Groff Depot

A Day out with Thomas

2011-07-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am not even going to attempt to try and update from February so I will just start with some big things that has happened

Thomas the Tank Engine came to the Strasburg Railroad for a couple of weeks in June and Kody is OBSESSED with Thomas! So we just could not say no to taking him for a ride on Thomas! We had a great time! It was very warm that day but it was a blast to see Kody and the excitement of seeing Thomas!

"ALL ABOARD!!" Says Kody as the train starts moving for our ride

Heidi at 4 months old enjoying her first train ride!

Grandma Groff went with us on this memorable ride! ( I don't know why my pictures don't want to stay upright but here they are anyway)

Heidi Joy

2011-02-26T06:03:00.000-08:00

Heidi Joy Groff
Born: Jan. 28, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Weight: 7 lbs. 5 oz. (one oz heavier than her brother)
Height: 20 in. (one inch longer than her brother)

Heidi was not one to be hurried but when she was ready she was ready. I was due on Jan. 23rd but that day came and went without so much as a contraction. So at least I thought. I had my post date appointment scheduled for Friday the 28th. I was now 40 weeks and 5 days.

Anthony had off that day so he came with me. I am really glad he did. So we dropped Kody off at Grandma's and away we went. First off, the fluid check. My fluid was a little low. Okay... next off the the stress test. Not realizing what was going on i was watching the monitor and realized that according to the monitor i was having a contraction. All i felt was the baby pushing up.. (so that is what these contractions felt like!) I had two of them in the 20 minutes of the test. Then off to the doctor we went. Anthony and I were hoping that they would want to start us today but did not think it would actually happen. Dr. Habecker came in and informed us that while I was having contractions that the baby's heart rate was actually dropping so with that and my fluid being low we were sent next door to the hospital to have the baby. :)

We called and text the family to inform them of what was going on and we were admitted at 11:30 am. Talked with the midwife and decided what was the best way to go about this and away we went. The kind of drug she used made me have to lay practically flat on my back for two hours before i could move around. At 1:30 pm we started the drug. It wasn't 10 minutes that I was having major contractions!!! Not like Kody's at all! Did not like!! So, having to lay in the bed for 2 hours was not a fun thing. I had to get up to go to the bathroom a little after 3 and could not seem to hold it... I had the nurse come in and check to see if my water had broke. Sure enough it had the midwife came in at 4 and told us we were 4 cm. I was in a lot of pain so I asked for the Nuban (Spelling?) Got the drug and felt pretty loopy right away but it did nothing for the contractions!!! After another 1/2 hour I told Anthony I felt like I needed to push! I never had that sensation with Kody! The nurse came running in and called the midwife! Sure enough i went from 4 cm to 10 in a 1/2 hour!! 4 minutes of pushing non stop our little girl was born!

Ryan & Krystle's Wedding

2010-11-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

Our next stop for the summer was getting Anthony's brother Ryan, married. Ryan and Krystle were married July 11th. Only 4 days before Anthony and my 4th wedding anniversary.

We all had some part in the wedding,
except Kody but then again I think he was the distraction for everyone. He always had a smile on his face and could make anyone laugh. The photographers just thought he was great! I can't believe the amount of pictures that we have of this kid at the wedding and the reception.

(Uncle Ryan and Kody hanging out after the ceremony waiting for everyone to show up for pictures.)

("Aunt Krystle? What is under that big tent of yours?")

Kody dancing with his little girlfriend Corrine Hamilton (her dad was one of the groomsmen.)
Kody dancing in his chair!

Kody having a good time on the dance floor with his Uncle Ryan!

It was a long day but a very enjoyable one. At that point I was exactly 3 months pregnant and still not feeling well but God blessed me with a good feeling day. Kody was so fun at the reception with the dancing and such.

He stole the show but I don't think his Uncle and new Aunt minded much!

Kody's first Combine Ride

2010-11-03T11:13:00.001-07:00

Kody had his first ride on a combine earlier this fall!

HE LOVED IT!!!!!

They were in there for a good 4 hours. Anthony was in his glory too of course. It brought back some good memories of how Anthony and I met. Thanks to Nate Umbrell for letting us take your combine for a ride. (I am sure he didn't mind he had help for the afternoon.) :) Now whenever we see a combine he goes crazy and says "bine!" As we pass them in fields around our house he has come to the point that if we go anywhere he points in the direction he wants us to go. It usually always results in him seeing a "bine". He is such a joy to watch with the big machinery!!!

Update of our baby!

2010-09-10T16:28:00.001-07:00

Here is our second little rays of sunshine's first pictures. What a photogenic baby we have on our hands. We also got to find out the gender of the baby today. So hold on to your hats... WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!!!!

We feel so blessed to have one of each now. As far as we know she is doing well in utero. She does have a bright spot on her heart but Kody also had that and it disappeared before birth. So we are not to worried about that at this point. She is weighing in at 13 oz. She is kicking ferociously!! She is very busy! She is recognizing Kody's voice. Whenever she hears him in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning she lets me know that she hears him. I pray that they will be the best of buds.

Announcement

2010-07-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I do not have a face to see,
Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss.
I don't yet have a name.

Not yet can you hold my tiny hands,
Nor whisper in my ear.
It's still too soon to sing a song,
Or cuddle me so near.

But all that will change come this January;
When they say I am due.
I am the newest addition;
and I can't wait until I meet you!

All I ask between now and then
Is your love for me to grow.
I promise I'll be worth the wait;
Just think of all the joy we'll know!

So as you're waiting patiently,
Please pray lots of prayers for me.
I cannot wait to be a part
Of this wonderful family!

As you have read we are expecting our second child in January. January 23, 2011 to be exact. So far so good. I have been blessed with not being as sick as I was with Kody but there are still those days. Keep us in your prayers are we do this new journey. Kody will be delightful with a new little one around the house. He is already helping mommy and wanting to hold babies. It has been fun to watch him. Here is the official announcement! We love you all and will keep you updated as the time continues!

Blessings,

Anthony, Niccole, Kody and baby Groff

What a personality!

2010-04-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

"Hey Kody, smile for Mommy!"

This is what I got in return... the finger! :) What a kid!

Enjoying his pudding cup. Before bed yes. He seemed to sleep pretty good even though he had chocolate before bed. Oh Kody what would we do without you? Life would be dull that is for sure!

Kody has discovered how to stack the blocks on his own so this is the first attempt...

He is such a funny kid! He knows it too! If you laugh at him it only gets him going more. Such a comedian!

TRACTOR, TRACTOR, TRACTOR!!!

2010-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

It is so much fun to take Kody to the tractor pulls. He is so enthralled with them that as soon as he sees them his mouth drops open. This video just goes to show how much he enjoys watching them!

As soon as we walked into the stadium he was in his glory! He had died and gone to heaven with all the tractors that he saw! It will be such a joy to take him to the different tractor pulls this season and see his reaction to them all. He is such a joy to watch!

VERY, VERY EXCITED!!!!!

After a long evening he sacked out while watching the last class. It was a long night but an enjoyable one! Good Night Tractor boy!!!

Snapshots of Kody

2010-04-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

I have not been very good at updating this so i guess i better get going...

Kody LOVES to dance. He hears a tune and he is going crazy! I can't wait to see him at his Uncle's wedding. He will be so much fun! This video is a little bit of his dancing but then he has to tell me a story! :)

Lately whenever I tell Kody to smile it is this open mouth thing! So Dad had to get in on the action also. Go figure! He also loves the outdoors. So this is him staring out wishing it was nice enough to go out.

Just a shot of Kody and I. Kody just love the deer. So when dad found this shed he wanted to hold it and couldn't stop smiling... What a trip!

Anthony's Inventions

2010-02-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

Anthony has an amazing talent with metal. You can give him an idea and he can just about do anything with metal. He amazes me. The latest invention is a 10 foot extension on a snow blower for a John Deere Tractor. Not exactly rocket science but it is awesome to see it work.

In recent months Anthony built a railing for a Carriage House down in Conestoga, PA. I liked how it turned out. Here is some pics of that job also.

February 2010 Snow Storms

2010-02-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

So it has been a little hairy here the last week because of all the snow storms we have been getting. On Saturday we had up to 16 inches and then today we have added at least 16 more. Now as of today it is still snowing but now with the blowing it has made things even more fun. The area has virtually shut down and not a whole lot of people went into work today. So today was a "Saturday" for us. Anthony was home with Kody and I! What fun. Just sit inside and enjoy watching the snow come down and blow around. Being very grateful that we didn't have to go anywhere today!

For the Love of Tractors!

2010-01-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

Kody is so fanistated with Tractors. Any kind he goes nuts for them. Grandma and Granpa Groff gave him a 2010 calendar that was strickly tractors. His reaction is priceless! Enjoy!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Kody could officially enjoy Christmas this year.
He was up at 6:30 rearing and ready to go.
Mom and Dad not so much.
Kody got the opening of the gifts down pretty good.
It was fun to see him just go crazy with what was inside!
He is becoming his own person very quickly!
You can just tell by the face.

Big Snow of 2009

2009-12-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

We had a big storm this weekend. Starting Friday night and ending Sunday early morning. We ended up with 8 1/2 inches approximately. It is beautiful. We are just hoping that it stays around for Christmas! We will see. Kody was not so keen on the snow. Maybe Monday we can go out and give it a try. Usually he runs out the door but one look at the white stuff and he was ready to stay in and near the house.

What a boy!

2009-12-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

This boy will be the death of me! He as no fear and I have no idea where he has gotten that from! Just look at the face! He knows he is giving mom a heart failure. He will stand on anything.

I usually have a bear that sits on this chair. He has finally figured out how to get up on the chair and sit there or stand there. Whichever he decided to do at that point.

Kody is One!!!

2009-11-30T07:45:00.000-08:00

Kody is one years old!! It is so hard to believe that over a year ago I had only given birth to this little guy. He has grown so much. He now has 12 teeth and working on his eye teeth now. He is walking up a storm and getting into everything. He loves to hang with dad on the lawn mower. He always has a smile for you. It is such a joy to watch this little boy grow up. I just pray that we will live up to God's expectations and raise Kody the way he would have us.

Finished Project

2009-11-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

I think i had better keep my blog updated! :) (I will try and do better Connie.)

Here is our finish project for our kitchen! Yea! All done!!! I even got a new range! We use to have a cooktop there where the range is now. We had a wall oven next to it. We are now updated and I am very happy about my kitchen!!!

KODZILLA!!!

2009-10-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Kody loves to knock down the blocks when you build them up. i just couldn't resist getting a video of it. ENJOY!!

Proud Hunter

2009-10-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Anthony got his buck for the year!

We are so proud of him. Kody was funny to watch with it. He was all geared up to go out and look for the deer.

Kody's reaction to the deer was priceless. If he did touch it he would rub his hands together like he needed to get something off of them.

Kitchen Remodel!

2009-10-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

Our Newest Adventure has been remodeling the kitchen. It was a very 70's style kitchen. Gold appliances, yellow tile back splash. The people that owned it before us had wallpaper below the chair rail and a border around the top of the chair rail. I should have taken a picture of it before i started anything but i didn't even think about it. Ready for an upgrade. Now that the house is finally ours we can do what we want with it. YEAH!!!

The back splash didn't come off as easy as we would have hoped so there was a lot of mudding and sanding to get it all smooth for the other back splash we are putting on.

The back splash will be stainless steel. We think it will look sharp. The wall oven and cook top is now gone. We took the cabinet out that had the cook top on it and we will be putting a range in it's place! We are not all done yet. We will keep you posted!!!

Bath Time!!

2009-08-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

We can't keep Kody away from the bath. As soon as he hears the water running he is right there beside you and ready for his clothes and diaper to be off. He even helps to take his shirt off his head. He discovered that when you stand up in the tub and sit down really fast you make a big splash. I don't come away from his baths dry anymore. You can't get mad at him when he give you that big smile and giggles. I am a sucker for that smile!

Kody and his washclothes. I always have to make sure that I Have 2 when I wash him or else i don't get to have it when it comes time. :)

I think he is trying to figure out what I am doing. :)

I hope he continues to enjoy the bath. But who knows what will happen when he gets older. It will be fun!!

2009-07-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

Kody and I were able to go to Idaho and spend time with my family for 9 days. It was a blast. Kody did very well on the planes and didn't even act strange with my family. Prayers were answered!

Kody sitting by Grandma's feet.

For the Fourth of July we went to the Ross Park Zoo in Pocatello, ID. It was Kody's first time seeing anything like this! We had just as much jun seeing his face as we did see all the animals.

We decided to try and get a family picture minus Anthony. It turned out really good even with Kody looking at the camera!

Left to right:
Back: Mom, Addam, Dad
Front: Niccole, Tarynn, Zac, Kody, Tyrell

We all don't take a bad picture! :)