Swimming

Our favorite thing to do outside is to swim!  It's the only thing we can do for an extended period of time because it's just so hot!

Aiden is getting very comfortable in the water.  He finally jumped in the water by himself and it was so much fun, he did it repeatedly.  We had been trying to get him to jump in all summer and he just did it.  He loves to show us how he goes under as well.

Ty is also getting very comfortable.  He likes to play on the steps, and he will actually walk right into the pool.  Going under water doesn't bother him at all.  He doesn't like the baby float and he screams when I put floaties on him.  He "walks" into the pool as I catch him from the side.

They both love to go swimming and they usually take great naps after we do.

Words

The past month, Ty has picked up so many new words.  This is such a fun age to watch him grow and learn.  Here are his latest words;

ball
night-night (he usually lays his head on the floor when he says it)
Aiden
Mom
Dadda
boom (when he falls down)
ut-oh
dog

He also loves to make "zoom" noises when he plays with cars or trucks.

Aiden has also become very talkative.  He asks "why?" at least 100 times a day and is very inquisitive about everything. 

Nichols Birthday Party

Yesterday, we went to the Nichols' home to celebrate both Kolt and Kruz' birthdays.  They are just like Aiden and Ty in that they were born the same month 2 years apart.  The party was great- we had hot dogs, cake, presents and the best part- the slide!  This thing was huge!  My guess is about 30 feet tall.  Aiden was nervous of course, but after a little persuasion he did it.  Every time he went down he had a look of fear on his face and held the side, trying to slow himself down which was impossible because it was steep and had water running down it.  Here is his face on the way down. . .

 And every time when he got to the bottom he stood up and had this face . . .

Needless to say, he loved it.  It was a hit with all the kids- well with all the big kids.  Ty was too little to do the slide, so he found a push toy and played with it.

 Here are the 2 birthday boys enjoying their cupcakes. 

I'm so blessed that God gave me a best friend who has boys that are so close in age to Aiden and Ty.  We always have fun playing with them.

Popsicles

Cooling off in the hot sun with Popsicles!

Cows in a Jumpy House

Today, the boys and I went to the "Jumpy House" as Aiden calls it.  It had been a while since we've been and this was the first time Ty really got to play (he was too young before).  He LOVED it!  He climbed into the inflatables by himself and ran around the place like he owned it.  I took him on the giant- and I mean giant slide and the first time I went down with him.  He turned right back towards the stairs because he wanted to go again- we got to the top and he was pulling away from me and he went down by himself!  He likes to slide on his belly going backwards (feet first).  So Aiden tried this strategy too and that was the way they did all the slides. (see last pic) We went up and down the big slide at least 20 times.  Ty isn't able to go up by himself, so I had to go with him to help.  Because Ty loved to jump, Aiden wasn't too interested in driving the car (arcade game) like usual.  In the past, I couldn't get him off of it, but this time we went in all of the jumpy houses (I think there is 7 of them). I was worn out but the boys had a blast! 

I dressed them like cows for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A.  After all that jumping, we enjoyed some chicken nuggets for lunch!

Independence Day Weekend

We had a great weekend celebrating our nation's birthday!  It was packed full with activities (as usual).  On Saturday we made the haul up to Woodstock to see Norm and Karen.  They have an awesome neighborhood pool equipped with a 1 foot kiddie pool with mushroom waterfall and a huge water slide.  Aiden loved the kiddie pool and all the squirting fountains- he and Norm had a little water fight with one of them.  Ty enjoyed snacking in the shade as usual.  Aiden and Dadda rode the slide a few times- Aiden was nervous but excited at the same time.  We enjoyed lots of good food back at the house and the guys played cornhole.  The kids were asleep before we were out of the neighborhood.

We went to a pool party with my brother and his family to celebrate the holiday on Sunday.  The boys both witnessed fireworks for the first time and they both loved it!  Aiden said "whoa" after each one and Ty sat in my lap and stared up at the sky- 5 minutes later he was bored and ready to get up and play again, but he was impressed for a moment.

Holiday weekends are always nice and I appreciate the time we have as a family to make memories like these.