Memorial Day weekend visit with Shannon and Leah

You know what is the most precious thing? Seeing this when you look back at the kids in the backseat:

Shannon and Leah came up to visit us for the weekend. It was so great having them in town. Shannon and I have always been close--just born only two days a part--but since moving to VA, we haven't been able to be as close as we would have liked. Since the birth of AJ and Leah, we have grown so close despite being so far away. Leah is just a beautiful little girl. She has such a sweet personality and I love just hanging out with her. AJ loves her too--he talked about her after they left to go home.

On Friday night we took the kids to Clemyjontri Park. It's an unbelievable park--click on the link because you have to see it to believe it. Leah, who is usually quiet, was SOOO excited and kept screaming the entire time! It was too cute! Look at that smile! AJ was, as always, such a boy and so into everything--he couldn't stop to take a cute picture!

Look how AJ climbs all by himself. Of course Dad is right behind him to catch him in case he falls (Mommy has a lot of panic attacks at this park!)


A really cute picture of Leah and Shannon!



The kiddos love playing together! AJ kept saying "Leah's seat!"

On Saturday, we took the kids to my parent's pool before heading over to their house for a BBQ. Here is Leah, looking so cute!

AJ loves cuddling with his grandma. I don't know that he was tired or cold, he really just loves to cuddle with Grandma!

At my parent's house, the kids enjoyed the trampoline. Roman, Nicole, and David joined us for the BBQ. AJ enjoyed it too much. He tackled Leah to the ground saying "JU JITSU". Daddy was proud and Mommy was thinking about AJ being a future bully.

AJ has some crazy moves now--what two year old does a handstand against the sides of the trampoline walls?!

AJ and Roman playing BASEBALL already! How funny is this?!

Shannon, myself, and David with our three kids:

Sunday was AJ's party, but it wasn't until the afternoon. After breakfast, we went to a more local park to my house. The kids had fun as usual:

Seeing that big yawn meant it was nap time--so the kids took an early nap. Shannon then helped me SO MUCH in getting the party ready. I don't' know what I would have done without her. She was amazing!

After the party (see next post for details!), Shannon and Leah had to go home. It was such a great visit and I can't wait for our trip to the Poconos in August!

Happy Birthday AJ!

AJ is two today! Wow, how time goes by so fast when you are having fun! Some things about AJ:

-He LOVES anything with Sesame Street and Elmo, hence why today's birthday party is a Sesame Street themed.
-He is extremely active and can't sit still for more than two seconds. He has to be bouncing or jumping, or dancing around all of the time!
-He talks up a storm. I mean non-stop! He talks, talks, talks about anything and everything. He is able to have a very basic conversation with real sentences with you.
-He loves to watch sports and cheer you on. He will cheer for Uncle David and Aunt Kayla during a baseball game, Daddy during a Ju-jitsu match, the Redskins during a football game, or a stranger playing any sport!
-He loves to play 'throw, catch, and hit' with daddy and mommy. He will attempt to play with Roman too, although that is a pretty funny game!
-HE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! One year ago he had yet to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. Now I am happy to report that he sleeps great and it a joy to actually put down for bed or a nap! This makes for a happier AJ AND a happier mommy and daddy!
-Best of all, he is my little boy who still loves to be held, kissed, hugged, and loved by mommy (and daddy too!). He loves when I rub his back and he loves to lay his head on my shoulder. He will stop what he is doing to look at me and say "I love you". He can melt my heart more than I ever thought was possible!

The promise of updates

No excuses--I just stink at updating this thing! It's not the updating, it's the getting the camera to hook up to my computer, download, and then upload to this thing which takes FOREVER! I could post all day long without photos--but that isn't any fun!

Some quick updates before I really update this thing:

First and foremost, my Grandmother had a stroke. She has survived, but at 86, it's going to be a tough recovery. We went to visit her and it's tough to see my active grandmother (who still works!) bedridden. We will just continue to pray that she recovers from this.

AJ turned 23 months. The last month before the age of TWO. He has been in the 2 year old class now for about a month and is still getting used to the new teachers and much bigger kids (he is still tiny!) and MORE children then the 18 month old class. BUT--he is sharp and can handle his own in there intellectually.

AJ's birthday party is on May 30th here at the house. We are so excited!

We had a playdate with Lauren, Mckenna, and Will last weekend. It was SO much fun. We met them at Sunset Hills Vineyard, did the tasting and hung out before making our way over to Loudoun Valley Vineyard. They then came over to our house for supper and John was able to join us (he had a Ju Jitsu meet). I love the Bowen family so much. I'll update more details later.

Mommy and Daddy ran an 8K together. John stayed with me the entire time, but I held my own. It was fun--now I want to do another one! For not though, I am in fitness bootcamp this entire month--5 days a week. The 6am workouts are the hardest! It does make me feel great though! John is still doing his Ju Jitsu classes too. Fitness is important to us--and we hope AJ picks up on it.

We had a playdate with Avery and Christine one night--Avery is only three weeks younger than AJ. Pictures to follow because they were SO cute together. Holding hands and hugging :).

My stepmom was in Delaware this weekend so we drove up to see her--it's been almost a year!

Lastly, we are enjoying eating clean still. It hasn't been 100% eating clean, which really is impossible, especially because I have a job that requires lunch meetings, but I will say we both have been making better choices which is the ultimate goal when you can't eat clean. John would say the meals aren't as good as unhealthy ones, but we did find some really good recipes and I for one like them a lot more and enjoy cooking them more! We are more lax with AJ since he is so skinny, but he enjoys it too!