I know, I know . . .

. . . it's been almost a year now since I have updated this blog. So, why start now - how about picking up when Drew turns 3!?! Until then, just to keep you with me, here's a picture of my kids and their cousins at the lake this summer!

I will be back, I promise!

Happy Birthday to You . . .

Drew turned 2 years old on Saturday - I cannot believe it! I woke up that morning to hear him over the baby monitor counting from 1 to 10. How can this be??? It's like he was annnouncing to me - you don't have a baby anymore, Mommy, I am a big boy!

Several weeks ago when we were in Illinois, we had a birthday party for Drew. In Drew's eyes, this was the 'official' party because from that day forward, he told everyone he was two years old. (And, amazingly enough, a few 2-year old temper tantrums came right along with it). His favorite part of the party was the cake. We went to Disneyworld last spring with Grandma & Grandpa. At the close of this trip, he chose a Nemo stuffed toy as his treat. He sleeps with it everynight, so a Nemo cake seemed to be appropriate. This birthday proved to be very much about 'boy' things - balls, cars, trains, dinosaurs, etc. were all great gifts!

But, we couldn't let his actual birthday pass without a little more fun - and another NEMO cake. So, we celebrated again this weekend.

Happy Birthday, Little Man! We love you!

First Days of School

Where has the time gone? How can Ansley be starting Kindergarten this year? Well, two days of school are down - Ansley has done great! No tears from Ansley or Mom! She really seems to like it - her favorites of the day being recess and the bus ride home! (No, she didn't mention snack time - I know everyone is shocked!) Speaking of riding the bus . . . Yesterday, she was put on the wrong bus and didn't get off the bus that stops on our corner. Thankfully, I remembered there was another stop about 20 minutes later a little ways down our street. So, I went down there to wait - she hopped off the bus with our neighbor friend - smiling, not even knowing she wasn't where she was supposed to be. Today - they fixed it and she arrived right on time at the corner by our house! Talk about a little anxiety for mom on the first day.

Day #1 - Matt, Drew, and I walked her into the classroom. Day #2 - I dropped her off in the car line and she walked to her classroom alone! Very proud of her - as it is a little bit of a walk (with a few turns) from the front door of the building to her room.

Interesting side note . . . there are 2 Ansleys in her classroom. Who knew when we named her that she would ever have to go by 'Ansley D!' Let alone her first year in school!

Playing Catch Up!

Well, here we are, more than 6 weeks since my last post . . . oops!
Let's see - Ansley had another dance recital, graduated from 4 year old preschool, turned 5 years old and celebrated with all her friends, spent a week in Illinois with Grandma & Grandpa all by herself (and became a successful 'fisherman'), and tried to waterski (with success!). Drew - loves to play in the pool, is able to hit a ball with a bat, is talking more (putting two and three words together), and continues to smile all day long. The relationship that is developing between Ansley and Drew is precious- she would do anything for him (sometimes too much) and he looks for her as soon as he wakes up in the morning.

Drew and Ansley continue to make us smile daily and for that we are so thankful!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy ever!!

We Love You!!

A New Look for Ansley

First, it's the loss of two teeth, now a new hair cut. We were getting Drew's hair cut last week and Ansley said - "I want mine cut Mommy, just like yours." Not sure I wanted hers as short as mine, I agreed to let her get some cut off. (Well, looking at it now, it's nearly as short as mine). She LOVES her new hair style. She walks around feeling the back of her hair all the time. She also is quick to show anyone who doesn't notice that she is missing nearly 4+ inches of hair! I will admit, the short hair is quite cute on her, however, I am afraid she just aged 2 more years in the process.

I knew I had to get this posted quickly -

she keeps telling relatives and friends who live far away, "Check out our blog - Mom took my picture."

Easter

Yes, nearly a month later, here is an Easter update. I figure, better late than never.

We had a great Easter this year and were lucky to have Nana (Matt's mom) visit us over the holiday weekend. We had an Easter egg hunt with friends before Easter, dyed eggs, went to church Easter morning, and then had another egg hunt on Easter. Fun times!

Drew was interested in finding the eggs for about 2 minutes, then he was off to playing with the balls - his favorite outdoor activity. So, Ansley found the majority of the eggs. Drew did get into some of the candy though! Would I ever have let Ansley eat candy - including Peeps at 20 months old? Absolutely not! The second child has it much easier.