June's Ten Things

Even though we still had school in June, we packed a lot of fun stuff in too!  Here are my Ten Things to Smile About in June:

1.  FRESH PEAS!!  Even though they made me itchy, they made me happy!

2.  Lagoon Day with Todd, Ethan, and Madeline
3.  Wheeler Farm with Cousins
4.  Our family trip to the Zoo
5.  Oliver sitting in the high chair!  And his two little teeth!  The second one is starting to show now.

6.  Evenings with the family in the back yard, even if it is too hot!
7.  The date I had with Ethan
8.  Going to Ethan and Madeline's talent shows at school.  They both played piano.  Ethan also was in a jump roping act with his buddies!  It was fun.
9.  Father's Day
10.  Enjoying a family trip to The Hill Aerospace Museum

Father's Day

My kids are so blessed to have such a great dad  

   And this picture (below) is my favorite!  Todd enjoyed reading what the kids think of him from the "My Dad" papers they filled out at church and school.  Here is my favorite one from Ethan:  "The nicest thing my dad ever did for me was I can't decide what the nicest thing was.  He is just that nice."  lol.  I also liked the one where Ethan said he just asks his dad if he ever needs advice about what to do if he does something wrong.  I hope that never changes!

 And here is where a picture of me with my Dad is supposed to be.  ACK!  We even talked about taking it while visiting in the afternoon and then forgot.  Raelynn and her kids were there too and we enjoyed visiting and eating (as always) entirely too many treats and watching Dad open presents.  And when I say too many treats, I may or may not mean: ice cream, raisin pudding cake, blueberry pie, snicker doodles, and chocolate covered dried fruit…

Then we had a lovely dinner at Grandpa and Nana's.  I should have taken a picture of Todd with his Dad too.  But I did take this cute one of Oliver with Todd's cousin's little girl.  She is about three weeks older.  There, I ate dinner and then more treats.  Cookies, brownies, and more chocolates.  But in my defense, I passed on the ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce...

My life is filled with incredible men for which I am grateful on a daily basis.  I realize not everyone is as blessed as me to have such an incredible dad, father-in-law, grand-father-in-law, and husband.  And I'm so happy to have been able to spend the day with all of them!

Zoo Day

The Zoo on Saturday was HOT and crowded, but we sure had a fun time!

 Ethan has been looking forward to going for his 1/2 birthday for a long time.  We went a week late due to soccer games, but it was close enough!

 This year, we decided to celebrate 1/2 birthdays with a fun activity and a treat.  It's been a fun new tradition.

 Right now, it's Zoorassic Park at the Zoo.  The dinosaurs made it especially fun.  (except the spitting one which scared Cooper!)

 Oliver came too, though I didn't get any pictures of him.  He was hiding under the canopy of his carseat most of the time.  He did great sleeping and was happy while he was awake too.

 The seals were one of my favorites.

 The Zoo doesn't seem quite as neat as when I was a kid, it kind of felt like we walked around for lots of hours in the hot sun and hardly saw a thing, but the kids were totally happy and loved it!

 All in all, a fabulous day!  I even survived the bird show…but that's a different story!

Pictures I Like

He is so cute when he sits...

 I like my bow earrings

 These two are THE BEST!

 My date with Ethan was so great!  We had a blast at dinner, and he even cleared my tray for me without me asking.  We enjoyed a great concert too.  He sure loves music.  He was just enamored the whole time!

 And Cooper continues to crack me up.  I found him staring at himself in the mirror while on the scale.

Ethan

Oh my heart, I just really love this kid!  Nine year olds are the best.  I really really really like this nine year old.  I should say, 9 1/2 year old though, as we just "celebrated" his 1/2 birthday.  He got to pick out a fun treat.  He chose a bunch of sticky chewy candy.  Why??

 Because two days later he got BRACES!!!  When did I get old enough to have a kid in braces?

When did I get old enough to have a kid who plays the piano so well, keeps his bathroom clean, helps his younger siblings, says okay when I explain why he can't do what he wants to do, and has even asked me how my day was?!?!?!?!

He mows the lawn (even when he doesn't want to)
He hugs me when he can tell I'm stressing out
He does his work (most of the time!) without complaint
He is a sweetheart.

Did I mention how awesome this boy is?

It's Official!

As of yesterday…HE SITS!  xoxo

Wheeler Farm

The cousins all played croquet with Mimi in the field before we went into the farm.  I think the highlight though was playing on, under, and around the coolest tree at Wheeler Farm:

 The baby goat was pretty cute too!

 And Oliver just liked sitting in his car seat during lunch sucking on a paper cup while we all ate pizza!

It is moments like these I wish our summer was longer than three weeks…good thing we had these few days off track to play with cousins!

Random Fun

Planting Flowers - I am pretty proud of our yard this year.  Prettiest it's been in June in all the years we've lived here!

 After tubby towel time!

 Play dough cupcake creations

 A Scent for a Cent - this little scent smelling stand was so delightful.  Every single scent was delicious and refreshing.  I was totally impressed.  They spent two hours making them, mixing different petals and spices with smelly lotions and water, and earned over $2 in tips.

 Crowding around Bapa and his phone.

 Diggers building a play dough house!

 Tummy time fun with Mr. Cute.

It's What Fun Is!

June 5th was Todd's Annual Lagoon Work Party.  I love how they pay for us to go to Lagoon every year.  It helps me feel like a fun parent for a day!

 My mom and sister took care of Cooper and Oliver so the four of us could really enjoy the rides.  Ethan and Madeline were good buddies so Todd and I enjoyed going on a couple rides together too.  That was a first!

 And speaking of firsts, Ethan was finally brave enough to try The Colossus.  I think he liked it too!  But in the end, I think their favorite rides were the spinning ones.

And the family favorite:  Bombora!  We went on that one the most.  That family coaster is just my speed.  All in all, a fun day with the older kids.  I could have stayed longer!

Seven Months Old

I love seeing this face every morning.  And it's mutual.  That's one of the sweetest things about having a baby, they find the greatest delight in just seeing your face.

 He also loves seeing his toes.

And tasting them too.

 He now is 27 1/2 inches tall and weighs 17 pounds.  His head and weight are 45th percentile and his height is 75th percentile.  He's done a lot of catching up!  He was under the 10th for the first little while.

 Oliver is still the sweetest baby.  He's been a little more fussy lately, but discovering his first tooth on June 1st explained it!  It's hard to see, but will be up soon.  The other one on the bottom is soon to follow.  I always love the two little teeth look.  My baby favorite!

 This kiddo loves baby food.  Today for lunch he had a bowl of green beans and two bowls of oats!  He loves blueberry applesauce best, but will still gladly eat anything.

Last week he sat for about 20 seconds alone.  He has only rolled over once, but I guess that was enough for him.  He doesn't like tummy time very much.  He'd always rather be in his exersaucer or be held for a better view of the world and extra kisses from mom.

I'm grateful for this sweet baby.  My life often feels like chaos, but when I allow him to, Oliver can always calm my spirit and help me feel at peace.