Alden- aka Caveman

Those of you who have been around Alden know that 1)he loves to talk and 2)he is next to impossible to understand! Once he turned 2, I knew something wasn't "right" but was assured by the pediatrician that he would catch on.

By the time we moved back to Virginia, I knew something needed to be done- his vocab was growing, but his clarity was simply not there. Our amazing pediatrician here in Richmond agreed that I should be concerned and helped me get pointed in the right direction.

It wasn't easy- after 3 months of waiting, he has finally been evaluated and my concerns have been confirmed. His cognitive abilities are at or above 36mo, but his speech is that of a 20mo old. Since there is a greater than 20% difference, he qualifies for speech therapy through the country (aka using my tax dollars). The biggest "issue" is that he can only receive services through the county until his 3rd birthday- then he is referred to the local elementary school. And the kicker is that now there is a wait-list to receive therapy! Due to his short-coming, Alden is now #1 on the list, but who knows how long it will be before a therapist has an opening.... I have been given a few activities to do with him, to help him learn to say consents- so at least we are heading in the right direction!! Someday my little caveman will be understood!!

One thing that we were asked to do for his speech, was to have his hearing evaluated. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it- he can hear me opening a bag of cookies from the other side of the house!

In the waiting room at the audiologist's. He LOVED the dinosaurs there!

Showing the dino the ear poster and getting very excited about it!

He sat on my lap for most of the test and was a champ- even when the Dr poked things into his ear. Result- his hearing is just fine!

The Dr giving the kids stickers they were both so good!

Our Little Ballerina

Addie is going to start a ballet and tap class this summer. We wanted to start with a short version- incase she didn't like it. I don't think that is going to be an issue!!

Here she is all ready to go- her dance studio holds a trial class the weekend before, just to help the Mom's see if the kids are ready! She is!!

Waiting for the other girls to get ready. She is THRILLED to be taking her dance with Savannah.

Warming up

Happy Dancer!!

Learning to curtsy!

Loving Savannah- they are going to really enjoy this summer together!

Savannah's Party

Addie met Savannah on her first day at her new preschool in Virginia- they were both the new kids. They hit it off and have been friends ever since. On Father's Day, it was Savannah's birthday party- and she had it at the gym that her parents worked at- they were both gymnasts through college.

Here there are waiting for the other guests to arrive.

All in a circle listening to the directions given by the teachers

Working through the kiddy obstacle course. I love her tongue in her cheek- she's reallllly concentrating.

Bouncing down the trampoline to then jump into the foam pit!

LOVING it! She just may be a future gymnast!

A little time on the uneven bars...

Then she moved on to the balance beam...

Then finished with climbing the wall.

And what party wouldn't be complete without pizza (already eaten at this point) and then cake!

Addie had a blast- and she may be asking for classes for Christmas!!

Anniversary Trip

It's been an amazing 10 years with Al- but that is the topic of a different post. Due to the craziness of our schedules, we were only able to escape for a night (it was supposed to be longer, but thanks to Lowe's needing to change Al's schedule, it ended up being 1 night). We were SO thankful for the in-laws coming to spoil the kids so we could enjoy time together. It was fantastic!!

Here is our hotel room. It was written up in several magazines as a good place to stay- it was spotless and just across the street from the beach!

The view straight out of our room- what a beautiful sunset!

The view to the right outside of our window- perfection!!

Ahh- the beach- just us! We enjoyed sitting, reading, playing in the surf, talking- all uninterrupted!!

Aren't we cute?!?

Our hotel- I love that it's so retro!

A famous landmark!!

Hilarious street sign- no cursing!

And another one- seriously? We broke this while looking for a parking space!!

It was a great time to just be together- thank you MarMar and PopPop for watching the kiddos and making this weekend possible!

The Big TEN!!

A little over 12 years ago, a girl met a boy and they fell in love. 2 years later, they would get married and live happily ever after. Or something like that!

I can't believe it's been 10 years since we got married, tied the knot, got hitched. It has been hands down the 2nd best decision (the 1st being to follow Christ). It's been an adventure- up and down the eastern seaboard! I love you, Al, for being so fun, a great father, an awesome leader, and an amazing life partner! These last 10 years have been action-packed- and you know that I'm not one to just sit around!! I love you and look forward to the future with you and our family!

Wedding Day- Plainedge Baptist Church- think My Big Fat Greek Wedding with the roles reversed....

1st Anniversary- we had just bought our first home in Lake Worth, FL

2nd Anniversary- spent it in Europe, but here is our picture before we left, from Al's backyard

3rd Anniversary- we had just moved into our 2nd home in Richmond, VA

4th Anniversary- Still in Richmond, VA

5th Anniversary- Preggos with Addie!!

6th Anniversary- We have our 1st child in our arms- yay!

7th Anniversary- preggos with Alden and had just moved to ESVA

8th Anniversary- Living the High Life in Delaware- here we are on Rehoboth Beach

9th Anniversary- a simple affair in Delaware- pic taken by Addie

10th Anniversary- Sure this was taken before our anniversary, but it sums us up pretty well!

Silly Boy...

Alden is SO silly these days.... He was showing off for MarMar last night and these pics just summarize it nicely....

So sweet- this is his "Aren't I adorable, don't get mad at me..."

Modeling his latest obsession- sun glasses! He walked around with these on all day- and got irritated around bedtime that it was now so dark....

And just to show off even more, he refused to put them on right-side-up OR show me his face- he kept covering-up his face with his hands. He is SO silly, but we love him!!

Pretty Princess Party

Addie BFF from school invited a several of her friends over for a Princess Party. It wasn't anyone's birthday, she just wanted to have fun with her friends and do princess "stuff." It was SO sweet and SO much fun- that all of us Mom's said we would love to do it again!!

Here is Cinderella ready for her Ball- she is a tad bit wet in the hair dept as we had gone to the pool before hand.... And yes, Cinderella and Snow White as the best of friends!

(Notice the glass slippers!)

Addie and her BFF, Molly. These 2 are SO sweet together!!

All the Princesses practicing good manners during the Tea Party portion. They passes a plate with mini-cupcakes on it, said "please" and "thank you" and sipped pink lemonade.

Posing, as any Princess would, on the Grand Staircase! Aren't they an adorable little bunch?!?

And then it was on to the craft portion! Here they made wands, bracelets, tiarras, and then decorated them (and their Mom's) with glitter glue, stickers, and sequins. It was perfect for these little princesses!

And then Miss Rachel (Molly's Mom) finished it up nicely with reading a Princess book on Manners- the girls were all ears and listened so nicely.

It was so nice- and such a sweet time with friends! We may be hosting a Princess Party of sorts next month!

Birthdays X 2

Today was a big day around here! Not only was it PopPop Old's birthday (Lisa's dad), but our good friend, Karen, was being induced! We were rather surprised that she made it this long, but we were praying all day long for a smooth delivery for her little girl, Avery Grace!

Hannah, Avery's Big Sister, came and spent the day with us so that both Grandma's and Mike could spend the day with Karen in the hospital! Our kids love each other so it was a blast and an honor to spend the day with Hannah!

The day started off with a bang- Grandma Deb arrived with Hannah AND Dunkin' Donuts!! Yay!! Here I'm getting thumbs-up all around! yum!

Even though it was a bit on the cool side, we still wanted to wear out the kids- so we took the kids to the pool to play and burn off some serious energy. We ended up having the entire pool all to ourselves!!

Ready, set, go!!

Lunch Buddies!!

Silly Hannah!! String cheese face!

And finally, with about 10 min left before we needed to leave, Hannah got in the Big Pool to join us in a game of Ring Around the Rosy!

Just as we got up from naps, we got the call that Avery had arrived!!! To celebrate, we headed to McDonald's to have ice cream sundaes!! Addie has been thinking and talking about this for weeks- so she was thrilled!!

Once the Sundaes were gone, Hannah and I headed to the hospital!! Here she is in her Big Sister t-shirt, holding french-fries, standing outside of the Maternity Ward! She was SO excited!! All the way to the hospital, she kept telling me that HER Avery had come, that she was going to kiss Avery, that she was going to love Avery, that she was going to share with Avery- she was SO happy to finalllllly meet her much anticipated little sister!!

Drum roll......

Avery Grace!!! She weighed in at 7lbs 14 ozs and was 21" long! This was such a relief- the ultrasounds estimated that she could have been closer to 9lbs!!

Here Hannah is meeting her for a 2nd time- Mike held her and made the 1st introductions. She was VERY interested, VERY gentle, and VERY excited when Avery grabbed her hand!

Avery is such a pretty baby- she looks a lot like Hannah, just with a head full of dark, curly hair! Hannah was so gentle, I know she will make a fantastic Big Sister!!

And to celebrate at our house- for both Avery and PopPop Old- we had candles in cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to both of them!!