More July Celebrations

What can I say... we celebrated a LOT in July! Here are a few pictures from 4th of July. We had lots of fun by the pool that day with some family that came in town.

And that night we popped fireworks. We had a competition with Poppy's neighbor Mr. Kevin. We didn't win :) But we surely enjoyed his fancy fireworks. Good times!

We celebrated Mee Maw turning 75. We ate at Charlies and had birthday cake and she opened gifts. She is such a spunky, special lady. She loves her family soooo much, and these great grandchildren are the apple of her eye. I think the feeling is mutual. We LOVE our Mee Maw!!

Couldn't help but share this picture of Ty in a choke hold. Tate was only trying to help!! ha!!

We have LOTS of July birthdays in this family. And not of one them can go unnoticed :)

After the gathering these monkeys had to stretch their legs.

Another day we celebrated one of my best college friends having baby #2! Brantlee and her sweet daughter Emory enjoyed the day too. Jessica was only 3 weeks from delivery in this picture. Baby Clayton made it here safe and sound last week. 

Collin attended soccer camp for 4 days last week. Here he is with his friends and coaches who were from England. Such a neat experience! We are so proud of this big boy. It was HOT and he was tough, never complained the whole time! 

Here we are celebrating our first ever watermelon from our garden. It was yummy!

Collin's Frog Birthday

We celebrated Collin's 6th birthday also on July 13th but a little later in the day. Collin wanted a frog/reptile party because he is pretty much an expert on such things these days. We actually had to incorporate a captured frog in a jar in the picture for his invitation :) We had lots of family and friends from church come to celebrate and swim.

He has waited and waited and asked and asked again if he was getting a wii for his birthday- a Skylander wii to be exact. He got it thanks to Mee Maw & Pammie and Nana & Poppa. And he is obsessed!!

Lots of little swimmers everywhere.

K'Lynne was home for the July birthdays. Mee Maw turned 75 this year. We had a separate party for her. 

Blowing out his candles on his actual birthday and after a long fun day at the waterpark.

We have a first grader on our hands and it just doesn't seem right!! Collin has grown up so much over the last year. He is still such a sweet child with a tender heart, but he can definitely take up for himself when he needs to. He has turned into the typical big brother who loves to aggravate and terrorize his sister... and does it quite well :) He is such a deep thinker and can reason his way out of anything. And he is ALWAYS coming up with something to create (or destroy). We love you so much Collin!!

Ty's 1st Birthday

We celebrated our sweet Ty turning one on July 13th with a circus celebration at Lolly and Poppy's. It was big fun under the big top with all our family.

Proud to be ONE!

A new ride that beats the heck out of a stroller.

Circus birthday treats of cake, popcorn and cotton candy.

He got lots of sweet gifts and plenty of help opening them. 

Singing Happy Birthday... Ty didn't quite understand or like that we wouldn't let him grab the candles ;)

Reminiscing through the months...

I know I've said this at every monthly update for Ty, but it feels like this year literally disappeared it went by so quickly. We have all enjoyed watching Ty grow and change. He is such a little sport! But he has such a sensitive personality too. I don't think any of us can remember life without him. We love him so, so much! He will definitely make his mark on the world. Thank you Lord for this precious blessing!

(Up next is Collin's reptile birthday which occurred right after Ty's party.)

12 Months

We have a one year old!! Not sure how this happened so fast. Continuing on from last month, we have a little dare devil on our hands. He has started climbing up the big kids slide backwards by himself (I promise) and likes to climb on just about anything that could result in injury. He needs a helmet. Period.  Ironically though he is SUCH a momma's baby and is glued to my side. I guess this is normal for this age, but we had forgotten how challenging separation anxiety can be :/ We just hug and kiss him one million times a day and hope it passes soon! Here are some more Ty facts at 12 months:

• As soon as I know his weight and stats next week I will post them here.
• We are trying to switch him to whole milk and that process has had some bumps. Our kids have belly issues, what can I say.
• He eats like a horse and turns very few things down. I actually can't think of one single thing he wont eat right now. 
• He has 10 teeth: four on the bottom and four on top and 2 molars. He is cutting a molar on the right side. This hasn't been good for his mood nor mine. 
• He sleeps with me for 80% of the night. Sigh. How did we get here again? I We can't let him cry. (FYI - daddy is a softy these days)
• He loves his brother and sister and wants to do what they are doing. He lights up and giggles when he gets to play in their rooms. 
• He loves to clap, dance, wrestle, and get tickled. 
• He "talks" to us in his language, but I can't make out any new words except for maybe "this."

So, he turned one year on the 3rd which is right slap in the middle of July the 4th activities. We decided to have his birthday party this weekend instead. But we HAD to commemorate his big day, even if it was minutes before we left to go to the firework show. Not many babies can say they slept through a fireworks show on their first birthday ;)

Cheesin' as a one year old.

This picture belongs in a frame. Look at Ty's face, ha! The kids insisted they "play" Happy Birthday while we sang, so of course we just went with it. This would have totally stressed me out with the first child. And with the 3rd, I can't wait to frame the picture :) It just shows how much these babies love each other. It's precious.

Big boy demolished his cake!! Then when he noticed we were making a big deal about it, he started slinging it on the floor. What a little stink pot!

Trying to stay up on the blogging. We had a wonderful 4th that I need to blog about. Plus this week is jam packed with birthday stuff. Lots more to come!

Halfway Over!

Our summer is halfway over and flying by just like expected. Aside from our beach trip, we have celebrated Father's Day, had VBS, swam a lot, and had lots of play dates with friends. Lots of fun things to look forward to in July too.

We've also spent some time getting into a little mischief. 

And hanging by the pool.

Making a Father's Day craft for Daddy

Our precious Daddy and his babies on Father's Day... Someone wouldn't sit still for the picture :)

Kyle and Collin have done an excellent job with the garden this year! Looks like we missed these zucchini.

We just wrapped up a week of Colossal Coaster World VBS. It was a great week! I taught K5 and Kyle had preschool recreation. C and B loved their classes! Ty tried to be a big boy in the nursery, but night time VBS was just too much for him. I felt sorry for the workers, ha. Luckily Poppy and Nana both kept him a couple of nights each. So thankful for that!

We had commencement and an ice cream social Sunday night.

Okay, when did Brantlee become a big kid?!?! 

We have an exciting week with our baby boy turning ONE tomorrow, celebrating the 4th, and having fun with family coming in town. Then we have to kick it in high gear for two birthday parties!! Feeling busy and blessed, just like we like it around here.