Playground

A few weeks ago Tyler finally got the hang of swinging all by himself and he is pretty proud of himself. This is good timing since the kindergarten playground at school has swings.

The Chair

We recently bought a new kitchen table that seats 6. Our old table only sat 4 and was all we had room for in the breakfast nook in our last house. Michael and I put the kids on the far side of the table and we have been sitting on the side closest to the kitchen since we tend to get up and down tons to get stuff. Inevitably Tyler and Daphne have been fighting over the same chair! We can't figure out anything special about the coveted spot other than the fact that Tyler wants it and so Daphne figures it must be the best spot too. This has led to a few fights and tantrums by the kids. Sometimes it is no big deal at all and Daphne will happily go sit in the other chair and excitedly say, "I'm going to sit next to Tyler." And sometimes she really wants to sit next to Mommy and so she moves to the end of the table next to me. We definitely did not anticipate this kind of drama about the new table!

Tyler sitting in the coveted chair

Daphne cries and pleads to sit in the chair Tyler is using

You snooze, you lose! Daphne happily ate breakfast in the
coveted chair when Tyler slept in, which is uncharacteristic
of him.

Swim Lessons

Tyler just finished the first week of his second 2-week swim lesson session of the summer. He loves going to lessons and feels a lot more comfortable in the water. Tyler is still pretty timid though about swimming without any support. The kids have been working on jumping in and swimming to the swim teacher. In the video below you can see Tyler pointing to his teacher to move closer to him. Then Tyler proceeded to jump practically on top of her.

Tyler working on his freestyle

Tyler with his Stingray class

Little Superhero

Daphne likes to play in my bathtub when
I am in the bathroom getting ready.

Miss Mismatched

This is the craziest ensemble that
Daphne has chosen to wear yet!

Another Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Just before midnight on Saturday, Tyler sleepily brought me a tooth. Apparently he woke up and decided to wiggle his very loose bottom tooth and it came out. Since it was the middle of the night we left the tooth out for the Tooth Fairy last night.

Hey!

Yesterday in the car Daphne kept piping up and asserting, "Hey! I don't like that song!" to different songs on the radio.

Madagascar

"I Like to Move It" is still one of Tyler's favorite songs. Daphne likes to join in the fun too.

Splash Pad

Poor Tyler woke up with a fever the morning after the last day of VBS and missed out on going to the splash pad with Daphne and his cousins. Daphne had so much fun that my dad said she cried when it was time to come home.

Noah, Daphne, and Damon all dressed in water gear
and waiting for pre-splash pad Happy Meals.

Fishing

Michael, Daphne, and I arrived in Houston towards the end of Camp PawPaw. My dad and I took the kids over to the lake in his neighborhood for a little fishing. We only fished for about half an hour before it started raining. Tyler and Noah both had actual hooks on their lines and were supposed to always let PawPaw help them cast. It was no surprise that they didn't catch anything. Daphne's little fishing rod had a small plastic fish attached at the end of the line where a hook normally goes so she caught a "fish" every time she pulled in her line. We were going to take the kids to my dad's pool in the afternoon when it's open to kids but all three of them were wiped out and napping so we let them rest up before the last evening of VBS.

Hey! My line is stuck!

Look what I caught!

We had to keep an eye on Daphne to make sure
that her rod didn't end up in the lake.

Houston Zoo

One of the days during Camp PawPaw, my dad, Tyler, and Noah met up with Uncle Bryce, Tia Sonia, and Micah at the zoo. There was a cool bug exhibit going on with large stationary and animatronic bugs. The boys enjoyed checking out all the bugs.

Noah, Tyler, and Damon

Ladybug ride

These bugs don't scare baby Micah

The boys manning the bug's controls

My dad said that every time he tried to get a photo of Tyler
in front of the bugs, Tyler treated him to some dance moves.

Camp PawPaw and VBS

Tyler and Noah just spent a week at PawPaw's house in Houston during which they attended Vacation Bible School (VBS) at PawPaw's church for five evenings. They were the only 2 grandchildren of PawPaw's that met the minimum age requirement of 3. Both boys had lots of fun at VBS and my dad kept them entertained during the day. They had water gun fights, played card games, went to a bouncy house, watched movies, and went to the zoo. Tyler and Noah were both wiped out at the end of the week! Daphne kept asking where Tyler was and Damon also missed having Noah at home but got to bond with little brother Micah.

Horsing around at PawPaw's house

Dinner at VBS

Noah

Tyler and Noah were in the Lite Brites class. Shine was the
VBS theme and each class had a light-related name.

Each night started with dinner and an assembly in the gym.
Then the kids broke into classes to learn, sing songs, and do art
projects. Then they reconvened in the gym for a final message
and to sing This Little Light of Mine.

Blanket and Pillow Island

First Haircut

I took Tyler in for a haircut yesterday and Daphne insisted that she needed a haircut too. I had been holding out getting her first haircut because I loved the little curls at the ends of her hair and was afraid they would be gone forever once cut. But Daphne's hair was getting pretty scraggly and uneven in the back so I relented and let her get her first haircut. She looks really cute with her new bob!

Taxi driver

Intently watching cartoons

Still a little wavy in the back

First Lost Baby Tooth

After many weeks of being loose, Tyler's first baby tooth fell out on Wednesday. In the photo below you can see the gap on the front bottom where he lost the tooth. The adult tooth already broke through the gums a few weeks ago and is slowly growing in. You can barely see the stub of the adult tooth in the photo. The other bottom front tooth is pretty loose and will probably come out soon. Tyler was quite excited that the Tooth Fairy left him some moolah. I don't know if he cared for her poem.

Cousins & Micah's 1st Birthday

Wiped out and mesmerized by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Youngest to oldest: Micah (1), Hazel (1-1/2), Daphne (2-1/2),
Damon (almost 3), Noah (almost 5), and Tyler (5-1/2)

We helped Micah celebrate his 1st birthday on July 5

Now that I have tried this yummy chocolate cupcake with
peanut butter frosting, I will definitely have some more!

The oldest cousins are the most efficient
and least messy at cupcake consumption.

This is way more fun than posing for photos on the couch.

Must lick off all the frosting...



Cupcake goatee

Micah really enjoyed opening all his presents.

July 4th

We hung out at Bryce and Sonia's house on July 4th. The big kids really enjoyed watching my brothers set off little fireworks in the street. Daphne, Noah, and Damon also enjoyed doing sparklers. Tyler wanted nothing to do with the sparklers and kept a safe distance. Then we took the kids to watch a big fireworks show but parked a good distance away so we could make a quick getaway and get the kids to bed.

 

Daphne in art table heaven

Micah is so easygoing!
He didn't seem to mind any of the fireworks.

Little fireworks at Bryce's house.

Noah and Tyler waiting for the big fireworks show (all the
beach gear was still in the back of the car from the day before)

Ice cream sandwiches

Hazel wasn't so sure about fireworks but had
no complaints about the ice cream sandwich

The Beach

To kick off the holiday weekend we spent Thursday at Galveston with my dad and Bryce's family. Tyler had told us a few weeks ago that he wanted to go to the beach this summer but a few days before the trip he got cold feet. He told us he was worried about crawfish, lobsters, crabs, and sharks. We told Tyler he didn't need to worry about crawfish and lobsters and that it was unlikely we would see crabs and sharks. Luckily once we got to the beach Tyler forgot all about that and had a great time. A little 2-inch crab did startle me at one point when it bumped into my hand. Bryce fished it out of the water and showed all the kids.

PawPaw and Micah

Daphne loved the water and the sand. The kids did not seem to
mind the seaweed, which is good because there was a LOT of
it piled on the shore and in the water.

Noah and Tyler were two peas in a pod. They spent a lot of
time jumping waves and building in the sand. This is the first
time Tyler has gotten to play in warm water and I was
impressed with how deep he actually ventured out since he
has always been a little water weary.

Trying not to freckle (more)... ha! ha!

Bryce and Michael

Tyler was the first one brave enough to get buried. Damon is
the only big one (besides the baby) who didn't want buried.

Daphne wanted in on the action too.

Micah was so good. I think he is the first
baby I have ever seen not try to eat the sand!

Bryce was hardest on Noah and buried his arms too. He took a
breather after he got his arms out because his legs were buried deep.

Juice break in the shade

Mama needs rest! Sonia tried to make up sleep
after a string of late work nights.