Happy Birthday, Ava!

Well, our little peanut turned 2 and we had little barbecue to celebrate her birthday. Shane's parents, as well as our friends, Amy and Dave and their 3 boys came over for the party. I can't believe Ava's already 2 and I'm amazed to see how much she has learned in the past year. She is one busy child and loves to talk, especially on the phone (she is such a girl in that way). Ava is an expert climber and will go to great heights, literally, to get what she wants. She is quite clever (I often think that she is too smart for her own good) and she has her own little sense of humor. She loves her big brother and can usually be found following him around. Anyway, we all had a fun time and Ava enjoyed opening her presents, with Alex's help, of course!

First Day of School

Alex started kindergarten on the 21st (which also coincided with Ava's 2nd birthday). We had been talking about this day for months and now it was finally here. Alex was very excited to start school and to ride on the bus. I, on the other hand, was a little nervous about him going on the bus and wanted to cry (but I didn't) as I sent him off on his first day. He had a great day, likes his teacher, Mrs. Pullins, and made a couple new friends. I'm very excited for him as he is learning and being exposed to new and fun things. Still, it's hard to believe that my little guy is growing up.

A Day at the Beach

Alex and Ava absolutely love the water. In fact, whenever Ava sees water, whether it be a lake or a pool she'll say "Swim! Swim!". I think she's trying to tell me something. Anyway, one of their favorite things to do is to go to the beach. However, we were pretty busy this summer and haven't been able to go very often. Now we are nearing the end of summer and Alex starts kindergarten next week, so I decided that we needed to go to the beach at least one more time. The kids were a little excited. We had a great time playing in the water and Alex is pretty fearless when it comes to playing in the waves (and yes, that is Lake Michigan...who knew a lake could have waves like that).

Camp

Besides soccer, Alex has been in camp for 4 weeks. It was everyday for 4 hours and it gave Alex the opportunity to hang out with other kids his age and to do fun things. His favorite things to do were the climbing wall and playing 'Duck, Duck, Goose'. Here he is showing off the t-shirt he tie-dyed on the last day of camp.

Soccer

For the past few weeks Alex has been taking soccer lessons. It's just once a week, one hour lessons where they teach the kids how to play and the rules of the game. Alex really enjoyed playing and he's pretty good, too! He scored a goal when he played one-on-one with another child and he scored another goal when they played on teams. David Beckham better watch his back!