Grace Elise & Holtz Reagan: Luau, Charlevoix, Ballet and Mobile Baby!

Time for an update! We've had lots of big things happen recently and have had a lot of fun. I've posted links down below through http://www.kodakgallery.com/ with the pictures from the luau and our vacation to Charlevoix, MI. I've never done this before but there are way too many good photos to narrow down. You'll have to let me know if you can't view them so I can post the best pics on my next blog. They are also posted on facebook for you to view. We'll start with the luau!

Our neighbors, Dana, Chris and Savannah (Grace's BFF) Belcher and us threw a neighborhood/ friends party. We had about 90 people show up (even though you can't tell from the pictures- ha ha). We had cornhole, beer pong, and card games for the adults and sprinkler's, pools, slip and slides, swingsets, etc. for the kids. We are so blessed to have such great neighbors and friends and we hope everyone had a super time. Can't wait for next year's party!

We just got back from a one week vacation in Charlevoix, MI. It was so nice to spend time with Mimi and Poppy and a day with Uncle Andy and Aunt Aggie. We don't get to see them very much. We went for a lot of boat rides, made s'mores on the beach over a bonfire, went swimming in the lake and the pool and Grace went tubing for her first time. Thanks John and Sara Huston for loaning us your huge 3 man tube- hello luxury tubing (grin). Grace and Holtz were both superstars on the plane rides up and back.

Grace swam from one end of the pool to the other by herself (with her floaties on, of course) and for that marvelous feet, the "Branch Office" dinghy was renamed the Grace B. What an accomplishment- congratulations Grace! (All of the Beauchamp kids, Evan, Andy, Parker, Chelsea and Hayley got their names on a rowboat when they swam from one pier to the next up at Lake Tippecanoe). The tradition continues...

Now bragging about my little man. Holtz started crawling on August 9th (check out the link below. (I didn't realize the microphone on my cell was on the bottom of my phone so it is quite loud in spots when I drag it over the carpet- sorry.) Still a great little video)! Holy smokes- how quickly he is growing. He now sits well by himself too. We won't be surprised if he walks early because he's more interested in standing than sitting. We are so lucky because he is such a happy baby! Everywhere we go, people comment on how much he smiles. He loves new faces and makes friends everywhere he goes. It's funny, during the day at home, when Evan walks in the room, Holtz giggles. Maybe it's daddy's big bushy beard (please trim it- hint hint- smile).

At Holtz's last appt. (6 month check-up), he weighed 17 lbs. 7.5 oz which is in the 47th percentile. He was 27 1/2 inches long which is in the 80th percentile. Still a long and lean little guy. The doctor again asked if Grace was showing signs of jealousy and honestly, we won the lottery with her...she's amazing! No jealousy and still as much a little mommy as when he was first born.

Couldn't leave out this photo of my good buddy Daniele and Holtz- it's just too perfect!

Last but not least, on to bragging about my main gal Grace. Grace is getting geared up for her first day of preschool! It starts on August 20th and she'll be going 3 days a week (MWF) from 9-noon. Her teacher, Mrs. Prather, came to our house last week to meet Grace so she would have a familiar face on her first day. I just love Immanuel Baptist! I'll post pics and let you know how it goes soon!

Grace is still in gymnastics and honest to God is the best in her class. It's amazing how quickly she has learned. She's doing fairly good cartwheels, is a pro on the balance beams and even does forward rolls over the bar all by herself.

Today was her first day in ballet. Bob and Sharon gave Grace a year of ballet lessons for her 4th birthday and we just now enrolled her. We were so proud b/c when class started, she walked right in by herself and was the first one in the room. She is attending The Lexington School of Ballet and her teacher is Ms. Jeanie. After class, she had a huge smile on her face and said that she definitely wanted to go back next week.

Grace is also back on her reading kick. I kind-of let her lead b/c I don't want to push her. Anyways, she's been on several reading kicks since she was 18 months old. At 18 months, she learned her letters, soon after her phonics and it's just progressed. She now is sounding out words by herself like flow, tree, Monday, etc. As long as the word is phonetically correct, she can sound it out by herself.