Celebrating the birthday at school....

On the Wednesday after the girl's birthday they were invited to celebrate their birthday at Chapel at school! We were so lucky to have Nana Mimi drive down to come with us. It was really cute. They got to go up to the front of the church in front of the entire school and sing songs, help light the Advent candles and blow them out and talk in the microphone about what they did on their birthday. They also got a book for their birthday (that they can bring home but then bring back to school to donate to the school library). Reagan was pretending for awhile like she wasn't going to go up...yeah right. She was shy at first but by the end was dancing on the stage like she owned the place. Riley was so excited to go up and talked about it non-stop for days beforehand. When the big moment came she was NOT going anywhere unless I went up there with her. So...I did. It was super cute and they get to do it every year on their birthdays. I'm assuming next year they'll be more comfortable with it and I won't have to be up there with them! When Chapel was over (they go to Chapel every single Wednesday at school...I love that they do that), they went back to their classroom and shared a birthday treat with their friends (cookies that we brought in). Next year we'll plan it for when Matt isn't out of town so that he can come too!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Reagan and Riley!!!!

Our sweet little babies are three years old!!!! How did that happen?!? They turned three last Sunday (yes, I know I'm way late on doing a post about it but we've been BUSY!!!!)! We had such an amazing day celebrating these two! They woke up early and were so excited right away. They kissed each other, said Happy Birthday to each other and then wanted to open up presents!!! We had piled everything and all of the cards that they received into the family room, with the exception of the gifts from Nana and BopBop and Nana Susan and T that were too big to fit in the house! Here is the video of when they first saw them (yes, we're all in our pjs still...it was about 7am!)!

They got spoiled rotten as you can see! They loved everything that they got...they got the FROZEN movie from GiGi and Grandpa along with some gift cards to Barnes and Noble! They also got a princess castle that they never get out of from Uncle Ron and Aunt Conni along with some adorable clothes and some beach/pool toys. Uncle Nathan and Aunt Laurlee and Cooper got them balance bikes like we got Coop a few years ago! Nana Susan got them the most adorable chaise lounges that they can lay in outside. They are so cute! Nana and BopBop got the girls some clothes and a JEEP that you can really ride on! And we got the girls some boring puzzles and other more academic things because we knew everyone else was doing fun things. Needless to say ours weren't quite as much of a hit as everyone else's gifts were! What a fun birthday!

The girls really didn't want much for their birthdays this year other than to eat cake for breakfast! I'm not sure where they heard that this was a thing you could do on your birthday...but they were really excited about it! So...I ordered them a FROZEN cake for their bday and they had it for breakfast (and again at lunch and a little bit more that night for dinner! YUM!).

We spent the day doing things that they girls love doing (which to be honest, is not all that different than any other day...they just got cake and presents too!
They couldn't be any more amazing. They are growing up so, so, so fast and just make Matt and I so very proud every day. They are beautiful inside and out and most of all they are kind, sweet little girls with very big hearts that love one another so much. They really are best friends and I hope it always stays that way. I can't believe how fast time has flown by....it needs to start slowing down now!
Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girls. We love you to the moon and back!

Fun week!

This week was such a beautiful week. The girls were at the beach every, single day (except for today!) and yesterday morning we went to the zoo before doing the beach in the afternoon! What a fun week we've had! I was so proud of Reagan yesterday at the zoo...she's been terrified of the Merry Go Round for some reason and yesterday she finally decided she'd try it again. She held on SUPER tight the whole time but she loved it and was so excited! She asked to do it again after we got off!
Also this week, the girls got a brand new swimsuit from Aunt Laurlee from her trip to Hawaii!!!! Don't they look cute? And my friend Holly (Jack's mom) snapped a picture of the three buddies walking out of school today. They are just so sweet and have such awesome friends! We've had a great week and it's sure to be a great weekend as my babies turn 3 on Sunday!!!! I can't believe it. Lots of fun things in store for them!!!! Here are a few pics and videos from the week.....

Best Friends

Our best friends, Molly and Walt Edwards and their children, little Walt and Isla left this morning. They've been here since Monday and we had just the best time ever. The weather wasn't as great as we'd hoped it would be, but we still made it to the beach and two different playgrounds and just had a chance to sit around and talk while the kids played. The girls are obsessed with little Walt. He's just adorable and so much fun and they all got along so well together. It was so great to see and so special to have our kids together. They loved playing in the backyard together, loved cuddling up in my bed and watching a movie and just had a blast. And little Isla (who turns one tomorrow!) is just about the best baby I've ever been around. She never fusses and Reagan and Riley LOVED taking care of her like she was one of their little dolls. It was adorable and we all miss them already.  We are so blessed to have such amazing,  life long friends.

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!!

Now that we're all back to being healthy (knock on wood, say your prayers...) we took full advantage of this amazing weather we had all weekend! We met our friends Jennifer and Andy for dinner at TPC Sawgrass on Friday night (their son Nathan is one of the girl's best friends. They are in the same class at school and they just love him so much! One of my best friends, Angie and her husband David and their kids Hannah and Jonathan (who just moved to Ponte Vedra Beach a few weeks ago!!!!) met us there too. It was a beautiful night and we sat outside on the verandah. It was perfect and the kids just ran and ran and ran all over the little green area that they have. They loved it and so did the grownups!

Saturday we went to Angie and David's house for dinner and to watch some basketball. Hannah and Jonathan are in first grade (Hannah) and four years old (Jonathan)...so they take great care of R and R and the kids all had a blast together. We are through the roof excited that they live here now...it's so awesome.
Then today we spent the entire day at the beach with the exception of a brief trip home for naps! The girls had us in hysterics this morning because they played in the ocean just jumping the waves and running from them and having a total ball. YES, the water is freezing! They didn't seem to care and didn't really get wet past their knees...but I didn't go in after them, that's for sure! They also went swimming in the pool which was like bath water...much more my speed! This afternoon we went back to the beach and while we were there the most amazing thing happened. It was a beautiful day but there was a period of about 5 minutes where it sprinkled. Right after, a huge rainbow trailed across the sky right over the ocean. We saw a bunch of people jumping up and down and pointing out into the water. I figured they must have seen some dolphins (although they were a little too excited for it to be dolphins). Turns out...it was a whale!!!!! Yes!!! A whale!!! We sat and watched it for the longest time (it was right underneath the rainbow...how amazing is that!?!?). I tried to get it on video...the rainbow is easier to see than the whale. Just look for a tiny black dot way out in the distance. Trust me, it was a whale and it was clear to see to us...just didn't show up on the video. I tried to explain to the girls how lucky they are that they saw a whale at our beach today! Some people go their whole lives without seeing a whale unless they're at Sea World! It was just another day that we are just so very, very thankful to live where we do! Hope everyone else had a great weekend too! Our best friends, Molly and Walt (the reason there IS an Iofredo family!) and their kids Walt and Isla come tomorrow for the week! We can't wait to have them here. Doesn't look like the weather is going to be quite as nice as it was this weekend...but we'll make sure and enjoy every second we have with them.

Ready for SPRING!!!!

We've had a lot going on around here the past few weeks! Nana Susan and Auntie Ronna came to visit for two whole weeks! They rented a condo down at the beach and so we were able to see them for some trips to the beach and swimming and dinners out and some playtime at our house. (Anthony "T" even made it down for a weekend too!). Unfortunately, the winter CRUD found Matt and the girls and they traded a virus back and forth between the three of them for almost the entire two weeks (and week after!) they were here. Not to mention, Mother Nature continues to make Florida residents feel sympathetic towards all of you Northerners, as our weather has been stinky lately! Bring on spring (and summer at this point)...we're ready for warm days and sunshine!!!!! Everyone seems back to normal around here now and we're so happy about that!!!
We had a great visit with them though, and they were even here during Grandparent's Day at school and were able to go with the girls. It was super special and we're so glad they were here...just wish they lived closer as we miss them already!

Dance class. Take two.

So...we're going to attempt dance class again. It wasn't exactly the greatest experience last time so we're trying a different place (at Christ Church...where the girls go to school) and hoping that they are "older and more mature" and ready to handle a dance class.  Fingers crossed!
They woke up from naps today jumping out of the beds so excited to get to dance class. They got all dressed and then told me they wanted to practice dancing for daddy and wanted me to take a video to show him. Riley decided to sing for most of it...and yes, the hug at the beginning did melt my heart. They do that all the time lately...just the best friends ever.