Busy Aprils bring Relaxing Mays?

Well, we can certainly hope.  This past month has been non-stop with guests in and out, date nights out with friends, Easter and of course the day-to-day of school, swim lessons, gymnastics, doctors appointments, baths, mealtime and Texas bluebonnets.

It's been busy, but truthfully, we wouldn't have it any other way.  When I look back at this month of pictures, I realize that while it went really fast, we packed so many great memories in thirty days.  Looking forward to more memories in a busy May.  

Holden // Our little fish

Holden has been taking swim lessons with Daddy at Lifetime Fitness for a couple months now.  While he loves them, the thing is he's not exactly learning very much.  Everything they are teaching (monkey walking, putting your face in, getting in and out of the pool safely), Holden already knows, and has mastered.  

He easily holds his breath underwater and has no fear of swimming.  Because of this, and the fact that we now have our own pool that he can swim in whenever he wants, we have decided to pull him out of Lifetime classes, and enroll him in a month-long swimming immersion program.  I am totally confident that after the month is up, our little guy will be swimming along as easily as his big sister.  

And heres some of Isla's progress.  This is an old video - these days she's even more confident and a better swimmer each and every day.

Easter 2014

With such a busy April, many of our Easter traditions just didn't happen this year.  For the first time since Isla's been born, we didn't visit the Easter bunny.  This terrified our by the books daughter with an amazing memory.  She was sure the Easter bunny wouldn't know what to bring her.  All we had to do was explain the magic, and that he knew, and she seemed to be a little more at ease.  We also missed out on an offsite Pre-Easter, Egg Hunt that we usually do.

Luckily, the Easter bunny made up for it with an egg hunt Easter morning that consisted of special Disney eggs, (aka: the only ones Target had left the night before Easter Sunday).

Isla eagerly began sorting the candy between the stuff she liked, and the stuff she didn't like (which she could tell just by looking at it).  

Holden was more happy playing what we've dubbed as his bongo, a ceramic table next to the chaise lounges.  

Later on that day we had friends over for some drinks and pool time.  There was even some cheer practice:

It was a wonderful Easter Sunday with friends and family.

Be Our Guest

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE having guests.  So, with three separate visits planned with friends and family, April was a really fun month for me.

First up was Chris and Jessica and their adorable little girl Evelyn.  We've known Chris and Jess since college, and hadn't seen them in a couple years, so we were super excited for their visit.  We packed a lot into 4 days, but with such easy guests, there was no pressure, and we were all able to relax and enjoy each others company.

Of course we had to introduce them to a Chekoslavakian Houston treat - the Kolache.  

It was a fabulous long weekend, and we were sorry to see them go.  The trip definitely made us thankful for such a long lasting friendship.

Next up was a sweet friend who recently moved to Cajun Country, Baton Rouge, LA.

To say Isla was excited for a trip from one of her first friends, Brady Jones was an understatement.  These two went non-stop for two and a half days, and both were sad when the time came to say goodbye.

We are definitely looking forward to more visits from the Jones family, and are already planning a trip to Baton Rouge sometime this summer.

Finally we had a very special visit from Nana.  Now, don't get me wrong, all visits from grandparents are special, but they are even more special when it's been a long time in between visits.  The kids were over the moon about spending some time with Nana, after so long.  And as always, Jordan and I were very happy to have her here to catch up with.

As always, she was a huge help around the house, which as a busy Mom is ALWAYS appreciated.

Thanks for making the trip Nana - we are looking forward to girls trip in Italy!

Pedal Party

In between all the visitors we made time for a couple of nights out on the town.  One was particularly special as it was a 21st birthday party, that took place on a bar that you pedal around downtown Houston.

We definitely thought that our 21st birthday days were over, but our sweet friends and neighbors the Lennons included us in Mary's birthday celebration.  Surprisingly, we were basically able to hang with the kids, although, we were one of the first to leave.

We finished the night at Howl at the Moon, a popular piano bar, and I just had to capture their rendition of "Let it Go" which I shared with a very excited 4 year old, the next morning.

Somewhere in between all the hustle and bustle, life has gone on as normal…

We're so proud of our little guy, who can be picky at times, seems to be trying new foods everyday.  

It was a really great month, definitely one for the books…  Bring it on May!