Happy Father's Day to...

four of my favorite dads. (Let me do a minor disclaimer here: I did not do an official Mother's Day post...we were traveling back from Texas from visiting my grandmother. So...please forgive me - Mom, Cindy, and Chels). My dad is on a golf trip in NC with some buddies, so we had an early Father's day celebration with him on Thursday night then today my aunt, Fran, treated us to a great breakfast.

First of all, thanks to my dad who is soaking up some humidity but having lots of fun on his golf trip. Dad - Thanks for loving the grandbabies and the big kids too! You always make us laugh A LOT, and we appreciate your guidance! We missed you at breakfast today.


To Dave: Thanks for dealing with all the craziness that is our life right now. Whew! It's exhausting, but I'd be clueless and REALLY stressed without you. You're an amazing dad.

To my little brother, Jay, on his first Father's Day: Enjoy and Congrats! You're such a natural with Hudson, and it's awesome to watch. Drew and Grady are lucky to have you as their uncle.

To Steve-o (Papa): Happy Father's Day to you too. We can't wait to see you in a few weeks in NY. Drew and Grady will be ready to play...they love playing with you. Get ready!

Jay, Chelsea, and Hudson on Jay's first Father's Day

Chels and Gaga at breakfast today

Hudson and a quiet & gentle (for once) Drew

Fran and Hudson

Drew helping Pops open his Father's Day presents

A new family photo...

A new camera, more summer fun...

Dave and I got a new camera because our old one took a dip into a cup of coffee. It was TOTALLY my fault. I was on the computer, and Drew was trying to get my attention...I kept telling him to wait. He said, "Look, Mommy" as he dropped it into my VERY FULL coffee cup.

We've mostly been going to playdates, the park, and the pool which has been great. They both love the water, and Drew even started jumping in from the side of the pool to Dave...huge accomplishment for us. He's still wearing water wings much to my dismay...we're working on it.

I'm busy working on some lessons for a new software my county bought (getting paid...yippee!), tutoring a little, and teaching the first 3 weeks of my friend, Todd's, online summer American Literature class while he's in Europe (getting paid again...yippee!), and Dave is driving all around metro Atlanta (his office in Midtown, jobsite in Decatur, jobsite in Marietta) most days to check on his jobs. He's found time to do some stuff around the house though...

And yes, I got strep throat AGAIN! Seriously...what am I, 5 years old?! Apparently, I reinfected myself through my toothpaste...really?!

Anyway, Dave took most of the pictures below. Enjoy!

Dave took this picture of an old oil can from his grandparents' farmhouse which we have sitting next to flowers we planted this spring.

We are lucky enough to have two amazing hydrangea bushes on the side of our house. They are amazing right now. I've had a vase full of them for several weeks. This picture just doesn't do them justice.
Grady in his usual state...happy...seriously, this kid wakes up from every nap looking like this, and whenever he gets any attention thrown his way (which is a lot as you can imagine), he smiles like this. It's the best thing ever!

Drew and Grady hanging out in the kitchen with their drumsticks. They actually play together quite a bit. Grady is always entertained by Drew and his antics, and Drew is always happy to have an audience. I wonder where he got that from?!

Grady crawling around the family room - He started a few weeks ago...at 7 months. I don't think Drew was crawling this early, but Grady has to keep up with Drew who he adores, so he had to get moving to do it. He does more of a Navy Seal drag, but he's pretty fast.

Drew swimming like a fish
Mommy, Grady, and Drew at the pool

Drewman at my parents' house - They had a get together, and this is at about 10:30 pm...VERY LATE for our little man, but this is pretty much how he looks ALL the time...running, happy, and smiling (a 3 year old who is FULL of energy)

Grady - a mess after eating squash, applesauce, and baked beans (yes, baked beans...he loves them! He fed those to himself.)

Drew - Smiling for his daddy (who I think he is starting to look so much like...) As you can see, Drew has a nice little tan from the pool, and we decided tonight on the way home from the pool that he can probably get by without the SPF swimshirt I've had him wearing. He has a nasty farmer's tan.

As always, we hope this post finds you and your family doing well. We're so thankful for all of you in our lives...the ones we see daily and the ones we wish we could see more often. This week, I got to see my friend, Tracy,(1/2 marathon buddy) who moved away to Nashville recently, and it reminded me how it just really sucks not having all the people you love close by. We're looking forward to our trek to upstate NY via northern Virginia this summer and some beach time to see some old friends too.

On another note, we have dear friends from several different walks of our life whose lives have steered down a path of uncertainty, and I want them to know that I continue to pray for them daily.

Keep cool in the summer heat!

A busy Sunday...

We did a lot yesterday, so check it all out below.

This is a picture of Grady just hanging out in the family room...happy as usual.

We started the day at the park. Dave and Drew flew his Spiderman kite, and they did very well.

Grady hung out in the swing

Check out Drew pushing Grady in the swing

Drew got a haircut - BEFORE...

DURING (there were a lot of tears & candy.)...

AFTER...

Drew decided he wanted to have a picnic dinner, so we got out the old (never been used) picnic basket and headed out back. It was a lot of fun! Great idea, Drewman.

Dave built a new shelf for the garage (with some help from Drewman). You can see the BEFORE space right above Dave's head.

Drew hard at work

AFTER - a great place for all of our swim/pool gear (They also built a shelf for the laundry room...those will be posted soon.)

Strep, poison ivy, teething, crawling, playdates, and the zoo...

We've had a busy week since I last blogged. I got strep; Dave got poison ivy (he's super sensitive to it). Grady has a tooth and started crawling. Drew had a playdate and went to the zoo.

I woke up last Saturday morning and couldn't swallow. Dave and I decided that I better go to urgent care to find out what was going on. I quickly found out that I had strep throat. Unfortunately, I missed graduation for my seniors that night, but I've heard from many of them on facebook. I'm feeling better now, but it got me good. Ugh!

Dave has been working in our yard to make it look amazing, and he found some poison ivy in the process. He toughed it out for almost 2 weeks, but he finally went to urgent care himself and got a painful steroid shot and some meds to help clear it up. He's still working in the yard as you'll see in this post.

Grady has a tooth breaking through on the bottom, but you would barely know he's in any pain. He's still so happy all of the time. He also started crawling for real this week. We have baby gates up at the top and bottom of the stairs and have to watch him closely. He is really doing more of a Marine type crawl where he drags his body behind him, but today he did do the real thing with his little butt in the air until he did a face plant on the bathroom floor. It wasn't pretty.

Drew helped me to host some of my friends (Denah & Amy) from school and their babies (Brayden & Luke) on Thursday morning. We had a fun playdate where Drew entertained the little ones most of the morning. It was awesome because we actually got to talk. I was worried that Drew would be bored because his friend, Parker, is out of town, but he did great. He'll be happy to have Parker back though.

I also took the boys to the zoo with my friend, Leah, and her girls (Daisy & Ella) on Friday. We had a blast as you'll see below. It got to be pretty warm and crowded, but the kids were such troopers. We rode down together, and that made the day even more fun.

Also, congrats to our sis in law, Chelsea, who graduated from her Masters program with a 4.0! Yay!

And finally, all of the boys and adults are happy because Pops and Gaga are back from 2 weeks in Europe. Yippee! We missed them.

Drew at the zoo

Daisy, Ella, and Drew eating cotton candy at the zoo (Drew wanted the pink one...)

Ella and Drew checking out the giraffes

Drew & a rhino

Drewman & Gradymeister

Drew sitting on the new flower beds he helped his daddy build - They are awesome! Dave planted perennials in them too, so they'll keep coming up each year. I'm so excited about them.

Grady, Brayden, and Luke at our playdate

Drew taking a break from entertaining the little ones

Summer is here...

Today was my last official day of work for a little while. Yippee! We have playdates, trips to the zoo, school (1 day a week for Grady and 2 days for Drew), house-cleaning (fun, huh?!), trips to the pool, a serious road trip to D.C. and Fairport, and a beach trip with my family for me & the two boys to Seaside planned. Let the fun and relaxation begin for us; although, Dave will be slammed at work because his two new jobs are summer renovations for schools. But, we're happy he is busy.

Grady, Drew, & Hudson

7 months old, Bubbles, Texas, and Tampa...

I have lots of pictures that you'll probably like better than my usual ramblings. Enjoy!

Drew (who can hardly take a picture without closing his eyes these days), Me, and our nephew, Hudson

A big boy and his bubbles...

leads to a little boy and his bubbles.

Grady enjoying the grass and fun with bubbles too - 7 months old!

Drew at 7 months old - 2007 (I love comparing their pictures.)

We were fortunate enough to travel to Texas to check on my Grams who turned 90 and celebrated Mother's Day with her great grandsons.

Don't we all have to have one of these pics at some point in our lives?!?!

Nona, Caal (our nephew), Grady, Papa, and Drew in Tampa after a little swim

Caal & Drew "sharing" a noodle in the pool

Papa and his "big" boys at the beach

Caal and Drew "watching" a show

Thanks to our great hosts in Tampa - Nona, Papa, Jen, Carlos, & Caal...(and to Frank and Louisa for letting us use their condo). We had a blast!

Thanks to Gaga & Pops for making it possible for us to get to Texas to check on Grams!

1 more week until summer vacation starts....


PLEASE CLICK ON CHELS & JAY'S BLOG TO THE RIGHT...There's a great post with a picture of Drew, Grady, and Hudson from last night, and there's a post about the AMAZING onesie's that Chels' mom, Kathy, creates!! They are amazing! I have a pic of Grady in one somewhere...check them out. They make AMAZING baby gifts for boys and girls...and especially for your friends who don't know what they are having. THEY ARE ONE OF A KIND!