Little “Ballenina!”

Colbie is officially a “ballenina” now, as she likes to say!  We started her in dance class this past Wednesday.  She has always been into tutus and playing dress up so this seemed like an appropriate past time for her.  She was pretty shy at the start of class, but thankfully brother came along and was all about helping her get warmed up and having fun!  With Grayson by her side, trying out the moves himself and reassuring her the entire time, she eventually decided  that she wanted to participate and seemed to have a great time!  By the end of the class it was hard to get them both out of there!

Not so sure about this leotard and these tight things!!

My mom got her this little Minnie dress shortly after our trip to Disneyland.  She also loves to shuffle around in her “princess shoes.”  And when she’s not playing princess, she’s usually playing cowboys or super heros with brother!

We’ve been getting quite a bit of rain here the past several days.  It’s been nice for a change and Grayson was having a ball in it the other night!

Not really sure what he’s doing…. just being a total goofball!

Blaine’s Grandmother, Aunts and cousin hosted a beautiful baby shower yesterday for Stacy (my sister-in-law), Kim (Blaine’s cousin’s wife) and myself.  We are all due within about a month of each other.  Kim in October, Stacy in December and myself in early November.  The food was delicious, the decorations were adorable and a fun time was had by all.  Thank you again Grandma, Aunt Karen, Aunt Kerrie and Mariah!!

The lovely hostesses!

A busy week ahead… work, school and three more appointments in Phoenix Thursday and Friday, including a follow up with the cardiologist, meeting my new OB and our first consult with the baby’s surgeon.  We are keeping strong and praying and hoping for some positive news :)

First Day of SCHOOL!

Grayson’s first day of pre-school at Yuma Lutheran was this past Friday.  He will officially be going to school five days a week now like a big boy! 

Although there were many tears during drop off, I think the hardest transition will be for his little sis, who is used to having her big bro around all week.  Colbie of course wanted to get her backpack too for a first day of school picture!

Successful first day and all smiles when I picked him up!  This coming week will be the real transition, when he will actually be attending all five days :/  So proud of him!

Beach Vacation 2013

We got to spend a entire 10 days in a row this year in Laguna, making it that much harder to head back to reality, especially being mid-August!  I think it was 69 degrees when we left on Thursday and we came home to a hot AND humid 110!  Nevertheless, a wonderful time was had by all!  We enjoyed getting to spend some time with DeeDee and Annie at the condo during the first few days and getting “screwed” by Annie playing Pegs and Jokers.  Blaine went on his annual guys fishing trip and brought home some fresh sushi-grade tuna!  We got to hang out with some of Annie’s great grandkids that were in the area, making fun play dates for the kids.  We danced up a storm at cousin Erich’s wedding.  We celebrated Grayson’s 5th birthday by taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time.  And as always….we spent many relaxing and fun days at the beach, beach & more beach!

Future Laguna Beach Lifeguards!!

On the way up, we stopped for lunch at one of our favorites, the Fish Market in downtown SanDiego.

Watched a sunset off the San Clemente Pier.

Grayson & Colbie adored Annie’s great grandkids Ellie & Brody!

 

Another play with Annie and Ellie and Brody.

Hanging with Great GranDeeDee at dinner.

Uncle Erich’s wedding in San Diego.

Most of the Hannon family, minus the groom and his bride and a few others.

Digging holes at Doheny beach and doing some crab fishing at Dana Point Harbor.

We surprised the kids with the news that we would be taking them to Disneyland a couple nights prior, giving them new backpacks for the day along with some Mickey/Minnie jammies!

Holy crap…. when did Disneyland get so expensive!! At least Colbie was still free this year!

Meeting Minnie Mouse and Cinderella!

Being the busy season and having two small children, we felt that we had a pretty successful day at Disneyland!  We made it around to all the classics, including Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World…to name a few.  We also got to meet several princesses, which Colbie ate up, watched the Mickey Parade, saw a couple of shows including Tangled and even made it to the 9 pm Fantasmic light show and fireworks following.  From walking in the doors at 8:30 to leaving at 10:30, I would say our two and four year old held up pretty well, and most importantly, had a wonderful first experience at the Happiest Place on Earth! 

Mark Twain’s boat ride and Tarzan’s Tree House.

Colbie waving to Ariel during the parade.  Colbie and I waiting in line at my childhood favorite… It’s a Small World.  And passed out in daddy’s arms during one of our longer waits.

Enjoying their new glow swords at the Fantasmic show and then riding the trolley back to the parking lot, looking a bit more exhausted than on the way in!

We changed them into their jammies before putting them in the car….knowing that within minutes they would be asleep! (in fact I don’t even think we had made it out of the parking lot!)

Last day spent at baby beach and then one more yummy dinner on the San Clemente pier!

Thank you Mom and Dad and Cloud 9 for another awesome summer beach vacation!