Grace is turning 5 in a couple of weeks- hard to believe! For her birthday, we decided it was time to move her into a big girl bed! She slept in her big girl bed for the first time on Feb. 12th! She has this big beautiful bed now and believe it or not, she wants to sleep on the floor. She says she doesn't want her babies to fall out (and has nightmares that they do- boo) Her crib converted to a toddler bed and now to a double bed. That's the way to buy baby furniture these days- Holtz has the exact same set!
Cabin Fever set in probably back in January so we were trying to figure out a way to head to Florida to visit Bob and Sharon (and Uncle Andy and Aggie). Holtz still hates being in the car so we decided that Evan would fly Holtz down to FL and Grace and I would drive. It worked out marvelously! Grace was such a great traveler! Grace and I left on March 10th and met Evan and Holtz in Orlando on the 11th. We stayed until March 21st and had a perfect time!
Grace and I drove all day the first day and stayed the night in Savannah, GA. On our second day of driving, Grace and I went to the Jacksonville Zoo. It was cold but we had a super time nonetheless. Here we are on the train to show us around the zoo.
After the zoo we still had time to burn since Evan's plane was delayed an hour now arriving after 10pm. So, we found a beach and played a bit.
Grace is such a polite well behaved little girl. People comment on it all the time and we couldn't be more proud of her. We are still working on getting her to eat new things (major challenge)! Grace has started taking an interest in Evan and his job. She understands now that he has to work to earn money so we can have and do nice things. Such a concept for a little one. She also said last week that she can't wait to be big like me. When I asked her why, she said that she couldn't wait to vacuum and dust. (smile)
We're in FL! Here we are heading to the pool down the street from the house. Don't let the stroller fool you. Holtz is now running and climbing! Yes, climbing! Oh my, we found him on Grace's art table standing up the other day. Mr. Trouble is still Mr. Trouble but is also called Pig-Pen. He's into everything and loves to get messy! He waves hello and good bye (and even says bye). He says Cack (Quack) when he sees ducks, baaa when he sees sheep and pretty much calls everything else gog (for dog). He now shakes his head yes too (he's been shaking his head no for some time now)!
Funny guy...keep those swim trunks on! Holtz is learning more and more every day. He now can identify his head, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, hands and feet. He also helps with the dressing process. We've still been working on his sign language. He knows (not quite 100% consistency) more, no more, milk, down, thank you and please.
Grace is so much better in the water now- what fun! Did I tell you Grace can put her own hair in a pony tail now? Incredible! Oh, and we don't have her take naps anymore either- just an hour of quiet time in her room every day. She's certainly growing up quickly. She said the other day after noticing a tiny bump on her face, "I think I'm starting to get pimples at this age."
Playing on the beach- there's not much better than this!
Both kids loved the ocean this year! Grace went out up to her chest (with help) and Holtz didn't want to get out. We went to several really great beaches this year. The best was Bathtub beach which is a shallow low tide lagoon made by a coral reef close to the shore. When the tide went out around 2 the water was so low that both kids could walk way out and there were little sand islands.
Back at Bob and Sharon's- Grace reading to Holtz in her bed. Reading is still their favorite past time.
One of the neatest things that we did in Florida was to go to The Lion Country Safari. This place was AMAZING! You drive through the zoo and the animals just roam free. I've never been so close to giraffes, zebras, rhino's, etc. The only animals that were in a fence were the lions- probably a good idea!
After you drive through the safari part of the zoo, you then park and go to the other part of the zoo that has a regular zoo and rides/ water play area for kiddos. Here Grace is riding the dumbo ride all by herself. She decided she was old enough to ride it by herself this year- wow!
Holtz on the carousel (on a monkey- he he). This is his first carousel ride.
Grace and Mimi-
And here is the water area. Grace is covering up one of the squirt holes with her foot-
Notice the big kids behind her-
Boo (tear) waahhh! Florida is over and Grace and I head back to Lexington. Not without a stop at Uncle Mikey's place in Atlanta. We were able to stay the night with him (thanks Mike). When we woke up he and Grace made homemade blueberry pancakes- yum!
Grace and Daddy had another hot date night. This time they went to Disney on Ice with our neighbors Chris, Dana and Savannah. Grace wanted to look just like a princess so we dressed her in her fanciest dress and I curled her hair. She even has the slightest bit of pale pink eye shadow on! If you click on the picture, maybe you can see it-
Savannah and Grace- They are so cute!
After Grace's last pottery class, we went to McDonalds with her friend Megan. Special girl time!
Here's Grace and Savannah on Sav's 4 wheeler- whoa...watch out for these two!
Grace back together with Owen. Boy do we miss our little Owen! Owen and his family relocated to Ohio and this is the first time we've seen them since. The kids seemed to catch right up. We went to BW3's for the UK game- Go Cats!
Holtz has been dealing with separation anxiety. He's always been a fussy guy but now he is throwing crazy temper tantrums. He is a head banger like Grace (gets mad and drops to the floor and yes, bangs his head on the floor). I've been trying to push him to play by himself since we got back from Florida with a little luck. I thought maybe he would be ready for his first movie (Baby Einstein Series). As soon as I left the room he didn't give a darn about the movie. We'll keep working on it!
Last but not least I have to mention my NCAA bracket. I have UK going all the way! I'm not bragging but I'm in awe of how well it's gone. Out of 5 1/2 million people, I am ranked 1,926. C-A-T-S Cats Cats Cats!
I know this video is sideways but still a great shot from the beach. As of today, Grace is officially on Spring Break- woo hoo! Now, we just have to figure out what to do...nothing can beat our trip to FL this year! Maybe head back to FL (hint hint daddy)... Hope everyone enjoyed the post- That's all for now!
