Sorry for the lack of updates!!

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated the blog!!!! For those of you who don't know, Andrew and I were in Europe for 10 days and it's taken quite a lot for me to get back into the swing of things. So sorry for the delay - I promise to get better again! The above picture was taken by Nana and Grandpa Vohs while the kids were at their house while we were in Europe. The kids spent the first 3 days of our Europe trip at our house with Grandma and Papa O'Brien and the rest of the time at Nana and Grandpa's house. I think it's safe to say that the kids loved spending so much time with their grandparents and the grandparents loved their time as well. We heard lots of fun stories about their visits.

So, some fun udpates...We are getting ready to celebrate Lauren's first birthday on Friday!! Wow - time flies. Hard to believe a year ago I was incredibly pregnant and waiting for her arrival, though I was convinced she was a boy! Alex woke up a couple of weeks ago and exclaimed, "Mom, we go to Toys R Us today?" I wanted to know why he wanted to go there and he proceeded to tell me that "Lauren's birthday is coming up!" I was so impressed and so moved, we packed up the car and headed to Toys R Us though it took him FOREVER to pick out a gift for her and of course, he wanted to play with it as soon as we got home. Though I thought it was cute!

Both kids are growing like weeds. We are having so much fun with them right now. They are a blast and they constantly make each other laugh - it is SO cute! Lauren is turning into quite a spirited little girl. When she gets real excited (or mad), she gets really loud and animated. The other day, Alex made her mad so she got really loud (babbling, not crying) and he looked at me and said, "Holy Cow Mom, she's a loud girl!" It was priceless. No idea where he learned "holy cow" but it was just hilarious.

A couple of weeks ago we were able to spend a couple of days with Uncle Mike. Alex was obsessed with him, it was too cute. Everything was "Uncle Mike" this and "Uncle Mike" that. I think Uncle Mike thought it was pretty special too. And on Saturday, Alex spent some time playing with Grandpa Vohs. When he woke up on Sunday, he told me that "he played with Grandpa yesterday." Then he looked at me and said, "He's a nice guy." So funny. The things that come out of his mouth are truly priceless. It'll be so interesting when Lauren starts talking too - I know she'll have plenty to say!

So, we're getting ready for Lauren's big birthday this weekend. Should be a good time - I'll post pictures next week!

Drew's 30th Birthday

Monday was Drew's 30th birthday - man, is he old! Alex woke up yesterday morning, ran and gave his dad a hug and exclaimed, "Happy Birthday Dad!" It was so cute - Drew said that meant the world to him. Then we had school yesterday morning and Alex told all of his teachers that it was his dad's birthday and he needed to make him an art project - so he painted a butterfly for him. He was so excited to give it to his dad. Then when we got home from school, he told me that we needed to "make a cake for dad." For those of you who don't know, Alex LOVES baking! He puts on his apron and loves to get right into it though it's hard to convince him to wait to eat the finished project. So, Alex and I baked a cake for his dad - Alex was so proud of it.

Lauren's New Favorite Activity

Sooo - the second I look away, Miss Lauren crawls as fast as she can towards the bathroom and unrolls the ENTIRE roll of toliet paper and wraps herself in it and giggles nonstop. She thinks she's hilarious. Alex thinks she is funny too and wants to join in the fun sometimes. Here's a picture of their troublemaking. On other fronts, Lauren is so close to walking. She pulls herself up on everything and will walk around the room if you hold onto one of her hands. She has a little walker thing that she pushes around the entire living room floor - she is VERY proud of herself. Of course, Alex hated this thing when he was little, but now that his sister uses it, it's a whole new ballgame.

Spring is Here??

Well, we think spring may finally be here for good. After many weeks of Alex begging to go outside - "Mom, it warm up yet?", we were finally able to go for a walk this week - here's a picture. They love their sunglasses from Nana and Grandpa Vohs. We've all been sick for a couple of weeks so it felt WONDERFUL, probably for mom more than anyone else. Alex keeps wanting to go to the park - in fact, he told me the other day that he wants a slide for his house. I told him that dad doesn't want a slide (which he doesn't) and he exclaimed, "But Lauren wants a slide" as if that would convince his father. So the next time he saw his dad, he runs up and asks, "Dad, I buy a slide please?" His father was almost convinced....