Lake Day Fun

July 12. 2015

We had a blast with the Donges Crew, Kel, and Jen at the lake.  It is always a blast to have a boat day with the family and this day was no exception.

Bruce was ready to go...

Kate loved it.

Pulled over to a beach for a little buddha baby nap and some swimming.

Kate with 2 of her favorite guys..

"Hey Toe"

Ben was the lucky one to have a little snuggle nap with Popes, this NEVER happens.

When did LB become a teenager?!

The fun didn't end at the lake.. We went back to Kate and Dave's awesome new pool and swam for a bit.  

Little Miss Kate is quite the swimmer and VERY brave...

Probably jumped off this wall 100 times... 

Such a fun day.  Love our family.

4th of July

We had a super fun and kind of low key 4th this year...

Bruce was pretty syked about the festivities...

We went up to the neighborhood pool in the afternoon for some fun with the Chanceys.

As usual, these 2 love birds were just the cutest.

Bruce went for his first swim!

Loved it...

Kate is a little fish and loves the pool even more when she is swimming with her daddy

Then we headed home to grill out and have some 4th of July fun.

The kids loved the poppers and just thought they were hilarious!

Sparklers were a hit too

We put the kids to bed and then had a very impressive (ha!) fireworks show of our own...

And as always- Ben had to be inappropriate!

Kate is 21 Months Old

Can you believe that Kate is right around the corner from turning 2!?!

Feel like I haven't done a Kate "update" in a while and there is just so much about her right now that I don't ever want to forget and want to soak up every second of. This post could probably go on for days, but here is what I think of off the top of my sleep deprived head!

Kate is 100% the boss, a bit of a diva, kind of sassy, but at the same time the sweetest, snuggliest, most precious little girl you have ever been around.

"NO" is probably still her favorite word and it is always accompanied by that little finger pointing at whatever/whoever she is bossing around at the moment.

She is starting to be more independent and will play by herself for longer and longer periods of time.  After a few minutes she will realize that nobody is playing with her and will poke her head around the corner and say "Hi" with a small little wave.  Always checking in...

Loves playing pretend with her baby doll.  Pretty hilarious to watch her and see how she mimics me taking care of Bruce.  Lots of rocking, pat pats, "diaper changes",  wrapping baby in his bitty (blankie), and pushing him in his stroller.  Love watching her love on her baby- too sweet.

She is a little sponge these days.  Repeating almost everything, remembering little dance moves from her videos, trying to sing ABCs, counting (uuunn, dooo, reee!).  Loves music and singing songs- ABC is her number 1 jam.  Starting to say more sentences instead of just words, says "ta tu mommy/daddy" for thank you and it is just so sweet.

She absolutely loves her "Wiggy"
(the feeling is mutual)

New favorite game with mommy and daddy is "NIGHT NIGHT" where she puts a pillow on the floor, points to it and tells us to "NIGHT NIGHT" (with a LOT of authority) then she proceeds to cover you with a blanket and pat on your back.  We kind of love this game too... :)

Obsessed with shoes- wants to put them on as soon as she wakes up.

The girl loves to eat.  Starting to be a bit more adventurous and will eat more of a variety.  Still struggling with vegetables, but she can tear up some fruit.  Loves yogurt,  "pop pop" or "cah corn" (popcorn), pop-eh-cles, and most especially cheese dip.  She is always ready for a "nack"

Loves watching the Mother Goose Club and Yo Gabba Gabba.  Loves reading books- Sandra Boynton still her favorite.  Starting to get into coloring and doing arts and crafts- I am excited about this new phase!

What else, what else....

We just can't get enough of our funny, bossy, sweet Kate.  She just gets better every day and my heart could explode with the love I have for these babies of mine.  Love watching her grow and become this smart little person and sweet big sissy, it is really amazing.

Bruce is 2 Months Old!

On June 30th, Bruce turned 2 months old.

Can't believe this sweet boy has already been here 8 whole weeks.  Time is flying by and we are falling more and more in love with him every single day.

B is starting to smile all the time (first ones were in the hospital- a good sign he was getting better!)

He is so laid back.. pretty much happy and content wherever you put him, doesn't fuss when Kate covers his face with blankets/stuffed animals/toys/younameit, or when Kate "pat pats" him aka smacks his belly/back.  He is just happy to be around his people and coo and smile at everyone.  Such a sweet boy.

Bruce is 13 lbs 2 oz (55 percentile) 23 and 7/8 in long (70 percentile) and has 80 percentile noggin (16 and 1/8 in) he is already wearing mostly 3 month clothes, and size 1 diapers.

He is consistently sleeping from about 7 to 3 or 4am, although some nights are still not so much fun... He is not the best napper.  Likes to wake up after about 30-45 minutes but will usually fall back to sleep with a bink and a little rock.

We call him Houdini with the swaddle.  He can even bust out of daddy's super mega swaddles... pretty impressive.

We love him oh so much and love having our sweet boy around.. Happy 2 months little buddy!

Oh, Hello Again!

It has been a really long time since I have written a blog post.  Sorry to my 3 followers out there!

It has been the craziest month, probably ever.

I had a few posts written and was planning to come back to them to upload pictures, but then we went to the beach, and then we came home and I went back to work, and Bruce had an ear infection, and Ben had a BIG ol' health scare... So needless to say, this was the least of my priorities.

But get ready, I am planning to flood this things with lots of pictures, stories, and updates on our lives.   I don't want to forget any of these crazy moments, and truly this blog is the only way I remember them.  I am not a crazy baby book person and my memory is crap these days... 

So, here we go, stay tuned... I'M BAAACCCK!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Dad's Day to my 2 most favorite guys on this planet.

To my own dard- I hope you have the most wonderful day soaking up the sun in Florida.  No one deserves it more than you.  Thank you for showing me the power of being kind to people, smiling, and the importance of a good handwritten note.  I couldn't have asked for a better daddy than you.  I am so blessed.  You always led by example living a faith centered life and showing us how to do the same.  Now my babies and your grandbabes are so lucky to have you as their MRG.  You are just the best granddaddy already, thank goodness for the "magic shoulder", we are so lucky!  Love you oh so much sweet dard.  Hope you feel so special today!

To my sweet Bennie- where do I even begin?  I didn't think I could love you more than the day that I married you... boy was I wrong.  Nothing brings more joy to my heart than watching you with our sweet babies.  Kate literally lights up when she looks at you and nobody can crack her up quite like her da da.  You already have the touch with Bruce and I'm sure he will be a daddy's boy in no time.  You are the sweetest man.  From "kidnapping" Bruce in the middle of the night so that I can get some sleep, to taking Kate to work with you, to our fun family days at the pool and at home-- every day with you just gets better and watching you with our kiddos in the greatest blessing ever.  Love you!

Love these guys with all my heart.

Happy Father's Day everyone!  Hope it was a great one!

Summer Fun

Maternity leave during the summer is awesome.  I am having so much fun being home with my kiddos and we have had a blast playing outside and hanging with lots of friends and visitors..

Since the last couple weeks have been crazy, here is the last few weeks summed up in lots of photos!

Fun pool day with Rosie and the Gentry crew

Erin and Raley came for a visit- so much fun having them here for a few days!

I mean, can you even stand how cute these 2 gals are together?

Trouble...

Bruce was loving some Raley snuggles too!  Can't wait to add one more little lady to this crew!

A giggle filled visit with aunt katie which included lots of "30 second dance parties", walks, and fun playing outside.

There was also a newfound love for cheese dip discovered...

Miss Kate is loving our neighborhood pool and its even better when dad is there!

We've also been enjoying lots of popsicles and treats outside

Sweet summertime... couldn't be better.