Sunday, June 16, 2013

WE LOVE OUR DADS!!!

Phil and I are so very thankful for the Dads in our lives.  We have been so blessed with such loving, supportive, helpful fathers (and grandfathers) who have always been so good to us and now shower their love and affection on our boys.  It is so great to see the wonderful, loving relationships that are developing between them all.  Watching the grandpas with their grandsons (and the way the boys just ADORE and look up to their grandpas) truly makes my heart melt.  Papa Swoop, Popeye, and Pap-pap... we LOVE you and truly APPRECIATE you!  Happy Father's Day!!

 
 

And Phil... where do I even start?  God has blessed me beyond measure with the most wonderful partner.  Not only is he my very best friend and a wonderful husband, but he is the most amazing father  to our boys.  I could go on and on... but literally I could not imagine a better match for me and mentor for our boys.  From the first moment he became a father...


(helping deliver Jackson)... Until now, 6 years and four boys later...


.... he has continuously, without fail, been the most helpful, loving, supportive, hardworking, positive husband and father and the absolute best role model for our boys.  To them he is a superhero who can fix anything, solve any problem, and teach them anything they need to know.  But the thing that makes me most happy and proud is how he unabashedly shows his love and affection for each of them.  There is never a shortage of hugs and kisses for all and I know the boys are super secure in their Daddy's love for them.  In fact, I had J and E fill out a little questionnaire about Daddy this weekend, and one of the questions was, "What does Daddy always say?"  Each one answered (totally separately)... "Daddy always says, "I love you."" Thank you, Phil, for loving us, for being you, and for all you do for each of us everyday.... asking nothing in return.  We love you!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

"Just Keep Swimming"

That's been our motto lately and will be our way of beating the heat this summer.  We have had a few scorcher days already but the weather has actually been really nice overall!  Like yesterday it was hot but there was a nice breeze and it wasn't quite so humid.  We went to our beach neighborhood in the evening yesterday for a little "nighttime adventure" of swimming and pizza and it was so beautiful outside.  A cool breeze was blowing and the boys were having such fun in the pool and we SO did not want to go back to our rental house!

I've taken the boys to swim in the bay a few times, but now that it's hot during the day we haven't been to the beach as much.  Instead we've been swimming in our neighborhood pool, since there's lots of shade for Davis and it's free (we've been really trying to pinch pennies lately with the house building in full swing).  The pool there is really beautiful and we're usually the only ones in there, although we have met two other families there that seem really nice!


And see that beautiful women's pool house there in the back?


And this lush, green vegetation behind the swingset? 


Well, when we pulled up to the pool a few weeks ago this is what the men's poolhouse looked like...


And here's the lush, green vegetation...


This poor, weird-looking turtle is like, "What the hell, people??"


Apparently some yay-hoo was grilling at the pool one weekend and dumped the charcoal from his grill behind the men's poolhouse.  He says he poured water on it, but the coals were still hot enough to burn down the poolhouse and all of the bushes behind it.  Thanks, genius.  Luckily, the other poolhouse was untouched and the palmetto bushes in that area are already growing back.  And last night when we went to the pool we saw that they have torn down the damaged building and are starting to rebuild it.  And the pool is still usable, so that's good! :)


J and E are full-up swimmers now.  We can't believe how quickly they picked it up once they had some good lessons and built up some confidence.  It's so great to be able to just let them go swim on their own and not have to worry about them.  They really, really love it.  We still have them signed up for a few more lessons soon to improve their form and all that, though.  Jumping in is their favorite thing.


Reid is still fearless and will jump in and sink like a brick and come up smiling, but he does really well with these water wings on.  He has a good little doggie-paddle going, too.


Davis usually gets a little dip when we first get there and then chills pretty well in the shade in his bouncy seat.  


I asked Phil if he thought Davis would be okay over there in the corner by the bushes and he answered, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."  Yes, he did.  :)


Phil and I are even able to relax and enjoy ourselves, which is really great!


The boys were doing a ton of swimming at my parents' house a few weeks ago, too.  E literally stayed in the water from 1:00-6:00 one day, except for getting out for a few minutes to take a few bites of food.  I should have made him get out earlier, though, because he was a bucket of goo at 6:00 when he did get out!  Bloodshot eyes, super exhausted, and the skin was rubbed off on the bottoms of this toes from pushing off the bottom of the pool so much.  But he was having SUCH a good time!


The "Daddy Throw" is also a favorite pool activity.


Or the "Uncle Bill" throw, in cousin Olivia's case.  I love that she calls him "Uncle Bill."  :)


Reid was very proud of himself for putting these goggles on.


Then they slid down and he kept saying over and over, "Uh-oh!  Someting's wong!  Someting's wong!"  Lol.


Just a few other non-swimming pics from my parents' house...


That was actually at our house the night before we left.  My mom was so sweet and offered to drive up and ride back with me to help out on the trip.  Phil had an exercise at work and couldn't come until the next week, so he just drove my mom's car back when he came.  It was so great to have her help and company on the drive.  Thank you, Mom (and Dad for suggesting it)!!  :)

Davis had lots of snuggle time with Popeye...


I drove Becky and Ryan to the airport in Orlando one day and J and I had a lunch date at Ikea after that.  Oh, how I love this sweet little boy...


Personal pizza night at Aunt Leslie's...


I have grown soft in my old age and was cuddling with Davis late one night when he had trouble going back to sleep (instead of letting him cry like I probably would have with the other boys!)...


Worn out from swimming...


Olivia LOVED "Baby Dabis"....


We're going back in a month for Jackson's birthday and we all can't wait!  :)