Spring and Summer was very busy at the Goldlust household. Alexis learned to walk right at 12 months, we went on a fantastic vaction with Ben and Alexis' Aunt and Uncle, visted a theme park, children's museums, civil war reinactments and even moved!
Below are some highlights of our busy time!
Our week day mornings are very busy in the household getting everyone ready and out the door. On one particular morning while getting last minute preparations complete, I turned around and saw Ben putting shoes on his sister. He wasn't asked to do this, but it was just a big brother helping out his little sister. Ben is so wonderfully sweet to his sister.
Easter was busy this year! We went to several egg hunts. One with their cousin. We were a bit late to the younger age hunt, so Ben went ahead with the big kids who had their Easter egg hunt at a later time. Ben did well especially with his cousin helping him out with those eggs! Alexis for the most part didn't mind, until a Easter Bunny tried to come visit her. She did not want that thing talking to her! Easter Day was great. We all went to church as a family and then to Nagypapa and Nagymama's house later that afternoon for a Easter hunt and a Easter Feast. Alexis wore a sweet little houndstooth print dress that her Dad saw, bought and picked out especially for her.
As soon as the air got warmer, these two kids wanted to be outside as much as possible. Their favorite thing to do is play on the deck with their power wheels car. Alexis loves trying to do everything her brother does. She certainly is a spunky little girl and Ben is so patient for the most part allowing her to take over toys that has for all these years been just his.
Ben asked one evening if he could feed his sister a bottle. We were starting to ween her off from them, so I knew these days would surely come to an end very soon. Ben happily fed her a bottle for a while until Alexis got a little bit too squirmy for his lap. It was a sweet jesture!
One of Ben's favorite things to do is play hide and go seek and dress up. Most days he dresses up as Peter Pan, with a sword stuck in the elastic of his underwear but on this particular day he decided he was going to be a scary pirate. I had to try very hard to be scared and not laugh. He's so darn cute.
This is Ben's first portrait of his family. I labeled each of his family members so we could see who was who. I was assured that the circles on his Mom was knees and not something else. Ben's Dad had crazy hair, but maybe its a little kids way of saying he needed to cut his hair. Alexis I'm not sure if the ringlets on her face is hair or drool. However, I think it was a great photo and I certainly cherished the moment Ben proudly brought it over to show me.
The family loves to go to Clemyjontri Park when possible, so we decided on a particular warm spring day to head over to visit it. Ben and Alexis had a great time and were quite worn out when the day was over.
With it being Ben's last semester in PreSchool, he was signed up again for soccer. His Mom always signs him up if there is a extra fun thing to do at his school. He was quite proud one day to come home with a medal and show it to his Mom and Dad for his soccer achievements.
Ben and Alexis are like two peas in a pod. Ben looks out for his sister all.of.the.time. He worries for her and actually demanded on day at day care that he wanted to see his sister to make sure she was okay. After he saw her, he went happily back to his class. Ben and Alexis do bicker. There is an occasional toy stolen from the other or Alexis may get too rough with her brother, but in general these kids love each other and love being around ear other. Just look at their little snack time routine below. This is truly all them.
Alexis loves gazing out the window in our townhome. Ben used to love the same window when he was little. It was low enough to gaze out and the window sill made for a great table to put toys on it. You never know what you'll find on it.
I love this captured moment. Alexis took her Dad on a stroll around the family room. She's such a peanut, but she thinks she is big stuff.
Alexis amazes me with her development each and everyday. Ben and her love to play with their wooden blocks. Often Alexis will try to knock down Ben's creations, but Ben for the most part had good humor about it.
In May the entire family along with Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric and their cousin went to OBX. How they loved it! This is a very rare photo of Alexis actually awake on the beach. We went to the beach just about every morning and Alexis would promptly pass out underneith a shade tent that Aunt Amy and Uncle Eric brought. The boys loved chasing the waves and one time a crab tried to crawl on poor Alexis! Her mother just about had a heart attack.
Tropical Storm Berl came and visited us one day. It made for one day of rain, which in all wasn't too bad. I did get concerned with the amount of flooding, but everyone had fun with it.
This is one of my favorite photos. Both kids dressed in their cute little Batman pajamas. They are so sweet!
SUMMER 2012
Alexis certainly is quit e the steady walker and is into lots of things including her brothers toys. She loves seeing whatever he is into, which can be a tad frustrating for her brother at times. She especially loves the work bench!
Ben graduated from PreSchool and even wore the same colors his Dad wore when he graduated from high school. he looked so grown up walking into recieve his little diploma. His parents, Alexis and Nagypapa and Nagymama were present to see his big day. We were all quite proud of him. His Mom had to try very hard not to cry when the graduation song started and they all walked in with their cap and gown.
I loved seeing Ben in his little gown and the first thing he did when he received his diploma was use it as a telescope. He certainly is a sweet and funny guy!
We celebrated 4th of July a bit bigger this year. We started packing up to move and dressed all in our red, white and blue. Both kids loved watching the fireworks, but Ben had to watch them from the car. He was quite intimated from the loud sound, but I couldn't blame him. We had such a great view that they were right over our heads!
Ben turned five. I know I wrote a blog for him, but had to share it once again. I can't believe he is five! I loved that he had to take a picture (he recieved a camera as a gift) before he would blow out his candle. He is certainly like his Dad and dedushka!
Alexis is quite the funny little girl. Look at her wear her brothers Power Ranger mask! She thought she was big stuff!
Alexis as I have said loves getting into her brothers toys. Here she thinks she's writing her little autobiography. Its so funny how big she think she is!
Another wonderful moment captured. We had Sonya over when Gaga paid a visit. She was eating a little snack and had quite the audience. Lucas, Joey and Sonya were all hoping she would drop something...anything.
One of my favorite moments captured between Alexis and her Dad. Both were grinning at each other and thankfully I was quick enough to capture the moment. Alexis is also wearing the dress her brother HAD to get for her even before she was born. I love putting her in this dress because she not only looks adorable in it, but it reminds me of how surprising it was that her brother had to get her a dress while she was still growing in my belly.
Alexis LOVES hats. She makes everything into a hat. She even users the lego containers as hats some days. Here she is trying to look like Holly Hobbie.
Another photo of her in her hat. She thought she was big stuff walking around the family room. I think in this picture she looks a lot like her Aunt. I'm not the only one to think that either. She truly has a love of her Aunt, which is awesome to see. Alexis is a Mama's girl and rarely goes to anyone even for a moment, but she will go to her Aunt even for a moment everytime she sees her.
The duo working togther to build a castle. Its sweet watching the kids actually play together. I think these moments are my favorite moments. There is nothing like watching your children play together, giggling and having a great time with no cares in the world.
On one Saturday afternoon, we were rained out of Kings Dominion so we went to Richmond to visit the Children's Museum. It was a lot of fun! Alexis had a great time in the toddler room picking things out of crates and driving the cars.
Ben and Alexis both got to ride the carousel while at the children's museum. Ben choose a bear and Alexis rode a rabbit. I didn't get a picture of Alexis riding as Mom was not about to let her go to snap a photo.
Ben loved digging around the sandbox for dinosaur bones and playing with the trucks the children's museum provided.
Ben especially loved the school room at the children's museum. He pretended to be the teacher and promptly sat me down at a desk and told me to be quiet. He is quite the stern teacher!
See how serious he is? Ben's class was getting lessons on how to write his name.
Ben's Dad and Mom loved walking around Reston as teenagers and Ben's Dad even worked in an ice cream store for several years there. On this day we walked around to many stores and made our way to a water play area where Ben had a terrific time getting wet.
Summer days can be so long, but so jam packed with activity. It is rare when the kids will both fall asleep in the middle of the day at the same time. I had to capture the moment while it lasted!
The day after I turned 30, the family, Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric and Alexis and Ben's cousin all headed out to Baltimore to go on the Urban Pirate experience. I loved the cobble stone streets and the kids loved taking a ride in the stroller right before their trip.
Ben was quite serious with his sword. He wanted to be sure that if he was going on a pirate ship then he was going to have some protection with him!
Ben the cutest pirate. He posed quite nicely right before the trip. The ship is in the background of the photo. It was quite cool!
Sailing on the ship. Alexis wasn't feeling great that day, but she was a trooper and did well for the hour tour.
This summer we also went to see the live performance of How To Train Your Dragon. Ben absolutely loved it and really loved his Dragon wings. He flew around the house for an entire week!
This is a typical afternoon with Ben. Both kids LOVE popcorn. I learned that they both need their seperate bowls. Ben on this day wasn't into sharing his popcorn.
The last picture of both of the kids right before we moved. Alexis looks quite serious with a cracker in her mouth.
On August 10th, we moved into a beautiful single family home on a quiet cul-de-sac with a fenced in back yard. HUGE bonus was the pool! The landscaping is so beautiful that the picture doesn't do it justice, but even with neighbors surrounding us, we feel quite isolated in the backyard. Alexis went into the pool a couple of times this year. However, Ben went in almost every single day! He is quite weary of learning how to swim, but has gradually made progress on getting his head into the water and actually walking around the shallow end. Ben has always been like this with most things from crawling, to walking, etc., but eventually he will get how to swim with a bit of help from his family.
Alexis and Ben both love walking around the backyard that is adjacent to the pool. The pool is large, but the backyard is large enough and has a nice play area to run around in. The kids love playing ball back here.
On quiet afternoons, the kids love dumping out their toys in their new living room. Its peaceful and these are other moments I love watching.
One Saturday afternoon, while Alexis and James were napping, Ben and I went out to Sully Station for a Civil War Reenactment. Ben loved looking at all the cannons, but didn't particuarily enjoy them going off. It was too loud for him.
Ben requested a cowboy hat (it does look like one) and a sword. I asked him to pose and wasn't sure why he was so serious in this picture. I later realized a regiment of Civil War Soldiers were walking behind us and Ben was trying to look tough. The Soldiers laughed seeing how serious Ben was.
Alexis hair is getting so long that we're able to style it now in little hair clips, bows, etc., This was the first day I put her in pig tails and boy does she look cute! Her Dad is still trying to figure out how to do her hair on weekdays when I have already left for work, but he certainly is trying!
Another favorite game for both of the kid is playing hide and go seek. Alexis thought she was quite hilarious hiding behind the curtain.
My sweet girl. She is so patient and loves dressing up. She sits patiently getting her hair done and has a great love of shoes. She really is a girly girl!
It was a really busy Spring and Summer full of so many activities and so many fun memories. I love watching my kids form a bond together and seeing them grow. The days get hectic, but there is nothing like being a Mom to them. I am so grateful everyday that God gave me these two little beings and put them into my world. My world really is there world and I am so proud of both of them. I love them very much!
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