Sweet Summer

I LOVE summer. The lack of a real schedule, having all of my kids home, watching Toy Story or Cars every single morning in our pj's, fireflies, long daylight hours, warm weather (even hot is okay - as long as it's not winter, I'm good!), swimming, sprinklers, road trips, etc. I am really trying to soak up our summer time this year. The past two summers were good but we had some illnesses and setbacks that kept us from waking up each day and wondering freely, "What do we get to do today?" Lucy and I came up with a fun summer checklist to help us keep track of what we want to do. Practicing handwriting should also be on the list. :) I found the idea on a craft blog!

As of today, we have 7 things crossed off already!

We started off the summer with an almost 2 week trip to Texas. The kids and I had a nice, long stay with my family and then Mark joined us and we drove down to see his parents. There's nothing like being around grandparents to renew your love and adoration of your kids. Flying solo with the 3 kids was an experience, for sure, but manageable as long as there are plenty of snacks. And, of course, we appreciate your continued prayers for Mark's dad, as he continues treatment for his cancer.

While we were there, we hit the one year mark of picking up Cole in India. It was neat to remember the journey and experiences that now seem so long ago. My mom made a cake and we had a fun little celebration for him.

We also got to meet up with Rachel and meet two of her adorable kids. Her daughter was the first child I got to meet at the orphanage last year and I will never forget her sweet smile that totally calmed my pounding heart!

On Father's Day, back at home, we got to meet two more Dillon families who each picked up their daughters this past year. That was such a neat experience to reunite the kids and see how they looked at each other curiously but totally obvlivious to their shared past. Cole kept calling each of the girls "baby" even though they were both bigger than him!


Lucy lost her first tooth last week and Cole has started speech therapy (he gets tested this week to see if occupational therapy is going to be added to his plan). Nate went to the movie theater for the first time to see Toy Story 3 and had a hard time understanding the concept of previews. After every one, he'd ask: "Where's Woody and Buzz?" Super cute movie, by the way.
I've been re-reading some of my favorite books by Bodie Thoene - the Zion Covenant series. I haven't read them in about 10 years and can not put them down. Great historical books! Mark is enjoying his mini-season tickets to the Cardinals this summer and he just loves living in a real baseball town. And of course, the Lakers big win made him a very happy man, too.
And the best part is, we still have 6 weeks left of summer! Hooray!

Two

Cole turned two yesterday! We had a fun but low key day around here ending in a trip to Chuck E Cheese followed by cake & ice cream and of course, presents. He was pretty clueless (although he picked up on the opening gifts thing a lot quicker than I thought) but big brother and sister were more than eager to help and reap the benefits!

He did have his 2 year old checkup but thankfully, no shots. He screamed during the nurse's evaluation and when she turned to walk out the room, he immediately got quiet and said, "buh-bye! buh-bye!" Such a stinker!! He weighs 21 pounds (not on the charts still) and measures almost 32 inches.

He has really started exploding with language although he was recently tested to be way delayed in this area as well as a few others. We will start First Steps (Missouri's early childhood intervention program) on Friday.

Lunch on the birthday plate

Oops!


Fun with Dad

He was not pleased as I pushed the cake away from him to take this picture.

He had just stuck his hands in the icing!

Yum!

Presents!

Hoping this color board will help with some fine motor skills

Maybe now he'll leave my broom alone!

2 year old boy