Alexa

Pic #1 Alexa outside lovin' the kiddie pool. She loved every minute of being silly and getting wet - even though the water was really freezing!!

Pic #2 Ballerina. Here she is all dressed up and ready to get her picture taken for dance. Have you ever seen a ballerina cuter than this? I didn't think so ;o)

Pic #3 Alexa and I attended a "Fancy Nancy" party at the library. She dressed herself up in anything and everything she could find to "accessorize" her outfit. Please notice the "sleeping goggles" she has on her head!

Pic #4 Here we are with Alexa's sweet, precious, new baby cousin, Elyse Taylor Besch. She is adorable and, as you can see, loved by us very much!! Alexa is very tender with her and loves to "help" take care of her. Good thing she and her family live close to us now, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Doug wouldn't know what to do without Alexa's expertise :o)

Pic #5 Alexa just being Alexa.

Grant

Pic #1 Grant on his birthday morning - he's 2 now!!!!!! He's such a delight to be around. He had no clue what this birthday business was about but decided to humor us by smiling and clapping after we would sing "Happy Birthday" to him all day long. :o)

Pic #2 In the back yard on a recent sweltering day in Iowa. The water from the hose was so cold that he would fake cry whenever he got himself wet. Next time I'll have to remember to fill those things up in the morning so they can get warm for our afternoon swim time - duh!

Pic #3 Grant with his new haircut. He loves to get into Duchess' kennel so here he is all caged up.

Pic #4 Ahhhhh... Finally sleeping in the big boy bed!!!! I think this picture was taken the middle of April so he's been a "big boy" for a few weeks now. I can't believe how smooth the transition went. Now, on to potty training... (in a few months, maybe?!)

Pic #5 Grant just being Grant.

Cheeeeeezze!

Here is Grant posing for me. I love this picture because it looks like he's snarling or something when really it's just his smile while saying "Cheeeeeeeze!" He's so cute :o)

Curls

Alexa really enjoys her "curly" hair so she has been enduring long nights sleeping in her sponge rollers. "No pain, no gain" is our motto :o)

random

Hi everyone! I have posted a few pictures of Alexa and Grant below with a blurb about each of them. We don't have any "new" news to report - which is totally okay with us :o) Everyone is healthy and happy - Praise God!!!! We're grateful for the warmer weather and can't wait to get some more "action" pictures of what's going on with us in the months to come (it's so great to get out of the house :o) We hope this blog finds all of you happy and healthy as well!

Alexa

Here are some recent pictures of our big girl! Alexa has been practicing her hula-hoop moves at school so we thought we'd try it out together the other day. She's getting the moves down pretty well but I certainly need some more practice! She just loves to hold our puppy, Duchess. She loves nothing more than to snuggle her and pretend that she is the "mama" and Duchess is her baby (and being a puppy with lots of energy, this doesn't happen too often :o) The other pictures of Alexa with the "boot" (which really belongs to my mom) on her foot and of her holding a new "Aurora" (favorite princess) Barbie doll are from Nana and Grandpa John's visit to our house. They recently returned home from France and had to bring some goodies to Alexa and Grant. Our big girl really does seem "big" these days. She attends preschool, dance, AWANA and Sunday school every week; while her schedule is pretty packed, she manages very well. She's a very tender, nurturing and comical little girl that couldn't be any sweeter!!!

Grant

Here is our big boy. Grant is a very busy guy and, as you can tell, doesn't hold still long enough for many pictures these days!! In one of the photos, he kept saying "bye bye bye bye" and tried putting his hat and shoes on so he could leave (so independent these days!) The very top picture shows him being creative in using my George Foreman drip pans as skis in the kitchen - he actually traveled pretty well on them :o) I took the plunge today and ordered him a "big boy" bed. He has managed to escape his crib a few times but, for the most part, stays put if he's tired enough. I don't want to rush this transition but I also don't want an injured toddler. It's hard to believe that he will be 2 years old in a couple of months. Our "baby" isn't such a baby anymore!! Thank goodness he still loves to snuggle his mama!!!!