This & That

We pass by this pirate ship that serves snow cones a few times a week and last week Ava started asking questions about what snow cones are like.  We realized when she asked if they tasted like ice cream that she had never had one before so to the pirate ship we went!

She had cherry and grape just like daddy and enjoyed it until it melted.  But given the choice she said she'd rather have ice cream :-)

Keegan had his first haircut over the weekend.  He has needed a it for a while but I had been putting it off.  It does look so much better now and we had so many comments on Sunday about how much older he looks.  Maybe that's why I was putting it off.  I still can't believe how blonde he has become!

So much better!

Ava is registered for soccer for the Fall and she is so excited.  Jeff bought these goals last week and she's been getting a little practice in.

She loves scoring on Daddy :-)

Yesterday was her first day of dance camp!  She has four good friends in her group and she's having a blast.

She quickly found her cubby and headed off to see her friends! 

They are learning a ballet dance and tap dance to perform on Thursday and she is so excited to be tapping again.  We took a month break from dance and she is really enjoying being back.

And I'm enjoying a little one-on-one time with this little guy!

Sweet Little Boy Things

A year and a half ago I couldn't imagine what life would be like with a little boy running around the house.  But now it's here and it's so, so sweet and hard to remember life before precious little boy things!  I'm in love with the clothes, the noises, the toys and just the overall little personality and fearlessness of this little boy.  I say this all the time but I would love to freeze him at this age and I thought I would share a few recent pics.
Jeff worked in the yard a couple of weekends ago, doing some much needed planting around our tree and mailbox and Keegan was oh so helpful with the wheelbarrow.  We may have to get him one his size that he can actually move.  He gave up after a while on this one but he was quite entertained.

.  He found this lawn mower demo at the entrance of our Kroger last week and after he pushed it around the store for half an hour we decided it would be a good purchase for him.  We go for walks in the evenings around the neighborhood and he pushes it alongside Ava on her scooter.  It's by far his favorite toy right now.  He loves it almost as much as he loves running around with no clothes on!

He loves to push his trucks around the house making 'vroom, vroom' noises and just recently he has started banging them into each other.  It's a funny contrast to see this in a room where sissy is singing along with her musical 'my little pony' on the couch.

He loves yogurt but he has been begging for the spoon lately while I'm feeding it to him.  So I reluctantly gave him the spoon this week and I think you can tell by the photos how that's going.

I'm not sure which of the three of us babies him the most....

But I think it's very clear to him that he is so loved!

Last Week

Today I finally uploaded all the pictures we took last weekend and over the July 4th holiday so this is a catch up post.  I worked three days last week, filling in for the event coordinator at the golf club I worked at before Keegan was born.  It was fun but exhausting and I had four loads of laundry to do and a lot of groceries to buy over the weekend so blogging had to take a back seat! 

Last Saturday we headed to east Texas for the day to see some friends and family.  My first job ever was at a nine hole family owned golf course when I was in high school.  I spent two years with this family, working in the pro shop and often looking after their sweet kids.  I think I needed them more than they needed me at that time and I was more than grateful for the job and my time with them.  Jeff actually ran into Mark & Angela at the Byron Nelson golf tournament recently where thousands were gathered so I took that as a sign it was time to call and catch up!  So that's what we did on Saturday after 10 years of thinking about it and it was as much fun as I thought it would be.  They actually live on the golf course now so it was fun to see the course too. Here's a pic of me and Angela...

And the whole fam...minus Jacob who had to work.  It was very surreal to see the kids again.  I think all week long I had envisioned seeing them as kids but that was clearly not the case.

These are the last pictures I took with Lily & Joshua in 2001 just a couple of years before moving to north Texas.

And this is Birdie.  She walked up as a puppy when I was there in '99 and she is still hanging out at the golf course.  I loved this dog.  She was less than enthusiastic to see me and refused to come out from under the deck.  I couldn't be too upset with her since she's almost 100 in dog years.

The kids had fun running around.  Ava made friends with this sweet kitten that kept her entertained all afternoon :-)

We stopped to have dinner with Grandmama & Grandaddy.  The kids enjoyed running around the "piano room" at their new home.  Keegan and Grandaddy played a little ball...

And Grandmama played a little piano....

And Poppy wore Keegan out which made for a long nap on the way home :-)

It was such a fun road trip and we are looking forward to going back!

On Wednesday we celebrated July 4th almost entirely outdoors.  After the pool we headed to church for our life group's outdoor picnic. 

Keegan obviously wanted nothing to do with my camera or silly noises before we left.

A family pic since it's been a few months....

Big boy Keegan decided he could eat at the table with Garrett & Ava.

Everyone brought fun treats to share and every time I looked up I saw Ava with yet a different form of sugar. I'm pretty sure she took down this cupcake, two popsicles, two cookies and a ring pop.  Oh the holidays!  She had such a fun night running around with her friends.

This little guy, however, struggled after the first hour.  I think he was ready to go home at 7:30 and the fireworks didn't start until 9:45.  We did our best to keep him happy!  And he was usually happy as long as he was eating...

He couldn't get enough of the glow sticks that the kids ran around with at dark.  Ava wore hers like a necklace but of course all he wanted to do was swing it around as hard as he could.

Although hours past his bedtime, he came alive for the fireworks show.  He pointed at almost every firework that went off and clapped in between them.  I enjoyed watching him more than the sky :-) 

It was a fun night but I don't think any of us recovered for a couple of days!  But all exhaustion aside we are thankful for our country, our church, and our community.  And of course the two that make us so tired :-)

The Sweetest Sound

Ava is still talking about the fun she had a vacation bible school this summer.  She learned the same songs in chapel that the 'big kids' learned and I meant to download them to listen to around the house and in the car but I never got around to it.  So here we are, a month later, and I hear her singing this sweet song that I will admit I had forgotten besides a few words in the chorus.  I couldn't believe she remembered this.  She has never performed a dance or a song around the house for the camera so I was shocked when she continued singing it for me this morning.  She has grown up so much the last six months and as age three disappears I am a little sad but mostly enjoying our little almost 4 year old.  But that's for another post!  I will just say for now that she is so much fun and I am loving my days with this little lady :-)

We Love Summer!

Our summer began with a busy recital weekend and went straight into Vacation Bible School the following Monday.  It was so fun but I was so excited to begin our lazy, poolside days last week.  We slept until 8 and spent every day at a pool with a different group of friends! 

So far this week hasn't been any different.  It's one of my favorite things about summer and now that the triple digit temps have set in it's pretty much our only outdoor option. 

Here are some of our summer favorites via iphone pics....

As previously stated, We love the pool :-)

I texted this picture to Jeff one day last week with the caption "Are they really ours?"  Although some days are hard and quite exhausting my heart is always so thankful for these two!



Ava, Emma, Morgan & Sarah hanging out in Morgan's pool

Keegan often prefers running around the pool rather than being in the pool!



We love Sonic Happy Hour after the pool! 

 It's the perfect time for half-priced drinks and snacks :-)

 We love family cookouts!

We love Ice Cream! 

We have gone out for frozen yougurt or ice cream two or three times a week this summer.  There are so many options surrounding us now!  We recently tried a new spot across the street called Camille's.  

They serve hand dipped ice cream bars and you choose your topping.  Ava chose milk chocolate and m&m's.  And she did not care to share much with me!

 Keegan was happy to share....

We love when kiddos take long afternoon naps!  At least Mommy does :-)

15 Months

Keegan turned 15 months old on Thursday and I'm still trying to wrap my head around how my baby has turned into a toddler so quickly!  It's so fun watching him grow and learn new things but I want to freeze him at this age. 

Our little guy is on the go from sun up till sun down.  He must burn 5,000 calories a day which I guess is  why he also eats from sun up till sun down!  He's not a picky eater and pretty much eats anything we give him but he has a love affair with bananas.  He eats one, sometimes two a day but only because I say no the other eight times he walks over and points to the fruit bowl.  Strawberry yogurt and watermelon are also favorites and I think he could take down an entire box of bunny grahams in a day if I would let him!

He is pretty much into everything.  We've had to baby proof twice as much as we did with Ava.  If something does not look like a toy he is all over it; TV and stereo remote controls, DVD baskets, our phones and laptop, my kitchen broom, the revolving trash can lid--the list goes on.  But most of all he loves to get into the dishwasher.  He hears it open and he runs!  I've walked away from it opened  for just a second to find him walking away with forks in each hand.  I've quickly learned that it's best to unload and load while he is napping.

He loves to wear Daddy's hats around the house.  The other night he found this one on the floor of our bedroom and came out to show off. 

He gets so excited when he knows he's being cute.  He babbles throughout the day but he doesn't say much yet.  He is a man of few words-- Mamamama, Dadadada, Yeah-Yeah (for yes) and bubble (when asking for Bubble Guppies).

He adores animals, especially dogs and has no fear of them.  He chases Aunt Kara's Chihuahua and Nana's dachshund around at every family gathering and it's the only animal noise he will mimic right now.  You can ask him what a cow or pig says but you'll find that they say 'ruff ruff' as well.  We kept our neighbor's dog for a few days last week and Keegan followed the dog around everywhere, patting her on the back and bringing her toys and food.  

He is still quite a Mama's boy and has terrible separation anxiety at church.  He cries most of the time we are gone :-(.  I know one day he will wave and run into his classroom and I am praying that happens sooner rather than later. 

He is such a lovable little boy.  He runs circles around us but will stop randomly to "give love" to us.  And when I say "give love" I mean either a giant open mouth kiss on the face while he holds our cheeks or he  bends into us he leaning his head forward into us.  It's so funny and so precious.  He is full of energy and full of love and we are so thankful for this sweet boy!