Our Family Trip to Galveston

Eli and Micah remember our trip to the beach a couple of years ago and had been asking to go again. We didn't have time this summer to make it down to Corpus Christi, so we took a weekend trip to Galveston. We had a great weekend away from our regular routine.

The boys knew before we left that they wanted to dig in the sand, so that was their first stop.

Micah-Joshua-Eli

 The algae was really bad when we went, but the boys enjoyed their time anyway. 

Joshua and Paul

 Luke liked the water, too.

 Our crazy family of 6. 

(Joshua loves this picture because he is pouring sand on Paul. Silly boy!)

Luke has limited patience for being held. He really likes his freedom, so he spent a little time in the shade. I was hoping he'd nap there, but no such luck. 

Before our lunch break, Eli and Micah went out and "fought" the waves with Paul. They had so much fun and are already planning their next trip to the beach.

 After some naps in the car and a quick stop for ice cream, our hotel room was ready. We all had a  chance to shower and have some down time. After dinner, we headed out to feed some stingrays. Eli (in green) was brave about it and got the hang of it right away. He was really excited to have the stingrays come close.

 Joshua wanted to feed the stingrays, too, but after being splashed in the face by a rather large one, he felt more comfortable in Daddy's arms and watching.

 After a couple of attempts, Micah got the hang of it, too!

 The next morning, we headed to Johnson Space Center for a morning of exploring.

 The rocket building and launching was a big hit.

 Joshua liked seeing all of the "people" and requested his picture in front of this space suit.

We really did have a fun time away and are looking forward to exploring other parts of Texas in future summers--and of course we will get back to the beach again soon!

Luke-6 & 7 Months

Oh, man, I can't believe how fast this year is flying by! Luke is growing quickly and getting sweeter every day.

6 months-Luke is such a happy baby. He's often content playing on the floor and watching his busy brothers run around him.

Luke discovered that he loves to swing and be outside!

And he started rolling over!

7 months- Luke isn't able to sit on his own yet, but he works on it. He wants to and loves his time in the Bumbo.

 Here, he's grabbing for the camera. I love those blue eyes!

 Our cats love Luke right now--probably because he's not mobile yet.

 Ginger still sleeps with him every nap. Luke is a definite thumb-sucker while he's sleeping and he always uses his left hand to cover his eyes or hold his right hand in his mouth.

 Surprisingly, even with his foot through the bars, Luke slept well. I just love sleeping babies.

Beautiful May

May is generally a fun month for us. The weather is warm but not crazy hot, so we spend a lot of time at parks or playing outback. In May, Paul is finished with softball season and is home earlier in the evenings. Plus, my guys always make me feel so loved on Mother's Day!

Paul found a turtle and the boys were fascinated. They all helped Paul take it back to the nearby retention pond.

 Luke discovered the swings this month.

Even when he wasn't swinging, he was just happy to just be outside.

Paul came home from work one afternoon to join our impromptu water balloon fight. 

 At the boys' school, Pre-K gets to participate in the end of school year program. It's fun to see the kids singing and praising!

Eli is in the back row, center, in the yellow shirt.

 Micah is in the back row in orange, by the kid in the blue shirt.

  The last day of school was also splash day for Eli (left) and Micah (right). They grew up a lot this school year and we are so proud of how they paid attention in class and soaked up every bit of knowledge they could!

 During the last chapel of the 2013-2014 school year, the pre-k kids got to go up front to lead the music.

This was Eli and Micah's favorite song this school year. (Joshua learned to love it, too!)

Luke-5 months

Luke has really grown and developed in the last month. He started some solid foods this month. The first two pictures show his reaction to rice cereal. That was a definite fail. The avocado shown in the bottom two pictures was accepted much better!

 Luke showing off his Hanover shirt. 

 And his KU shirt.

 He's gotten more comfortable with "tummy time" but has learned to roll over so he doesn't have to stay there longer than he wants.

This video shows a very labored attempt at rolling over here. He's gotten much faster since this video was taken. 

Luke always falls asleep like this--right thumb in his mouth and left hand covering his eyes.

Messy April

We made a lot of messes in April! Actually, all of our "messes" started because I was complaining to my mom (Nana) about how Joshua is constantly spilling soap or lotions on the floor on purpose to play in them. She suggested that I allow him more opportunities to get messy to fulfill his need for sensory exploration. As I was thinking of her suggestion, I realized that I offered Eli and Micah many opportunities to get messy when they were two and I should definitely do that for Joshua as well. As suspected, he loved it! (Eli and Micah did, too!)

We started with an art project involving shaving cream and paint inside,

 but the excitement kept growing and the shaving cream kept spreading, so we moved our fun to the picnic table outside!

  Eli

 Micah

 I had never made it before, but when I saw a recipe for sidewalk paint, I knew the boys would love it!

When Eli and Micah were gone one day, I got out the paint for Joshua. Not only did he fingerpaint, he also wanted to drive his trains through the paint. (Then, he and his trains took a nice, long bath.)

  

 Getting loud is just as fun as getting messy, right? The boys love to sing and play music with Paul.

 

 I love our blog because it documents our real, every day life. Our kids are like anyone else's; they have challenges that we have to work through. In order to help Joshua get back on track with his behavior,  I found this sticker chart for Joshua and Paul made it perfect with Joshua's favorite characters. Joshua's reward for filling it? A trip to Bouncin' Bears by himself with Paul. He did a great job with it and enjoyed putting stickers on it everyday. Honestly, it helped me focus on the positive things we was doing and it was fun to reward him several times every day.

 I love this picture because it shows our boy with two of his favorite things--his green blanket and his thumb. The only thing missing here is Horton the elephant. I find I'm forgetting a lot in the busy-ness of our daily life and I just don't want to forget this sweet thumb-sucking phase.