Our summer is off to a great start! We've been having lots of fun hanging out, playing outside, going fun places, and eating fun summer treats!
Cooper is good at all his shapes, colors, and letters, numbers, etc., and we've been trying so hard to get him to draw and color more. On this day, he actually gave 15 minutes to this activity, which is a all-time record for him to sit at the table (unless it's play-doh). He even made some scribbles and said it was his name. I was so proud of him!! For a teacher-mama, I've been waiting for him to finally get excited about this!!
Great job, buddy!
Izzy likes to use markers :) (Color Wonder markers are the BEST invention ever!)
Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum are turning into quite the pair this summer. They can cause trouble together, push each other's buttons, hide together, squeal together, and be incredibly cute together...
Izzy's learning from the best!!
What first month of summer would be complete without a trip to the ZOO!? We renewed our membership again this year, and are excited for monthly trips to visit the animals. Auntie Amanda and Grandma Dawn came out with us for this long and fun morning at the zoo. I love how the kids are so familiar with the place... Cooper knows exactly which animals are coming up next!
Isabelle loved the penguins
Cooper loves playing in the rocks, and being 'in jail.'
Hello, Mr. Turtle!
Cooper's all-time favorite part of the zoo--THE FARM, of course! He loves to brush the goats.
And he likes to talk to the goats, too. This one was licking his arm ;)
And what trip out to the farm would be complete without riding the pig?!?!
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Prior Lake was our next venture. It was Izzy's first time out on the boat, and Cooper's first time of this season. We had big hopes for a boat full of fish, and came up empty. Not a darn bite. Cooper was very, very patient, and he was content just trying for some fish. Izzy, on the other hand, was as far from patient as she could have been. We learned that she just isn't quite ready for the boat yet. Maybe it would have been better had it not been for the no wake rule on the whole lake, and we could have gone faster to cool off. Maybe it would have been better if we were catching fish to distract her. Maybe. But we'll try again when we're more confident that she can sit for more than 3.2 seconds.
She did love 'driving' the boat!
"Holding the rope is my job."
Here fishy, fishy, fishy!!
I think the kid could fish all day. He lots of practice this winter 'fishing' with string, belts, tape measures, necklaces, etc.
Thank goodness for snacks... she wouldn't have lasted five minutes without one.
And this past weekend, we tried camping for the first time of the year. Last year was a complete failure in the one short night we tried... but this year was much better! We had no expectations, just wanted to go with the flow. And the kids did great! Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa and Jackie and Brian. They helped keep these monsters occupied, and having the big camper to use the bathroom and bathtub was also a stress-saver. Looks like the 4th of July will be a camping weekend again!
Juice break
Yummy fudge bar...
And fudgy kisses for daddy!
Cooper's favorite part of camping... roasting marshmallows (and eating s'mores!)
Just chillin... Izzy loved her chair and found many comfy positions. Check out those little legs!
The march to the pool.
She wanted to walk all by her SELF.
Many more adventures to come! Stay tuned! Yeah for a busy and fun summer!
Congratulations to Missy and Phil, the newest, proudest parents on the planet. They have been blessed with a sweet baby boy.
Drake Philip was born on June 10. He is s snugly little guy, and he has already brought his mommy and daddy so much joy!
True love!
Cooper and Izzy got to come to the hospital to meet him, too. At first, they were very quiet and hesitant. I think they were a little scared of the hospital setting. But after a little while, once I was holding Drake, they got pretty curious. Izzy kept trying to look inside his sleeves to find his fingers. Cooper gave him several super-soft kisses on the head. I know they are going to LOVE having cousins!
Missy and Phil were doing well, and they were just glowing. It is pretty great seeing my little sister become a mom and get the chance to experience pure and unconditional love. Their lives have changed in an instant, and I can't wait to see the kind of parents they grow to be :)
A few days after Drake's arrival, they were back to the hospital, but this time for some health scares for Drake. He was experiencing some seizures due to a stoke he had. Very scary for everyone, but no one was more scared than Missy and Phil. After a few days in the NICU, lots of tests, and some new knowledge they never expected to gain in Drake's first week, they are back at home with a healthy, happy little boy. Constant prayers for his development and full recovery are being sent up from this household ;) We are anxious to visit Drake in his own home. Izzy and Cooper are anxious to see the little guy once again!! I am excited to be a spoiling auntie!!
Okay, so if you are not into watching toddlers talk, then pass this post right on by. We think she is a little smartie-pants, and we love her sweet little voice saying dozens and dozens (maybe 100) words at this point. The most fun part of this stage is that she will try to repeat everything. Okay, so maybe that's not always so fun, but it usually is!
Last week I caught her reading with daddy, and she loves to tell him about the pictures. She is even starting to grab a book on her own, flip through it, and rattle off the things she sees.
This video is more for us, just to remember just how talkative she is at this very moment in time: 19 months old.
This weirdo of a 3-year-old won't let me take many photos of him, but when I get a gem like this, how can I not share it?!?!
This boy is goofy, energetic, crazy, silly, and loves to play. Here is a prime example. He was trying out a new noise-making tube he got from grandpa. The whole ride home with it, he was holding it up to my ear and talking or singing to me, and when we got home, he was ready to try it out in the driveway. He thinks it will help him call in animals.
Good thing he's being so 'sneaky.' Right.
(Listen carefully, and you can hear him singing "Hey, Diddle, Diddle." It's the first real song he's sang beginning to end. His stubborn unwillingness to sing songs is a little odd for a toddler, but hey, maybe he's not ready to share his voice yet!! (Or maybe he got his dad's voice and already knows it!)
...and the kids are soooo excited! Our live-in handy man went and picked up a used swing set this weekend and restored it to nearly as good as new. With a little pressure wash, a new roof, and a new coat of paint, this thing will look awesome. However, the kids certainly don't mind that we didn't pay thousands of dollars :). Cooper could hardly contain his excitement while Jeremy was working on it this afternoon--thankfully there was a break in the rain long enough to get it set up. "Is it ready yet, dad? Is it time to play yet?" we must have heard twenty times!!
Future Sandbox
"Self, self!" The girl wants to do everything herSELF.
Swing!!
The girl could swing all day long if we let her
And for the big under-dog... all the way to twelve. I have a feeling he won't be pushing her this nicely all summer long.
The end of the season is always so bittersweet, and this season was no exception. Maybe a little more bitter than sweet...
I didn't take a ton of pics this season--mostly because the kids were always busy playing off in the dirt somewhere away from the game, and it was always so stinkin cold! Once the weather finally warmed up, it was playoff time! The Tigers gave it quite a go, but came up a few games short of the state tournament.
The last event of the season, the 100 Inning Marathon, took place on Friday night. The kids had a blast, and Cooper even got to hit once and play in the outfield.
Jeremy broke the news to his team that he will not be able to coach anymore. The girls took the news pretty hard, and there were lots of tears. Jeremy decided he just can't keep up the three-month marathon when his body feels so crummy. Although he's still getting to know this whole MS thing (more on that in another post some other day), he has learned quickly that stress plays an enormous role in how he feels on a daily basis. Not that everything about coaching is stressful, but too much of it is. He came home from his Memorial weekend playoff Saturday, and he felt like he could hardly move. He was hurting. He knows for his own good, he has to make some of these tough decisions about how to control his symptoms when possible.
So that's the 'more bitter than sweet' part. One bright spot in his weekend, though, was the thought that maybe he could still coach the girls for domeball in the winter. That wouldn't be even close to the same commitment or stress level!! We'll see what happens...
So here's a look back on the season:
Cooper's first bus ride. He LOVED riding home with the girls from LeSeuer
A rainy, cold night... but they found fun--like always!
Laying in the dirt is fun, too!
A DQ treat with the girls after the game
Yummo!
Izzy's got her buckets and shovels ready to play! Yeah for SHORTS and a T-SHIRT!
In the sandbox at Caswell while we were 'watching' the girls play ball.
Last game announcements
Dad's biggest fans
He made us proud!! First swing--GREAT hit! On the field with the pink team!
