Grace Evelyn- 18 months!

This precious little girl of ours is already 18 months old.  I can't even believe it!  She becomes more and more of a little "person" and less like a baby with each day that passes.  We about fell over last week when she repeated a sentence Kevin had just said ("I don't know") and now repeats it on command along with others.
She loves:

• playing with the big kids
• finding any marker, pen, stamp, etc. lying around the house and decorating herself
• stealing mommy's make-up
• trying on anybody's shoes she can get her hands on
• reading books
• taking stuff out of the pantry and telling us she wants to eat
• her pillow pet Panda- she sleeps with him every night and naptime
• dancing- she's a hip hop/pop music lover for sure
• anything Elmo (she actually screams his name when she sees things at the store)

We are getting some glimpses of the "terrible twos" more frequently.  She makes her opinion known and certainly sticks up for herself.....most situations involving her loving big brother.  For the most part she's a fun-loving and entertaining little girl.  We just love her to pieces!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We took the kids downtown for their Santa pic this afternoon.  Both kids were excited to see the enormous tree in Riverpark Square, so much that Grace didn't even notice the man in the red suit until we were at the front of the line (by the way there were only 3 groups in front of us.....have I mentioned how much I love Spokane?)  G let out a squeal when she saw Santa or "Anta" as she calls him.  It was hard to get her to look at the camera because she would have rather chatted it up with the old guy.  Dylan of course was an old pro and kept his winning smile through all the shots.  He asked for a telescope, a hex bug, and an etch a sketch.  He was super impressed that Santa guessed his sister would want a doll.   Afterward they each received a candy cane (a huge mess with little Grace who refused to let go of it and proceeded to get extremely sticky). It was a great afternoon and another successful Santa pic!

Halloween recap

It's November. What??? The mother of all kid holidays has come and gone, and Dylan is already talking about his costume for next year. We're knee deep in candy from Dylan's loot and the leftovers. Feel free come take some....I need to stop eating it!

 Grace loved the pumpkin guts.  Dylan still wants nothing to do with them.  Go figure.

 Our "master" carver.

 Rocking their costumes...Harry Potter and a lady bug (who refused to wear her hat/antennae). Dylan loved trick or treating, and Grace loved greeting all the trick or treaters at our house.  All in all, a successful Halloween complete with sugar highs and crashes.  

Kiddos

Photo courtesy of our recent family picture shoot.....can't wait to see the rest!

Dylan is loving Kindergarten. He rides the bus everyday, which picks him up right across the street from us. I absolutely love drinking my coffee and watching him from the front window while he's at the stop with the other kids. He's just so thrilled to be one of the "big kids" and I think he secretly loves the fact that his baby sister gets upset that he gets to go every morning while she's stuck home with me. He's been playing soccer this fall and has made a big improvement in agility and aggressiveness since playing last spring. He's signed up for Upward Basketball (a Christian sports league that is AWESOME) and will start that as soon as soccer is over. Thank God for an indoor sport now! He continues to be a sweet and caring boy and our little "rule follower" and all around good kid....minus the occasional 5 year-old attitude.

Grace is now nearly 17 months old (WOW!) and is by all accounts going to be our determined, stubborn, wild child. I say that very affectionately, because she is also just full of spark and always entertaining. She takes after her mama and loves to dance and sing. If music is on, she cannot resist the beat. It's pretty hilarious. Her verbal abilities are exploding right now, as she picks up new words almost daily (or atleast tries to imitate them) and she knows what you are talking about and follows instructions. She is currently obsessed with all things accessories- purses, shoes, belts and scarves. She wants to put on everyone's shoes and will empty a purse in a matter of seconds if you aren't watching her. She's pretty much got us all wrapped around her little finger.

Life keeps us busy.....and time keeps flying by! I'm just continually thankful for these healthy, (generally) happy children!

Lake Chelan 2011

We spent a fun-filled week at Lake Chelan in August. It was full of family, adventure, eating, drinking, laughing and making great memories!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Summer's Biggest Fan

Grace is most certainly a big fan of summer time. She absolutely loves spending time outside whether it's helping me water the garden, playing on the swingset, or riding her "bike" on the driveway. One day last week she woke up from her nap in a funky mood (this is a rare occasion, as she typically wakes up happy and ready to play) so I took her outside, started up the sprinkler and she did a complete mood transformation. In a matter of minutes she was soaked and loving every minute of it. To top it off, the ice cream man happened to drive by, and since big brother is already a huge fan of him, I treated them both to a frozen goody. The neighbor kids loved watching Grace devour her creamsicle in a matter of minutes. I'm pretty sure that I've just shot myself in the foot now that both my kids recognize the annoying tune "Do your ears hang low" and immediately run to the front. Oh well, that's what summer is all about!

And yes, that is our ugly dry patch of a lawn, apparently our sprinkler system needs some work!

Slow Down Summer!

I cannot believe today is August 1st! It doesn't seem possible that July has already passed us by and in just a few short weeks (gulp) I'll be sending my firstborn off to Kindergarten. We've been having a blast savoring the gorgeous weather and soaking up the sun. Between swimming lessons, bible school, playdates with friends and cousins, and spending some time at the lake, summer seems to be moving much too quickly. Now we are eagerly anticipating our week-long vacation to Lake Chelan next week....something we've been looking forward to all summer!

Dylan is getting so confident in the water! No more swimming vest or floaties for him!

Our little G is a fish! She loves the swimming pool.

Spending some time at Deer Lake.

Throwing rocks....seems to be a favorite lake activity.

Dylan and Dad heading out in the aluminum boat.

G loves her hammock time with Grandpa!

Hot tub? It was around 90 degrees but Dylan loves the hot tub!

I'm thankful for these two amazing kids of ours that keep life exciting. It's amazing to watch Dylan progress to "big kid" status (despite the occasional meltdown) and Grace is just our little ray of sunshine and a source of constant entertainment- especially her dance moves and constant baby babble. Their interactions together are fun to watch. Grace loves to copy her big brother- monkey see, monkey do! I just can't picture life without them!

Hanging with their Pillow Pets. G is obsessed with her panda (he's now a part of the family).

Sharing some candy. Grace wants everything her big brother gets. Oh well!