Happy 3rd Birthday Princess Adelyn!

I can't believe it!  My baby girl is 3 years old! 

 
 She is full of personality and is always smiling!  Love this girl!!

Natural History Museum

Today Mom and Dad spent the day with Ryan.  It started with coffee (chocolate milk for Ryan) at Starbucks and he was on top of the world.  He couldn't have been happier getting quality time with Mom and Dad. 

We then took him to the Natural History Museum and it is no surprise that he loved it.  It is full of dinosaurs, dinosaur bones, and wild animals.  He is fascinated by them and always wants to watch dinosaur shows and Animal Planet. It was pretty impressive to listen to him share all the facts he knows about them as we went throught he museum. 

Ballerina

Adelyn has been talking about ballet for awhile, so I couldn't resist in signing her up for a few classes.  She loves it!

Christmas!

You often hear people refer to Christmas as a magical time of year - and as a Mom of 2 young kids, I couldn't agree more!  Over the years I have worked hard to reduce the stress and pressure that often comes with the holidays and it really has allowed me to focus on what is really important.  We managed to take some time off of work and our family of 4 had some really fun and special moments. Ryan and Adelyn seemed to really get into it this year. Although I have to say, Ryan isn't really buying the bit about Santa knowing if he is good or bad.  We introduced them to the Elf on the Shelf this year, but Ryan was convinced he was in the clear if the Elf was in a different room when he was bad.

Now that they are a little older, they are starting to get into the traditions and Christmas music a little more - they helped decorate the tree, wrap presents, and bake cookies for Santa.

As usual, we were fortunate enough to spend lots of quality time with our extended family since most everyone lives in the area - cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  I love the Christmas Pajamas!  And I can't believe we were somewhat successfull in getting all 4 of these kids to not only sit still long enough for a picture, but to look somewhere near the camera!

Adelyn is really into dressing up like a princess - in fact, since Halloween, she has worn her princess dress almost every day, all day.  I had to start creating rules such as - no sleeping, eating or going outside in it because she doesn't ever want to take it off.  So, of course one of her favorite presents was a big pink trunk of dress up clothes from Mimi and Pappy!  She also loved her ballet leotard/tutu.

Ryan is still crazy about Dinosaurs!  He got quite a few different sizes and types of dinosaurs and is really starting to learn all about them and loves to share what he knows.  A few of his other favorites this year were his guitar (just like Dad's), Star Wars, Avenger action figures, legos and construction trucks.

Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

As usual, there were quite a few pictures that didn't make the cut for the Christmas card this year.  But, I absolutely LOVE that one that did!  It really captures just how much these two adore each other!!

This past Saturday was beautiful - so I took the two of them out for a mini photo shoot near the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington.  It required a little bribing to get them to cooperate, but overall, I managed to get a couple really cute pictures.  I really need to take a photography class because although I like the pictures, they could be so much better if I knew how to use my camera and edit the photos.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

Halloween 2012

The kids are loving the concept of Halloween this year!!  They both knew exactly what they wanted to be and were eager to wear their costumes.

Adelyn said she wanted to be a "Ballerina Princess" and selected this costume:

And Ryan of course wanted to be "Spiderman" - he remained in character at all times, shooting webs at everyone that came near him and refusing to respond to anything other than "Spiderman".

This weekend we attended a neighborhood Halloween Party and parade at a park near by so the kids could do a dry run with their custumes.  Luckily we had good weather  for the party because they are predicting a really big storm in our area this week, which will potentially put a damper on trick or treating.  They are calling it storm "The Perfect Storm" and Frankenstorm" - remnants from Hurricane Sandy that is headed up the coast.  Even if the kids don't get a chance to go out trick or treating on Halloween, I am confident they will get plenty of use out of their costumes this year.

Pool Time!

Despite several weeks of swim lessons, the kids still don't love the water.  This weekend we went to a birthday party at an indoor pool.  I wasn't sure how they would do, but they loved this place!  I can't wait to go back again.

 

Cousins!

I have always said we are so fortunate to have family that lives close by.  For the most part, all of our family lives in the area.  However, my cousin Alyson and her family live in Atlanta and it is not often that we get to see them.  In fact, our kids just met for the first time this summer.  We had a great weekend - a little chaotic considering there were 6 kids age 5 and under, but nonetheless we had fun!

Here they are...Quinn, Adelyn, Cole, Bryce, Lyla and Ryan!!

 

Surprised we were able to get all of them to sit relatively still to capture this picture - I guess it would have been too much to ask that they all actually look at the camera too!

Summer 2012 Pictures

It is next to impossible to get these two to sit still and look at the camera, much less sit next to each other and look at the camera....but I finally figured out the secret - lollipops!

These pictures were taken recently in June by a professional photographer and I just had to share a couple of my favorites!  Ryan (just turned 4 on May 22) and Adelyn (turned 2 on March 9)



Frustrating Fours

Looking back, I can honestly say Ryan has been extremely fun and a joy to be around since day 1!  He was a great baby and a great sleeper.  We made it through the supposed "terrible 2s and 3s" without any major issues - as his 4th birthday was approaching I even thought to myself, 'wow, we lucked out - we never really experienced very many temper tantrums or really whiney days'.  SO, I was really thrown off when we recently started experiencing the "Frustrating Fours" - no one warned me about this!! 

Leading up to his actual birthday, we talked a lot about how he was going to be 4 - I took every opportunity I could to remind him that being 4 also meant that he had to act like a boy boy.  We have a little ways to go - I am sure this won't be the last challenging phase we experience.

Ryan is 4!

Happy 4th Birthday to Ryan James Sellers!








It just gets better every year.  Ryan was really excited about his birthday this year - we had been talking about it for quite some time, making sure he knew that being 4 comes with a lot of responsibility - used it as leverage to convince him it was time to start doing the things that big boys.  With all the hype, he got really excited, so we wanted to make it special for him.  Mom and Dad surprised him at pre-school in the middle of the day on his birthday by showing up with a pirate birthday shirt and cupcakes for all the friends in his class.  I was so glad we did it because I could tell he was really proud and happy to have Mom and Dad there.

After school, we had an impromptu birthday celebration at the house - pizza and more cupcakes - with Mimi, Pappy, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Mike and cousins - Lyla and Quinn.

Then we followed that up with a big birthday celebration with all the family and cousins over the weekend.  Grandma gave Ryan a small pool and Mimi/Pappy gave Ryan a pirate water table.  So between the 2, it kept all the cousins busy and having fun!

It has been an amazing 4 years and he has grown up so quickly!
37.5 pounds (70th percentile) and 40 5/8" (60th percentile)

So, what is Ryan up to at the age of 4 --he loves sports and loves to be outside.  So far, he appears to be very coordinated and does really well catching the ball, batting, playing soccer, shooting hoops, and golfing.

He is also really into dinosaurs, transformers, spider man, batman, pirates and robots.

Israel Trip

A couple weeks ago, I had a fabulous opportunity to go to Israel.  Definitely not somewhere on my "bucket" list, but now that I have been, I think it should be on everyone's "bucket" list.  It was really an amazing experience.  The main reason for my trip was for work and although I spent the majority of my time working, I still had time to see and do many things.  Of course, I really wish I could have stayed longer to take a few more side trips.

I stayed in and around Tel Aviv and Herzliya, visiting the beaches, Jaffa, and other local neighborhoods and attractions. Tel Aviv is very different from what I expected - it is a big city, an extremely popular tourist destination in Europe, expensive, has a 24 hour lifestyle and cosmopolitan culture, and is an economic/technology hub for the Middle East.


I really didn't get a chance to see nearly as much as I would have liked to, but the highlight of the trip was my day trip to Jerusalem - it really is a magical place with so much history! Afterall, we grow up going to church, hearing bible stories and learning about history. So much of the history we read and hear about, all started there.

I can't possibly post all of the pictures here in this blog entry, but I have uploaded them to my online photo album and you can access them by clicking on my photo streams to the right.

I know it wasn't easy on Jeff or the kids for me to be gone for so long - in fact it wasn't easy for me to be away from them for so long. But we made it happen (thanks to a lot of help from family as well).

5 Year Wedding Annivesary!

Jeff and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on April 28, 2012.  I can't imagine a better person to share my life with through the years.  Jeff has been an amazing husband and an even better Dad to our 2 beautiful kids and I couldn't be happier!  The best part of our marriage is our friendship and our sense of humor!  Below is a picture of the front and inside of the card Jeff got me for Valentine's Day this year - it really does say a lot about of relationship and our sense of humor :-)  I look forward to many more happy years!

Saturday in the park

One of the things I love about where we live, is that we are walking distance to at least 5 parks in Arlington - and they are all different.  Today we ventured out to a park with sand - Ryan and Addie worked as a team to fill up buckets, empty them and then start all over again.  It doesn't take much to keep them busy.

Petting zoo with cousins

Such a fun day!  Spring is here and we once again spent the beautiful day outside with our cousins - this time at the Petting Zoo.  Ryan has been before, but he was much younger and didn't exactly know what to think of it.  But now he was right in the action - petting and feeding the animals.

This particular Petting Zoo is quite amazing actually considering we live so close to the city - they have it all - monkeys, alligators, kangaroos, zebra, camels, ostrich, bulls, lamas, goats, big turtles and reptiles and much more.  Adelyn was a little hesitant at first but before long she was having a great time!

  

It was Lyla's birthday and Spring Break so what better excuse than for me and Jenny to take a day off of work and spend with the kids!  Hugs for Lyla, the birthday girl - 4 years old today!

Adelyn Turns 2!

Our sweet baby girl is not such a baby anymore :-( Adelyn Nicole Sellers is officially 2! I can't believe how quickly she has grown.  At her 2 year appointment she was 32 pounds (92nd percentile) and 37 inches (95th percentile)!

Not only is she talking like crazy, but she knows her colors, can count and say the alphabet. She has quite the personality, a big smile and dimples, and a deep laugh that makes everyone around her laugh too! I know boys and girls can be different, but I never imagined that at such a young age the differences would be so prominent - she loves her dolls, her purse, her hair bows (she is very particular about which one she wants to wear each day), and her play make-up. Mimi gave her some bracelets and there are many nights she insists on wearing them to bed. I am very proud of my little girl and I am loving every minute - now lets just hope she stays this sweet forever!! Happy Birthday Adelyn!

Party Girl!

This girl loves a party!  The icing on the cupcakes were probably Adelyn's favorite part of her birthday party as you can see from the pictures.

We had a big weekend - back to back birthday parties to celebrateher birthday! On Saturday we invited some of our friends and their kids.  The kids were in heaven with all of the action and attention.

On Sunday we had the family over for round 2 and I was yet again reminded just how lucky we are to have all our family living so close by! And to make things even better, the cousins are relatively close in age.

Here is the cousin crew - exhausted watching TV on the couch in the basement - it is not often we get them all sitting in one spot (minus Adam since he is upstairs hanging with the adults)