Summer Fun

Davis

Dylan and Cole

Tyson and Nadia

Thomas

Nadia enjoying her first Popsicle

Lily Kate playing her piano

We were happy to host our community group's fun night last night at our house. We meet every Tuesday night for our Bible study without kids but once a month we try to get the kids together too. We did pretty well when you consider it was the night after a holiday - we were only missing 3 families (and 3 kiddos). The kids had such a blast playing and running and eating while the adults talked and did some playing too. The big boys played some sort of tackle soccer for so long that you would have thought they had a bath they were so sweaty. The younger kiddos loved the sand box and turned into sweaty sandy messes....I guess that is summer in the South! We are so blessed to be apart of this group and love raising our kids together. The kids enjoy each other as well which makes nights like last night even more special! Cole slept like a log last night and woke up saying he was ready to have our church friends over again today! So sweet!

Happy 4th of July - 2011

We had a wonderful and relaxing 4th of July this year. Rhonald worked Saturday and Sunday so the kids and I spent lots of time in the baby pool and enjoying Bom Pops. Our neighborhood has a tradition of having a big block party and fireworks show the day before the 4th. We did not make it to the party...it was about 100 degrees outside and I had both kids by myself so we (I) decided to skip it. However, we did make it to the fireworks show this year. There is an empty lot right next to our house and that is where they shoot off the fireworks. Last year Cole saw one firework and ran inside crying. We figured this year would be the same because he still hates loud noises but he kept telling us he wanted to go so we agreed to give it a try. I put Lily Kate to bed and said an extra long and hard prayer that she would sleep through the show (which she did - thank you God). Around 9 pm we headed out to our front yard to meet our neighbors and enjoy a few fireworks. Weren't we shocked when Cole LOVED them! He did keep his hands over his ears the entire time but he absolutely had a blast. The show lasted about 30 minutes and he ate up every second of it. It was so much fun for all of us to enjoy the beautiful fireworks from the comfort of our front yard. Our neighbor in charge of the show also played music and Cole loved that - he danced and danced (the whole time keeping his ears covered) and was so sad when it was over. I cannot tell you how happy I am that he had so much fun! It stormed on the actual 4th so we all stayed home and enjoyed some down time - playing trains and cars and trying to keep Lily out of trouble (that girl is a total mess these days). We all took a long nap and woke up to a beautiful sunny sky. We spent some time playing outside and then ended the night curled up in our bed watching Ice Age with Cole. How truly blessed we are to have the freedom to do whatever we wish on any given day.

We Are Blessed

This is the closest thing to a family picture we could get Sunday morning. We are blessed beyond measure to have this little family of ours!

LOVE HIM!

Oh sweet Cole, when did you get to be so big?

Lily Kate's Spoon

Lily Kate is becoming more and more interested in feeding herself these days. She does great with little snacks like puffs and cheerios but lately she has been grabbing her spoon whenever we try to put it in her mouth. It has caused quite a huge mess at meal times so we finally just decided to give her one of her own to play with while she eats. Oh my - what a happy camper she is now that she has a spoon of her own! She chews on it and bangs it on her table like crazy. She acts like she is so big because she has her own spoon - and it has made feeding her a lot easier. It is so cool to watch her develop new skills and learn new things. I don't know that we are ready for all of these changes but I also know there is nothing we can do to slow her down. She is amazing and we love her too pieces. I just wish she would stay our baby for a little while longer...

My Big Helper

Cole has proven to be the best big brother and very best helper ever! Ever since we brought Lily Kate home from the hospital he has loved helping us with her. He takes dirty diapers to the trash, he helps fold her laundry, he makes her laugh, he hands her toys and her pacifier without being asked...he is amazing with her. The newest thing he enjoys doing is feeding her. She thinks it is so funny when he does it! Typically most of the food ends up on her face because she is laughing so much. He is so proud of himself and feels so big when he helps us. It cracks me up because I thought he would lose interest in her after awhile but his love for her continues to grow each and every day. And she adores him as well! He can barely reach her when she is in her high chair but he tries his very best to help her eat her food. I really could not have asked for a better big brother for her!

Slip 'N Slide!

We have been having some super hot weather around here and all we can do to keep cool is swim, eat popsickles and play in the water. Rhonald and I had been talking about the fun things we did in the summer as kids and the one thing he said he loved was playing on the Slip 'N Slide. Sunday after church Rhonald said he had to run out for a minute and guess what? He came home with a Slip 'N Slide! A much, much cooler one that we ever played with that's for sure! Lily Kate had a blast watching the boys from the infant pool. She would laugh and laugh at them sliding around. Cole could not really get the hang of running and sliding so he would lay on the tarp and Rhonald would give him a big push to help him slide down. There are no words to describe how much he loved it! And Rhonald too! I had filled up the kiddie pool during nap time so the boys would slide down the tarp into the very cold Slip 'N Slide pool and then run over and jump in the somewhat warm kiddie pool. It was a blast! Poor Rhonald, he is not as young as he once was and he was pretty sore the next morning...and a little bruised up...but I don't think he would trade the memories of that afternoon with Cole for anything!