Cousin William & Aunt Carrie visit us in Fl

Carrie and William came to Florida!  

We celebrated lots of 1st for William... 

We had lots of fun together at the Zoo, the Beach, and a trip to Capt'n Hiram's.  

William @ 5mo   *   Avery @ 9mo   *   Ali @ 3yrs

Ali's 3 year & Avery's 9 month check up...

Today I took the girls to see Dr. Helft for their 9 month and 3 year well visits.  

They are growing up way to fast!  

We are so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy, perfect girls!

Here are there stats...

Avery @ 9 months

27 3/4" tall (50%)

17 lbs 13oz (15%)

Ali @ 3 years old

38" tall (95%)

36 lbs (90%)

Adventures with Jack & Thomas

We went over to Tampa to visit Rebecca and her family.  Rebecca is a good friend of mine from Meredith College and we have stayed in touch -- the kids really enjoyed playing together and had a ball driving the 4x4, fishing, riding bikes, playing ball, and going to Sea World together.  We had a great weekend!

Jack let Ali take his truck for a spin...

 

She had to stop and check the oil...

 They made it to the pond for a little fish in'...

 Jack, Thomas, Ali & Eddie are having fun...

 Avery taking it all in... she loves being outside!

 And we caught a FISH!

 ... a very hungry large mouth bass that swallowed the hook!

After a fun afternoon playing with friends and having dinner, it was bath and bedtime.  

The kids were excited about going to Sea World on Sunday!

Orlando is about 1/2 way between Melbourne and Tampa, so it worked out well for us to get together...

Ali & Jack 

What a great day @ Sea World!

Ali's 3rd Birthday Celebration

Ali's 3...How could that be?
Wow!  It's hard to believe that my precious little girl is 3 years old!!!

What an amazing journey and adventure~ 

*************************           Ali,           ************************* 
we are so grateful that God allowed you to be such a special part of our lives.  I remember so vividly when we found out I was pregnant, then when we knew you were going to be a little girl, then the days leading up to your birth... I enjoyed being pregnant and looking forward the special day we would get to meet you!  We were so excited and so anxious to meet our little girl!  You are everything I ever dreamed of and SO much more!  You are so beautiful, so smart, so tender and loving, so independent and brave, trusting and open for adventure.  You are the perfect mix of your Daddy and myself.  I love our tummy to tummy time, I love the look on your face when I get home from work or when you try something new and are so proud, I love to see your face light up and your precious smile.  I want to cherish every second of every day with you because you are changing so fast and growing up right before my eyes!  I want to take lots of pictures and try to capture on video all the cute things you do and say, yet I also want to spend that extra time with you when you say, "Mommy will you just rock me for a few more minutes".  I know I should hold you tight in my arms while you still fit!  Ali, You are a great big sister to Avery and are so sweet to her.  I'm so glad you have each other to grow up with - You are very special to me and I am so proud that your my daughter.  I look forward to every new day with you and hope to be the best Mommy I can be for you -- you deserve no less!  I love you Ali Payton Myers!!!

Our prayer: 
Lord look down from heaven above, 

and touch this precious child with love.

Remind us often that it's true, 

this little life is a gift from you.

A miracle you've sent our way, 

Lord bless this little child today.

*************************                              *************************

This year we celebrated Ali's birthday on the 1st of April (instead of the 10th)...

It worked out even better than planned since my parents were going to be here and her birthday fell on a week day closest to Easter weekend.  It was special for us all, and we just kept celebrating!  

We had a great setup at the new Rodes park pavilion and playground...

    

Ali had lots of fun with all her friends! 

She knows Ava and Amiayah from Ms. Shelia's...  Bryleigh & Elliana are April's twins that were due on the same day as Ali (and their Aunt Kristin is soon to be married to Uncle Dru this May)!

 

Sophia was born about a month after Ali and her mom and dad are good friends of ours.

 Ali had lots of little friends and family come out to celebrate...

Caleb & Eric

 

Mama & Daddy (CiCi & PopPop) were a big help... 

especially when it came to keeping up with Avery!

Little Avery was on the move...

me & Daddy 

We played a fun game where all the kids danced to The Bird Song by the Doodlebops, and when we pressed pause, everyone had to freeze!  By process of elimination, it was down to Ali & Amiayah... 

    

Then it was time for cupcakes! 

 Ali did a great job opening her birthday gifts... she had some priceless comments!

(I wish i could capture more of them b/c they are so cute and her vocabulary is amazing)

 Kristin & Kiera laugh while they watch 

Tegan and Chris "help" Ali as she takes her NEW bike for a spin...

 

 Proud Mama's...
April w/ Keira (5mo), Marja w/ Greyson (2mo), Rye w/ Avery (8mo)

 Proud Daddy's...

Phil w/ Greyson (2mo) & Eddie w/ Avery (8mo)

Look at Ali's face ~ This picture says it all... 

 She immediately got the hang of the big girl bike and is doing great!

Yes, we got her a helmet too! (She just didn't unwrap it yet)

 She wanted Avery to have her little try-cycle and ride with her...

To continue our birthday celebration, Nana and Guga came through and spent the night with us on their way to Ft. Lauderdale.  They were going on a cruise the next evening, so we had a birthday breakfast with them and sent them on their way!

Tues, April 10th, Ali's official birthday we celebrated with a small group of our friends.

Uncle Dru had to add even more excitement to the b-day with training wheels for her dirt bike! 

This is the little PW50 we had when we were little!
Dru and I share lots of great memories that started like this...  

Happy 3rd Birthday Ali!