Big kid beds and fun with friends!

My babies' babyhood is definitely fleeting. We are officially done with pacis although Drew will randomly ask  for them every once in a while, they, especially Anna Kate, are doing great with potty training, and this weekend, we converted their cribs to toddler beds! I have to admit, I am a little sad that my babies are officially little kids now.

They have been able to climb out of their cribs since before they were a year and half old (they are little monkeys you know) but they never would until recently. In the last couple of weeks, they have been getting up on their own so I knew it was time to take down the front rail on their cribs. I wanted to do a trial run with nap time so on Sunday morning, I took them off. They haven't been napping all that great so I wasn't sure how it would go. Ever since they were tiny, I would put them down for a nap and then run the vacuum cleaner. I think the white noise helps them get to sleep plus is allows me to get my vacuuming out of the way. Recently, we will joke that I am going to "vacuum them up" if they don't hurry and get in their beds for naps. I may have more threatened (as opposed to joking) that I would vacuum them up if they got out of their beds. Much to my surprise, they went right to sleep (well, I did have to go in and tell Drew to be quiet because he was singing rather loudly and Anna Kate was already asleep).  And, they slept for 2.5 hours! They have been doing just fine at night too. I am so proud of them!

 Little cuties!

 Excited about sleeping in their "big kid" beds for the first time!

We managed to have some fun this weekend too! We went swimming at April's house with Kylie & Ty on Friday afternoon and had a picnic on the back porch for dinner. Drew and Anna Kate loved spending time with them!

 Hotdogs with friends!

Saturday morning, we hung out around the house until John Clay got home from mowing. They both wore underwear without any accidents all morning! 

 Drew loves to wear his shoes and especially likes his socks. I think we need to work a little bit on his fashion selections. Haha!

Uncle Doug & Aunt Donna were nice enough to let us come swim in their pool Saturday afternoon. It was nice to spend some time relaxing with John Clay. Drew and Anna Kate are getting really good at swimming and it is nice to let them have a little freedom to move around without having to feel like I need to hold their heads out of the water.

 Sweet smile! She had a great time!

Drew is my little water dog. Anna Kate wasn't much into participating at swim lessons this week but he got it and got straight to business. He swam all over (with help from the instructor) and even went under a few times! 

Just keep swimming

Drew and Anna Kate had their first swim lesson this week and they did pretty well! I wasn't really sure what to expect and how it would go but they surprised me a little. This is lessons where they are only in the water with an instructor and I knew Anna Kate especially wouldn't be a huge fan of getting in without me. She was hesitant which made Drew hesitant but we were able to convince them to get in pretty quickly.  They did well and listened pretty well to what the instructor asked them to do. I won't be throwing them into the pool without water wings this weekend or anything but they learned a couple of basic skills. The instructor was nice but young and I am hoping we have someone different next time that maybe has more experience dealing with two-year-olds. I would prefer that they learn the skills needed to survive in water first, then work on swimming skills. We'll see how next week goes!

 Learning to kick. Drew was a little lazy and usually just rode while Anna & the instructor did the work.

 Blowing bubbles in the water.

 Drew jumping in off of the step. I'm pretty sure he went all the under but didn't come up choking so I guess he listened enough to blow out while under water. They actually both went under at different times but were okay when they came up which is definite progress over last year!

Anna Kate's turn!

Father's Day weekend

This weekend was wonderful! We got to celebrate all of our favorite men and eat good food! It doesn't get much better than that!
Friday night we had dinner at Aunt Donna's house. By the time I made it home from work we were a little late but had plenty of time to visit and hold baby Rylee (an Anna Kate favorite) check out Uncle Doug's digger (a Drew favorite), go for a ride on Uncle Doug's Polaris (when they are a little older, they are going to figure out he has all the cool toys!), and go for a swim. It was the first time this year Drew and Anna Kate went swimming and they had a blast! They were even a little bit afraid of the water and even wanted to jump off the diving board after they saw their Daddy do it (without one bit of hesitation).* They had a great time and Uncle Doug and Aunt Donna's house and we will definitely have to take them back over there to swim soon. I was wearing a skirt that didn't have an pockets and am sad to say I didn't have my phone with me to take any pictures. I wish I could have gotten a video of Drew when he saw Uncle Doug's "big digger". He kept saying "Oh, wow! Oh, WOW!". He was really excited about it but scared and wouldn't get on it. Anna Kate wanted no part in it and didn't want any of us to get close to it either.
Saturday morning after breakfast we went out to run some errands. We picked up DotDot on our way. We made a bank run and then went to the market and the grocery store. Drew and Anna Kate enjoyed the market and tried to put at least one of every item they carried in our shopping cart. We attempted naps after lunch but they weren't very interested. I am afraid they are trying to give up naps since we have taken their pacis away. They really still need them though and on the days they don't have them, are pretty cranky and whiny by the evening. After John Clay got home from working we went to Aunt Teresa's lake house to celebrate the Garland dads. We had dinner and then Drew and Anna Kate got to go on their very first boat ride. To be honest, I didn't think they would get on the boat. Not only did they get on the boat, very willingly, they did their little excited giggles as we took the boat off of the lift and made out way out of the dock. They were so excited and loved every minute of the ride. Anna Kate wanted to sit up front with her Daddy and I think she almost fell asleep on the way back. We will definitely have to go back for more boat rides this summer.

 Giving sis a lift at the market. She stayed in the buggy for about 10 seconds.

 Getting ready to go on our boat ride. She proved me completely wrong and was so very excited!

 Driving the boat with Aunt Teresa.

 Crazy boat hair!

 Giving Papaw Tim thumbs up. It cracks me up to watch him think so hard about getting just his thumbs up.

 Cruisin' with her Daddy

 Having so much fun!

 Running up and down the big hill.  I wish I had as much energy as they do!

Sunday was our typical day at DotDot and Grandaddy's house with Aunt Ashley. We had a good lunch and went outside to swim in the baby pool for a while. We had another failed attempt at napping and went back outside to ride the bicycles, go for a golf cart ride, and somehow ended up back in the pool. Anna Kate likes the water but I think Drew LOVES it! He kept standing on the edge and falling in just like he would do last year. It seems like it would hurt but doesn't phase him any. By the time we got home Anna Kate was completely exhausted and fell asleep the 15 minutes into Barney. Drew tried his best to rally and even went to put his shoes on because he wanted to go outside and play in his sand box. He kept telling me that it wasn't dark outside and "it's nice outside" (that is one of his favorite sayings and I think it is adorable!). We agreed to a second episode of Barney for him and he was out 10 minutes in. All-in-all it was a wonderful, busy weekend!

 Father's Day snuggles with Daddy!

 Sliding into the COLD water!

 Anna Kate just wanted to get in because Drew and Ryan (DotDot and Grandaddy's neighbor) were in but she was freezing and really didn't want to get wet. She walked herself down and then stood up to avoid getting in completely!

 Ryan tried to teach Drew how to stick his face under water and hold his breath. Haha!

 Doing a little shaving during bath time.

Anna Kate can't be left out. They were so very tired and the shaving cream (well, washing the shaving cream off) was the source of a complete melt down from both of them. I guess it was fun while it lasted.

*They are loving swimming so much and so completely unafraid I have decided they definitely need swimming lessons. Our first one is tomorrow night at 6:00! I'm interested to see how it will go! 

Crazy kids!

I have some crazy kids! I am constantly laughing at their shenanigans and big personalities! I hope they always enjoy life as much as they do right now!

 This was how they rode to DotDot's house last Monday. Drew really needed his football helmet and glove (I guess we need to work on sports basics with him) and Anna Kate wanted to beautiful in her "big tutu".

 Having fun playing with Aunt Ashley. Notice Drew made himself a seat on her chest.

 Crazy! Drew lifted the lamp shade for his sister (even though he knows he isn't supposed to mess with it) and she decided it was a nice hat. I'm pretty sure he was fixing to jump on her too!

 She just couldn't wait to get int he bathtub the other night. She *almost* undressed herself!

 We go ready to leave for some errands the other morning and this is what she thought she was going to wear!

Drew loves a helmet! This is Papaw Tim's motorcycle helmet but he is also very, very fond of his bicycle helmet. Although, he wants the chin strap to sit on the front of his chin like they wear them in marching bands. Silly boy!

Zoo!

This past Wednesday I was able to take the day off of work so we could go to the zoo with Aunt Ashley and DotDot. It has been about a year since the last time we were there. Drew and Anna Kate really seemed to enjoy themselves. Drew was more "in" to the animals than Anna Kate was. We would roll the stroller up to an exhibit and Anna Kate would look for a minute and then say, "I wanna see somethin' else". It was somewhat hot so we didn't get to see all of the animals on display and the ones we did see weren't super active. The monkey's were having a big time playing together when we got to their exhibit and Drew went with Aunt Ashley to watch them but again, Anna Kate saw them and then was ready to move on (she's a lot like her Grandaddy!). Drew also really enjoyed watching the otters swim and flip although I think he was a little afraid they would get him through the glass.  They both liked watching the elephants and Anna Kate got really excited about a duck in the giraffe exhibit! Haha! Last year the meerkats were definitely one of their favorites but they weren't out while we were there this time. I don't know if it was too hot or what but we only saw one and he was sleeping behind a rock.
After a stop for lunch, the real fun started. We changed them into their bathing suits and turned them loose at the splash pad. Last year they walked around a little bit and liked the splash pad but got cold and were ready to go pretty quickly. This year, they had a ball and didn't seem to care too much that they were cold. They ran nonstop from one end to the other for a good 30-45 minutes. I think they were starting to get a bit tired so they weren't too hard to convince that it was time to go. It was so cute to hear Drew and Anna Kate tell people about their zoo trip and all that they saw. We stopped by Grandaddy's office on our way home and the first thing Anna Kate told Grandaddy she saw was a Hippopotamus.  The Knoxville Zoo does not have hippos. :)

Just arrived. Anna Kate was feeling a bit uncooperative about pictures. What's new?!

 Watching the prairie dogs.

Checking out the monkeys.

 Haha! You can tell by this picture he was a little nervous about that otter flipping around behind him.

 Seeing the penguins.

 Ready for the splash pad. They actually posed for a picture!

 Running through the "hoops". She decided that purple one was hers and she didn't really like it when the other kids touched it!

 Playing with the water cannons.

 Starting to get a little cold (and I think a little sleepy!)/

 Rare shot of them together. They split as soon as we got in there.

Having so much fun!

Our weekend

Our weekend started off a little rough. Our Gracie dog had a knot on her chin that was getting bigger quickly. Thursday night she didn't eat and I knew it was getting bad. Friday morning her face was so swollen her left eye was almost swollen shut. I knew it was time. John Clay left work early and took her to the vet to be put to sleep late Friday afternoon. We still have Jake and are currently trying to figure out what to do with him when we move. Drew and Anna Kate noticed she was gone right away which I think is odd. They like to stand at the door and look at the dogs, especially when they are eating but I didn't think they would notice one of them was missing. They have mentioned her a few times and say she had to go to the doctor (that was John Clay's explanation to them as to why she was gone). I know the seven years she had with us were good, even though she didn't get as much attention as she used to over the last couple years (since Anna & Drew came along).

Gracie, our sweet pound puppy

I went to dinner with some friends Friday night and Drew and Anna Kate went to dinner and Aaron's softball game with their Mamaw & Papaw.  When I got home at 10:15 they were just getting out of the bathtub.  They fell asleep watching Barney on the couch which only happens when they super tired.

 I think Drew might have missed his Mama.  He wanted to lay with me while watching Barney (he drooled all over me too!).

 Out cold! Look how long she is! When did she get so big?!?!

Also, another big story from last week/weekend.  We are rid of the pacis!!!!! I told them after they left DotDot's house last Wednesday they we must have left them there. They mentioned them a few times but didn't make a big deal out of it so neither did I.  To my surprise, they went to bed just fine without them Wednesday night and slept all night without them. I am shocked at how easy it has been! They do still ask for them pretty much every day but I just tell them I don't know where they are and usually we move on. 

Saturday afternoon we went to Hudson's birthday party at the Little Gym.  Anna Kate woke up crying from her nap right before we were supposed to leave and said her belly hurt. I had about decided to stay home but she started acting okay and said it didn't hurt when we asked her about it. I'm not sure what that was all about but she was okay so for that I am really glad. We were about 30 minutes late but had time to play a bit in the gym and then have cake. They had a good time and never even knew they had missed out on the first 30 minutes of the fun!

 Swinging on the rings like a big boy!

 Hoarding the balls.

 Drew loves jumping off of things. The floor at the gym was springy and soft and made a great place to jump. Hudson and Anna Kate played ball together and I think had a lot of fun.

Our Sunday was the typical lunch at DotDot and Grandaddy's house with Aunt Ashley. It was rainy and we didn't get to go outside much but had fun visiting.

Sunday morning. Since John Clay is gone most mornings working, if he is at home when they get up, Drew and Anna Kate get really excited. John Clay was playing trucks in the floor with Drew and Anna Kate came and sat right on his back. I think this picture is hilarious. The princess cannot sit on the floor.

The closing on our house has been delayed a couple of weeks due to slow paperwork. I feel pretty confident it will still happen, just not in two weeks like originally planned. We were originally going to move to Hubert and Katherine's last weekend and spend next weekend moving our things to storage but it looks like we are going to be staying in our house for a few more weeks. I'm not super disappointed.... I have been a little sad about moving as it was getting closer so to me, it isn't the end of the world that we have stay a little while longer.