Celebrating 2 Years!!!

Our baby girl turned 2 on Friday!!! Aron, Russell, Sloane, and I celebrated the occasion in true princess style with balloons, presents, cake, and outside fun! After the kids went to bed, Aron and I celebrated 2 years of surviving Sloane...our colicky baby...our daredevil toddler...and our independent princess! We sat on the patio until midnight enjoying a warm breeze, quiet night, and a bottle of wine!

Sloane chose a princess theme for her party. I could not resist getting this balloon!

Yes! Another baby doll! Exactly what I wanted!!!

New doll house pieces for Sloane and walkie talkies for big brother Russell!
Sloane's favorites...her new doll and puppy! She spent most of the evening walking them both.

While Sloane played with her new toys, Russell dug for worms in the backyard. (Yes, even us city folks have worms in the backyard!)
Enjoying the cake!

Russell preferred the licking frosting!

Sloane still rides her new bike EVERYDAY!

Grammy and Papa gave Sloane a baby high chair and cradle for her birthday. These items are in constant use by at least one of the babies in Sloane's growing doll collection!

You can see here, Sloane has two dolls in the cradle. By the time she was done, there were SIX sleeping babies in the cradle!

On Saturday, we headed to Dundee, Mi for some water park fun at Splash Universe. The kids had an absolute BLAST! I thought they would need some time to warm up to the idea of swimming since they haven't been in the water since August, but NO WAY! Both kids completely passed by the "Little Squirt" section and headed right for the "Big Squirt" zone! Russell even passed the height limit to ride with Aron on the GIANT tunnel slide. I told Aron, "do not take him on that! He will be scared and cry!" Well, when I wasn't watching they headed straight up the endless staircase with only one intention - THE GIANT SLIDE! When they shot out at the end of the tunnel, Russell was all smiles and announced, "let's do it again Daddy!" He told us that it was "dark and fast like a race car." He went down this at least 6 times. Sloane was all about the "Lazy River." She enjoyed kicking and splashing in the deep water while I held on to her the best I could (she tried very hard to pry my hands off of her). At the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but talking about when we would go again. What a great time!!!

Aron taking the kids down one of the smaller slides.

After an hour of playing, I finally convinced the kids to relax in the "Little Squirt" section so I could attempt to snap a few pictures without damaging my camera.Snack Break!

Spring Break!

I had the past week off for spring break. It was so wonderful to have the entire week to enjoy the kids. I would love to say that I got caught up on house work and checked everything off my to do list, but I did not! Instead I slept in (if you can call 8:00 sleeping in), played outside with the kids, visited my parents, went to the zoo, took some long jogs, indulged in extra yoga classes, and wore pajamas a LOT!!! We even had an impromptu party at our house Saturday with some friends after enjoying a warm day at the zoo. It was nice to end the week with adult conversation (and margaritas)!

Here are a slew of pictures from our spring break week :-)

Playing at the "beach"! Gotta love their imaginations!

A visit to Grammy and Papa's! My dad fixed my cousin's old Barbie jeep so the kids had a ball driving it around my parents' neighborhood! They were way too adorable!!!

My brother and his girlfriend brought Sloane an early birthday present...a Dora bicycle. Sloane was too excited to take it for a test drive that my dad couldn't even finish putting it together! She has taken it for a ride EVERY day! What a great gift!!!

My parents gave Russell a "kid friendly" weed wacker. He has been using it to help Aron with the spring yard work. Don't you love the "safari" outfit that Russell chooses to wear!

Fun at our neighborhood park!

First trip of the season to Dairy Queen...yummy!

We had a wonderful day at the zoo! It was packed due to the gorgeous weather. The kids were most excited to see the gorillas and monkeys. I am so anxious for summer!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its Way!!!

We are getting into the Easter spirit at our house. We spent Saturday morning dying Easter eggs. Both kids had fun, but Russell is at the perfect age for this type of project. He was interested in every step and never left the kitchen from the time I put the eggs in water to the time we cleaned up. We will be heading to Aron's hometown on Friday to celebrate Easter with his family. The kids will participate in their first Easter egg hunt on the bluff in St. Joseph followed by an Easter parade! We are hoping for NO more snow!!!

Russell's Easter Musical

Last night we went to Russell's preschool Easter musical. He was so excited to wear his "musical" clothes! He practically inhaled his dinner and flew to his bedroom to start putting on his dress shirt and tie. After he was all dressed, he stood in front of the full length mirror so tall and proud. He said, "I look like Daddy!" I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was too excited to stand still long enough for me to catch the perfect shot.

This is Russell and his best friend William. They are only 1 day apart in age and have been together since they began walking. The two of them cause some major double trouble at times, but they love each other. I can't believe what strong friendships form at such a young age. The crazy thing is...William is related to my close friend Andrea who lives in Grand Rapids. We did not find this out until about a year ago. What a small world!!!

Sloane sat as patiently as she could waiting for Russell to perform. I think she actually sang and danced more than him. Prior to the start of the show, Ms. Rita, the daycare owner led the audience in prayer. After everyone said "Amen," Sloane announced her own happy tune, "AayMEN!" Everyone around us giggled!

Russell sat great with his friends during the program, but never uttered a word of song. This is strange for the boy who rarely leaves his guitar more than a few feet away at all times. Aron says it's because a true musician sings from the heart not for the audience :-)

A Day of Shopping

Every year the men in my family take a day trip to Dundee, MI to visit the outdoor store Cabela's. My mom and I take advantage of this day without the men by meeting in Birch Run to do a little retail therapy of our own at the outlet mall. Last year was Russell and Sloane's first time joining in on the fun. Russell hangs with the men looking at hunting and fishing gear while Sloane learns the ropes of finding the best deals in town! Sloane proved to be a born shopper. At noon I asked her if she wanted to keep shopping or eat lunch. She quickly and loudly announced, "SHOP!" She picked out water bottles for her and Russell and especially enjoyed finding new shoes. At almost two-years-old, this little girl already has an obsession with shoes! When I pick her up from daycare, she often has another child's shoes on. When shopping, she squeals with delight, "shoes, shoes" as soon as she sees a pair. Grammy spoiled her a bit this weekend by letting her choose two new pairs: white sandals with colorful flowers and sparkly pink tennis shoes. What can I say...girls will be girls!!!

Shop Til You Drop!

Enjoying a lunch break at Culver's....mmm...frozen custard!
The men (plus cousin Katie) enjoying lunch after their Cabela's outing.

Fun Friends + Cute Kids = Wonderful Weekend!

Fun Friends!
We had such a fabulous weekend! Saturday night we met up with 4 other families for a delicious Italian meal at Buca Di Beppo. Aron and I were a little worried considering our reservation was at 7:00 p.m. (this being Russell and Sloane's usual bath time followed by bedtime story and tucking in by 8:00 p.m.) but our children proved us wrong. They not only sat nice, ate quietly, and entertained themselves, but they did this for 3 hours! Yes, we had them out until 10:00 p.m.! We had so much fun! Thank you to our wonderful friends for getting us out of our house!

On Our Way to the Restaurant!

Juice, Pizza, Entertainment...Let's do this EVERY weekend!

The Guys... Aron, Russell, Sean, Graham, Declan, Dave, and Steve

The Gals... Jody, Tracy, Heidi, Mary, Kirsten, and Sloane

Cute Kids!

Russell and Sloane were absolutely adorable Sunday night. Russell so badly wanted to put his little sister to bed by himself. He insisted that he could read her a story, rock her, and sing her a song without adult assistance. I had tears in my eyes watching them. If only they could stay this age FOREVER! I pray that the love they show one another now, lasts a lifetime. I know they will disagree, pull hair, and maybe even slam doors in the other's face (sorry Keith) but please God let them love, forgive, and support one another forever.

Cuddles, Hugs, and Night-Night Kisses