June Has Come and Gone

Wow, a whole month has passed already?!? I feel like June just started and now we're already at the start of July. It sure is nice to know that this year (assuming I'm not going back to teaching...we still haven't finalized that decision) there really isn't an "end" to my summer break at home with my little darlings. It has been such a busy, but fun month and we've loved every minute of it. I'll give a small recap of all we did and plenty of pictures to sum it up:

Miss Leah's first Spring/Summer has been filled with lots of showers and storms.

Potty training was definitely a challenge, but in the end we had much success!

Chesney (aka our babysitter) has a new favorite place to sleep.

We miss Daddy while he's at work.

We had SO much fun on our week long trip to Carmi!

(snuggling with Grandpa)

(someday she's really going to be mad at me for this one)

(Auntie Kalyn's attempt to stay clean while feeding Leah)

(breakfast with Grandpa)

(meeting my wonderful Great Aunt Denise)

(first horse ride...on an adorable miniature horse)

(we're starting to get the gist of this whole brother and sister thing)

Grandma and Grandpa (and Auntie Kalyn and Aunt Denise) all came to our house!

Father's Day trip to Bass Pro Shop.

Playdate with the Sabaka girls...Leah and Noel are just a week apart.

This new jumper is becoming my favorite spot!

We had an AWESOME time at Great Aunt Nancy (aka Ancy) and Great Uncle Dave's house.

(he's a fish)

(swimming in the wonderful Lake of the Ozarks with Grandma)

(hanging out on the dock)

(getting used to the pool...fish #2)

(playing under the "mushroom waterfall")

(relaxing in the pool)

(lunch break at the pool)

(taking my first ride on the "sea-doer")

(brushing up on my fishing skills)

7 Weeks Behind

Wow...has it really been 7 weeks since anything was updated on the blog?!? Life has been getting super busy and time just flies by. I guess we owe everyone some updates and plenty of pictures to catch up on the last month and a half. In honor of the 7 weeks off, we'll give the top 7 updates and top 7 pictures from the last 7 weeks.



1. The kids are still growing and changing with each day. Caleb is a full blown toddler with the "terrible twos" becoming more apparent with each day. Ordinarily he is a very easy kid (as long as he's had enough sleep). Unfortunately, he hasn't been sleeping well and is getting his last set of molars in. He's been quite the crab as a result! He's also finishing up his last couple of days at the babysitter he's been with for 2 years. We have absolutely loved Miss Linda and will miss her SO much! Next up on Caleb's list....potty training.



2. Leah is changing a ton and is already 5 months old. She's started solids, but is not quite as interested in food as her big brother was. She still has days when she doesn't want to eat whatever she's being fed. We've made it through veggies and now we'll start fruits, so maybe she'll change her tune! Other than that, she's hitting her milestones like she should and is soon to be hitting one of my favorite firsts...sitting up. It'll be great to plop her on a blanket and just let her play out in the fresh air (without having to chase her around).



3. Chesney deserves a spot in this list of updates. She's been the topic of much conversation around here lately. After several months of her having tummy issues and many, many carpet cleanings later, we finally took her to the vet. We kept blaming her throwing up on different variables (eating stuff in the yard, changing food, etc.), but finally decided she just needed to be checked. After a $300 visit to the vet for 2 x-rays and blood work, it turns out there is nothing wrong! Yep, nothing! The doctor thinks her esophagus became worn down from the initial stomach issues and has just caused her to continue to have issues with throwing up. We have decided to switch her food to a very basic, grain-free food because we think it might all stem from food allergies. We've been to the vet a lot for what we thought were seasonal allergies, but maybe this food switch will cure it all!



4. Tyler is finishing up his 4th year at Paychex. It's been such a blessing to have a stable job in this iffy economy. His former manager left to go back into sales, so he has been working under the "higher up" boss for a few months. He enjoyed that because he really gets along with that boss. The newly hired manager just started and hopefully she'll be good to work for as well. Tyler now has the longest tenure of anyone in his office....that's pretty amazing considering he's only been there for 4 years!



5. Sara went back for two short (but seemingly looooong) weeks to finish out the school year. The sub was fantastic and did a great job of making the transition back a smooth one. Most of the two weeks were spent wrapping up things with the kids and packing up the classroom. Although a final decision about next year hasn't been made, it's looking more and more like our kiddos will be hanging out with their mommy on a much more regular basis! If anything, we'll hope for subbing positions to be available here and there. It'll be a good way to stay in the loop of teaching, get out of the house for a bit, and make a few extra bucks!



6. We've had several visits from Tyler's family over the last few weeks. It has been so great to have the extra hands around to help with the kids. We also love getting to see how much our kids are bonding with their grandparents and aunt who they don't get to see nearly as often as we wish they could. The time they spend together is very precious and has definitely been memorable for everyone. Caleb loves when we tell him that they are coming for a visit and he's always sad to see them leave. In a couple weeks, we'll be heading down to Carmi for a wedding and then spending some quality time down there. We can't wait!



7. Summer is in full bloom at our house. The days of being stuck inside all week long are long gone. Our weekends have been spent getting all kinds of chores done in the yard and we're hopefully making that "to-do" list a "done" list so that we can start to enjoy the days outside. Caleb loves being outside and keeps asking when he can go in the pool. Thankfully, it's up and running and we're just waiting for this hot weather to warm up the water a bit.

And now time for our 7 best pictures to share:

1. Leah's first taste of food

2. Caleb wanted Leah to wear the fireman hat

3. Playing together

4. Cool dude ready to go outside

5. Quite a serious little girl

6. Daddy and Caleb washing the car

7. Is it ever possible to get two kids to take a decent picture together?!?

Siblings

These are both pictures of our darling kiddos at roughly the same age. Can you tell they're brother and sister?

Vacation

Yesterday, we got back from a much-needed, much-enjoyed, 10 day vacation. Our trip started with a looooooooong drive down to Florida. The car riders included, Grandpa Rob, Tyler, Sara, and Leah. We spent 16 hours together driving through 5 different states. Leah did pretty well considering she was suffering from her first major cold. Dad and Tyler did all the driving, while I took care of Miss Leah. Caleb was lucky enough to avoid the long trip and flew (on his first airplane ride) with Grandma Leslie and Ti-Ti. He did a great job and is still talking about the experience.

Once we all got to Florida (and caught up on our sleep) we enjoyed an entire week of beautiful weather. There was only one day with rain, but it worked out well because it was on the last day...we made a trip to a local air force museum and spent the rest of the day packing up. Leah had a rough first half of the week, but once her cold cleared up she did a great job on her first vacation. Caleb had a blast in the sand, jumped in the waves, swam like a fish in the pool, and played his heart out everyday. He was incredibly tired by naptime and bedtime each day! We enjoyed getting to spend time together as a family and managed to sneak in plenty of relaxation thanks to all the extra hands around to help take care of the kiddos!


The second half of our trip included a stop in Carmi. Tyler and I drove back with the kids and decided a stop in Carmi was a perfect way to break up the drive. We drove overnight on Thursday/Friday for about 11 hours. The kids did pretty well and only began to get crabby about 30 minutes before we got into town. We sure were glad we didn't have to drive the other 5 hours that day! In Carmi, we did plenty of relaxation and got to spend quality time with family. Caleb loved following his Auntie Kalyn around, rode the "tractor" with Grandpa Ron, and kept everyone entertained with his wonderful personality. Leah also enjoyed the time that she had with her family and they enjoyed seeing all the new things she's doing. We did plenty of relaxing and hanging out...and Tyler enjoyed getting to go hunting on Saturday morning with his dad. He even killed his very first turkey!