Fun in the Tub

No big news stories to report. We are STILL working on the bathroom. There was a snag in the drywall work- it looks terrible- so a professional team is being hired to come in and repair pretty much every wall in the bathroom. Also, the granite cracked upon installation so that has to be replaced as well. The bathroom hasn't been worked on in two weeks; but the drywall crew is supposed to start tomorrow to get us back on track...I'll keep you posted. Other than that we are making good use of our DVR in order to miss out on most of the political propaganda and just enjoying our children.
These two camera hams love their tub time. Some shampoo mohawks only incentivize the silliness.
Lauren and Grace play extreme dress-up while Isaac watches with envy.
Isaac's two teeth are totally in! He has a top one that just broke through- but it is not the front top, it is one of the side teeth. Crazy kid.

Tap, Ballet and Gymnastics

Grace started her first official extra-curricular mommy-free class last week. She loved it! She has four friends in the class: RyRy, Addie, Andie, and Mikayla. The girls have a blast together and it is fun for us moms to have someone to chat with while we watch. Isaac even has a friend or two to play with. I brag, but she is really quite good...of course she gets that from her mother. Grace, RyRy, Addie, Mikayla...Andie doesn't like having her picture taken.

A handstand-
Hopping...look at that cute little behind.

On the parallel bars doing 'who knows what!'
On the uneven bars- Let's just go ahead and have this conversation. I realize that my daughter is going to be too tall to be a ballerina or a gymnast- Her teachers will one day have the conversation with me that my teachers had with my mother when they said I was just too big to go on to the next level. She will be tall, but she will have grace and coordination! It is so fun to see her follow in my footsteps. There is nothing better than being a parent!

RyRy and Grace at the head of the class.
RyRy and Grace being silly.
Grace doing her toe-taps.
Fun with scarves- Are they really that fun?
On the balance beam-

Labor Day at Sunset Beach

Our wonderful friends, Betsy and Paul, let us use their condo at Sunset Beach last weekend over Labor Day. We left on Friday, had two full days and returned on Monday. We all had a wonderful time on our much needed time away. The weather was beautiful and the kids played on the beach for hours in a row. Here is my princess on the dock outside of the condo.
Little man is getting close to being a full-time walker- and boy did he love this shovel.

The shovel played an important role in his afternoon.

Daddy and Grace spent some serious time on Uncle Ben's boogy board.
My rugrats after dinner on Sunday night.

Daddy and Grace chillin' on the patio- Grace eating a popsicle and making a huge mess.
Gracie on the docks.
Me and my kids- I am so blessed.
Little man stuck in his stroller.
Grace sporting the proper sun-protection beach wear.
What can I say? I have pale kids.

The Teeth, Mischief, Jeeps, Baby Steps

Isaac has officially taken his first steps! He actually took them last week, by accident. But beginning yesterday his stepping has been deliberate and well-balanced. He had a 7-step run last night and then spent most of today practicing. It's only a matter of days/weeks at this point. When he learns a new skill he practices until it is mastered, and he seems to master things quickly. It's pretty exciting!
His teeth are growing in quite adorably. I kinda like him with choppers. I guess he thinks he's "big time" too b/c he absolutely refuses baby food now. Grace dropped the baby food at the same age.
He gets into EVERYTHING as depicted below. Grace was curious, but nothing like Isaac. He really can make a mess. Takes after his father.
Grace's black eye has almost completely gone away- there is only a slight discoloration now. Geez, that only took 3 weeks. My little princess is quite the bruiser. Hammin' it up at the dinner table.

Grace is not afraid to get a little grease on her jammies. Anything to ride in the jeep just a little bit longer! She is pushing our neighbor, Carl, after they squeezed the last bit of juice out of the battery. By the way- Sid has declared that Isaac will not drive a pink jeep. So don't say I am the one who spoils him when he gets a blue jeep.
Choppers last week.
Choppers today.
"Oh- Hey mom! Just thought I would help myself to a little snack. Can I get you one too?"
"Oh- Hey Mom! I noticed that you were unloading the dishwasher so I thought I would help. These go on the floor, right?"

Bathroom Remodel Progress Report

Well, we are moving right along in the bathroom remodel. We have about a week and a half to go- but I think they are at least 5 days behind schedule. Not really sure why as there have been no supply issues and absolutely no surprises. I'll find out tomorrow when I have a little "sit-down" with our contractor. 5 weeks is a long time to have the house torn up with no privacy and I need to have an end in site. This is Isaac's room- The old closet is on the left and his new closet is on the back wall.

Sid's closet and my closet area right after demo-
The old toilet area and my old closet- all opened up and ready to be my new big closet.
My closet area studded out.
My closet area dry-walled and now you are looking at our new little toilet closet/corner with the half wall.
My new closet-

The old shower/tub area. That door on the left is a linen closet that is no longer there.
That area right after demo. On the right is Isaac's closet door-
New tub is in and Isaac's closet doors have been replaced with studs. Dry-wall is up! This is tub shower area-

Shiner

Grace has earned her second shiner. She and Isaac were playing/chasing/wrestling on Monday night and she somehow fell on the corner of her desk. We are not exactly sure what happened as I had stepped out to use the bathroom and daddy was deeply engrossed in washing a pan. Anyway, she wasn't too happy about the injury at the time, but is now enjoying all of the attention. I am, of course, mortified and feel terrible. Our contractor, Eric, calls her "Rocky." Ha ha. Isaac's first tooth broke through about a week ago. He is working on his second tooth right now. If you look closely you can see his tooth on the bottom left (or right if you are look at him). He has handled all of this teething fairly well. The only downside is the constant hands in his mouth. And of course if his hands are not in his mouth they are on the floor crawling around...picking up as many nasty germs/viruses/bacteria as possible. So he did pick up a couple of viruses, but has handled them well. Thank goodness for his nebulizer- I don't know what we would do without it. And people wonder why I want them to take off their shoes when they come to my house! If you could hear my baby cough and breathe at night, they would know why!
The $10 we spent on this pool is by far the best money we have every spent!
Grace's best friend, Hayden, celebrated her 3rd birthday last weekend. Hayden's mommy rented a bounce house. The girls had a blast!
The girls enjoying a special lunch of PBJ and grapes.

Naked Babies

Someday they will curse me for this- but until then I get to embarrass them. And if your wondering why they are naked- it's b/c we had all been playing outside in the pool and came inside to get ready for bed. Isaac was cruising around the house so I decided to grab my camera. Of course, big sister can't miss an opportunity to be photographed if little brother is being photographed too. Also, Isaac is getting his first tooth!


Isaac's first pasta and red sauce dinner. It was tortellini and he LOVED it! He ate 15 tortellini- no kidding.
Big sister doing this weird smile thing for the camera. Isaac ate more than she did.