Today at the beach

Today at the beach...

Lily made sand cookies

Grace made a sand castle

and Gabe almost was eaten by a shark ;)

(Note: No baby was almost eaten by a shark. Also we didn't make the shark... we make sand castles as good as Grace does ;) )

Wordless Wednesday ~Tea for Two (or four)~

Dear Gabe (9 months old)

Dear Gabe,

You turned 9 months old 12 days ago but I'm just now writing you your letter. Grad school has been busy despite it being summer. Only two more weeks of school for me so your 10 month old letter shouldn't be too late ;) You learned to crawl at 8.5 months old and now you are TROUBLE. You love getting into things you aren't supposed to- Maisy's water dish, the laptop computer cord, getting stuck under the kitchen table and now trying to keep up with Lily and Grace. You like playing "crawling tag" with them and trying to get into the playroom to see what they are up too. You still love Lily so much. I can just show you a picture of her or say "Lily" and you crack up laughing. The bond is unreal. You and Lily like to "scream" back and forth to each other. It's cute but kinda loud :) I think you will have a bond with Grace later on once you realize she loves playing with trucks, cars, trains, dirt and all kinds of "boy stuff". You have been eating more table food and Daddy and I are now realizing how our grocery bill is gonna go up a lot soon with how much you eat. Your favorite things to do are splash in water, chase Maisy around, give hugs, bite people (yes you love to hug AND bite people) and take walks in your stroller. You are my easiest baby and super content, but I can see you fooling me and turning into a crazy toddler someday. You love being tickled, bounced, held, kissed and loved on. Only 3 months to go before you turn the Big One! Time to start party planning...

Love you lots,

Mommy

Favorite pictures from the last month:

Pulled up to his table for the 1st time

Bee hive at the zoo

Loves to swing

Cuteness at Steak n' Shake

Bath Time

Fell asleep on the floor

Carrots and Bananas

1st Time ever swimming in Nana and Papa's pool

Swinging at Carr Park on his 9 month birthday

Taking monthly pictures with his teddy bear is getting mighty difficult!

He just looks so much older now!

We love "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" stuff

Gabe hanging out in his room with his buddies ;)



Happy This Week

What made happy this week?

* Grace is no longer afraid of swimming in my parents pool! She was so proud of herself and kept saying "I did it! I did it! I'm swimming. Lily come swim too! Lily come in!" (Lily is officially nicknamed "Step Girl" as she just stays on the steps and plays).

* Cute little sun hats for boys. He LOVED the pool too.

(Turtle sun hat)

* Stepping on the scale and seeing I lost 4.5 pounds in 5 days. New diet is working so far.

*Playdates at our house (we had 2 this week!) I also love how these girls are best friends (Grace was napping while they were swimming).

Lily and her best friend Clare

* Art and Craft camp for the girls. They made all these lovely things and I got 2.5 hours to myself (Gabe naps every morning) What did I do? Laundry, ironed clothes, mopped floors, very fun stuff. I'll be honest I did get to watch "The Bachelorette" while doing the housework so it wasn't all too bad. Bonus- the girls really loved the art camp!

This is just some samples of stuff they made at art camp

*Crossing things off our summer to-do list. We had a playdate, made butterfly sun catchers,saw the movie "Brave" and went to the drive-in and survived!  Even Lily stayed up and watched the entire Madagascar 3 movie! We didn't get home until 2 a.m.

Gabe enjoying some "dinner" in a pouch while the girls run around before the movie starts.

Wordless Wednesday ~Swinging Siblings~

School's out for summer!

School ended at the end of May for the girls and we are keeping busy with our summer activity to-do list. I love when Lily asks me each day "What are we crossing off our list today Mommy?" I'm so so so thankful for being able to have this time with them. I'm actually really happy that all three of my children have "late" birthdays and will have to spend an extra year at home before they start Kindergarten.

We are ready for summer!

End of the year teacher gifts:

little end of year gifts for the teachers

Cold Stone gift card inside

Both girls had a great school year. Lily matured a lot and isn't as shy. She has a lot of friends and since she was one of the older children in her class, her teacher said she acted as a leader. How different it was the year before when the other children treated her as the class doll and carried her around everywhere :) Lily loved preschool and is excited for Pre-Kindergarten next year with new teachers.

Grace had the teacher Lily had 2 years ago for Child's Day Out (CDO). She loved that teacher and loved "school". She came home with art projects and told me all about her day and what snack she ate. She fell in love with her first boy- Jonah (the one she named her doll after). As soon as I would drop her off she would look for Jonah to play with. Jonah's mom is also crazy like us and has 3 kids under 4 years old so we had a lot in common. I had told Jonah's mother that Grace talked about him all day long and named her doll after him. Jonah's mother had told me in return that Jonah had Grace's Valentine picture on his bookshelf and that he refused to take it down. She also warned me that Jonah is crazy and that Grace must have a thing for "bad boys". I believe it. Grace did awesome at school and her teacher was amazed at how opposite Lily and Grace were. I believe Lily only said a few words the entire CDO school year when she went. Grace however talked and talked. Don't get me wrong- Grace is shy too. Just not as shy as Lily :) I can't wait for both girls to go to the same preschool next year!

Grace was excited to see us come in right before dismissal for the last day of school

Grace, Lily, and Grace's teacher- Mrs. S

Outside of Grace's school

First Day of School pictures: 

 Last Day of School pictures:

Lily's Preschool Celebration Night and Ice Cream Social at her teacher's house:

Singing/dancing with her class- I believe she was doing the Chicken Dance

Singing a super cute song about Jesus

Class Photo

Growing up way too fast.

Ice cream at her teacher's house- caught her just eating the candy toppings!

Glad that's finally written! Let's hope that summer school goes by quickly for me so I can enjoy summer too!