Elyse's first trip to the beach!

We just retuned from a wonderful vacation! We went with Ryan's family to Daytona Beach and it was fabulous. Elyse loved the beach, which was surprising to me because she hates to be dirty. Whenever she gets something on her hands, she says "mommy clean please." She said this for the first little bit and wanted me to clean her beach shoes. Finally, she realized the sand was ok and even sat down to play in it. The resort we stayed in was Daytona Beach Shores and Spa Resort. It was SO nice and I would recommend it to anyone taking a beach trip! We spent our mornings at the beach/ pool, afternoons napping, and evenings shopping and eating out! Elyse's highlight of the trip, I believe, was riding on the airplane. Of course she couldn't remember doing this twice last year so I'm sure she thought this was her first time. She is still saying, "I ride on the airplane! I'll be back!" She is really loving the pool now so I'm sure we will have to frequent that a lot this summer.

Overall, this was a perfect vacation. Praise God for safe travels and great family time relaxing!

Fun in the sun at Nana and Pops

We enjoyed a full day at Nana and Pops house. They bought a great new playground and a swimming pool, which Blake and Elyse loved! This is the first of many fun days here for the summer!

Our trip to Pigeon Forge

We had a wonderful getaway last weekend! We went with mom and dad, Amanda, Brad, and Blake to Gatlinburg and it was a blast! Mom and Dad were so sweet to take Elyse and Blake down during their nap time last Friday so they could sleep most of the way. The rest of us joined them in Pigeon Forge that Friday night. It was a short visit but we managed to squeeze in shopping, a trip to the Gatlinburg Aquarium, and good family time. :-) Elyse and Blake had so much fun playing together. I never thought I could have had twins when Elyse was a baby... but at this age, it would be great!

She's not a baby anymore!

Look at these pictures! If they don't scream "little girl," I don't know what does. I mean, her hair goes up in pigtails!! And she is talking like crazy and actually having conversations with us! She amazes us more and more everyday and does something at least twice a day that makes Ryan and I look at each other and say "she is so awesome!" What a fun age and what a miracle God has given us!!

Happy Easter!

We started a new tradition tonight! We took Elyse to Nana and Pops and Blake came over too. Nana hard boiled some eggs and then we dyed them! We were a bit worried first when they wanted to throw them but they quickly learned they had to be gentle and they did awesome! It was so much fun and we were so impressed with how focused our toddlers were on this activity!

On a different note, we are reminded of how blessed we are after having a great doctor appointment with Dr. Cottrill, our cardiologist this week. She did chest x-rays and said she was "quite pleased" with the size of Elyse's heart and how it looked. She doesn't want to see her back for 6 months!! Praise God for this healthy girl! Is He awesome or what??!! What better time than Easter to remember how truly awesome He is in EVERY way!

We love spring break!

What a wonderful break it was! I am more ready for summer now than I have ever been. After a quick 2 night getaway with my best friends from college, I was able to enjoy days doing nothing but relaxing with my girl. If only Daddy was off last week with us, it would have been perfect. Instead, he gets to enjoy this week off. I guess that's what we get for working in two separate school districts. Oh well.

Last night we enjoyed a night of fun with our friends Jeff, Emmi, and their baby Kylie, along with Jenny, Stevie, and their daughter Ella. Both of these couples have amazing pregnancy journeys as we do also and we sat in awe of the girls as they played. We have all prayed for each of these girls before they were born and we were so humbled to remember how awesome our God is for blessing us with these children. It was a perfect end to my spring break!

The funny part of this was Elyse stayed up playing with Ella until 9 p.m. (an hour past bedtime). I thought for sure we would get to sleep in. Wrong!! Elyse was up an hour earlier than usual. So much for that thought...

Elyse used the potty!

We got a potty chair a few weeks ago just to have so Elyse could explore with it before we are actually ready to potty train. She has figured out exactly what it was for and used it for the first time this week. I told her it was time to take a bath and we went into the bathroom and she said "potty!" So I sat her on it and then started running her bathwater. The next thing I knew I turned back around and she was standing up looking in saying "Lysee go pee pee" and dipping her hand in it! We were so excited and so proud of our big girl! Does this mean she's ready to potty train?? I don't think she is near ready to tell us when she needs to go but it's a good start!

On a different note, I am so excited about it being spring break and spending time with my sweet girl. If only daddy shared the same break... :-(