mother's day

My lovely husband took me and the girls to Grand Haven for a walk along the pier, the weather was fabulous and the company was wonderful too!  We had a great time, relaxing and enjoying each other. 

 In the afternoon we went to Pam and Den's and had a fabulous meal and we were lucky enough to spend some more time with Oma and Opa and others. 

 Lucy with two of her three great-grandmothers!

 Papa giving her her first taste of beer!

 all the moms

Barefoot Ballerina

The title of this blog is thanks to Papa!  Izzy had her first ballet performance today and we got all the way there, with no time to spare and I realized that I forgot her ballet shoes... It was devastating for a moment, but we worked through it, and she came out of her mood remarkably fast and was able to perform like a little ballerina! 

She actually did a fabulous job, I went into this performance with no expectations, but I would have to say she was one of the best little ballerinas up there and she was by far the youngest and the smallest! 

 Marcus even got a chance to go up on stage and practice his ballet skills~what a great dad!

 Look at her up on those toes!

 She was also a very lucky ballerina because along with Aunt Rah-Rah, Uncle Matt and Miles, she had both sets of grandparents and a set of great-grandparents attend her performance.  Oma and Opa were in town from Toronto and were able to come and see Izzy perform! 

She sat for 25 minutes to let me do her hair!.......

catching up

April brought us ups and downs and busy times in between. 

Lucy is finally sitting up and so it is time for a real tubby. Izzy offered to help hold her up in the tub and save our backs, so we took her up on her offer.  It was so fun seeing them in there together!  Lucy loved splashing and playing in the water and Izzy was quite interested in washing her sister's hair and back.  

Izzy made it to the doctor for her 4-year well-child check up.  She is doing well, very healthy.  She is still a little peanut weighing in at 31lbs (in the 16th percentile) and 37.5 inches tall (9th percentile).  She is just taller than a yard stick, is what she would tell you.  She had to get four immunizations and was not very happy about that.    

Grandpa D. had a stroke at the end of April and his recovery and treatment have taken up a lot of our time.  We have been visiting the hospital daily, and checking in constantly.  He is making gains every day and we are hoping and praying for a full, speedy recovery! After a very long, emotional week, we decided to hang out at home in our backyard sanctuary that Marcus has been working so hard on.  We had a pizza picnic.  I made the pizzas, goat cheese and yellow peppers -Izzy's favorite, and Izzy set out the blanket and the plates, and napkins.  Lucy slept through most of it, but joined us at the end for some fresh melon and photo opportunities. What a wonderfully, relaxing evening at home.

Izzy Turns 4!

This year has gone by so quickly, and there have been so many changes, but through it all, Izzy has maintained her adorable sweetness, great imagination and fabulous giggle. It is hard for me to believe that Izzy is 4, she has grown into a very inquisitive, imaginative, loving big-sister. Her favorite things to do are thrashing her dad, riding her bike around the block, playing with neighborhood friends, helping me bake, painting, playing pretend, playing with her cousins (near and far), and smooching her little sister. We are so lucky to be her parents, she brings us joy and happiness and fills us with so much love! Happy Birthday my darling daughter!

a look back at her year as a 3-year old!

Easter

We had a fabulous Easter day! The sun was out, it was a bit windy, but otherwise it was perfect. I stuffed eggs, Marcus hid them, and the kids had so much fun searching for them. We were lucky enough to keep Alex and Benji for an extra day so they could join in the fun! It is so fun having a group of cousins to play with!

Our two little bunnies!

Off to hunt!

All the cousins!

Way too cute!

r a i n b o w p a r t y ! ! !

We had Izzy's birthday party last Sunday at her gymnastics gym. It was great fun, full of running, bouncing, flipping and lots and lots of giggling! The kids all did great! This was her first "friend" party. I hardly saw Izzy the whole time, she was in her glory with all of her friends and cousins. She remarked on a number of occasions how she wished that Ryan, Cole and Ollie could have been there...

The whole family with our rainbow shirts on, at the request of Izzy!

This was her rainbow confetti birthday cake!

All the kids getting ready to run after they listened to the rules!

Lucy even had a try at the balance beam.

Us with our rainbow painted finger nails, we did our toes as well!

So happy! Can't believe that my little girl is almost four!!!!!!

Special Person's Day and Lucy's Six Month Check-Up

Lucy went to the doctor for her 6 month check-up. All is well, her neck is better, her reflux is much better and she is starting to sit up on her own, and rolling all over the place. She is 25.5in long in the 35th percentile and 12.9lbs and in the 2nd percentile. Check out Izzy's stats from her six month check up here.

Izzy had a special day at school where she invited Grandpa to come in and see some of her work, and show him around the room. My dad said she did a great job and introduced him to a lot of her friends and teachers, and she showed him a bunch of stuff. Her teacher sent a couple pictures, and I thought this one was pretty adorable. Afterwards, Grandpa took her to Steak N' Shake, her favorite restaurant! Thanks for the special visit Grandpa!