Our Pride and Joy

Beau and Baine are definitely our greatest accomplishments in life. I know my children are not always the best behaved, or the most polite, or even the kindest, but they are children. They are learning. I am still learning parenting techniques to help them be the best they can be, while keeping my sanity as well :). But even with all of that, I am so proud of our boys and how great they are. Their love for each other is so special. When I look at my life and think of "what is my calling? what am I supposed to be doing in life?", I always know that being a mother is the one thing in life I know I am supposed to be. 

Beau: Our Little Scholar

Beau is definitely into learning right now and loves to do "homework". I have bought him several preschool and even Kindergarten workbooks to work on this summer, and everyday he insists on doing homework. I don't know how long this love for school will last, so we're rolling with it while we can! Beau is now able to: count to 100, write upper and lowercase letters, write all his numbers, starting to learn to read a clock, can add simple numbers, and learning to subtract. On top of doing his homework, he is also taking a like to boardgames. Right now his favorite is Candy land. When did he grow up so fast?!

Updates on Baine: 20/21 Months

This has been quite the summer for Baine. With battling his ear issues and speech, we are finally starting to see progress! After starting Speech Therapy, he is making gains with talking! He is now saying Mamma all of the time. And as silly as it sounds, that is all I was wanting! To have a child, who is almost 2, and can't ask for you is the most heartbreaking feeling I have had yet as a mother. He is saying more words: Mamma, Dadda, up, out, sit, hot, uh-oh, ishy (fishy), pease (please), go, shoe,  cheese "cheese" and Beau. This is HUGE! From being able to say ZERO words just a month ago, he is now starting to talk more and more. We are so grateful and excited to see how he keeps improving.

A few other updates:

-he is our MONKEY and totally climbing out of his crib, so we have now changed him to a "big boy bed" and with a little help of locking the door (don't judge us we are out of options) he is starting to fall asleep in his bed

-he is eating more than ever; we cannot keep him full

-he loves to go bye-bye

-he would stay outside all day long if he could

-he can point to his eyes, ears and nose

-LOVES to dance to music

-weighs 30 pounds now (he had lost a lot of weight this spring due to being sick)

-wears 2T/size 5 diapers

-his eyes are the darkest brown I have ever seen :)

-starting to turn into Mamma's boy now and I am not complaining one bit!

Marker Freak

I was getting Beau ready the other morning, and I thought Baine was being a little too quiet. I had my eyes off of him for maybe 3 minutes, and this is what happened. He found Beau's markers, washable thank goodness, and decided to draw all of his face, ears and mouth. I'm assuming he was mimicking me put on makeup? But who knows! We were running late for his haircut that morning, so that is how he went to Miss Amy's :) Mother of the Year, I know :)

A Weekend at the Lake House

We went to my Aunt Joi and Uncle Roger's lake house the other weekend with Baine, while Beau was in Kentucky. It was the perfect little getaway and to get a little bonding time with just Baine. We went golfing, swimming, boating and Baine even had his first jet ski ride with Daddy. It made for a great mini-vacation and the perfect weekend with our family!

Pool Days at Nana's

To say we have enjoyed Nana's pool this summer would be an understatement. I think the boys and I have been out to her pool almost everyday of the week, and for the most part, the weather has been amazing for swimming! Beau and Baine are thriving in the water this year and both are little fish. Baine is: swimming on his own in the pool, with water wings of course, going off the diving board, putting his face and whole head in the water, jumping off the side by himself, and learning to kick without anyone assisting him. It has made the pool VERY relaxing since the boys can play now with each other and don't need me to hold them the entire time :). Whether the boys are swimming, riding cars, doing the teeter-totter, or playing in the sandbox, they have loved their days at Nana's.

Pella Balloon Festival

We went to Pella's annual Balloon Festival again this year, and it was absolutely a beautiful weekend for it. Unfortunately due to the wind, the balloons weren't able to launch, but we were able to go up close and look at them. After boating with Billy and Ari, we went to the festival, played in the sand, listened to the band, and enjoyed the night. We wanted to give Beau a one-on-one night, so Baine stayed home with a sitter. 

RoadTrip to Kentucky

Beau rode with Papa and She-She to Kentucky to go pick up Rachel and celebrate her birthday. Beau is extremely close with his Papa and would follow him everyday if he could. I've never been able to know what a grandpa relationship is like, so I LOVE to see how close my boys are with their grandpas. While in Kentucky, Beau went to Rachel's birthday party at Monkey Joe's. He played on the inflatables and can't stop talking about how he wants his birthday their next (okay well not in Kentucky) :). They said Beau was great on the road trip and got along great with Rachel!

GrandCamp 2016

Nana and Den-Den took Beau, Banx and Chase to GrandCamp this year. Due to Nana's unfortunate pool/phone incident, this is the only picture from the weekend :).  Beau said he had so much fun swimming, look at the frogs in the lake, jumping on the beds, and snuggling with Banx. Thank you so much mom and Dennis for taking the kids. They had such a great time and will remember this forever I hope :)

GrandCamp 2016

Nana and Den-Den took Beau, Banx and Chase to GrandCamp this year. Due to Nana's unfortunate pool/phone incident, this is the only picture from the weekend :).  Beau said he had so much fun swimming, look at the frogs in the lake, jumping on the beds, and snuggling with Banx. Thank you so much mom and Dennis for taking the kids. They had such a great time and will remember this forever I hope :)

Cousin's Swim Night

With the brutal heat the other week, we had a family swim night to try and cool off.  The kiddos were great, until it was time for a picture, and the adults were able to relax. I truly love how close our family is. We are best friends and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Beau Diving

Beau has officially learned how to dive this summer at 4 years old. He is getting better and better in the water. He is now able to dive, swim to the bottom in the deep end and get water rings, float on his back, and dive off the board, all without using water wings. I am so proud of him!

Beau would not let me teach him how to dive, imagine that, so Nana stepped in to help. He listened right away and learned that day! I wonder who he gets his stubbornness from??

Welcome Baby Regan

Clint and Tara had their baby girl, Regan, in June. We are so excited for them and she is absolutely perfect! They are already such great parents to baby Regan. We will love having another little girl cousin in the family.  These boys are really going to be protective of their girl cousins :)