Swim Lessons 2013

Kinsey just finished up the two week session of swim lessons at the YMCA today. Today was her last day and today was the first day she didn't shed a tear. My sweet little girl is a ball of nerves in new situations. At church and pretty much every other group activity she does with her peers she always knows someone in the class. Swim lessons were a different story. She knew no one and the big pool area freaked her out. It was good for her to get out of her comfort zone. She grew so much in terms of her water skills these two weeks. I am so proud of her.
She started out being ok in very shallow water. She can now put her face in and float on her back. She also uses a floaty with me at our neighborhood pool and will easily swim to the deep end alone. 
I have watched her confidence soar these past two weeks. Each time the teacher would put her all the way under she would jump out of the water and look for me making sure I saw her big accomplishment. 
Its crazy how much joy I get out of watching her experience new things.
She even made a couple of new friends!
Even though she didn't quite "pass" pike class I am so impressed with how well she has done and how far her swimming skills have came these past two weeks.
We are SO proud of you sweet girl!!

Wedding

On the 15th my little bro got married!!! Such a fun time for him. He has been dating my new sis in law off and on since high school so I'd say its about time:)
Kinsey and Logan had some big jobs! Flower girl and Ring Bearer.
Kinsey got to meet up with the bride and all of the bridesmaids to have her hair done! She fit right in getting pampered with the big girls!

Kinsey walked down the isle first followed by Logan and Liam (the brides nephew). The threw the petals like she was a pro! She was so elegant and mature:)
Logan followed down the isle by running as fast as he could and landing next to the priests feet:)
I was slightly panicked and ran to pick him up. To say the least, those kids provided some entertainment:)
Wrangling Logan in a wedding setting is less than ideal. He even tried to play in the Holy water. Yikes.
So that will explain why these are the only pictures I have of the wedding.
I will post some later of the beautiful bride and handsome groom!
Kinsey danced the night away. No seriously. For almost an hour and a half she was on the dance for dancing alone. She was in her own little world and perfectly content. 
Then we all drove home and Josh is the only one who managed to stay awake! (Thankfully he did)

VBS

Vacation bible school was last week at our church and what a week it was. I got talked into teaching a class of 5 year olds. It wasn't so much as teaching but rather moving with them from music to crafts to recreation to story time......so on and so forth. We had a class of 17 crazy fun 5 years olds and I had 2 good pals that got to help me out. Those little kids crack me up! We had a blast learning about Jesus and we sang our little hearts out all week.
This year you had to be 4 years old to attend vbs. Unless your parent was volunteering. They made a class of 3 year olds whos parents were working vbs and they got to to have t-shirts and do pretty much the same set up as the big kids. This was a huge motivating factor for me to lead a class.
A good friend of ours was leading the 3 year olds and Kinsey had an absolute blast. 

We had to be there at 8:45 every day and got home around 1230ish. For my little sleeper that is a really long and early morning. Logan was in the nursery. Don't worry, he didn't miss out on the action. They got to go outside and play and even take buggy rides. He was one tired little guy by the end of the week.

A good friend even took a fun pic of herself while we were out of the room

My little girl played and played all week long with her friends. She learned new stories from the bible. Learned new dances and songs. Brought home some cool crafts and even made some new friends.

We are so blessed to attend a church that truly loves these children. These sweet little faces will grow up knowing home much we really do love each one of them. But more importantly they will know that Jesus loves them. What an awesome thing!! This is only the start of vbs for my sweet little babies and I can't wait to see them grow over the next years.

A little love to the baby

Seems like lately the blog has been a little heavy on Kinsey. Mainly because she is now involved in things and  I want to remember those things. But just because Logan is not involved in activities doesnt mean he gets any less love. In fact, I could love on him all day every day. He is growing so quickly and I don't want to forget once single second of this little guys life.

Logan is now 16 months old. He walks everywhere and I am recently able to understand words he is saying. He says more, milk, all done, dog, light and many other words very distinctly. He is still a very picky eater and would live on crackers and milk if I let him. He loves playing with all types of trucks/cars/pretty much anything with wheels. He is ok being 100% dirty! Total boy

He is a mommas boy when he is tired, hurt or needs something. Any other time he only wants his daddy! He is a cuddler and loves to be rocked to sleep. He loves his big sissy to the moon and back. He sleeps all night and usually wakes between 7 and 8. He can miss his morning nap if we are out and busy but always takes a good solid afternoon nap.

Logan you are so special to my heart. I love every single day I have with you. You are strong willed yet very tender. Those blue eyes are piercing. I am so lucky to be your mom and love this time of your life. I love watching you grow and discover new things. I can't wait to see what God has in store for your life but for right now I am going to cherish every single minute I can with you as the baby!!!

Riverfest

Josh and I may be the only two people we know who actually enjoy the annual river fest. For me, my mind returns to many many summers of walking the food court after leaving north high after one of the last days of school. Summer is here and I seriously love me some river fest. We usually do the parade, fireworks and a funnel cake every year.
This year the weather was perfect for the sun down parade.
My little gal has grown so much over the last year. The loud noises did not phase her one bit. Last year she clung to us and was scared to death of everything. This year she cheered as each float passed and waved at nearly every single person in the parade. I get so much joy from watching her experience joy.
Logan was along for the ride and did great in the stroller munching on some snacks.
I love making memories with this sweet little family of mine.
My heart was definitely bursting with love this night!!

Time to PLAY!

Last week Josh (along with the help of some family and friends) put a playground up for the kids in the backyard. Seems like an easy process right?......this beast took FOREVER to get together. One million tiny pieces and hours later its done!
Here are some pics of the process

The kids have been out every day since it has been finished! 

Last day of school

Ok so technically its not school.......but to her it is. Wow Kids Day Inn has been such a blessing. Kinsey has absolutely loved going every single week. Plus her teacher, Miss Wilbur, pretty much rocks too. 
She had a great class of 12 students and a few of them were even her good friends! Win Win. 
Every so often I would get a report that Kinsey had to sit in time out for following another student and hitting, or getting out of line, or some other offense. But for the most part she was sent home with good reports.

Its so fun to hear her stories of Daniel in the lion den or Noahs ark. Amazing what she retains. Kinda stops me in my tracks and makes me think we need a little more education time at home. Obviously she gets it. Just time for me to crack down and start in with letters and such. Dont get me wrong, sister knows and recognizes many letters, just makes you think if you actually sat down and really worked with her every day......she could prob be even more awesome. Then again, shes only 3 and has a lifetime of school ahead of her. Do we really need to be beating her over the head everyday with schoolwork? Truth is there is probably a little balance in between the two. I just need to find that balance. Ok done rambling......

Daddy surprised Kinsey and picked her up on her last day. We went for ice cream to celebrate!

My heart just ooozes crazy amounts of love for her!

                                                   First Day

                                                                          Last Day