c'mon in- the water's great!

we have surely gotten our money's worth out of this spring float. i love that it has the canopy-- i don't have to worry about the kids getting too much sun. the pool at the marriott had several sprinklers for the kids to run and play under, and ethan was very disturbed by these! it took him about 30 minutes to warm up to the idea of getting in the pool because of these pesky sprinklers, and then of course, he got so upset when it was time to leave! the pool also had a slide (see picture on last post), and ethan loved watching the kids slide down into the water.




our last evening in marco island, we decided to take a picnic dinner down to the beach. ethan loved looking for shells once he got used to walking in the sand! he hasn't really walked in much sand because i was a pregnant lazy woman last summer and we didn't make it to the beach much... so i am determined for my child to get used to the sand and to NOT have sensory issues about sand and dirt!! (especially after just attending 2 conference sessions on sensory issues!!) so, as soon as we got to the beach, ethan and i threw the football. i intentionally threw it where he had to walk to go get it, and he stood in one place, asking, "football please" over and over (what 2 year old boy stands in one place at the beach?!!!!?! only mine!). i took his hand and made him walk over to the football. he didn't protest, but it was so hilarious to watch him make each step so slowly and deliberately! (i was imagining him saying to himself, "it's just sand. you can do it, ethan!") he actually didn't mind walking in the sand the rest of the evening, but we ended up putting his crocs on so he could walk on the shell-filled part of the beach without hurting his feet. what can i say? he's just like his daddy and he doesn't like to get dirty. caroline, on the other hand, will probably be eating sand next month... here's a couple of pictures of our family and caroline's first visit to the beach. she loved watching all the people and feeling the wind in her face.

finding shells with daddy
one wind-blown family!
"look! i found a little man in my shell!
hello, little man!"
"i can't wait to come back to the beach!"

waaaaaaaay down south

brian and i loaded up the kids in the van last week and decided to drive to the very southern tip of florida (at least on the west coast).... "why?" you might ask?? 1) because our van needed some permanent lovebug skidmarks? 2) because gas is so cheap? nooo... actually, i attended a great speech pathology conference at a beautiful resort. brian watched the kids during the day while i learned so much more about autism and sensory issues, asperger's syndrome, phonological disorders, and bilingualism in children.... and then after my sessions, we relaxed! here are some views we enjoyed... the last 2 shots were taken from our hotel balcony. ethan loved going out on the balcony to "see pool! see pool!" more pictures to come...

bye, na-eee!

well, nana is on her way across the world to uganda... we said our goodbyes at the airport yesterday morning as she and the rest of the team from our church began their journey. she's going to be busy helping with music and teaching conferences over there, and i can't wait to hear how things are going. she emailed today to say that they'd made it to london, so hopefully we'll hear about their arrival to uganda soon. our family would appreciate prayers on glenda's (and the team's) behalf.... for safety and good health, as well as effective work for the Lord.

it's gonna be a long month around here without nana! ethan woke up this morning, and the first thing he said was, "na-eee's plane go round and round!" and then he said it allllllllllll day!!!! we sure will miss our nana....

caroline goes bananas!

well, ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a little....

caroline, like her brother, made quite the sour face for her solid food debut of very-watered-down-bananas tonite. but also like her brother, she kept opening her mouth for more! (you can see in the second picture that she IS smiling!) she loved the spoon and would not let go of it once she grabbed hold of it (we'll be teaching her "hands down" very soon!). i am hoping that the introduction of solids will rid us of this new fun game of "wake up hungry at 5 am", but i'm guessing that 2 tsp of watery bananas won't quite do the trick. :) baby steps, baby steps.

*oh, i almost forgot- check out the cute lil bow my mom made for caroline! we have several in all different colors. they're sort of a challenge to put in, but oh, how i love to see a little bow in her hair already! my daughter is destined to be a bow-head.

caroline is 6 months old!

yep, our baby girl is halfway to her first birthday! here's a little recap for you...


these pictures are getting more difficult to take. 2 seconds after her picture was taken, caroline had her sign for a snack! (notice big brother helped decorate her sign this month.) :) happy half birthday, baby girl! it just gets better from here!