Lauren's birthday weekend

We had a very nice rest of the weekend after Lauren's birthday. Gaga (Alex's new name for his grandma) and Papa O'Brien stayed the weekend, which the kids loved. They actually stayed at a hotel right by our house (since our house was a little crazy that weekend) and the kids were able to go swimming at their waterpark and they had a great time. Papa and dad loved the waterslide the most though - great big kids!! So it was nice to be able to spend the weekend with my parents! Alex played outside riding his big wheel and little powerwheels motorcycle. He's getting too big for the powerwheels so my mom told him he was getting too big and needed a new one. He looked at her and exclaimed, "You're right Gaga, let's get one now!" In case you don't know, those are like $300, so good thing he's asking his grandma and not his dad!! Then we spent Memorial Day at Nana and Grandpa Vohs' house. Alex was outside the entire day helping Grandpa outside - he loves it up there - loves to help rake, shovel sand, etc. and loves to watch the boats and the jet skis (which he calls motorcycles on the water)! And Drew's grandparents were in town, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with them as well. Wonderful weekend for us all!

It's finally nice outside!

Well - it's finally nice outside and we are definitely enjoying it. Here's some pictures of the kids playing outside this weekend. They just LOVE it and Lauren actually takes naps now - she must be loving it as well! A funny comment from Alex happened this week - I was "slightly" frustrated by Lauren one day this week (let's just say she's a VERY picky eater and it drives me crazy somedays) but Alex must have picked up on the fact that I was a little frustrated and he all of a sudden exclaims, "Oh my goodness, Lauren Vohs" and just scolded her. It was hilarious. Needless to say, guess I need to be careful that he doesn't pick up on my frustration! But he's such a typical big brother - for the most part, he plays really well with her and gets really excited when she does something new (like crawling up the stairs or taking a few steps here and there) and he loves to see her in the morning, but boy - he sure lets me know when she does something she's not supposed to! Lauren will love that in high school!!

Alex and Lauren's trip to the Children's Museum

Aunt Betsy and I took the kids to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. Betsy gave us a membership for Alex's birthday last year and the kids ADORE this place!!! They had lots of fun playing with all the stuff and even Lauren was super into it this time. Maybe it's because mom finally let her crawl all over the place - it helps when you have extra hands to watch them both - thanks Betsy! So, Alex and Lauren both loved the water area where they played with ping pong balls in the water and Alex had boat races. Lauren really loved the area where you can play fake instruments while the radio is playing loudly over speakers and you can see yourselves on the TV - basically make your own music video. Alex plays the guitar and Lauren is a dancing machine!!!! Even Betsy and mom joined in the fun. It's a great place and we had a wonderful morning there!

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!