Georgia Aquarium

Brian and I decided that we needed a little getaway for a night with the kids since Brian has been so busy with work and since we haven't had a vacation in awhile. So we decided to head to Atlanta on Sunday, April 26, and stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown. That night we ate at Copeland's Cheesecake Factory, and on Monday, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. I can't tell you how excited Abby Grace was about going to the aquarium! Once she found out about it, she couldn't stop asking about when we were going to get there. This was actually her second visit because we took her when she was 1 year old. Anyway, she and Caleb both had a wonderful time, as you can see from the pictures. If you know us well, you know that we are always going nonstop, so of course, we headed to Lenox to do a little shopping after the aquarium and to meet up with our past Sunday school teacher, Karen Bowers, who we miss greatly (she and her husband moved to Buckhead for a new job opportunity). Then, Brian just couldn't resist the Braves game that night, so we headed there as well. He actually found club level tickets on stubhub.com for really cheap, so that made it even more fun, and the kids really liked it. See pictures above. Then after the game was over, we made a late night drive back to Birmingham. It was definitely all well worth it!

Caleb's Growing!

I've been a little behind on my blogging these days, so I am going to try to catch up! Here are some pictures of Caleb from April 18--he was about 5 1/2 months then! Since that time, Caleb has started solid foods! We began with the veggies, like squash and carrots, which I think are still his current favorites. Then, we added in the fruits, which of course, he loves! So now, he really doesn't like his cereal that much! He also now has 2 teeth! The first one came in and then soon after, the second one came in at about the same time he turned 6 months. He's still rolling all over the place, but he hasn't learned to sit alone yet. However, he does love to sit in a high chair, his exersaucer, and his jumpy thing. Is he still sleeping through the night yet? Not quite, but he's working on it! We had a few setbacks this past week with a cold/cough, 6 months shots, and the teeth coming in. Speaking of, Caleb had his 6 months check up last week, and he weighed 18 lbs 7 oz and was 27 inches long, which puts him in the 75th percentile on height and weight. So, needless to say, he's growing up on us!

Easter

Visiting the Easter Bunny!

Abby Grace at her Easter party at school.

Caleb loves the plastic wrap!

Abby Grace and Caleb with their Easter baskets.

Abby Grace with one of her Easter surprises at my parents' house.

I am beginning to think that Easter is really one of my favorite holidays of the year and really is the most important since we celebrate Jesus's resurrection. Without this day, what we believe would mean nothing! How wonderful it is to have a Savior who lives! Anyway, it is a special holiday, and of course, the dressing up, the Easter eggs, bunnies, and baskets do make it fun too! We did take Abby Grace and Caleb to see the Easter bunny at Brookwood Mall, which went over very well. Abby Grace also had an Easter party at school; I was in charge of the favors this time, which one of the pictures shows. We dyed Easter eggs with Carianne at my parents' house, and of course, like everyone else, we went to church Sunday with dye on our hands! And thank goodness Brian was finally off on Easter! He has had to work on Easter I think every year since he has been in residency so we were all very happy to have him around. Abby Grace and Caleb both woke up to find that the Easter Bunny did come see them and even managed to hide some eggs and leave them baskets. It was a fun, but a quick morning. The kids wore their matching lime green outfits to church, and then we headed to the Brunson's for a wonderful lunch! Another reason, I love Easter--the food! :) After seeing all of Brian's family, we headed to my house for a second lunch and several Easter egg hunts! So you can say, it was a wonderful day!

A Night of Almost Uninterrupted Sleep!

Quick post--Caleb finally slept through the night last night! He fell asleep around 9:30 p.m. and Brian found him happy as could be in his crib around 7 a.m. this morning! I don't know what caused it, but I hope it happens again! He did eat a lot of rice cereal at dinner, more than he ever has before, so maybe that helped, who knows? In fact, he was really interested in eating; I have never seen him so into his cereal, but he was, and Brian could hardly feed him fast enough! The night wasn't completely peaceful though because Abby Grace woke up upset about something, but luckily she immediately went back to sleep after I checked on her. I guess it's just that difficult to find one night of uninterrupted sleep! Oh well! I guess I should quit blogging and get to bed myself right now!

Riding Thomas the Train

This past Saturday we journeyed to Calera to the Railroad Museum and took a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine! It's kind of funny how much Abby Grace loves trains. In fact, she has her own train track and absolutely loves it! She also likes to watch her Thomas DVDs. Thus, we decided that a Thomas excursion would be perfect for her, and she was thrilled! We actually bought our tickets ahead of time (you even have to decide then on the exact time you will be riding the train), so I was a little worried about the weather. However, the day was beautiful and warm, and we had lots of fun! They have some games and inflatables that the kids can do while you wait for your train ride, but the main attraction is definitely riding Thomas! It's actually a real train ride that lasts about 20-25 minutes and of course, Thomas is the engine! We decided to go for comfort and air conditioning so we rode on the car that was closed in; however, you can go on an open air car as well, and all the prices are the same no matter which car you choose. Anyway, Abby Grace's other favorite part of the day was buying the huge Thomas balloon that practically took up the whole backseat on the way home and currently can be found floating somewhere around our house! However, she plays with it everyday! Anyway, it was definitely worth the drive for her, and I would recommend it. They also do a special event at Christmas time, the Polar Express, that sounds like lots of fun and would be worth checking into! Anyway, it was a special day and was just great having Brian and the whole family together to enjoy it!

Our Little Cutie

Our little cutie is five months old now--I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! Anyway, he smiles and laughs all the time, especially at his big sister. He also wants to know what's going on, so he loves to sit in his Bumbo seat, and he really likes his exersaucer. He thinks he's big too these days! Caleb has also learned now to roll over both ways. In fact, the other day, he was lying on the floor while I was changing his sheet and I looked down, and he was gone! He had completely rolled under his crib where I couldn't see him! I am beginning to wonder if he's going to be all over the place once he becomes really mobile!

Abby Grace's Spring Program

Abby Grace's Spring Program at Hunter Street's Weekday Progam was held in March and included a short singing and art program. Abby Grace and the other "2 year olds" sang several songs including "Baby Bumblebee" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." It was so cute, and then Abby Grace showed off her artwork in her classroom. The last pic shows Abby Grace holding Caleb after the program was over. It's probably pretty safe to say that she thinks she's a big girl now!

Princess Abby Grace

We gave Abby Grace some dress up clothes for Christmas, and it was just a few weeks ago that she really decided to take an big interest in them. Just out of the blue one day, she told my parents and me that she was going to dress as Cinderella and this is what she came up with!

Yummy Rice Cereal!

This is one of Caleb's first cereal feedings, and Abby Grace is helping in the second picture. Let's just say, he's starting to get used to it!

Caleb & Abby Grace Update

Caleb had his 4 month checkup on March 4, and he is doing really well! He weighs 16 lbs and is 26 inches long--no wonder he is outgrowing his clothes so fast! He still continues to roll over from his back to his stomach but hasn't gone from his stomach to back yet. He loves to hold toys and put them directly in his mouth, and he absolutely LOVES Baby Einstein movies. Abby Grace didn't really like them that much when she was a baby, but he will watch them all the time! I think Abby Grace likes them better now than she did then! Anyway, we got out the exersaucer a few days ago and that was definitely a big hit, with both of them! Abby Grace just loves playing with him; it really is sweet! She loves for him to sit in his Bumbo seat and play with his toys with him, and he just loves her! He will cackle out loud at about everything she does--it is just precious! On another note, Caleb is still not sleeping through the night; in fact, he really doesn't sleep that much period, so you would think that he would be cranky all the time. However, he really is a happy baby but going to bed can be a little difficult. So, we are working on getting better naps throughout the day to help his nights and have finally moved him upstairs to his crib. I don't know why it was so difficult for me to do that, but it was! We are hoping this will help him sleep. Caleb tried cereal for the first time the other day too, and I think he is beginning to get a little used to it. Abby Grace was so excited about his first feeding! Anyway, with your second, it's so difficult to keep up with all these firsts! I will try to post some pics of these events soon!

As for Abby Grace, she is something else! She is growing up on us for sure and is really wanting to seem big. She's almost going to the potty all the time on her own even in public places. We are really proud of her! She's really into the Disney princesses right now, especially the Little Mermaid and has begun to take an interest in dressing up! However, take her to a store and ask her to try something on, you would think the world had ended! She also really loves trains, especially Thomas, and will play with her train set all the time. Some of her other favorite things to do include blowing bubbles, playing with her kitchen and dollhouse, and doing any kid of arts & crafts project. Abby Grace is definitely the talker and cracks us up all the time with her comments and vocabulary, and then she will just out of the blue say the sweetests things too!

Anyway, life with these two is definitely busy, but such a blessing! New pictures to come!