summer lovin'

slidin' into summer!

so despite the fact that nate and i both work 40+ hour work weeks, we are still making time for summer fun! oh how i wish we had a "summer break." but since we don't, we LIVE for the weekends... when we can stay up a little later than normal, sleep in a little (if the boys cooperate!) play outside, swim, hang out with family and friends, cook out... you know, all that fun stuff! meme got a new playground and the kids love it! as you see, trace is FEARLESS! he did not hesitate to go down the slide headfirst! that boy has so many bumps and bruises on him. i know he's a BOY and that is NORMAL but it's still hard for me to get used to! all the kids are getting so big. they play together so well (most of the time!) they fight like brothers and sisters but in the end they love each other so much and they are so protective of each other. it is great. i love how they are so close. caden, kenley, trace, and lala all love the new swingset. and the baby boys, lucas and mason, get their fair share of swingin' time in :) and by the way, mason went for his 3 month check up and was cleared by the physical therapist, and the neurologist said things look great. they want to see him again at 1 year for a check up but we are trusting god to take care of things. he is getting big, in fact, mason weighs a pound more than lucas, and he's a month younger! told ya he is just fine :) we are praising god for continued healing for baby mason!

lala girl is queen of the fort! love how she doesn't let that skirt stop her :) she gets down and dirty and at the end of the day she is as messy as the boys!!

kenley shows off her gymnastic skills, and caden shows his abs of steel :) cute little monkeys!!

caden got all his cute shaggy hair cut off... he now has a big boy faux hawk! it's adorable! trace wanted hair like caden's so we put some gel in it and he thought he was so cool :) he is cool, with or without the gel!

so handsome!!

trace LOVES to be outside. he is ALL BOY! whether it's blowing bubbles, swimming, playing with dump trucks in the dirt, sliding, or just running wild, he is just happy being outside. he comes in filthy dirty and smelling like a dog. but those are the joys of little boys, right? :)

trace completed his first year in awanas. he has been in the puggles class. he got awarded the 3rd place ribbon for attendance... he got beat by his cousins, imagine that! (there were several wednesdays toward the end of my pregnancy with lucas when trace and i skipped church- gasp! to go home and get in bed!) anyways... the awanas had a party at pump-it-up. man oh man. that nite i realized how bad out of shape i am in. trace had a BLAST though, but was too small to do the slides by himself. he got trampled by the big kids. so i had to lug him up to the top of every one of them. it was worth it though, hearing his shriek in delight all the way to the bottom. too bad it took us like 5 minutes to get to the top, then about 12 seconds to slide down. HA. i definitely got my work out that nite. i thought i was gonna die from chasing him around!! :)

daddy and his littlest man

since trace is such a blanky boy, we decided to get lucas one too. he also loves it... he snuggles up in it and falls right to sleep when he is tired. give him a paci and his blanky and he is out like a light! it works like a charm everytime! see?

sweet feet!

lucas is enjoying his role as "little brother!" except he's not so little anymore! he is learning new tricks and getting bigger by the day. he has started rolling over now, from his tummy to his back. he squeals and laughs all the time. AND GUESS WHAT ELSE? he has 2 teeth! yep, only 4 months old and 2 TEETH!!!! they are on the bottom, front and center. they have def. broken thru the skin but i can't seem to get a good pic of them just yet. but they are there, trust me! he goes to the dr friday for his 4 month check up... he finished all his meds for his ear infection so nate will finally get to take him for his well visit. not looking forward to the 4 vaccines he has to have, but i can't wait to see how big he is now! my guess is close to 15 pounds!!

getting so big!

ok. this next pic cracks me up!! he's just about outgrown the bassinet, and his swaddle me blanket. but i love it and he sleeps so good like this! when i woke up one day last week and saw his feet hanging over the edge, i went and grabbed the camera. doesn't he look comfy?? i think we are gonna try and move him to the playpen this weekend and see how he sleeps in there.

and he loves to swing. can you tell? he is such a happy baby, just like trace was. we are blessed with the 2 best boys ever!

well, i didn't realize it had been so long since i'd blogged and posted new pics. so this one is chocked full of all sorts of stuff. and i think my A.D.D. kicked in. :) but i hope you enjoyed the update. check back soon to see what other kind of adventures we've been having! there's bound to be fun with nate, trace and lucas around!

SO, what are your favorite things to do in the summer? i'd love to know!