Playing with Livey and Dave

We've had Olivia and David with us for the last two weeks during the day and the kids have been having an absolute blast playing. They have just about done it all... Playing dress up (gotta love Dave in those Tinkerbelle outfits!), playing with all of the toys, doing art, going to the park, playing outside in the sandbox, going on caterpiller hunts and then playing with them for hours... and so much more. It's been so much fun and really cool getting to know them so much better. They start school next week and I know Rachel and Noah will miss playing with them during the day. Thank goodness for the weekends! =)

Saturday at the Soccer Field

Amie, Olivia and Dave joined us on Saturday for Noah's soccer game. Noah did a great job running and even seemed to go after the ball a little more than usual, which is a great thing! The kids have all been having so much fun playing together. It was cute to watch David as he sat and watched Noah play. He kept asking Amie if he could get in there and play. He didn't quite understand that he was too young and not on the team. Uncle Doug even explained that he had to have green shorts to play... and Dave tried to take his pants off and asked his mom for green shorts. Cute stuff.

Visiting Great Grandma & Grandpa

The kids enjoyed seeing their great grandparents and spending time with them. The visits with them always have a lasting effect on Noah and he talks about them for days and days. It's good to know that he is making memories with them that seem to stick so well in his head, since he doesn't get to see them very often.

Riding the Horses

The kids had a lot of fun riding on this carousel while in the St. Louis area. They were so excited to get ride the horses and as soon as it stopped, Rachel asked to ride it again, again, please! =) Thanks again Grammy for the pictures!

She's a BIG GIRL Now! (and so excited!)

Rachel was so excited when she walked into her room this afternoon and saw that I had switched her crib into a big girl bed. I guess I've known she has been ready for quite some time, but it was me... wanting to keep her little and my baby. She was grinning from ear to ear and jumped into her bed. She had to give all her things a good loving and snuggle and try it out and then she practiced jumping from the bed to the floor (now she's into jumping out of it... figures... =). We have a bed rail we used with Noah, but we're going to wait and see how she does. With her giant doggy laying on the floor next to her we know she'll be safe if she rolls out onto it. Wish us luck though, keeping her in her bed!...
...and she did great laying down and staying in bed tonight. I put her to bed at 9pm because Amie and the kids were here and were playing a little later than usual and she actually stayed awake until almost 11. She didn't get out of bed or make a single peep. (Knock on wood that she keeps doing that for us). She's such a little night owl...



...and here she is on her last night in her crib... last night... awwww.... She is sooooo ready, and I guess has been for a while... I just kept waiting for her to climb out... No luck with that. =)

Little Fish

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the pool at the hotel in St. Louis. I love watching them splash and play. Doug likes to throw them and they both love that. When I'm in with them Rachel adores jumping off the side to me and also 'swimming' with her swimmies on. It's cute to watch her kick her way around by herself. Noah has fun showing me how he can duck under a few hundred times - love that he is so excited about that. Good times.

Jump Zone!

The day before we headed to St. Louis I took the kids over to Jump Zone. We met up with several of Noah's friends from school and the kids had a lot of fun running through the play zone and jumping and sliding like crazy. I think this is probably one of the kids favorite places to go. Right up there with Rock Creek and Chuck E Cheese. I love to see the grins on these guys faces as they play and bounce. =) Lots of pictures of our trip to St. Louis to come. Stay Tuned!