All About Amelia, Simon & Hannah: Hibernation Ends...

Like a pack of wild bears, we are thawing out and arising to the promise of a soon-to-come spring. If it's even possible, we've had a busy yet uneventful winter (well, except for that little part about having another baby). Life's been full of the normal and mundane: preschool, swim lessons, dance & gymnastics, jaunts around town to any indoor space that will let preschoolers run free. Not a lot of newsy stuff ... simply the joy of the kids growing up and growing together.

In a nutshell, here's what's new:

* I'm about 5 months along (20 weeks) and we've got a big ultrasound next week that will not only tell us the gender of Baby Cookie, but also (hopefully) confirm the blessed news that the baby is healthy and developing normally.

* In lieu of a blow-out, adults-only European vacation-style celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary, the family packed up and headed to sunny SoCal for a week. It was GLORIOUS. Really special times with old friends, a tear-filled return to Canyon Springs for Sunday morning church services, LOTS of fish tacos & In-N-Out, and just a perfect visit with my sister in Santa Monica. I'll post some photos of our trip. It was amazing. Kids were great, sun was hot on our skin, the sea-air smelled just like home. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

* As I mentioned above, the kids have been busy. Both took a session of swim lessons and learned to love the water. Mils is dancing her fool head off at a ballet/tap combo class (she is THRILLED to get to wear her fancy tap shoes and is lobbying hard for a sequined top hat to finish off her outfit). Simon's still doing gymnastics which mainly consists of him running uncontrolled around the perimeter of the gym. I'm doing a lot of apologizing and clothes-lining as to avoid major collisions. We're going to skip the next session. Soccer starts back up tomorrow so all other activities will start closing down as we prepare to leave here in May.

* Preschool and house-hunting in Norfolk will happen in a few weeks. We've narrowed it down to a few neighborhoods and schools so now we're praying that just the right house becomes available at just the right time. I'm optimistic about the preschool situation and apprehensive about the doctor search. All will work out in the end, I'm sure.

As promised, photos from the first half of our week in Cali. I'll post the rest of them soon, and I'll see if I can try to be a bit better about keeping the blog current.

While my friends surprised me with a baby shower and brunch at my favorite little bungalow, the Dads stayed home and wrangled the kids. We drove up to the house to find the most hysterical lemonade stand I've ever seen, complete with costumes.

Hazel and Simon mind the stand.

Morning at the Ippolito's.

A visit to the seals at the Children's Pool in La Jolla.

Was there ever a more beautiful day?

We checked into our hotel and right away, Millie made an exciting discovery...

A Potty Phone!

We stopped for a quick photo during our walk to breakfast. We stayed on Coronado Island and walked the path with a view back towards downtown. As beautiful as ever.

We even made a return trip to Sea World, thanks to their generous program offering one-time free admission to active duty military and their families.