Gateway Splash Pad...

These are some crazy kids... 

And we wouldn't want it any other way!!

We just love our summer!



Wheeler Farm...

We went to Wheeler Farm earlier this summer with Grammy, Aunt Jess, Marie, Carter, Bridger, Audri and Kyson.  It was so fun for the kids to run around and play.  The horse my mom was standing by with Audri was so mean...it kept trying to bite them.

7 Months...

Miss Lyss...At 7 months...

You absolutely love your mommy.  You always want me holding you and you will cry anytime I put you down, leave the room or hand you to someone else.  You are fine if someone else takes you as long as I am nowhere in site:)  I love how much you want me!

You have 4 teeth, with 2 on the way and you LOVE to bite anything and everything!

Your smile is so contagious and you use it all the time!  You are such a happy little girl and you bring so much joy to anyone who meets you.

You can throw a serious fit!  You know what you want and you don't give up easily.  You have an amazingly good "emergency" cry that you always use, emergency or not...your big sister gets in a lot of trouble quite often because of being falsely accused with this cry...

You love every food you have tried so far, with the exception of rice cereal...but I really can't blame you for that.

You sleep so well.  You love bedtime and nap times.

You love baths and swimming.  During your baths, you consistently kick your legs so hard that I am soaked by the end.

You are very ticklish on your tummy and your toes and you have the most adorable giggle!

You have never had an ear infection...yet.  But now that I have written this, it is bound to happen.

You love to snuggle into my neck when you are tired or being shy.

You love going for walks in your stroller.

You LOVE Caitlin.  She makes you laugh and cry the hardest...she does her job as the big sister quite well.

You aren't quite crawling yet, but you can roll and scoot to wherever you want to go.

You no longer use a binkie and haven't for the last month...We decided to wean you early and you haven't done too bad.

You love to suck on my keys and you will scream if I take them away, and I mean scream.

You love your cousin Audri.  You will just sit and smile at her.

You still love to be in your Ergo carrier and it saves me on the days when I really need to get something done.

We love you so much!!  You are such a blessing to our family and you just keep growing into such a sweet little girl.  We are so grateful to have our little Miss Lyss!

4th of July...

We had a great 4th of July...especially with these two little firecrackers!!  They constantly make me smile!  My mom made a  delicious brunch and had all her grand kids over and it was so fun!  Aunt Jess brought a whole bunch of craft items and the kids all made an American flag out of construction paper, they turned out so cute!  Jeff had to work and we wish he could have spent the day with us, but he got home by 5 so we still got some good daddy time in.  We just played hard all day with Jessica, Carter, Bridger and Audri and the kids had so much fun.  Uncle John also got to spend some time with us for the brunch and again after his therapy and we stayed up and watched the Macy's Firework Celebration that night.  I just love celebrating this amazing country and I feel very blessed to be an American. 

Little Miss's Bike Riding 101...

Little Miss and I went out today to practice bike riding skills. 

Me (as little miss is looking everywhere but in front of her while she is riding): "Hey missy, you need to pay attention to where you are going!"

Little Miss: No response

Me: "Caitlin, please focus on what you are doing!"

Little Miss: No response

Me: "Caitlin..."

Little Miss: "Mother! Why are you talking to me while I am trying to focus!"

Me: "Why don't you come ride in the road? There is more room than on the sidewalk."

Little Miss: "Mother, come out of the road right now! If you don't, a car will come and you will die!"

Little Miss: "Mom, will you hold my bike while I run?"

Me: "No sis, you need to ride it back to Grammy's and get some practice."

Little Miss: "Mother, please take it. I really just want to be free."

And while riding, when she gets going really fast and feels like she is doing extra amazing, she will stop the bike, turn to me, and give me a huge thumbs up accompanied by the biggest smile.

Can I just say I love this girl...

Some of my favorite things...

1. Little Miss's "hair"...she always has a towel or sweater on her head and she even has me put it in a ponytail.  I would be ok if she never grew out of this!

2. Lyss's huge smile every morning when I get her out of bed.

3. Little Miss's vocabulary..."merote"(remote) "cocodot" (polkadot) "floppers"(flip-flops) "beautiful gown"(dress) "puter"(computer)

4. How Little Miss wants to help with EVERYTHING...cooking, cleaning, laundry, feeding Lyss...

5. Watching Little Miss dance.

6. Doing anything with Jeff...watching movies, playing games, laughing...pretty much anything:)

7. Making Lyss laugh and listening to her giggle!

...just to name a few:)

Birthday Guy...

We got to celebrate Jeff's birthday in April and there isn't much we like better than celebrating this guy!  He is the best hubby and daddy ever and we were so excited to make his day special.  I got him a new backpacking pack and he was totally surprised!  We went out to dinner at Winger's and had some friends over for cake and ice cream...it was a great day!