 1/2 sandwiches and 1/2 birthday cake. Tanner got a new Spiderman bike and fun toys from friends. It was a great afternoon.


Father's Day was nice this year. We love Darryl and all he does. One night I took this photo because it's almost 1000 words about our life right now. Darryl takes it all in stride and makes life calm, steady and relaxed. We sent some love to the grandpas and our great-grandpa by making cards. The boys and I made some signs to send for Father's day and they had so much fun coloring and helping color the words.


I'm so glad my mom could stay for 2 weeks after Alyssa was born. She was fantastic helping with the boys and around the house. She took the boys to the creek to throw rocks, to the library and the park. If only we had great weather, she could have taken them swimming. We were sad to see her go!