Uneventful

This past week was very relaxing. We didn't go anywhere so the kids and I were in our pj's most days until after lunch and sometimes even later.
We played outside on the deck a lot and Alex has figured out how to get down from each level. She could climb up but then she would stand and scream until someone would get her down. She learned to say thank you and hi and she claps any time she thinks she has done something special (which is quite often!). She has also cut 4 of her molars and we barely knew they were coming in. She only had trouble with one of them. This gives her a grand total of 12 teeth! Alex is also going through a very needy time right now. She really would prefer to be held at all times. I like it and dislike it all at the same time. I love the affection and being able to just sit with her but when I need to cook dinner it is very difficult, she either hangs on my legs and cries or follows me around the kitchen, flapping her arms and screaming. I know some day I will crave for her to just let me hold her so I am trying to soak this up as much as possible.
David is just hilarious to be with right now. He is discovering something new every day and his exclamations are priceless. He says "Oh My!", "Cool!", and "Oh Wow!" at just about anything he finds interesting (this morning it was his banana). He says several 2 word phrases and is beginning to identify people by their names. He never seems to run out of energy either! If he has somewhere to go, he runs there at full speed. If we are listening to music he will "dance" by running in place as fast as he can while swinging his arms around. David is really starting to like Alex and wants her to play with him. His idea of play is still a little rough for her though. He wants to wrestle with her the way he does with his daddy but this resulted in a bloody lip last night (for Alex). Sometimes though, they will just sit in the play room together and pass things back and forth while jabbering to each other in their own little language. On Friday I was putting some towels away and I realized it was really quiet. So I went looking for David and Alex and they were sitting in front of the entertainment center with both of the drawers open and they were each pulling things out as fast as they could. Then they would stop and look at each other and then start laughing and pulling stuff out again. I was so amused I just kept watching silently. Once the drawers were empty they each climbed into a drawer and stood up with their hands and faces against the tv screen (they seemed to think this was really funny for some reason). I tried to get a picture but as soon as they realized I was there they got out of the drawers. I wouldn't normally allow them to dismantle everything and stand in the furniture but I was just too curious to see what they were going to do. I have a feeling they are going to start ganging up like this pretty often so it should stay interesting at my house!
Scroll for pics from the week.
Blessings!

Happy Birthday David!

Wow! I can't believe my little boy is 2! He is so active and full of life I just have to smile and laugh every time I look at him. He had so much fun at his party on Saturday. He opened all of his presents with "oh cool!" or "Wow!". It didn't matter what it was, all of it was worth an exclamation! He got some cool bath toys, a basketball goal, a tool bench, and lots of other great things. My parents gave him a Mr. Potato head and he has carried it everywhere with him today and Alex tries to get as many of the pieces in her hands as she can carry and then run away with them. Oh and Aunt Katie and Uncle Phillip gave him hulk hands and he is hilarious with them. I will try to get a good video and post it later. Thank you for all of David's gifts!!
We took him to Gatti Land on Sunday and he ran around from one thing to the next. We didn't need to spend any money, he had a blast just watching all of the lights and moving parts!
I have video and pictures from the weekend so I will stop writing and get to the good stuff.
Blessings!

For Keeps Design

My friends Sarah and Laura announced the grand opening of their business this week. It is called 'For Keeps Design' and specializes in custom announcements, invitations, cards, and more. Laura and Sarah have worked SO hard creating designs and getting the website ready. They are both really amazing women and they deserve all the business we can send their way! Plus everything they make looks fabulous! You can check out their website www.forkeepsdesign.com and you can bookmark it so you know where to go for your next big event.

I took a couple of cute videos this week so I thought I would share those in lieu of a post about the kids.
Blessings!

Happy 1st Birthday Alexandria

Saturday marked a pretty big milestone for our family. Alex turned one! This means I no longer have a baby in the house which is a little weird, and for the next 2 weeks I have two one year olds!
My great aunt asked me on Saturday if this past year has been really challenging having them so close. I told her it really wasn't that bad because Alex wasn't mobile through most of it and she was easy going. I really think this next year is going to be the more challenging year. David is entering the two's and though I don't expect them to be terrible I do know that he is learning how to be more independent and he already tests the waters just to see how much freedom he really has. Alex is starting to lose that easy going spirit and assert her independence as well. She had a complete melt down yesterday when Jon would not let her hold the spoon while he gave her some very sticky punch. Alex also walks up to David and takes toys away from him and he in turn takes it right back then she takes it back and it will keep going until Alex screams at him and then he looks at her and screams right back. So I think this next year holds more challenges for us as a family. I am truly saying all of this with a smile on my face because although it will be hard, I think it is going to be a lot of fun watching them grow together and become friends and seeing their little personalities continue to develop. I also love these ages because you can teach them so many things!
On Saturday we also celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday! She is so sweet and I really love her. She thought she was coming to Alex's party but it was hers so she was very surprised.
It was a really busy weekend for us but I wouldn't have changed a thing. Alex's party was a blast! We had about 40 people there and it worked great because of the deck. I love that we have such a great "cloud of witnesses" who surround our children. I know it is going to have a huge impact on their lives. Thanks to everyone who came and for all of the cute gifts!
Blessings!

The Deck!

Jon has been designing and planning our deck for 5 months I think. He kept going back and forth on when we would start it and whether or not it was a waste of money. So we finally decided to go ahead with the plans and try to have it finished in time for Alex's birthday party.
So two weekends ago my dad and Jon got out in the back yard and started the framing for the deck.



They worked so hard! Every day my dad came back after work and they would get back out there and keep making progress.





Then on Saturday Paul, Kevin, and Brock came over and helped Jon and my dad get the decking started.







Then Jon's dad came in from Holland and helped finish everything up and run electricity to the deck and install plugs and switches and stuff.



There will be a pergola type roof on the upper portion of the deck but we need more cedar for that, so Jon is going to wait until October to get more wood. So the large posts sticking up in the air will eventually serve a very important purpose! Here are pictures of the finished product. It turned out better than I ever imagined it would! I am extremely impressed with my husband, I didn't know he had it in him to design and build things! I will of course post a picture in October once we get it completely finished. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard helping Jon make this deck a reality!!