Preschool Graduation!

Daniel is officially done with preschool and is ready for kindergarten! Wahoo!

His school had a graduation ceremony today, and it was the CUTEST. I know it is kind of silly, but I was a little emotional. I am so excited for him to start kindergarten, but it was difficult to say goodbye to such a loving classroom with wonderful children and parents.

The ceremony was adorable. The kids sang their little hearts out. Afterwards we ate cake, and each child was presented with an incredible memory book made by the teachers. We are talking about a 50 page scrapbook from the whole year for each child. I don't know how his teachers were able to do that!

So goodbye preschool and hello to riding the bus, a big new school, and new adventures in kindergarten!

Andrew waiting for the party to begin!

I was so glad Bryson could squeeze this in between cases today. It was great to have him there.

The kids all turned their backs during one of the performances. 

And they all had cool shades on when they faced us! 

Daniel ran up to receive his 'diploma' (almost knocking down his teacher!)

Daniel and Heidi Hadzima

Cake!

A baby was loving the frosting :)

Heidi presenting Daniel with books, the scrapbook, and candy!

James had 'pajama' day at his class today. 

This cool kid is ready for kindergarten!

Visit to the Taylor's

We love visiting the Taylor Family. Shannon always has something exciting planned for us to do. This time it was spending a day in Philly and then attending the Time Out for Women in Harrisburg. Our day in Philly was fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we saw great sites, ate good (greasy) food, and went to this awesome playground near the Philly Zoo.

Two very best buddies in front of Independence Hall.

Eating our Geno's Philly Cheese steak. These things were HUGE and so delish. 

Bryson's cousin Rachel met up with us with her two cute girls, Chloe and Lucy. We all had a great time at the park before heading back to Allentown. I am so glad Shannon showed us such a great weekend! And thank you to Taylor (Bryson's brother) for driving up from D.C. to watch my kids while I went to the conference. We will be back soon for another great visit :)

Tubing!

When we were in Utah (ages ago!) my parents took the boys tubing in Park City. It was really fun! They have smaller hills for kids and larger ones for adults (or dare devils like Daniel). My mom offered to watch Andrew for me for much of the time, so I actually got to join in on the fun as well :)

Show and Tell

Daniel was the student of the day at his preschool a few weeks ago. Part of the fun of having this title is you get to bring in a show and tell. After you 'show' off your prized possession, other students get to ask questions or make comments, and then you get to 'tell' them about it. I asked Daniel what he wanted to bring to class and he said Andrew! He also requested that they wear matching clothing :) It was too cute for words!

Some of the questions asked where:

"Why does he touch his toes?" (Because he likes them)

"What is its favorite foods?" (Um...him likes milk and cheerios)

"Can him talk or say funny things?" (No! He is a baby!)

"What tricks does he do?" (Lots of tricks like roll around (he then tried to show them how he rolls))

It was so much fun to watch Daniel show off his little brother with so much pride. What a funny morning!

10 Months old

**warning- picture quality is pretty bad. I only have my iphone these days to take pics :(

Andrew (or our little 'gem' as I call him) is officially 10 months old today. This month has been a big one for this little guy. He has started loving all sorts of food and is turning into a great eater. He also started 'scooting' (pulling his body forward with his fore arms) all over the place. He learned this the weekend of April 21st when we were at his aunt Shannon's house in PA. What is funny about this is that Daniel learn to crawl when we were with Shannon as well. She must have quite an effect on my kids' ambition to move!

Andrew also is getting his 2 bottom teeth. They are taking forever to come in but are so cute! He has such a third child personality. He is most content on the floor, quietly exploring things and always seems to be happy! His smile is so contagious. His chubby cheeked grin lights up the room. We love you sweet boy!

Out from Hibernation?

Hello!

Yes- we are alive! It has been a busy winter. We have had bridal showers, weddings, a medical mission, trips to visit family, family visiting us, and unfortunately, some winter bugs. But I think the main reason that I am behind on my blog is that I left my camera (with all my photos) at my sister's house in LA and I am too scared to have it shipped by mail. Thankfully I have few photos on my phone that I can post (although they are not the best quality).

First off, my baby cakes Andrew is 8 months old today. I know I say this in EVERY post I write about him, but how is he growing up so fast?! He is such an awesome little guy. The little chub is my most easy going baby by far. He is rolling all round, scooting backwards, babbling, and, my favorite, saying 'mamma' as of 3 days ago. I was a little worried when he was not eating solid food at 7 months, but about 3 weeks ago he decided he was ready and now is crazy about the stuff. He pretty much likes everything we feed him and it shows on his 22 pound body! He is THE best. 

Here is a shot from lunch yesterday

And the highlight of this winter was my little sister Stephanie getting married!!!! It was the wedding of all weddings, and she could not have looked any more beautiful than she did. Her husband, Seth, is just adorable, and we had such a wonderful time with him and his family on this special event. 

As I said, I left my camera with all of my photos in LA, but you can see some of her photos on this blog: 

http://www.urbanvisionstudios.com/blog/?p=5772

I will definitely post about this great day again!

Stephanie and Seth's engagement photo

Kate, Steph, & I at Stephanie's bachelorette party at Serendipity III in Las Vegas

The gorgeous bride

After the wedding we went to Los Angeles to spend some time with my sister Kate and her family. They showed us a great time, and I left LA wondering why we don't live in a place that is 80 degrees and sunny in February (and living next to my awesome sister Katy)? The boys were able to get some much needed vitamin D as they played in the sun and swam almost every day we were there. 

Daniel and his cute cousin Tommy

On one of our MANY flights, a pilot (the coolest pilot ever) let Daniel sit up front and push some of the buttons! No- we were not in the air when he did this!

While we were there, my dear husband went to Uganda on a medical service mission. He had an incredible trip and was able to perform close to 70 surgeries in less than 10 days. I need to get his photos from him to show you some of the amazing pictures he took of the children and adults that he was able to  operate on. Most of the people he helped had cleft palates, but others suffered with tumors, burns, and all sorts of other ailments. 

And then my sister-in-law came up to visit last week. It is always such a great time when we are with her and her two boys! We are so grateful she braved the trip driving alone with her kids (pregnant) to come see us. 

 Jordan and Daniel making pizza together