Last week we enjoyed a relaxing vacation in New England. Rose had fun playing with her Mim, Papa and cousins.
The weather was cool which was a great relief for us from muggy hot Florida.

Sunday we went to the beach for Father's day (actually we went in the evening, it is way too hot to go to the beach during the day) Rose loves the water and just runs right in. The waves were bigger than usual and she loved getting splashed. We also go a few cute pics of Rose kissing my growing belly. She loves to kiss and hug the "baby".

Mike got me a new laptop for mother's day. (It just arrived last week) So I am trying to take over the picture posting and blogging. I have figured out how to post the pics but am not yet good at formatting and inserting the text under the photos so please bear with me as I learn, in the mean time enjoy the pics.

We went to the mall this weekend and Rose got to ride on the little train all by herself. She loves it now but about a month ago she was scared to death when I rode on it with her and talked about it for weeks. We would be driving in the car and she would say "no train, no thanks no thanks train". When we went to Nashville she rode it with her little friends and now she loves it. This week she kept grabbing the bell cord away form an older boy riding with her. She had so much fun ringing that bell. She did try to share it with him when she would go by I would "encourage" her to give the boy a turn she would offer it to him but if he did not grab it fast enough she was back ringing it again. The Disney store photos are also from the mall. Rose has recently been sucked in by all of the character marketing towards children and now loves Hello Kitty, Barney, Nemo, Little Mermaid, Thomas, Cinderella and Mickey Mouse.

We went to Nashvile for memorial day weekend. It was great to visit with all our firends. As you can see Rose also has many little friends in Nashville. We went to the zoo while we were there, it was very hot. Rose loved the animals especially the elephants.

It's a... GIRL!

We are excited to say that Rose is going to have a sister. Our new addition is due around October 24, right after Rose's second birthday.

We are making up for not having a working camera :) Enjoy these recent pictures from the last week. Hope everyone is doing well...


our little chef making cookies (before and after)


trying on mommy's mascara. we couldn't help
but take this picture.



Rose at a friend's house--she has recently overcome her fears of the swing.


during a trip to Palm Beach with our friends from Nashville, Jeff and Debra.

Yesterday we went to the Pompano Beach Seafood Festival to check out the Starbucks sampling team, enjoy some yummy food, and have a good sunshiney day. Here are a few pics of Rose's first journey inside a bounce house. We weren't really sure if she would go in (she was asking for it like it was her favorite thing ever)--but once she was in, we couldn't get her out! Fortunately we were able to lure her out with an elephant ear. :)
As you can see from the pictures, she was in bounce house heaven!

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry it has been quite awhile since we last posted. Life continues to be a bit of a whirlwind--I can't believe its mid-April! (Hope everyone got their taxes done in time--Justin, I picture you driving to the mailbox at 11:57pm). Spring in Florida means crowded beaches with spring breakers and that it is getting too hot to spend too much time outside. This week the temps are expected in the 90s!

However, it also means visitors--which we love. Yesterday and today, we enjoyed a great visit from Jon and Kristi, my nephew and his wife, who are enjoying some beach time away from Michigan.

The last month has been quite the journey for us. We continue to process the passing of my (Mike's) mom. Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for us and for her during her last days. God continues to strengthen us daily and we are often reminded of her in the simple things. Rose helps us continue to smile--as you can tell from the pictures below... Here is a little catch up of the last few months through photos.

Thanks to Jon and Kristi who shared some of their photos with us so I can share these with you!

1-3 Rose at the beach this weekend--a true beach babe.
4-5 She loves to play 'peek a boo' around the palm trees on the broadwalk
6 Rose and her cousin Olivia
7 A gaggle of cousins...oh what fun!
8 I predict high phone bills in my near future...
9 Little cutie all dressed up...