Swim lessons

We joined the YMCA a couple of months ago, and signed Nicole up for swim lessons. She loves it! It's so fun to watch her swimming around with her dad. And I love the freedom of Y babysitting where I can drop the kids off and go and exercise. So nice.

Vacation!

As always, I was getting the itch to travel somewhere. As luck would have it, Alex was asked to go to a work conference in Salt Lake City. Perfect! We decided to make it a long trip, and stretched it out over two weekends.

We spent the first weekend in Orem with Alex's family. They all got to meet Joel for the first time, and Nicole loved playing with all of her Aunts and Uncles and cousins. She got to go to the aquarium with her Grandma, and we went to see Rapunzel at the dollar theater. Oh, dollar theaters. How I have missed you. We even had the whole theater to ourselves!

During Alex's conference, we got to stay at the Grand America. It was good to be back in Salt Lake. We visited with friends at our business school, spent some time at the library, and hit the children's museum. I even got to see my old freshman year roommate, Mel, and it was a beautiful day so we spent it at the park.

The second weekend we spent with my family in Bountiful. We took Nicole and her cousin, Mikka, to Disney on Ice. Nicole and Mikka got along really well and played together the entire time. Alex and I got to leave the kids with my parents and go out with my friend MaryAnn and her boyfriend. It was nice to get out!

Family Photos

We had my friend, Jackie, take some family photos that were long overdue. Here are some of our favorites!

Joel is 3 months!

And he has found his voice! He loves to talk to us, and we're starting to get some good laughs and smiles out of this serious baby of ours. Joel drools a ton, and he loves his playmat (best $2.50 I ever spent). He's getting pretty mobile, kicking his legs up and moving his body around. He still won't take a pacifier, but I guess it's a blessing in disguise. To date he has only taken one bottle successfully, so I'm hoping he grows into it. We love our little Joely Poly!

Joel is 2 months!

I realize I've been slacking on the photos of Joel. Not because I haven't been taking them. I just can't get any pictures that capture "Joel." But here he is, in all of his cute mop-top glory!

Joel's blessing

We were lucky to have a house full of family last week. My parents and Alex's dad flew in for a few days, and Beth came down from New York for a couple of days. Joel's blessing was on February 6. Alex did a great job, and I hear Joel was an angel during the blessing. He was awake and just looking up at everyone in the circle.

Joel on his big day

Nicole was in heaven having so many grandparents around to play with her. Nicole and Nana made valentine's one day, and Nicole couldn't wait to give them to everyone.

More valentine fun

Hanging with the Grandpas

What we do for fun