Oh, the smiles!!!

Here is Grant at 8 weeks old smiling and cooing at Dad and then being licked by his big sister!

He actually laughed for the first time today- a couple days after that video was taken. I love it!!! It makes it all worth it!

Our Little Reader's Tower o' Books

Arianna loves to look at books, just like Emma does. She also learned about making piles from Emma. Here is a progression of what I saw in my hallway throughout the morning:




Had to clean that one up before we could shut her door at nap time!!

How many seconds til we get there?

After much contemplation and mental preparation, the kids and I decided to accompany Kenneth to Orlando last week when he went down there for a conference. If we hadn't tagged along, he would have just flown, but with all of us, we packed up the van and drove. It took a total of 34.5 hours of travel there and back. (Yes, for those of you who don't know I drive a mini-van!! Crazy! How did I get to be so old?) I can't count how many times we heard Emma ask "How many seconds til we get there?" (She's got her increments of time mixed up =) )
Luckily, little Grant is on a pretty consistent 3 hour nursing schedule, so we could drive in between those feedings, but even so, it sure felt like we were stopping an awful lot! We borrowed a DVD player from a friend and that really helped time pass more quickly for the girls. They had a blast and Grant did very well.
Kenneth and I did get tired driving so late into the night on the way down and through the night on the way back. Luckily Kenneth is better at staying awake while driving than I am. I had to eat the ENTIRE time I was driving during the night just to stay awake- I know I need extra calories being a nursing mom and all, but not that many!!!
Kenneth stayed pretty busy the whole week between the conference and studying for a big test coming up, but we were able to go out to dinner as a family a couple of times and go swimming in the fun pool at the resort where we stayed. While Kenneth was busy, the kids and I mostly spent time with my dear friend, Melissa and her family. We also went to see some of the free things to do in Orlando.
All in all it was a marvelous trip- fun to go back to the place where I grew up and to see old friends, and yes, worth the 34.5 hour trip with 3 little ones, believe it or not!!!
Emma and Grant hanging out on the couch in the hotel.

Waiting for the famous Peabody Ducks to "march" up the red carpet to the fountain in the Lobby of the Peabody Hotel.

They didn't so much march as they did run!!! The girls were so excited/shocked to see them coming so fast!!!

Standing at the fountain with the "Duckmaster"

Emma loved the ducks!!!

Arianna, too!!!



The girls got a little too close to the ducks. I was so startled I almost dropped the camera.

Kenneth took us to "Italy" for my Birthday dinner. (It's really the Portofino Bay hotel at Universal Studios Resort) So cool. They even had a lady who sang from one of the balconies overlooking the water while we ate our appetizer. It was fabulous.

Here is a picture of all of us enjoying our dessert after dinner. It was a wonderful Birthday- thanks, Kenneth!!!

We drove by my old house. They added an addition off to the left!

Enjoying the pool at the hotel. Yes, I chopped 8 inches off my hair a couple of weeks after Grant was born, in case you didn't notice in the Birthday dinner picture.

Kenneth enjoying the pool at the hotel.

Our little lounging ladies

Emma and Arianna checking out the Lego sculptures at Downtown Disney. Yes, those dogs are completely made of Legos!

Arianna creating her own Lego sculpture at Downtown Disney

Arianna and Horton zonked out on the couch one morning two days after we got home- still catching up on missed sleep during our week in Florida. Horton actually came on the trip, too, which makes this picture even more hilarious- he is positioned exactly the same way she is on the couch- this was not staged =)

Hooray for Starfall.com!!!!

A few people have told me about Starfall.com and I finally let Emma play on it a little bit today. It is wonderful! She amazes me how fast she is picking up using the mouse and really enjoys the alphabet games and activities. I was even able to nurse in a chair near by and give her minimal coaching, but she still was able to do it by herself! Yeah!! She was so happy!

In Support of Doug and Marianne

Our little monkey

A friend of mine gave us this little outfit for Grant and I just had to take his picture, he looked so cute. He is so sweet when he smiles. Kenneth absolutely loves it when his little boy smiles at him. Especially since he is so busy lately it seems he hardly gets to spend any time with him. Even so, he still knows his Daddy! Here's the little monkey as of yesterday!

The ultimate mother hen

So, the other day I set Grant down in Arianna's crib while I got Arianna ready for her nap and changed her diaper. He started to get a little fussy, so Emma took it upon herself to climb into the crib with him and try to console him. (This is all happening right next to me as I change Arianna's diaper) She tried to talk to him and cover him with a blanket and snuggle him. Finally she asked him if he wanted some milk and proceeded to lay down next to him and tried to get him to nurse. I found it so hilarious I had to run and get the camera! She really is a very good big sister and adores her brother.

Looking at them side by side they really look a lot alike. Except that Emma's eyes are brown and I think Grant's will be blue. (Kenneth's not convinced of that, however)