He Discovers

Milo has discovered that he can reach the piano keys - AND they make noise!  His little face lit up the first time he did it..like, wow what was that?!  Haha.  Such a cutie pie!  It is so fun to watch him get around and explore all the new areas he can get to/reach now.  : )  He can slow down any time now though...whew!

Toes Did

I wanted to go to Burlington and find a dress for Matt's wedding.  Colista needed shoes.  All of us had been wanting to get together to go get pedicures.  We all decided to go last minute and have a girls evening.  It didn't work out at the last minute for Vanessa to go along..which was a bummer...but we still went ahead and went.  The pedicure was great!  I love getting them I just always feel guilty to spend money on myself like that when I don't make any money so I don't get them too often.  Josh would always always tell me to do it.  He never says anything like that - it's just my own thinking.  You really do naturally put yourself last when you become a mother.  Anyways - we had a nice litle girl outing.  I found 3 dresses and still not sure any of them are what I want.  Haha.  Colista got 3 shirts and a pair of awesome heels for $15!  Awesome deal!

Obsessed

I am 100% obsessed with my Chase.  He loves little toys.  Trucks, trains, cars, little guys, little animals..just little stuff.  As of lately he has been dumping toy boxes at home and at Grandma's to find all the little stuff.  He made a terrible mess at Grandma's and lined the piano with all of what he found.  I thought that was adorable! 

I was already in awe over him and then he threw a toy and hit my toe.  I told him it hurt and he shouldn't do that...and then he went (on his own) to the freezer and pulled out the boo boo buddy.  He brought it in and put it on my toe.  He said "Mommy boo boo here".  I love that he is so caring and sweet!  He had my heart completely melted at this point.  : )

My Day Of Snugs

I got to spend a Saturday snuggling with Harley.  Chase wanted to help hold him right away.  Then he wanted to hold his baby too.  Haha - Milo is just about as big as he is..but it was super sweet!  : ) 

With Chase being almost 3 he has been a lot better around Harley as an infant than he was around Milo.  Could be because he is more used to it or could be his age..I'm not sure.  Thinking maybe a 3 year gap might be the thing to try next time though...maybe?? 

He stayed awake a lot of the day so we could see his pretty eyes. 

At one point of the day we had all 3 of them asleep.  I got to put Harley in the little nook of the couch cushions (like I did when my boys were tiny) and sit next to him.  Loved that! 

We went over to Moms when Josh got called to work to have meatloaf with the family.  Apparently I tuckered him out.  He was mouth open full blown zonked!  : )  Colista loves to get her hands on this tiny little guy too.  We love him! 

Busy Boy

Oh...he is SOOO busy!  He is in to everything these days!  It hasn't been quite as bad as Chase was in this stage simply because I have most things baby proofed...but what he can get his hands on - he has been!  I was frustrated that I had a roll of toilet paper on the floor..but I had to smile and grab the camera because he was so cute, darn it!  : )  He is quite attracted to the toilet too.  I have to keep the lid down or I find him splashing in it.  Haha.  Love my busy baby! 

Mexican & Motorcycle

Since we got the motorcycle we have talked about doing a date night on it ..and we finally did.  We went through Hamilton and Keokuk over to Ft. Madison and ate Mexican then home.  We were hoping for a scenic river road route out of Keokuk but the road was closed.  Sort of a bummer but we still enjoyed ourselves.  I even got to see D.J. at the restaurant so that was a nice little "treat".  I've decided I can't ride on that thing very long though...but bum goes numb and my legs cramp up.  If we'd ever go on a long trip or something we'd have to have a more comfortable motorcycle. 

The Sweetest Thing

Josh was rocking Milo to sleep one night recently.  My boys sleep with homemade blankets that have little yarn tassels at the ends of them.  So I look over and I see Milo has a hold of the end of his blanky and he is closing his eyes and running those tassels over his face again and again putting himself to sleep.  It was so sweet!  I got giddy with love over how cute and sweet he was.  We got a glimpse of what he does in his crib to comfort himself.  Now we know a way to calm him down too. 

Right around that same day Milo started to be a little copy cat too.  I didn't realize how many random noises Josh makes all the time..but apparently he does - and Milo likes to copy them.  He has been copying lots of Daddy's noises lately.  Cute!

Back Yard Fun

Swimming lessons got our sleep routine all out of sorts.  The boys were up early so they were taking earlier naps which made our afternoons seem longer than usual.  This day it was 2:00 and it felt like it should be 5:00.  Josh and I decided to pull out the yard stuff and enjoy us some backyard sunshine.  Milo splashed in the tiny pool, Chase sprayed the hose, Josh and I sat in our chairs and listened to music and talked and watched our miracles.  It was a nice little afternoon at home.

We ended the night with baths and then supper on the deck.  Awesome day!  Don't know what I'd do without my little family.  I love us.

Cousin Time

After swimming lessons in the past we would do picnics in the park with all the cousins.  Since we didn't get to do that this year we made sure to get them together a few times to play anyways.  The first week our get together was going over to Jeremy and Colista's house to hang out, play and eat.  They have a cute little picnic table inside their swing set that fit some of them. 

Their swing set turned out pretty cool.  It's HUGE and all the kids seem to really love it. 

They had 2 little baby pools we filled up to let them get in.  I dunked Milo in about half way through our visit to let him cool off.  I want one this size...ours is dinky.

The 2 babies of the family.  Crazy to think Milo was that little just 9 months ago!

Colista, Vanessa and I hung out on the deck and visited while the kids all played.  It was fun - I like doing these sorts of things during the summer with the kids.  I think cousins are some of the best friends you will ever have and I like that our kids get to spend so much time with their cousins.  It's a good thing. 

Swimming Lessons

We did swimming lessons again this year.  We were mostly doing it so Chase could learn but I paid for Milo too so he could get in and splash around with us. 

Stinker!

It was these 3 this year.  Jeremy and Colista decided not to join us and do their own thing with their kids. 

Chase caught on pretty quick after the first few days of shyness. 

Josh got to come quite a few days which was great so I could help more with Chase while he watched baby.  Milo was a busy little man in the water.  You had to watch him or he'd just keep crawling into deeper water.  They had little balls in the toy bucket too that, if he saw one, he would go from one side of the pool to the other for. 

Vanessa is still on maternity leave so she got to bring Owen this year and watch every day...which was awesome!  I think she enjoyed getting to do it too.  Grandma came and watched on her day off too. 

Little Harley came every day, of course. : )  He is a stinker and hates car rides.  Every day when they would pull up he'd be screaming.  Didn't last long once he was out though - he did a lot of eating and sleeping.  Oh, the life! 

Chase with his report card.  They said to have him repeat the same level again.  I think it is more to just get better at what he was doing than anything because on test day he did every single thing they asked him to.  I was so proud of him! 

We had to do the 9:00 session this year so it was a bit early but it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be.  I was ready for it to be over by the end..but I had fun with my little guys. 

Owen passed!  Wohoo!  He did a great job!

The last day was family fun day.  Josh and Tyson were both home from work so that was nice.  Cedric had stayed the night at Mom and Dad's so I brought him along too. 

Milo kept standing up to the side of the pool and then plopping down on his butt and splashing with his hands.  He did it over and over again and would smile and giggle.  He loves the water.  He was all over the place these 2 weeks.  He was much easier at this age in swimming lessons than Chase was. 

Chase wouldn't stay ABOVE the water.  This kid loves going under!  He would even kind of "swim" under water from one side of the pool to the other only coming up to breath.  Crazy kid!  But I'd say it was a mission accomplished!  : )

Tyson was trying to teach Owen how to dive.  He kept belly flopping...but at least he was trying. 

Swimming lessons 2012 complete!  I feel they were successful this year and Chase got a lot out of them.  Many MANY more years to come! 

Peepaw Truck

Josh let Chase pick out a small toy at Walmart.  He picked this little matchbox truck.  He right away said "Peepaw truck".  You see - he's a stinkin' genius because this little truck is a RED FORD - just like Grandpa's!  Super observant and amazingly smart if you ask me!  Oh..and cute too!  ; )

Messy Milo

Spaghetti face!  Milo got to have spaghetti for the first time and he LOVED it!  Messy as ever..but that face couldn't get any sweeter!  : )  We were straight to the tub after this meal...

Mr. Mom

I've been using Mom's camera again.  Mine busted AGAIN!  I'm so frustrated.  I sent it in for a broken battery door and it came back in worse shape than when I sent it in.  Long story short - I complained enough that they are sending me a replacement.  I'm just hoping the "replacement" isn't a hunk of junk too - I'm hoping it's a brand spankin' new camera!  Anywho - I found this picture on Mom's camera.  Apparently Chase was playing Mommy at her house one evening.  Purse on his shoulder pushing the stroller with a "baby" in it.  Haha - cute though!  

The Other Side

Josh's Aunt Debbie called and invited us over for a little cook out.  Josh was at work but I decided to still go ahead and go since Ryan and Alisha would be there. 

I also took Taylor along with me as a buffer.  She has a fenced in back yard with a short little pool that was just right for the kids.  Taylor got in and helped with Chase. 

Milo swam around the kiddy pool while I chit chatted with Ryan and Alisha.  He loved it! 

Chase made himself right at home and helped himself to the toys and food.  Debbie liked that. 

I made the mistake of letting Milo have part of a chocolate cupcake.  Talk about a mess! 

I feel super comfortable over at Debbie's house.  She is very welcoming and her house is kid friendly too.  It was nice to see them.  She loves getting to see our kiddos too.  Only thing better would've been if Josh got to go.  Hopefully next time!