Steven is now ONE!

Where has the time gone??? My baby is not a baby anymore!!
Saturday, May 2nd was his first birthday. I have made it a tradition to go into the kids rooms with the video camera to wake them up and sing happy birthday. A friend gave me the idea. Anyway, he was so cute with his toothy grin!!
It was a pretty busy day. We had a party for him in the evening, so I spent the day cleaning, cooking, and shopping.

We simply did a small family party. We had only gotten home from the beach 2 days before. I had done big family party's for Anya, but it is hard and tiring, and they don't remember anyway. We had our siblings, parents, Chris's step-mom and my Aunt Polly and Uncle John over for dinner and cake. We did pizza from PastTime and a sensation salad for dinner, and I made a yummy chocolate cake with chocolate icing from scratch. Steven had a ball, which is all that matters, and it was so sweet for everyone to come share in his special day!!

The kid's birthday gift

Those who know me know that I am a traditional gal. I am not big on toys that make a lot of noise. I like classic toys that have been around for generations that spur the imagination. I also am not crazy about 1000 toys littering my house. I decided that this year for the kids birthday we were going to give them a swing set. It's outside, will last for years, and plus it was simply time to get one.
We (or should I say "I") decided that backyard adventures would be a great choice. We went to place in town to look a few weeks ago. The owner was very nice and helpful, and Anya had a blast running between sets and trying everything out. She thought we were at a new park!
Our backyard is fairly small, so I didn't want anything too elaborate. Plus elaborate = expensive and I didn't want to spend a ton of money. It's nice, because as they get older we can add new pieces to it. Of course the best thing about it is they come out and build it. We didn't lift a finger. Of course, it is very well built. It passes the shake test, the ladder for the swing has handle bars for extra safety, and even Chris and I can swing on it and it doesn't budge!!
It was a surprise for Anya. We put a movie on for her upstairs while they were working and she was oblivious to what was going on outside.
When they finished, we got her outside and she just stared at it. Chris asked her what it was. She said, "I don't know, but I'm gonna swing on it," and off she ran! It was priceless!!
They have both enjoyed it. We have been on it almost daily since it went up. She even wanted to swing last Sunday when it was raining!!

Orange Beach!!!

We love Orange Beach. We have been going every fall with Chris's family for the last 4 or so years. It's far enough that you feel you are getting away, but close enough that it is less than a 4 hour drive. I decided this year that we needed to go with my family in the spring. I booked a condo at the Phoenix West, which is brand new. Beings it was 7 adults and my 2 kids, we needed a 4 bedroom. It also had 4 1/2 bathrooms, a nice open kitchen, and a wet bar with an ice maker, in addition to the ice maker in the kitchen fridge. Also, beings our unit was on the corner of the building, our balcony was huge, and every bedroom had a sliding glass door. No balcony for bedrooms, but enough that we could open them if we wanted. We had the place for a week. Chris, the kids and I were the only ones that stayed all 7 nights, the rest of the family stayed for 5.

We mostly vegged out at the condo, played on the beach, the pools, including a lazy river. There was also a nice gym that some of us visited. I only went once! Chris and Matt (Ashley's boyfriend) went golfing twice, Mom, Dad, Amanda and I went to the outlet mall in Foley, we all went to LuLu's for dinner, and Chris and I took the kids to The Track, a place similar to Celebration Station.

I hate that I can only post about 5 pictures; there are so many good ones.
Steven loved playing in the sand and being in the pool. Anya was OK with the sand, and only liked the pools if she was in her turtle floaty. They both loved the condo. I had bought Anya a kid sized air mattress, which she loved. It was her "special bed." Steven liked to use it as a trampoline!
I am counting the days until I can go back!!

Anya's visit to the dentist

The day before we left for our trip to the beach we went to see Dr. Comeaux, Anya's new dentist. This was her first trip. I know, I'm a horrible mom, considering she is almost 3, but c'est la vie.
Every time I brushed her teeth on the days leading up to the visit, I talked about Dr. Comeaux, how nice he was (even though I had never met him), how he was going to brush her teeth just like I did and look at them to see how clean and shiny they are. She kept saying "Are we going to see Dr. FaComeaux?" Halarious! She merged Dr. Fakouri and Comeaux's names together!!
Anyway, when we walked to the back, she looked at all the chairs and silver tools and got a little nervous. Tori was our hygenist that day and she was very patient with Anya. At first Anya didn't want to lay on the chair, and kept saying she didn't want those things in her mouth. The girl next to us was older, probably in high school, and they were cleaning her teeth. I think the noise made her nervous. But Tori just talked to her, got her to kneel on the chair, and then she brushed her teeth and then brushed on the flouride (all with a normal toothbrush). Then she went to floss her teeth. Anya decided laying down would be ok, so she did. She talked Tori's ear off.
Then Dr. Comeaux came, counted her teeth, looked at them, Anya talked his ear off, and we left.
She did great!! I mean look at her, just laying their so some stranger could floss her teeth (which we never do. Guess I need to start), holding her new toothbrush like it was the greatest thing in the world! I think it helped that Tori was young and talked to her, and Dr. Comeaux was very nice.