Summer is here!!!

A busy week!  We had visitors and were trying to get ready for our annual trip to da Soo!

Monday:
Mommy picked up a pair of new rain boots for Ayson and a new hat (like Mommy's).  SO even though it was in the mid 80s, Ayson insisted on wearing the boots outside.


Mommy and her Baby Doll.



Addie's cute, cute, CUTE dress from Tuesday!



STOP the presses!!!   Ayson finished his dinner before the rest of us!!!
Sigh, and our little "hoover" is slowing down and only eating about as half as much as she was just a week ago.  She is going to loose her lovable baby cheeks (both sets).



Addie wearing Ayson's hat on Wednesday...giddy up!



Mommy and Daddy's friends (Mommy's mentor from undergrad) stopped by for a visit Tuesday night and Wednesday.  The kids did not get to visit with Bryce and Janet until Wednesday morning but they sure did enjoy the very awesome books and puzzle that Janet and Bryce gave them as gifts!!!  Thank you SO much!



Bryce and Ayson reading about the rainforests.



Janet and Addie learning about the ocean :)



Thursday:
We realized that Ayson was riding his "horse" so of course we had to get a picture!



Tickles, raspberries, and kisses from Daddy!






Addie walking!!! She is no longer afraid of walking while Ayson is around...unless he is running :)

Where's Ayson and Addie's Walking!!!

Ayson is going through a growth spurt: sleeping longer (most days), bouncing all over the place, and NOT listening very much to Mommy and Daddy. Mommy feels like Ayson has been in timeout (or gone to bed early) more often than she has actually got to spend time with him...Mommy keeps telling herself "he's 3, he's 3, he's 3..." :)

Addie had her 15 Month Well Baby visit on Monday and our Dolly now weighs 23 lbs and is 32 inches long/tall!  She did really well with the nurse and Dr and only cried a bit after shots - one in each lovable thigh.





Tuesday:
Ayson is REALLY pokey when he eats...even when he starts before the rest of us, he is still the last one sitting at the table.  Daddy and Addie went outside to check out the gardens and....


Ayson was still in his chair.  Mommy does not remember how Ayson managed to get more sauce on his face than in his belly!



Wednesday was sunny and in the high 60s, perfect for playing in the sandbox!



Mommy loves this cute dress on Baby Doll.



Thursday night was MUCH warmer and Ayson and Addie had popcicles.  Ayson tried to stick his popcicle stick in the little hole, like Daddy, but he could not get it to fit...so Ayson jammed the stick into a big ant hill at the bottom of the steps...lovely.



Gianna has started her summer vacation...yay!  Ayson and Gianna relaxing on the hammock.



Addie loves to play in the sandbox and she likes to watch the sand pour through the little funnel.
Addie: "Mommy, where did the sand go?!?"



Friday:
Addie also loves to peek in the fridge and she will shove Mommy aside so that she can get a look!



Saturday:
The kids playing together with Ayson's remote control truck.



Mommy and Addie posing.



A^4 went to Stafford Park in the morning and Scott, Lucy, Sam (2 1/2), and Ben (11 months) joined us.  Scott has a really nice camera so Mommy did not bother to take pictures...she forgot that she would not see Scott at work for two weeks and would not be able to get pictures from him...oops!  Ayson and Sam had fun playing on the slide.

Later that afternoon, Scott, Lucy, and the kids came over for a BBQ: smoked brisket, ribs, sausage, and hot dogs (for the kiddos) plus mac and cheese, baked beans, corn bread, broccoli salad, and lots of fruit!



Sunday morning was very warm and still and both Mommy and Daddy thought it was a perfect morning for kayaking!  From the time of that "epiphany" at the breakfast table (7:45 am), it only took us 45 minutes to get the kids ready, kayaks loaded, and A^4 on our way to Tully Lake.  The kids did great and we all had fun on the water.  Next time we will have the kayaks loaded the night before :)





Once we got home, we let the kids cool off the in the kiddie pool before lunch and nice looong naps :)
Both Ayson and Addie had fun splishing and splashing.



After naps, Addie was motoring all around (Daddy and Ayson call her "Flash" because the cruises around so fast...barely holding on to the wall for support) and she took her first 5 plus steps all by herself while she was trying to get from the kitchen to the play kitchen. Then she walked to Mommy and we all were SO excited. Mommy will try to post video and pics later this week.

Happy Father's Day!

A^4 hopes all the Fathers in our lives had a relaxing day!  We enjoyed time with family and friends.

Addie has been babbling a lot to Mommy and sometimes it sounds like she is asking Mommy a question, including an inflection at the end of the "sentence."  Mommy realized that often when she asks Addie a question, Mommy will have an inflection at the end of the sentence.  Too cute!  Mommy also whispers "night night Dolly" to Addie over and over as she is putting Addie in her crib and Addie was whispering something similar to Mommy Sunday night.

Ayson, the sponge, is picking up new words every day and pushing our buttons at least twice a day :)  Mommy promised Ayson (back in February) that we would go to the Zoo once all the snow melted and Ayson reminded Mommy that we needed to go to the Zoo now!!  Yikes, Mommy better fit a trip to the Zoo into the summer schedule :)

Monday:
Addie feeding herself and not doing too bad!  Addie likes to mimic Mommy when Mommy says "Mmmm."


Ayson balled up his cheese quesadilla and was taking little bites from the ball.  Crazy boy!



Wrestling with Daddy...look at Baby Doll's smile!



Tuesday:
Ayson giving Daddy a hug.



Addie is starting to take steps without support.  In the following pictures, Addie is walking towards Mommy while holding the ball...we think Addie thought the ball was her support.





Thursday:
Addie helping in the kitchen by pulling everything out of the drawers.


Mommy goofing around with Ayson and showing off Ayson's feet.


Ayson giving Mommy and nice smile...not so certain what Daddy is up to :)


















Friday:
Mommy and her babies relaxing in the swing.





On Saturday, we headed over to Aunt Julie and Uncle Dan's house.  Ayson wore himself out playing with his cousins!



Fishing at the pond.


A yellow rose from Julie's garden.  Gorgeous!  Mommy remembers that yellow roses were a favorite of her Grandma Jennie's.



Saturday night, Aunt Julie arranged for Katy to watch the kids so that the adults could go out for a drink.  Grandpa Chuck and Pama joined us at Bristol Harbor and we all had a great time chit chatting and relaxing...ah.  Thanks Julie, Katy, Dan, Chuck, and Pama!

On  Sunday, all the Grandparents came over for a cook out.  Crazy Mommy did not get any pictures of Grandpa Chuck OR Pama!  sigh.

Of course Ayson constantly wanted to sit on the four wheeler.  SO here is a picture of all the kids.



Addie took a long nap on Sunday even with the commotion from the party.  Here she is sleeping with her butt in the air and sucking her thumb :)



Ayson eating a cupcake.  First he ate the frosting and then he did a pretty good job on the actual cake!
Grandpa Roger, Daddy dressed Ayson in the Detroit Lions t-shirt just to make Grandpa Chuck (NY Giants fan) groan.



Addie getting some kisses from Grandma Collene and Grandpa Ric.


Grandpa was tickling Addie with his whiskers and getting smiles from our Dolly.  Addie's hair is getting longer and it has cute little ringlets in the back.



Ayson was asleep within 5 minutes of getting in the car to go home...we were all pretty tired after a fun filled weekend...thanks Julie and Dan!