July Update Part 3

 

I’m getting a little better at snapping pictures of Bailey smiling…so precious!

We took Makenna to Vasona Park on Monday after her swim lesson.  She is getting so good at going under water and can actually swim by herself for about 2 feet…I’m super impressed with her swim school.  Any way, after her swim lesson we took advantage of the 80 degree perfectly warm weather, beautiful sunshine, and went to Vasona.  We even brought bread to feed the ducks only to find out that they don’t let you feed the them any more.  Stink!  We were able to see a momma duck and her two little ducklings, which was pretty fun.  Makenna played in the water for a bit, which she loved and almost fell in the river about 3 times. 

For the two pics below: Drew was filming a video at church, promoting his ministry.  They decided to do something with affros and 70’s themes.  I have no idea how it will all come together, but whatever floats their boat.  Makenna refused to put the wig on (I think she is still traumatized from when Uncle Will scared her in a gorilla suit) but Bailey didn’t care.  We thought it was hilarious and of course had to capture this picture of her, clearly “not caring”.  I’m afraid to see the video this weekend…

This last picture (below) is of Makenna’s little animal toys.  She thought she was SO creative putting them like this, and came running in to have me take a picture….

We are over half way through the year (I can’t even believe it).  Summer is almost over.  Bailey is growing so fast, and Makenna too! She continues to amaze us with the things she says, her developing sense of humor, coordination, and care for others.  I forgot to mention earlier, but Makenna asked Jesus into her heart while Drew was away.  Of course, she only has a 2 year old understanding of what that means.  My prayer for her life continues to be that she knows His great love for her, and lives for Him.  Just like Drew and I , her life will be a journey learning what that love means, and how it translates into how she lives and loves others. 

July Update Part 2

Cousin and Nephew…Drew and I became an Aunt and Uncle this summer.  Our little nephew Simon was born to Drew’s older brother Josiah and his wife Amanda, last month.  He is super cute and fits right in with the girls.  Next month we will have another nephew, Cole, who is due to join the family late August.  The Froese family went from one little one to four little ones in a matter of 4 months!  Crazy.  Below is a few pictures from the last time we had all three laying together. 

Picture 1: Simon smiling—but toy is blocking him.

Picture 2: Makenna smiling, Bailey half smiling, Simon doing a touchdown pose...

Picture 3: Makenna still smiling, Simon half smiling, Bailey looking somewhere else…

Picture 4: Makenna AND Bailey smiling, Simon back to touchdown pose…hmmmph!  Maybe next month we’ll get all 3…

July Update Part 1

		Rehearsal VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

At the end of June we were able to take part in beautiful beach wedding for Courtney and Greg.  Drew married the two and Makenna was the flower girl.  The wedding was so pretty.   The beach was in Carmel at Monastery beach aka Mortuary beach.  Many people have died at this beach because of its incredibly strong undercurrents.  We kind of laughed about the name but sure enough the day of the dress rehearsal the ambulances and fire trucks rolled in and we watched in disbelief as they pulled out two people from the water.  They DID NOT DIE thank goodness!  They were divers who fought the current coming back to shore and got so tired they could no longer swim anymore.  Needless to say the rehearsal was slightly delayed. 

The wedding was so fun. We were a little nervous about Makenna getting down the isle because she was so exhausted  from all our late nights and sharing a hotel room, but she did it.  It took her about 10 minutes (well it felt like that any way) to make it all the way down the isle.  She took her sweet time and I think she made eye contact with everyone as she walked and dropped her petals.  She was smiling and looking as cute as ever as she went down the isle.  None of us really new what to do with her slow as molasses pace.  But people took loads of pics and just smiled back.  Drew did a beautiful job with the ceremony.  It all came together so beautifully!  Before the wedding we had some time to kill in Monterey so we all played at Dennis the Mennis Park.  That park is SUPER fun and we all agreed to go back for the day another time. 

 

		Wedding VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Drew left for the Dominican Republic for 13 days and 12 nights.  He took a group of 12 students to serve the people there.  He was VERY exhausted we he came home.  We had some fun family time before he left and again when he came home.  While he was gone I schedule a lot of fun things, playdates, we went to Tyler’s 3rd and his brother Dylan’s 1st birthday party.  During this trip Drew’s compound had internet access, so we were able to Skype with him nearly every day.  This helped Makenna get through her time without her Daddy.  It was really hard for her in the beginning but it got easier as time went on. 

		Tyler’s Bday VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Makenna was SO excited to see her Daddy.  She new we were going to the church to pick him up so she put her shoes on and was “ready” a whole hour early!  I told her that Daddy would call us when he was 20 minutes from church, so every time my phone rang she would yell with excitement and run me the phone.  I thought for sure she was going to give him the snub and silent treatment, but it was quite the opposite.  Daddy, help me with this, daddy play with me, daddy read to me…Drew loved every second of it and was glad to be home.  We ALL missed him…well, Bailey probably didn’t know any different.  (The pic below is of Makenna and Bailey waiting for Drew’s bus.)  I had suggested to her that we make a sign for Daddy.  She decided herself what to write on the sign.  In case you can’t see it, it says “Come get kisses Daddy, I love my Daddy”.  It was adorable!!!!  She was so proud of her sign.

One of the activities we did when Drew got home was that we took Makenna to her first movie theater movie, Winnie the Pooh.  She was so tired from waiting up for Drew the night before that she just snuggled during the movie.  Enjoyed every minute of it, but snuggled.  It was a super cute movie.

The next day she wanted to go to Daddy’s park, which is the park that Drew grew up playing at.  Janae and Mom-mom met us there for a little visit.  We are glad to have Daddy home!  Stay tuned for part 2…

		Daddy’s Park VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The S’s of Summer…

The summer has finally begun and we were more than ready for it!  In our house, and with Drew working in youth ministry, summers are usually insanely busy.  We are chugging along and finding quiet time at home where ever we can, keeping in mind that summer is just a  busy season…by mid August it should start to quiet down a bit.  Makenna is now in AVAC swim school once a week with her friend Layla.  She has completed two lessons and loves it.  She is a little apprehensive about going under water, but ready or not, next week she will take the plunge! Bailey is growing so fast…she almost 3 months old now.  She smiles A LOT!  She is super chunky, which we absolutely love.  For the past month, she has been sleeping beautifully at night giving me anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep.  I have felt like a new woman with all that sleep.  Makenna adores her sister and still smothers her, often, with hugs and kisses.  She is an excellent big sister.  Below are some pictures from our summer so far…

Smiles

School—Makenna and I are s-l-o-w-l-y going through the alphabet to learn each letter.  The goal is for her to be able to recognize each letter of the alphabet.  She started with A-is for Alligator Alan.  In the picture above she had her “A” lunch with angel hair pasta, apricots, and animal cookies (I know no protein) and below she is doing apple prints. 

Sloppy Mud Fights—Drew and Makenna had a mud fight in the back yard.  Mind you, it was freezing cold the day they did it, and Drew insisted that they do it in their underwear and rinse off with the hose, but they had a ton of fun.  Makenna was SO excited about it, and talked about her mud fight for days.  Oh, and Drew ended up rinsing in the hose and carried Makenna to the warm shower…such a kind Daddy  

(Before)

(During)

(After)

More SMILES

Sisters

Smooches

Swim Class

They throw out floating balls and the kids have to practice their arms to retrieve the balls and then practice their kicks as they carry the balls back to the basket.  So fun!

The Daddies and their girls…

Best Buds!  These girls are so dang cute together…they see each other at church, at play dates, swim class, and on the weekends while their Daddies play soccer together. 

More Sisters and Smiles…

Silly-ness

Sand—we met Drew up at Manresa for the summer retreat.  His 5th year doing camp and my first time in 3 years not going.  Makenna is a total beach girl, she LOVED the sand.  Bailey just slept on Amy Smith the whole day…

Sleep