Summer Time...

Summer time is here and we are all looking forward to it.  Although the boys take every opportunity they have to remind us that they still have to go to La Petite (daycare) while most kids get to stay home with their moms.  (notice through my posts that our boys like to give a little dig whenever they can regarding me being a working Mom.)  However, we are lucky because La Petite has field trips a few times a week for them and also takes them to swim lessons.  We are also looking at enrolling Ethan in a science camp for a week during the summer.  So even though Mommy and Daddy both have to work, we do try and make sure they have a fun filled summer.
So, this summer we are going to put Aiden in swim lessons again.  He is doing very well but still depends on his arm floaties right now.  We got our passes to Big Kahunas so I am sure we will be making that our home on most Saturdays. I have been talking to them about joining the Community library so we can check out a new book each week to help Ethan keep his reading skills polished for 1st grade.  Aiden is starting VPK preschool in August so he is very excited and would like to start learning to read with his brother this summer.  How smart would he be if he went into VPK already knowing how to read !?! 
So we have our fun summer planned out and I am sure more things will pop up that we will fit into our schedule.
I haven't posted in a while so below are some pictures of some fun times they have already had:
              The boys playing at Destin Common's before watching a movie!

 Ethan likes to start our Saturday mornings off with a little game of hide and seek.  This is where he choose to hide!  Can't say I would have done the same... dirty clothes !?!

   Aiden got a new pair of Sketchers and as you can tell, he chooses to wear them 24/7. 

The boys taking a dip in Uncle Chad and Aunt Steph's pool.  They would invite themselves over everyday if they could.

Mikayla's 11th birthday party.  These are all of Mikayla's cousins minus a few.  The boys think they are related to all of them as well and you can't tell them otherwise.

Water Park...

The boys and I started our summer ritual at Big Kahunas this past Saturday. If it were up to the boys, we would go there everyday.  I have to admit, while it is very tiring we do have a lot of fun.  The boys are like little fish... they love to be in the water.  Ethan is doing really well with swimming.  He took swim lessons the past 2 summers and can get around really well in the water.  Aiden took one session of lessons last summer but will need another couple before he is willing to let go of his floaties.  Big Kahunas doesn't allow personal floaties so I have to stay close to Aiden because he has no fear.  He thinks he can do everything his brother does.   So... our first Saturday we stayed out there for approximately 4 hours (Mommy was done) but the boys could have stayed all day.  Although once we got in the car, this is what they looked like...

Boys worn out to complete exhaustion = Mommy also gets to take a nap!! 

Mother's day

Ethan gave me a letter for Mother's day (see pic below). He knows me pretty well.

• He knows that I enjoy baths (I would take them every night if I could).
• He thinks I am the prettiest when I wear a dress. I was not aware of this so I might have to wear dresses more often.
• He likes it when I cook him Chicken Noodle soup. Please note that this is actually Ramon noodles. (Ryan does most of the cooking)
• He doesn't like when I cook fish. (again... that probably wasn't me)
• I like it when he helps me clean the house. (this doesn't happen too often. So... yes this is a treat)
• When he is nice I take him to Build a Bear. (we don't go to Build a Bear that often so I hope he knows I think his nice majority of the time)

He is doing great with writing and spelling. Although a lot of his words are misspelled, you can tell what he is trying to say.

I must have misplaced the letter Aiden gave me. (Bad Mother!! but I am still looking for it)

But here is a recap of what Aiden knows about Mommy.
• Aiden thinks I am 100 years old :(
• My favorite TV show is News. (not so much)
• My favorite food is spaghetti (actually that is Ryan's and the boy's)
• My favorite color is green ( 1/2 right...blue and then green)
• He likes Mommy because Mommy always loves him (perfect. I couldn't have said it better myself)

Along with these letters, I got some great homemade gifts from the boys. Aiden gave me a purple glitter snow globe with his picture in it. His picture is now upside down because we were shaking it so much but it is still beautiful. Ethan gave me a nice pin to wear on my shirt that has beads and a mother charm and also a picture of him inside a teapot. Ryan's gift to me is finding a cleaning service to come in and help me out with the house. We still have to work out the details but this makes me so happy!! I would still do the daily maintenance of the house but to have help with the deep cleaning would make things a lot less stressful for me. A less stressed Mommy makes for a very happy household!

Sleepy boy...

This picture is a bit dark... but Aiden is taking after his Mommy.  Notice the eye mask so he could sleep in just a bit longer.

 

School Play

Last night we went to Mikayla's school play.  It was very good (the parts we actually saw) but very long!!  The play ended up being about 1 1/2 which was a lot of the little ones to sit through. The boys (including Ian) did great for about the first 10 mins so we spent the rest of the time in the back so they could play with some toys we brought.  Then after that didn't keep them occupied we went into the hallways and then made our way outstide.   We did get to see Mikayla's part in the play and the boys cheered her on. 

Papa stepped in to help me out.

The boys...

Ethan and his baseball team mates went to Dairy Queen after practice last night. Coaches treat!! They have 2 more games (Friday and Saturday) and then we are done for the season. Plus... Mommy is off the hook as Team Mom. I have done my time and I gladly give up my responsibilities. Ethan had a great Coach this year and has learned a lot. I can see a lot of improvement this year. So... we will have the summer off and then we will start back up with soccer in the fall. This year Aiden will be playing so it will be a bit more hectic getting both boys to practices and games.

Aiden wanted me to throw in his scary teeth picture... so enjoy!!

Allergy Update...

Aiden had his 1/2 day testing for soy this morning. He did great! We can now mark soy off of his list of allergies. We are 2 down (Wheat, Soy) and quite a few to go. We are finished with the food testing for now. We go back in October for his annual allergy stick testing so hopefully we will begin to mark some of his other food allergies off his list.


Ryan has the pleasure of taking the boys to their doctor appointments this week. Tomorrow he takes Ethan to the dentist. Mommy refuses to take him right now since I got in trouble by the dentist during his last visit. I pray that Ethan doesn't have any cavities and we get a clean report tomorrow. We have been cleaning extra well so we are believing that it is going to pay off.