Lawson Andrew & Amelia Paige

Yeaaaaa LAWSON! We were at MeMe & Pappy's beach place in Navarre Beach when Lawson had enough of riding in the wagon while going on family walks and bike rides. He was quite brave. It took one small push and me running beside him and he was off and hasn't stopped since. I was sure to warn him that everyone falls on their bike during the process....but he just has to get back on it. I was packing bandaids and Neosporin each ride we took, and much to my surprise, he didn't have 1 spill! We even went on a mile and a half ride to the pier and park and he didn't miss a beat:). I'm so proud of him. He continues to amaze me at each milestone and his determination to accomplish them all!

We had to seize the moment that there were no baseball practices or games, and head to the beach. It was just the 4 of us. We were naming all the things we did at the beach on the way to daycare this morning and...we covered a lot:).
- played in the sand
- threw the ball (football, tennis ball, bat and ball)
- flew kites
- saw someone catch a HUGE fish from the shore
- ate lots of seafood
- played on the playground, rode some rides, rode a mechanical bull (LAW...not mom), drove a remote control boat)
- visited the Bass Pro shop
- watched a movie and ate popcorn in the room before bed
- had dinner with MeMe & Pappy (they drove over from Navarre Saturday night)

We had a blast!! It was a much needed trip.

I'm so behind on my post but it seems like 2011 has been a whirl wind of events:). Where to start....

The house -- we closed on our house and moved in the beginning of February. Everyone slept like a dream our first night. I was a little concerned on how the kids would do sleeping upstairs because we have always been on the same level, but they did GREAT. Not a care in the world. They love their rooms and every night, during our prayers, they thank God for our new house. The morning after our first night, Amelia cried because she had to go to school. She kept saying, ...."but I like my new home...." We had such a routine of coming to check on it daily during the building process and leaving....she thought that we weren't coming back. I explained to her that we are sleeping here now.:) I'm so happy that they already feel so AT HOME in their new home. That is important to me.

Pop & Nana's - We can't thank Pop & Nana enough for welcoming us into their home during the building process. What a HUGE undertaking....coming home to peace and quiet to then trying to get used to 2 energetic children. There aren't enough words to explain how grateful we are for Nana & Pop. :) We do miss seeing them so much. AND --- I must say....I can't relate to all the ole in-law jokes. Mine are wonderful!

The kids -
Lawson is growing - growing - growing. He has grown 5 inches in a year and gained weight too. He has just started baseball and definitely has more confidents and maturity vs. last year. What a difference a year makes. He is learning so much at school. Working on presidents now. A funny about that...I asked him to brush his teeth and he sighhhed. I told him that his teeth would fall out if he didn't. He quickly came back with, "George Washington's teeth fell out and he had metal teeth then hippo teeth." I asked if he wanted metal of hippo teeth...he said "no ma'am....I'll go brush my teeth." Pretty funny. His teachers say that he is on a 2nd grade level in some areas. Which makes me SO proud. This past week I pulled out a preschool workbook and instead of reading before bed, we worked on this. It was some math, letters, patterns, etc. He breezed on through. GREAT JOB LAW!!
Amellia - she is growing so fast too. With the exceptions of wearing a pullup at night, Amelia is and has been officially potty trained for a month and a half now. YEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! We are so proud of her! School is going well for her, she can say her ABC's - Count to 25+ - and definitely knows how to reason with you. Which is nice...."Amelia, you must eat your sandwich before getting a snack..." She gets that....which reduces a lot of whining:). As far as things that she is into these days --- She LOVES to sing and dance. And she LOVES animals.

Eric & I
We are doing well! Eric is working really hard and enjoying his job. It has been a bit of relief getting in the house so that is one less thing for him to have to worry about.
I am doing well too. I started a new job in December. I now work at a Marketing Agency in Birmingham. Still working on the technical side. I like my new job. It is a definite change of pace and low stress.

I hope everyone is well that it has been a good start to 2011. I know that we are blessed beyond belief. THANK YOU LORD!

Big News to report --- This is Amelia's 3rd day to stay completely dry with no accidents. I thought I would be brave 2 weeks ago and send her to school with panties on....I thought she would do ok since she has been wearing panties at home for a couple of weeks now. Well ---- it wasn't a good day. I came home with 4 wet outfits and her looking like she had some leftover hoochie dress on when I picked her up. Granted, it was a cute dress at one time. But she has grown 3 inches since that was put in her cubbie months ago and now it looks like a shirt...so....it looked like she had no pants on when I picked her up. LOVELY. Anyway --- Over the weekend, she did great. She even told me when she needed to go when we were out and about. GREAT SIGN. SO -- This week I decided I would put on her panties and then a pullup over them....just in case. She has done great. I have been SO proud!! She says..."Princess's don't poopoo in their panties.....I a princess mommy."
GREAT JOB TO MY SWEET PRINCESS!!
Keep up the good work:)