Here are some pictures that are just cute:

A few trips:

We took the kids to the zoo this spring and Adaline had a blast seeing the animals.  Her favorite, she said, was the black bear.  He was pacing by the side fence where we could see him very well.  Really, a lot of the animals were difficult for her to spot, mostly due to them sleeping and blending in to the surroundings, but several of the exhibits were simply closed or empty.  She walked the whole time, and as you can see, both kids were tuckered out by the end of the day...a rarity for Adaline.

 

 We also were able to take a day to visit Grandpa (Shane's dad) in Fayetteville.  Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jennifer were able to join us there as well, and it was nice spending some time together.

To celebrate a collection of events (our 6th anniversary six months late, both our birthdays, and Mother's day), Shane and I were able to take a weekend vacation, on Mother's Day weekend, to the beautiful Grove Park Inn in Asheville.  Adaline and Benton stayed with Nana and Pops to allow us the trip on our own.  We went downtown on our first night to catch a late dinner and a bluegrass band of a college friend.  On Saturday, we spent the day walking around the Inn, visiting the shops and reading the history, ate great food, and took a loooonnnnggg, uninterrupted nap!  On Saturday evening we ate at the Inn's terrace restaurant and spent some time in the piano bar.  Sunday, before we headed home, we looked at the Inn's collection of antique cars, went into Asheville for brunch, and hit downtown in the rain one last time.  It was a glorious weekend of wonderful food and sleep.  

Our room was the on at the top left, with the window open.

 the view from our table at dinner on Saturday evening

Videos

Some very belated videos...

Benton crawling...

Benton walking in the beginning...Now Benton is practically running.  He loves to try to climb steps and hills around camp, even though he is still a little unsteady on his feet at times.  He has gotten a few bumps and scrapes, but camp is giving him lots of practice with uneven terrain and different surfaces (grass, carpet, wood floors, gravel).

Finally, this is a video of Adaline singing "Twinkle Twinkle."  She is trying to say all the words when she sings.  This is before we left for camp, and she is getting better all the time.  We even hear her trying to sing camp songs in her bed at night.  We can usually tell what song she is singing, but she does skip a lot of words still.  I will try and get a more recent video of some singing.

Our cookie monster

 With Adaline being newly three, we tried to get her involved in something.  We first took her to a gymnastics class, which she enjoyed, but constantly wanted to do whatever the rest of the class was not doing (When they were on the floor, she whined about the trampoline, and when they got to the trampoline, she whined about the bars, etc.).  She is kind of an independent little lady.  With Shane working for the Y, he was asked if he wanted to coach a 3 and 4 year old soccer team.  So, Adaline joined soccer this spring.

 Watching a 3 and 4 year old soccer practice and their games was pretty entertaining.  Their team was the cookie monsters, complete with a mascot, which terrified Adaline.  Her whole body shook and she had to be as far away as possible if he (Jim, who works for Cheerio as well, dressed up in the costume camp purchased) showed up, even if he was holding a plate of homemade cookies.  Being the independent lady that she is, Adaline didn't get teamwork.  She preferred running and kicking the soccer ball continually until I had to chase her down on another field, playing in the dirt, rolling in the grass, and getting herself entangled in the goal.  The rest of her team had their quirks as well, but being the youngest member, I think she will need another year to be even at their level of play.  However, Adaline talked about soccer at home and in the car a lot ("game, kick ball, cookie monster"), so I am pretty sure she loved being on the team, even if she wasn't contributing much.  :)

Shortly after celebrating the birthday of our sweet boy, we had to morn the loss of another wonderful lady.  My grandmother, Betty Best (my mom's mom), passed away at age 86 on April 1st.  She had been having more and more troubles over the last year, but it was a sad day when she left this world.  She was the sweetest woman anyone could meet, and I will always remember baking with her in the kitchen throughout my childhood and visits to Tennessee in the summers, complete with trips over to Gatlinburg and Dollywood.  We were able to take a few days to travel to Tennessee as a family to gather with other family and friends in order to remember her and be thankful for the joy she brought to our lives.

Happy Birthday Benton...finally posted!

Well, it has only been about four months since Benton's first birthday.  Better very late than never, right?  We are extremely behind on the blogging, but over the next week, I am going to do my best to catch you all up.  March 16th marked Benton's first year, and we were able to celebrate on Saturday, the 17th, St. Patrick's Day.  We had a nice little group of family and friends who were able to join us, and I think Benton really enjoyed the day.

 He ate his first bites of cake, opened more presents than any one year old could manage (mostly playing with the tissue), and had fun with other little friends and his sister.

Birthday Girl!

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday to Adaline! Adaline turned 3 years old today! Too bad she has an ear infection and has had about a 102 degree temperature for the last two days. Poor girl. It is the 2nd year in a row that she has missed her Valentine's Day party at school. Lucky for her, she won't remember the day and will still get to enjoy a birthday treat I send with her tomorrow.

We also celebrated her birthday this past weekend, so all was not lost. First, we got up early on Saturday to take Adaline to her first gymnastics class. It was a trial class, and perhaps she is not yet ready. We think she had a good time, but she did have to take a few time outs. She wanted to try everything, but not in the order the teachers would have liked. When we were doing floor activities, she wanted to try the bars, when we were on the bars, she wanted to move to the trampoline, and of course when on the trampoline, she didn't want to get off. We haven't decided if we will go back yet, or try soccer instead (as she constantly wants to kick balls around the house, the playground, and at school). Whatever we choose, we just want for her to be ready and have fun.

We came back home for lunch and nap, and then had Nana, uncle Ryan, aunt Jennifer, and a few friends over for cake and ice cream. Adaline took out a whole cupcake in only a few minutes, and then enjoyed opening some gifts. It was a really nice day, and we are glad Adaline was feeling good throughout the whole birthday weekend.





Baby Carolina had fun helping with the presents, too.


Benton doesn't look too happy about sharing his toys...but just wait a few years, buddy! ;)