day 2 - french quarter and children's museum

Isn't this a gorgeous picture of sweet Marion? I love it. This is a picture of her I will always remember, one of my favorites!

Jeremy and Grace in front of a riverboat. We really wanted to take a mini-cruise on it, but the time it set sail would have made it monopolize our whole day... maybe next time!

The girls in the park in front of the St. Louis Cathedral.

Grace saw this and started yelling, "Mom! Take a picture!!!" She thought this was absolutely hysterical! Their owners were happy to show them off and Grace was an excited audience (although even she knew these people were off their rocker!). She talked about it forever afterward and even drew pictures of these little yappers when we got home!

Stopping for a photo by the Julia Street sign on our looong walk to the Children's Museum. The promise of princess silly bandz that we had just bought it the quarter kept her feet moving and her complaining to a minimum!

We made it!

Little Andrew Jackson!

Okay, on to the Mississippi River section of the Museum. Y'all, we spent FOREVER in there!!! Jeremy was a thousand times more excited than the kids. They liked it, but he loved it!

Where are the kids? Daddy's playing alone! ;)

He even wanted me to pose on the boat!

spring break - day 1

This week was our Spring Break. We even managed to get away for a few days... not far away, but away. We packed up and headed to New Orleans for four days. Jeremy had a conference, so we tagged along and booked the hotel for a little longer to really make it a vacation. we took lots of pictures, so I'll take it one day at a time...

Day One: City Park

We headed out early and took the girls to Storyland. The last time we went, Grace was about Marion's age.

Grace hanging on an Oak

Marion says, "Stop stealing my limelight! This is MY picture!"

Ready to go in... Grace was so excited!

My sweet baby!

You know Jeremy was all about the ship!

Water really is Marion's favorite thing! It always gets her excited. I can't wait to see her in the pool this summer!

The girls checking on Snow White...

...and Marion decided she needs CPR! I kid, she was giving Snow White BIG kisses!!

Trying to get walking practice for Marion every chance we get!

Last time Grace was in this carriage, her face was just over the rope!

Marion in the Oaks!

Grace got to the top of the slide and froze up! I think the kid behind her ended up giving her a push!

... the parachute!

Marion had a little lamb :)

Again, my kids love to play in water.

This is the stage of the children's theater. Music was playing and Grace was dancing! She loves to perform!

After Storyland, we went to the amusement park. Wow, they have tons of rides now! We had a blast and stayed all day.

Grace and Jeremy on the rollercoaster that PawPaw picked out when he worked at the park!!

Mommy and Grace! Notice me holding on for dear life and Grace with her hands in the air! I was so proud of her!!!

The girls loved the Carousel! PawPaw oversaw the renovation of the Carousel when he was at the park.

rewind...

Okay, I've been a bit busy. I'm going to go back a month.... both girls had their yearly check-ups! It was actually 2 days before the last time I took Grace to the ER for breathing trouble (bronchitis with asthma again). Grace, at 4 years old, was 42 and a half inches tall and weighed 43 pounds. She's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight.

Marion was 29 inches tall and weighed 21 pounds. She's in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Just for comparison, Grace was 31 inches and 26 pounds at one year old. Although it doesn't seem like too big of a difference, it really is. Grace was always in the 90th/95th percentile for height and weight. Both girls had great check-ups. Dr.M commented that Marion's muscle tone had become normal. Marion had a round of shots and Grace cheered her on and comforted her during them.

I'm suspicious that germs we picked up that day led us to the ER just 2 days later... but other than that, it was a good day :)