Independence Day

We celebrated Independence day by spending some time at Gram and Chief's house!  Payton, Kylie, and Marley came for a visit.  Chief made the kids blueberry & strawberry pancakes for breakfast.

After we ate, we headed to the pool to swim.  We brought all our squirt guns and Chief sprayed everyone with his blue soaker!  Payton, Kylie and I had swimming races across the pool, and Kylie won!

Payton was a good shooter, but I sprayed him good a few times.  Aiden and Marley liked playing in the shower.

Kylie and Aiden jumped in together 10+ times.  They even jumped over Chief's head one time.  Aiden loves jumping in the pool this year.

Mom and Ty took a nap and we played Wii and Kinect for a while.  Then we headed over to Community Bible Church for the fireworks show.  It was very crowded, but they put on a great show!  The boys loved the fireworks and were very impressed.

 

It was a fun filled day and a great way to celebrate our nation's Independence!

saying "Gram"

My mom chose "Gram" as her grandmother name and all 5 grand kids have had some trouble saying it.  The "gr" sound is difficult for most young kids.  She has always encouraged them to say it properly, and even offered a monetary incentive.  Aiden got his money when he said it when he was about 2 1/2.  Marley said it when she was 2 and was rewarded as well.  Ty has really been trying his best to say it, but instead of "Gram", what he actually says is "Dam".  He will call her from another room and yell it in almost 2 syllables; It comes out "Da-am"  When he sees a car like hers on the road, he'll say "Look, Dam car".  One time, he saw two cars that look like hers and he said, "Two Dam cars".  It is just impossible not to laugh when he talks about her and we constantly correct him, but it's just hilarious!

St. Simons Trip

This past weekend, we traveled to St. Simons Island for a beach vacation to celebrate Nannie's birthday!

When we first arrived, we decided to let the kids burn off some energy so we headed to the pool.  We swam for a while and came back to the condo for a nap.  Unfortunately that night, Ty woke up from his nap with a fever.  He had caught the virus that Aiden had earlier that week.  Jeff and I took turns staying at the condo with him to let him rest.  Nannie, Aiden and I spent some time at the beach where Aiden loved the calm shallow water.  We played in the sand and had a picnic lunch.  All of us were able to enjoy a birthday celebration dinner at a local restaurant.  Before we headed out, we stopped by a park to let the kids play and visit the beach one more time.  It was great to have a little get away and Ty is feeling much better now.  

VBS

Aiden attended our church's Vacation Bible School for the first time this year!  I thought it would be good for him to go, to have a similar experience to school before starting in the fall.  I went with him, but helped with an older group (4th graders).  His group leaders were Mr. Michael and Ms. Emily and he had friends in the group.  The week's lesson was on David's captivity in Babylon.  Each night, the kids had snack, played games, listen to a lesson/skit, did a craft, and sang songs with motions.  Aiden did great the first night, quiet and shy as usual, but no problems.  He listened to his teachers and he knew I was there in the building, so he was comfortable.  The next day I told him we were going back, and he was reluctant.  He didn't understand why it was two days in a row (as he's used to church once a week).  The second and third nights went great, and he had a lot of fun.  Unfortunately he got sick, so we couldn't finish out the week, but it was a great experience for him and he learned a little bit too.

Little Brother

Of course, we've been talking about the little brother that is in moms tummy a lot lately, and Aiden has had some funny questions and comments about him.  It is so much fun to have a four old to talk to about a baby.  Ty knows the baby is in my belly, but he's just not interested in it and not near as curious as Aiden . . .

We have been talking about names for the baby (still undecided), and I was asking Aiden's opinion about them for a few days.  I think it was getting annoying to him continuously talking about the same names over and over again, so he said, "Mom, why don't we just ask the baby when he comes out?"  I laughed out loud and explained that he won't be able to talk.

When I first started showing, Aiden was looking at my belly and he asked, "Mom, how did the baby get into your belly?"  I thought for a moment and told him that Dadda put him there.  That answer was good enough for him and he hasn't asked anymore of those type questions. :-)

One day, I was telling Ty that he is going to be a big brother and Aiden interrupted me and said, "No Mom, I am the big brother, and Ty is the little brother".  I asked him, "What about when the baby is born?" and his response was "I'll be the big brother, the baby will be the little brother and Ty will be the medium brother".

I love this age because Aiden is very observant and says the funniest things.  I am so excited to see his interactions with his new baby brother!

Father's Day Cookout

For Father's Day we celebrated with our small group from church!  Ms. Robin has a great pool in her back yard, where the kids played together.  We enjoyed a yummy meal, and as always, great fellowship.

The boys and I picked out some golf shorts and a work-out kit for Jeff, and they colored a card for him.  I think Aiden, Ty and this new baby have a really great Dad.  Jeff continues to amaze me as a father and I am so thankful for him in our lives.

Happy Father's Day Jeff!

Kristie's Pool

We are back at Kristie's pool this summer for some fun in the sun!  It's so nice to enjoy her pool all to ourselves.  Aiden is very excited because he can touch the bottom in the shallow end this year and doesn't need floaties.  He even jumps in on his own and has shown a strong interest in learning to swim. 

Ty likes to hang out on the steps most of the time, but he loves jumping in, especially when Aiden does it with him.  He prefers to have someone stand in the water to jump to, but he doesn't need to be caught.  Ty is learning to keep his balance in the water with floaties.  Sometimes he tends to let his feet float up to the water and it freaks him out, but can kick and move from one place to the next with his floaties.

The boys jumping in together

being silly

We usually pack a lunch and some snacks.  The boys like to feed Toby (Kristie's dog) some chips and Toby loves to eat them!  Each day when we pull into the driveway the boys look for Toby and he comes to greet us.  We always have a good time at Kristie's pool and typically take a good nap afterwards. :-)