John's First Birthday Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite 1st Birthday pictures. He did pretty good. Had a couple melt downs... but John will be John. I really thought he was going to dive into his cake. But nope!! Just picked at it  here and there. That's  ok because we got a few nice shots.

 

 

Grace had swimming class today. She is now swimming just with the teacher. I no longer have to swim with her. Of course I loved it (NOT) but it was time for her to move up!! I did like spending time with her in the pool - but then it got to the point where she didn't want me to hold her she wanted to swim alone. Well she can with swimmies but not all by herself. So at least with her teacher she listens to her and does what she says. Ha.

 

Anyway- nothing else going on. Just keeping busy with our day to day activities.

Cupcake Time!!

First we mixed and mixed!!

 



 

 

And then Grace started eating too many sprinkles!!

 

 

In this picture I said, "What are you doing??... Eating MORE sprinkles?"

 

She said, " Ummmm yes!"  With a giggle. I had to laugh!! She's so silly.

 

 

 

After they were baked- we frosted them!!!

 



 

And of course added the sprinkles.... well what was left anyway!!

 

 

Time to eat it!!!!

 

 

 

When John is sleeping I try to do something fun with JUST Grace! I think she loves this time she has with just me. And of course so do I. Yes- she is sitting on the counter. It's her favorite spot. But don't worry- I'm always standing right by her.

 

They are both doing fine. John is doing better and TALKING sooo much now. His new words include:

 

"all done" Says it just like that- no joke!

 

"bubu" = Bubbles

 

"Ride"  says this with a lon "I" sound ha ha

 

"bike"

 

"Pop" - learned this at church Sunday.

 

"eat" now when he's hungry he will literally say "EAT" and walk to the fridge. So cute

 

Umm I can't think of any more- but I need to start writing this stuff down. Speaking of- I need to start updating both baby books. I told myself I would not get behind. BUT I am! Ha oh well. I'll do it one of these days. Just too busy I guess. People always ask me when I have time to blog. Blogging takes me at max 10 minutes. Not long at all. Plus it's something I like to do- I mean I have to have a hobby of some sort. Not all mommy duties right??? Like now I'm going on minute 8- so I better make this short. That's about it anyway- nothing new going on. Keeping busy though!!

 



First Pet

 

 

 

Like I mentioned before- Aunt Pam got Grace a fish for her birthday. We went to Meijer and she picked one out. We brought it home and put it in his new home. John kept wanting to touch it, so I moved it to the dining room table. They love watching him swim. She still has yet to name it. She changes the name daily. So I am hoping one of these days she will choose one that sticks. Ha ha,,,, but if not - then whatever she wants I guess!!

 

We had a nice weekend. Not too much going on.The weather has been nice so we've been outside a lot. We had a 2 hour play date Friday. That was fun!!! Grace has a new friend and they love playing together. They are in the same gymnastics class and they both do swim lessons. This week we are going to a splash pad with them. Then that's about it!!! Well parks and such of course.

Surprise!

 

Aunt Pam and Grandma came over to visit us this week- so the kids and I gave Aunt Pam a mini surprise party. We won't be around for her party- so we had to make it up to her.

 

They both went down for a nap right before they came- which was perfect. That way we could have lunch and talk a bit before they woke up.  (Grace takes naps depending on the day- sometimes no nap- sometimes a small 40 min.) Anyway- I soon got Grace up and then the party started!!! We had a great time celebrating with Aunt Pam and Grandma. Shortly after John woke up. I know he missed part of the celebration- but that's ok - he needs his sleep. Grandma had a great idea to go to the park- so we all loaded up in the car and off we went. The kids had a blast. I wish I had brought my camera. John was holding grandma's hand while walking around. Too cute! And of course Aunt Pam knows how to have fun with Grace!!

 

We then went to Meijer (a store) and Aunt Pam got Grace a fish for her early birthday present. I think Grace kept telling Pam that she wanted a fish - or something like that - so Pam made it happen. BUT- that's a whole different blog. I have pics of the fish and all that.

 

After we got home we all played for a bit and then they left. It was soooo nice to have them here to visit. The kids LOVED it and so did I. I love having company. Perhaps they will come more often!!  :)

Snake Attack!

Oh boy do these two have lots of fun with these snakes. We went to a petting farm last week and Grace REALLY wanted to take a snake home. Oh and she said John wanted one too- so we had to get them both one. They play with them a lot - so I guess it was worth it. John will take Grace's snake and run off with it all while saying, "Mine... mine.. mine!" Oh does that get her mad. She will say, "Not your snake John, that's mine!" But for the most part they play pretty well with them. Grace will hold one end of a snake- John will grab the tail and she will pull him across the room. He will giggle the whole time. It's super cute. I should get some pics of that!!! 

Race Day

Well here we are!! Yes- we did it!! Sally came over to our house bright and early. We loaded up the kids and Adeyiza drove us all down to the park. He dropped Sally and I off at the starting line where we checked in. NO turning back now!! We had to go to the bathroom- so we jogged down and back. (our warm up run) Then we started stretching and such. I just copied whatever Sally did since she was the pro!!! She's such an awesome runner!!! But- I'm in training .... so you never know. Anyway- Sally kept telling me how much time we had left- and when it was down to the last 7 minutes I got really nervous again. We were all told to line up at the starting line- so we did. Then... the horn blew! We were off. This was my favorite part- Sally said just weave in and out of the crowd! I was like ok... so we both just went around people until I got to my pace. Again- I'm not a fast runner so I know I slowed Sally down a bit- but she was there to tell me how far we are and how far we have to go. It was great!!! She was so encouraging to me!!! So we were running and when we were at the half way point I thought- this isn't so bad. Hmmmm nope!!! I got a little past the half way point and thought I was going to have to stop. Meanwhile- a little 7 year old runs past me saying good job!! ha ha. I thought oh no way- get going!! So I started trucking and made it to the end. I actually had a great time for myself. 26:32. Probably one of my best times. I know... I am slow- but it's about finishing and the experience. I came down the finish line and saw Grace, John, and Adeyiza. I am glad they were able to watch us!!! I am even thinking 10K soon!!!

Twas the Night Before.........

Twas the Night Before my First Race and I am very nervous. I'm running a 5K tomorrow with my friend Sally from Adrian. The race is here- and I know I shouldn't be this nervous- but I am. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal and that people do these all the time- but remember- I wasn't always athletic and in shape so it's a big deal for me personally. The truth is- I'm not good at running- it's actually hard for me. But I do enjoy the benefits and plus it does make me feel good. So..... I will post pics of the event.

Carb up!!!  LOL to Kathleen!! This is what she did the night before her marathon. NOPE no marathon here - and NO carbing up!! I think I'll be just fine with a regular diet. NO SPICE DROPS for MEEEEEE!!!  (Inside joke!) 

Asparagus and Oranges

John loves eating asparagus and Grace loves to eat oranges. I guess they have cycles of favorite foods- this happens to be the week of asparagus and oranges.

We had a great weekend. We went to Grace's friend Luke for brunch. They haven't seen each other in a while- so they were VERY excited. We stayed for a bit then headed home. Not too much after that I guess. Just playing outside enjoying some cool sunny weather.

So.... I received Grace's orientation invite today. Wow- can't believe it's almost time to start her back up to school. I know she will be excited once the first couple days pass- but I have to say it's been fun this whole summer having her here full time. However this school she is only going 3 days a week for a couple hours. She won't even eat lunch there. (Which I like her to eat with other kids - but they don't offer it.) So we will enjoy every last day here until she starts. Her orientation / meet the teachers night is in 2 weeks- but her first day wont be until October 1st. This is a 3-5 year old preschool but since she will be turning 3 soon- they said she could join. So I am excited to see what the year brings. Plus- I think she misses school sometimes. I try to keep her busy when John naps- but sometimes mama gets tired too. Ha ha.

Oh and about the naps. So- it's working well to skip the nap if we've had a chill out day around the house. But- if we've been really busy or had swimming class- then I let her take a 30-45 minute nap. It's much better and she's actually going to bed easier with no struggle.

This week is her first week to have swim class alone. She graduated from the mini 3 class now she will swim with just the teacher. This will be interesting. I get to watch in the window- so I can't wait!!!

Computer TIme

Grace and John love playing on their computers. They are pretty neat!!!

So... Grace is officially done with naps. Well for the most part anyway. Unless we have a super busy morning I'll let her take a short one- but other than that- NOPE!! See what was happening was that she couldn't fall asleep until 10 or 11 o'clock at night. So I started shortening them .... still 9 or 10 o'clock. So now NO naps. It's been 8 or 8:30 when she doesn't take one. I think that's the new plan from here on out. Yes- I enjoyed that hour and a half to myself- but I enjoy an early bedtime MUCH more!!! Plus- going to bed that late means not too much time with Adeyiza. So I am sticking to that plan from here on out.

John is so funny lately. Still wants to climb on EVERYTHING. It's so cute though b/c he is starting to name his body parts. I LOVE this stage. (I know I say that will all stages!) But I really do enjoy watching him learn all kinds of things. He will point to his head and try to say it. When he says eye- it's right on. He will kind of say nose- and now he's doing a "t" sound for teeth. LOVE IT!!!  He has also discovered the "T" sound. Instead of HOT being "Ho" He will say "HOTTTT" with a long "t" sound. So funny. So any word that has a T at the end... you will hear the "T" sound!!

That's about it over here. Today was raining all day so we had fun playing indoors. We went to Chuckie Cheese to play there. The one up here is always clean and NEVER busy. SO we like that. Plus if you don't eat there then it's not too expensive. Grace doesn't care to eat pizza so we just come home to eat. Works out good b/c they love to ride the little rides and run around. It did stop raining for a little bit- you better believe we were our for that short time!! The puddles are the best right after a long rain. They love to jump in them. It's all about fun!!!!!

Cousin Danny

Our cousin Danny was in Ann Arbor for work so we had him over for dinner. It was actually John's first time meeting him. John LOVED him. They hit it off. I was even thinking we could have left for a surprise date night!! Ha ha..I wouldn't do that to sweet Danny. We had a great visit and he even helped tire the kids out before bed. In these pics Danny would throw John up in the air. John would just giggle away!! It was sooo cute!! 

Devil's Lake Yacht Club

The kids all loved playing in the sand.



They loved the water. This is the same area we used to play at when we were little. It really did bring back a lot of memories.

All the little ladies loved John. Ha.... we are in BIG trouble!!



Grace and Sophy swinging.

Here it is.... the same merry go round that ALL of us girls used to go on when we were little. I just can't believe they still have it.



We went to the lake to meet Sally (my friend in Adrian) and her kids. The weather was PERFECT and the kids played so well together. I appreciate them asking us to join them. I'm always looking for something fun to do. After a while John did get a bit tired- so we had a little bit to eat and headed back home. WOW- they were out almost immediate after I put them in their seats. It was a nice and quiet ride home. BUT- when we got home- nap was over!!! I tried so hard to transfer them to bed- but nope!!! It worked out well though- they did go to bed early.  Overall- it was a blast and I loved being at the place where I used to play when I was little.



Playdough Fun!

We made playdough the other day. Grace loved mixing it all together. John loves to eat it!!! I knew he would so I kept his pacifier in his mouth. They soon got out the playdough toys that I used to use when I was a kid. I should have snapped some pics of those- but I guess I didn't. Anyway- they had fun for a little while. I'll have to make some more a different day!!!

Today we had a fairly busy day. We had a 10:00 play date at a park. It was so nice out today. Not too hot !  We came home and had lunch then a short nap. I say short b/c I am now waking her up after an hour. She is not falling asleep until late these days- so I need to adjust the whole sleep schedule. After nap we had to get a few groceries. Then outside for a while. We rode bikes, played with bubbles, chalk, water table, and of course dirt. I don't know what it is but they both like to play in dirt. Well I guess most kids do. Grace loves riding her bike now all of a sudden. She's even  a lot faster at it. OK that's about it. I'll try to post some lake pics tomorrow night.

Pillow Fun

This last picture was when we were on our way to the museum. I forgot to add it to those pictures yesterday.

Anyway- they love playing on blankets and pillows.

Today we went to the Devil's Lake Yacht Club. I will post pics later. I love that place and remember going there all the time when I was little. It's crazy that they have the same merry-go-round that  I used to play on. BUT... that's all to come later!!!