Tutu time!

Last week, Grace started a ballet class. She's in absolute heaven, and I am so thrilled that she's loving it this much. Her recital is Memorial Day weekend, and hopefully, we'll still be loving it because we already had to pay for the costume! This morning we were getting ready for class, and Jackson decided to go through Grace's dress-up trunk. He walked over to the 2 of us, grunted, and handed us his costume choice. Grace and I never laughed so hard...it was so much fun! After parading around in the tutu, he picked up a wand and started saying "bibbidy, boppity, boo!" We have been saying it non-stop since Disney, so this in itself wasn't surprising. Of course, when I grabbed the camera, he threw down the wand and just wanted to play with the camera, but this is what we captured! ...Daddy will be proud!

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had a snow day! Although it was rainy and slushy most of the day, it was still fun because Grace and Jackson both get super-excited to see the snow out the window. I didn't get the video camera fast enough, but once Grace was bundled up, she went out on the back patio and started doing snow angels. What was so cute though, was the fact that she did them face down in the snow! My silly goose! Later in the day, we made it outside with Gram to shovel the driveway and watch the plow clear the streets....Jackson LOVED this! Grace also re-enacted David's Disney Marathon over (and over) again in the icy driveway! She is such a ham! (Please ignore my voice!)

Disney Pictures

Jackson and Mama on the carousel

My precious princess

Grace walking Jackson...on a leash

Jackson loved to crawl through this little tiny tunnel in Toon Town

My attempts to follow Jackson into the tiny tunnel

Grace and very favorite fairy, Fawn

Cuddle Bugs on the train around the Magic Kingdom

Jackson was fascinated with food wherever we went. On this trip, he had his first full juicebox and chocolate milk. He knows sweets when he sees them!

Daddy's biggest fans! Notice the mouths full of twizzlers!

Daddy, Grace, and Jackson with Donald Duck after the marathon!

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. Any time we were down in the lobby, Grace and Jackson would spend every minute running back and forth over this bridge. I swear no other children did this as much as them. Isn't it sweet how easily they're amused!

Jackson with Daddy at the Animal Kingdom! Jackson is pointing at the tigers!

Our "super" family!

My little Viking!

Goofy Grace posing with none other than...Goofy!

Disney World

Our family took our first trip to Disney World on January 9th. We were gone for 10 days, and we had a fabulous time. About a year ago, David was asked (challenged) by his sister, Lauren, to run the Disney Marathon. Then, my father-in-law decided to run with them...and there you had it...a family trip to Disney was planned!

David, Nate, and Lauren all finished the marathon in great shape! Although prior to running, they all said they wouldn't do another marathon, David is already excited about the next few he wants to do. (I won't complain though...we get nice vacations out of it!) I so admire their strength and endurance because I don't think I could run to the end of the driveway. In any event, because of their wonderful accomplishment, we all enjoyed a memorable trip!

I remember (guiltily) telling David when we booked the trip that I hoped we would have a fair amount of time to do the rides and attractions that we always enjoyed so much...like Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Buzz Lightyear...:) However, when we walked into the Magic Kingdom and saw how excited and in awe Grace was of Cinderella's castle, my agenda immediately became a lot less selfish. David and I so badly wanted her to try and enjoy everything that was there. We apparently tried too hard, because it was my brilliant idea to ride "Snow White's Scary Adventure" first. David repeatedly asks how I thought a ride with the word "scary" in the title could possibly be a good idea...ha! Needless to say, she was terrified and it set us back tremendously in terms of getting her on rides. Instead, we waited in tons of lines to meet princesses, fairies, and a whole bunch of other characters that David and I couldn't positively identify.

So, in addition to meeting the characters, Grace also really liked Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride and the PhilharMagic 3-D show. The carpet ride is exactly like the Flying Fish ride at Sesame. It's also the type of ride that makes me so sick! But Grace really liked it, and it was so sweet to see her so happy. But, by far, Grace's favorite attraction was the 3-D show. Each time we saw the show, she sat on our laps and became so excited everytime a new Disney movie was featured. She would duck and dodge all the things flying at us, and she swayed back and forth while we flew through the air with Aladdin and Jasmine. She's truly the sweetest!!! This show was also Jackson's favorite. Although he didn't wear the extremely cool glasses, he oohed and aahhed right along with the rest of us, and said "Donald Duck" every time his little buddy appeared on the screen. (Donald Duck got all of his attention on this trip! :) ) Of course, the little stuffed Donald we bought doesn't get the attention Jackson made us believe it would. But, like most parents, our babes' twinkling eyes had us buying them things left and right!

Our week really did just fly by! We made it to all 4 parks and were able to make it on most of the rides we wanted. Dave and I ended up getting a date night the last night we were there and it was so fun! We went to Hollywood Studios where we waited in line for 90 minutes to ride the new Toy Story ride! It was a 3-D interactive adventure...tons of fun, but with 15 minutes left before closing, we booked across the park to hit our favorite, "The Tower of Terror." We made it on 2 times, thanks to my super-speed that kicks in when I'm fired up for amusement park rides. (Seriously, it happens everytime we hit a theme park....I just love rides!)

Animal Kingdom was also tons of fun. So many of the books we read to Jackson have to do with animals, so it was so sweet to see his reaction to the elephants, hippos, flamingos, monkeys, and tigers. He's also fascinated with birds, so everywhere we went, whether it was a beautiful parrot at the park or a duck at the resort, he had his chubby little finger out, pointing and saying, "bird, bird!" Grace was just thankful that they didn't have otters there because they make her gag...

So, now we're home, and life's pretty much returned to normal. Grace walks around pretending to sign autograph books and answer questions from little girls. If she asks me, "What's your name? Where would you like me to sign?" one more time, I'm going to have to start making up super-super silly names because I've run through about as many as I can possibly think of!

Every day we were told to have a "magical" day from the staff at Disney! Amidst the crying, whining, bag-toting, and waiting in line, it became rather annoying...but I have to say it really was a magical trip. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

Keep posted for pictures!

Blessed Babies

Dear Grace and Jackson,

I always knew I wanted you in my life. Your Gram and Grandpa were (and are) wonderful parents to me, and for as long as I can remember, I wanted to have a big family. When Daddy and I started dating in high school, I told him that I wanted to have 4 children by the age of 30. Looking back, I'm surprised he didn't turn and run....that's not the usual topic of conversation for first dates! But, thankfully, he stayed, and our happy ever after has given us the 2 of you! (I have exactly 9 months to have twins to meet my goal!)

We are such a fortunate family...we are surrounded by family and good friends. We are healthy and happy, and we spend most of our days laughing, smiling, and cuddling. Who wouldn't want that life? Of course, there's the occasional, "I'm not your friend anymore!" from you, Grace, but that's just giving me a preview of what lies ahead in your teenage years!

You bring joy to so many people's lives...especially Daddy's and mine. We are so lucky to have you, and I love you both to the moon and back...and back again!

...and so it begins...

I have been debating whether or not to start a blog forever! I am so envious of those who have cute sites with love letters to their children. I couldn't figure out how they had time to keep up with it, and I would read their posts, one after another. Well, I finally decided to spend that time creating a blog for myself. We'll see how it goes!