Family Reunion Time

Both of Greg's parents come from large Kansas families (Grammie Barbara is one of 15 and GRon is one of 8) and both sides are really good about getting together each year for a family reunion. The siblings take turns hosting, everyone brings food, and it is a great time to catch up. Not that we would have tried, but there was no way we were getting out of going this year. Actually, I think both sides would have been just fine if only Grace showed up. She was definitely the star.

The Ernzen family reunion took place at Alan Schuler's family's renovated barn in late May.

Here is Grace with Greg's cousin Renee.

And Renee's grandson Peyton and GRon.

Greg's 2nd cousin Ashley and her son Peyton, all the way in from Rhode Island. By the way, Peyton is 2 months younger than Grace.

Great Aunt Patsy holding Grace.

The Arb family reunion was held at Melvern Lake in early June.

Grammie Barbie's neice Deanna and her granddaugter who is a few months younger than Grace.

Barbara's sisters and brother. I think these are the only ones still living. At one time there were 9 boys!

Dee, Shirley, Bernice, Norma, Wilma and Barbara.

We look forward to next year's get togethers when Gracie will be walking and trying to talk.

Road Trip to St. Louis

We traveled to St. Louis the second weekend in May for a quick visit with my Mom's side of the family. Grace got to meet GJ for the first time (my grandmother and her great-grandmother) as well as Aunt Pam and cousin Amy. Uncle Tom (my Mom's brother) has visited us in Kansas City a few times, but it was great to see him again too.

We stayed with my Mom's cousin Cathy and her son Jeff, and had a great time visiting with family. Grace had a blast, as you can see in these photos.

My First Mother's Day with My Monkey

Gracie Girl and I had a good Mother's Day. We spent the day playing and going on a walk while Daddy cleaned and washed my car and filled it up with gas -- such a nice treat!

Here is Gracie in a gorgeous hat from Aunt Rebecca that she got in Australia.

And here is Gracie in her trademark spin move. She can spin circles on the floor to get what she wants.

May Wedding and Overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's House

In early May, Greg and I had a friend's wedding in Weston, Mo., so Gracie had a fun night at Grandma and Grandpa Ernzens. I'd like Gracie to "name" her grandparents (except for BooMark, of course, since his name was already decided by Ella), but I've been calling Greg's parents GRon (Grandpa Ron) and Grammie Barbie (Grandma Barbara) to her, so we'll see what sets in. I named my grandfather "Bobo" and have no idea where that came from since his name is Dave. But it stuck and he'll always be Bobo.

The wedding was at the Red Barn in Weston and was so much fun. We had a great time dancing, definitely hadn't done that in awhile. Here are Jeff, Ali, Greg and I.

We stayed the night with GRon and Grammie Barbie, and had some fun play time in the morning before we headed back to Kansas City.

Favorite Photos

These are also from the end of April, but again, I just had to include them.

Happy girl!

Getting so close to crawling, but not quite yet.

Sitting pretty.

Being silly.

Go Jayhawks!

Being silly again.

Sleeping in our bed in the morning.

Cuteness in April

Wrapping up my photos from April, here is Gracie in a few cute photos of helping me in the kitchen.

She is so good at sitting up and exploring fun kitchen tools!

Easter at the Ernzens

We celebrated Easter in Leavenworth with Grandpa Ron and Grandma Barbara, Uncle Jeff and Ali, Ali's mom and sister, and Great Aunt Shirley and Chick. I got Gracie a cute Easter basket from Pottery Barn Kids that we will use for years to come. She definitely put up with all of our picture taking pretty well.