May and Early June-Birthdays and Beach!

We had our first family vacation this year - Oak Island, NC. The girls did great on the 15 hour car ride - split over 2 days. The loved the hotel and playing in the pool and dipping their feet in the hot tub!

They LOVED the beach - even more than we thought they would. Bella ran right into the water without hesitation and was eager to go in deeper with Daddy. Norah waited a day or so to go in past her ankles. Daddy built them "pools" to swim in and that helped to get Norah used to being in the water. After that, she was eager to go in deeper too!

Everyday we would get up and have our breakfast on the deck of the house and stretch with Grandma and Grandpa - hilarious to watch and the girls still do this! Then we would make our way down to the beach and stay for an hour or two. It's funny, as much as Bella loved being on the beach and in the water - she was ready to go home after about an hour and a half. She would start to make her way back up our path to the house "I go home" and was content to play in her coverup on the deck until everyone else came up.

After that, we would play on the deck, eat lunch, and take naps (whoo hoo! - we were worried they wouldn't sleep well because of it being a new house and someplace completly different than home - but they did! The water, sand, and sun must have worn them out!) After naps we would play some more on the deck or in the house if it was really hot.

Some of the days we went around town or drove over to Caswell Beach to see the Lighthouse and some really pretty beach cottages. We also went to another close town (the name escapes me) and shopped in some really cute stores. One of our favorites was a Christmas store - very cute things!

After dinner we would go back down to the beach and go for walks or play in the sand. Then, back up to the house for baths and bedtime. It was very cute, there were pictures of a sailor throughout the house - and Bella kept calling him Papa!

We loved our vacation and were so greatful that Grandma and Grandpa came with us. They had a great time playing with the girls and the girls loved spending extra time with them. We also recommend Oak Island for the relaxing area it is and the delicious food they have!! I was like a kid in a candy store in one of the fish markets - where we tried soft shell crab for the first time and had fantastic seafood! We also loved two of the bakeries - one on the island and one on the mainland....delicious!!!

Norah and Isabella's first look at the ocean - love at first sight!

Our water baby Isabella playing on the deck.

Grandma, Norah, Isabella, and Grandpa - one of their walks!

Isabella playing in the sand and water

Norah looking for seashells

Norah, Daddy, and Isabella on one of the piers

Norah's 3rd Birthday was wonderful and she had a great day! We were surrounded by family and friends, delicious food and presents!

Norah and Isabella putting their helmets on to ride their bikes!

Mommy and her 3 year old little girl - where does the time go?!

Norah, Kaitlin, and Isabella playing dress-up!

Norah on her new bike- thank you Mimi and Papa!

Norah and Isabella playing in "her" (their) new kitchen! A BIG hit!!!

Gardens, Trains, and Chicago-oh my!

This week Brian, the girls and I went to Schamburg, IL. I had to be on a job site, but it was so wonderful to have them there! They had a lot of fun, they went to Legoland and saw pretty cool sculptures made completly of Legos! They also went to a few parks, played basketball, and of course spent time at the mall!

Chicago in Legos
President Obama, Norah, and Bella

Bella playing Basketball!

Norah playing Basketball!

Last week, Mimi and I took Brad, Kiley, Spencer, Ashton, Norah, and Bella on a train ride to Washington, MO. We had a wonderful time-the kids did great on the train ride and had a lot of fun! We walked around town a little bit and had a delicious picnic near the train station, played, and then came back. It was a fantastic "DU" Destination Unknown with Mimi!

Norah, Spencer, Kiley, Bella, and Brad playing on the caboose! Spencer, Norah, and Kiley

Ashton, Brad, and Bella

Ashton, Spencer, Bella, Brad, Kiley, and Norah at the Kirkwood train station getting ready for the ride!

A few weekends ago, we planted our first garden. We planted lettuce, peas (which Bella thought were peas to eat and did so!), radishes, lavender, marigolds, parsley, and basil. The lettuce, radishes, and peas are starting to come up and the girls are so excited to see them when they do!

I dug the holes and they put "a few" seeds in each hole...we might have a lot of veggies!!

Easter Dresses and Kite Flying

Norah and Bella had new Easter dresses (and shoes of course!) and were thrilled to wear them today!

Norah showing off her beautiful new dress...in her big girl bed!!!
Bella showing off her beautiful new dress!

Norah received a kite for Christmas, and today was the perfect Spring day to fly it! The girls loved taking turns flying it and running after it...I think they enjoyed being the one to pick it up or chase it just as much as flying it!

Easter

The Easter Bunny came to our house and hid eggs in the back yard for Norah and Bella. They had a great time hunting eggs and were so excited every time they saw one! Bella became really good at getting an egg and opening it quickly to see what candy is inside!

Hunting for eggs...marked "N" for Norah and "B" for Bella!

Norah with one of her eggs

Bella showing us her egg

The hunt continues!

Gardening and Playtime

This weekend we were able to take advantage of the beautiful Spring weather we're having and garden! Norah and Bella have been so excited about planting gardens-vegetable and flower-this spring, so they were definitely ready to get started! We need to till the vegetable garden bed first, so that will have to wait until next weekend. The girls helped make Easter gifts for Mimi, Grandma, and Nana by picking out pansies, pots, and planting the flowers. They had a great time and loved playing in the dirt!

The girls got new building blocks a few weekends ago...Pampers points finally added up! They love building towers over and over again.

Spring!!

This weekend was a wonderful sneak peak into Spring in STL! We played outside both Saturday and Sunday and the girls had a great time! They loved helping with yard work...especially moving leaves from one pile to the next :)

Norah playing teeball

Bella helping to rake leaves

We played teeball and soccer and mostly just ran around enjoying the weather the day.

We also did another exciting thing this weekend....we booked our vacation house for the summer! Well, it's just one week, but it's an oceanfront house and we are so excited :)

October Events

Our little Bella turned 1 on Oct. 17, we can't believe how quickly the time has gone! She's walking (trying to run) and talking a lot. Some of the talking is still in "her language!" but she's saying a lot of words. We also started Baby Sign (thank you Aunt Mary!) and she's picking up on that really well!

Bella with her birthday cake...."Before"

"After"!

Bella opening some presents...such a cute Birthday Girl!

We had Bella's birthday party on Halloween, and encourage costumes!

The Cat in the Hat and Raggety Anne came! This is a picture with them, our Dinosaur, and (Haley and Larry's) Thomas the Train!

On Halloween we went Trick-or-Treated with my sisters and their families. We had a great time and it wiped the girls out! Afterwards we went to Mimi and Papa's house to Trick-or-Treat and play with them...it was a great night!

Group picture with Spencer, Kiley, Ashton, Brad, Norah, Isabella, and the "Cars" costume is a neighbor kiddo.

Our little "Love Bug" and "Dinosaur"!