These Little Moments...

Ethan turned 14 months old on August 16th. I know I sound like a broken record, but we are seriously loving this age! Watching him learn to walk was one of the highlights of my life . I feel the same about Gracie's first steps, and so many other moments with my children that just keep reminding me to live in the present and enjoy these precious, precious blessings! Ethan, you are a happy boy, and very active! You love to stay on the move. You've pretty much perfected walking and have quickly moved on to attempts at running. This new skill has been so much fun for both you and Gracie. She loves chasing you throughout the house, and I love hearing my children laughing together as they play. She still loves to tackle you, tickle you, and pin you to the ground, but these games are a lot more fun for you now that you can try to get her back! The kids playing together one morning last week. They are just a blur! Here's more about you at 14 months old: -You now have ...

I am blessed to have a current total of 8 nieces and nephews. Every one of them has a June, July, or August birthday! This doesn't even include my own children, who celebrate birthdays at the end of May and mid-June. We seem to celebrate someone's birthday almost every single weekend during the summer! Last weekend was a double party weekend. Austin's was on Saturday, then on Sunday we celebrated Madison's 8th birthday and Drew's 2nd. It was a lot of fun having all of the nieces and nephews from Sean's side of the family in one place again! Madison is now 8, Taylor is 6, Gracie is 4, Drew is 2, Ethan is 1, and Braelynn is almost 2 months old. These kids are such blessings to the adults, but also to each other.  "Seriously, Aunt Tina? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep..." I love this picture of Gracie and Braelynn. I was on the other side of the room and saw Gracie approach Braelynn. She is so sweet and gentle with babies. Bra...

My nephew Austin turns 3 years old on Saturday. We celebrated with him this past Saturday with a Toy Story themed party. I remember so clearly the day he was born. Now, he's an active little boy! I especially find him hilarious when he's with Gracie. She loves chasing him and pinning him to the ground. He has such a sweet personality. It's been such a joy watching him grow over these three years. He got so excited every time he opened a a Toy Story related gift, which I'm pretty sure included every one he received!

This past Sunday, our family drove to Greenville, NC to celebrate our niece Taylor's 6th birthday. Her party was held at a bowling alley, which I thought was a great idea, especially for a July birthday! Gracie had never been bowling before, so this was a fun first for her. She even ended up beating the boys she played against. Ethan wandered around the entire time, wanting so badly to get his hands on one of those balls. His cousin, Drew (who is almost 2), was also there, so the boys played together and cheered their sisters on as they bowled. I loved watching Ethan clap for Gracie when her ball knocked the pins down. :) In addition to celebrating with Taylor, we also met our sweet niece (Taylor's baby sister) Braelynn for the first time! I couldn't wait to hold and snuggle her. After the party, we went back to their house to visit, then ended the evening with a family dinner at Cracker Barrel. 6 adults and 6 children made for quite a group, but the kids were all re...

I wish that I could find more time for my blog!... More time for sharing the latest news and pictures, more time for reflecting on my days with the kids and reliving those special little moments while typing out the details in a blog post. Sometimes, I actually do find the opportunity, then stare at a blank screen as I consider all of the other things that could be accomplished in the same amount of time. We are busy, with good things. My kids are enjoying a lovely, often lazy, summer. We've been spending some of our evenings at the pool, mornings at the park, getting together with friends and visiting with family. I've managed to finish reading a few good books, which always leaves me excited about diving into the next one. I'm currently reading one of the latest by Nora Roberts, The Next Always. I'm 100 pages in and it's already sugary sweet and exactly the type of book I want to be reading at the moment. Ethan seems to be growing and changing by the day. ...

I wanted to share a few of my most recent iPhone captures: I have to point a few things out here... First of all, Ethan had his first haircut a couple of weeks ago. You can see he's nice and trimmed up in the picture on the bottom row, far left! Secondly, Gracie is ALL into My Little Pony. She loves watching the show, but is also a serious pony collector. Middle row, far left, she's showing off one of her latest additions. I would be embarrassed to tell you how many she has now. Thirdly, watching my boy walk is currently at the top of my list of "favorite things to do", as is evident by his swim diaper picture in the top row. :)

Check out my big boy, making his way around the pool this afternoon! I'm not sure there are many things cuter than a baby who's just learned to walk!  Gracie has really been enjoying our pool visits this summer. She does great swimming around with her water wings on, but now that she's more comfortable in the water, we'd like to start swimming lessons. She's started taking notice of the kids who don't have to use floats or water wings, so I think the interest is there. Either way, I think it's important that she learn to swim on her own!   Nana, Ashley, Austin, and Chandler also joined us at the pool! It was nice having the kids together. I think they had a lot of fun. :) Mine, at least, were completely worn out once we got home!