Summer Highlight #2 - The Fourth of July

Normally I would not post about the 4rth of July this late. However, the 4rth was the last major holiday we celebrated with Jonathan as a "first". I felt it deserved a post despite the fact it has been almost four months. That's why its called a "highlight" right?

For the 4rth we went to church and then got together with friends, grilled, consumed lots of food, and had a lot of fun.

The boys with their friend Zeke. Parker really liked sitting in the chairs.

Checking out Millie the dog.

Jonathan had fun pushing Micah in his swing. Micah was very patient!
The babies celebrating their "First 4rth of July"

All the kids plus "the girls"
After we ate we all drove to mom and dad's house. We parked our cars, took a restroom break, and walked to the elementary school at the end of their street. We set up blankets and chairs on the black top and had an amazing view of the City of Hurst fireworks.

Thomas pushed Parker and Zeke in the wagon.

An attempt at a picture of the whole gang in the dark with a couple of chopped off heads!
I was worried Parker would be scared of the loud noises but he seemed to really enjoy looking at the fireworks.

Jonathan hung out with Aiyah and Grandad with no complaints.
It was a fun night and great way to celebrate the 4rth.

And The Birthday Continues...

We never got around to opening Jonathan's presents at his party. It was not intentional. He was simply having too much fun in the water to make him stop, dry him off, and open presents. I came to realize later, this turned out for the best. I didn't have to worry about him being interested or looking happy or preventing a fit because he wanted to play with a toy immediately instead of opening another present. So since we got home late from his party we let him open his presents the next day in his own time.

Aiyah and Grandad gave him a sports toy that lets you bat the ball and shoot baskets.

The McCown's gave Jonathan a car that makes lots of noise :)


Grammy and Papa sent the three little pigs and their houses to reenact story.


Tony, Charla, and Lilah gave him a toy where zoo animals go round and round down the ramp. He loves to do this over and over.

He also got a push toy from Sissie and his cousins, a shirt from the Browns and a Baby Einstein book. He is a blessed little boy!

Jonathan's First Birthday Party

Because of an offer from my dear friend that I could not pass up, we had Jonathan's party in Arlene's backyard. She has a pond, plenty of chairs, lots of shade, and a nice yard to play in. We brought our water table, set up a bubble machine, blew up some beach balls, and filled up a baby pool for the kids to splash around in. I was concerned at first because it turned into a very busy weekend for many of our friends who were unable to come. But in the end it turned into perfect way to round out all the birthday celebrations of the previous week. It was very laid back and Jonathan had fun which is all that matters anyway.

The Leach ladies made Jonathan's cake. It was perfect!

Sweet Lilah

One of the families we serve with in Argentina were in town to speak at our church and were thrilled to join in the birthday celebration. Their oldest, Daniella, had fun with Brooke.

Miss Darcy

We moved the after party to the Olive Garden to celebrate Carrie's birthday. As I mentioned before, we had A LOT of birthdays in a week's time! (Side note: We didn't want Carrie to make her own, so Mark made her a cake)

Jonathan's First Birthday

Jonathan's first birthday fell on a Wednesday. Since his party was not until the weekend I still attempted to make the day special in some way. Unfortunately for him, we had to go to his 12 month well check and which also included shots. Thankfully he was a trooper and seemed fine the rest of the day. After his appointment we met Aiyah and Parker for lunch and then made it home in time for a birthday nap :) Mark and I had bought Jonathan a slide to play on when we are outside in the backyard. I had decided to wait until Mark was home before I took Jonathan outside to see it. We picked up Mark and went to dinner and it started to rain. And rain. And rain some more. Finally it let up enough to make it to our cars. The closer we got to home the more it looked like it was clearing off. So I waited it out because I really wanted Jonathan to see his birthday present. He liked it a lot but unfortunately by the time we got to go outside it was starting to get dark and their clothes got all wet even though I tried to dry off the slide. So my great plan of waiting for Mark and getting some good pics of Jonathan and his new slide backfired. Thankfully he never noticed and seemed to have a good day anyway! Hard to believe we have been a family of four for a year now!

Birthday Bonanza

Between August 31st and Labor Day we celebrated three big birthdays- Jonathan turned one, Lilah turned two, and Brooke turned 5 years old. This does not include 2 of my closest friends also having a birthday as well. We celebrated a lot and ate plenty of cake in a week's time!

Lilah had a bubble party complete with a bounce house and balloons.

It didn't take long before Parker discovered the bubble mower! He worked up another sweat pushing it all over the backyard. We had to pry his fingers off of it to go inside for cake. Thankfully balloons served as a good distraction as he spent the rest of the party walking around with a green balloon!


Lilah got a wagon as one of her gifts. They took turns pushing each other. I hope they continue to grow up to be good friends.


Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the birthday girl. She was very busy entertaining all her guests!

Brooke had her party at Build A Bear.

We picked out a dog for Jonathan to celebrate his birthday as well.

Outside of the store there was an area with tables and chairs set up so you can bring a cake.

It was by the play area where the boys, especially Jonathan, had a ball climbing on everything! Parker liked watching the train go by.

It was a fun afternoon celebrating one of our favorite cousins! The weekend was topped off by Jonathan's party but more on that to come...

First Day of School

This year we decided to enroll the boys at the mother's day out program at the church. I was a little hesitant about having both boys go but now with a month and a half under our belt I now know it was one of the best decisions I could have made. Parker goes both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jonathan goes only on Thursdays which gives me time with him on Tuesdays (its sort of like a vacation to only have one at home) and time to myself on Thursdays ( I can actually accomplish some things!). It was a little weird being on the parent side of the first day of school. As a teacher you hope for a smooth day and well behaved children. As a parent I realized my main hope is that their teachers would come to love and appreciate all the unique things about my child as I do. I realize this is only the beginning of what is to come in regards to "school experiences" but am so thankful it has been a positive one so far.

Walking with dad. Could he be any cuter?

He had fun wearing his new backpack around the house and I had fun picking it out along with his lunch box and material for his nap mat :)

Parker walked right in without hesitation, sat down to play with a truck, and never looked back.

I had a harder time getting a good picture of Jonathan. He was going through a clingy phase, which has now passed, and I didn't want him to decide he would rather stay with me!