12 months

Jacob knows how to have a good time.  He turned one last weekend and totally hamed it up at our family lunch party :)!  He had his first taste of cake ever and LOVED every bite of it.  It helped to have grandma R's homemade carrot cake, I don't think anyone could resist that!  He entertained us all with his excitement and love for life.  I can't believe our baby is 1 already, Happy Birthday Jacob!

My sewing friend made him that great birthday crown for his birthday

He was so happy that he just did not know what to do with himself...

He 'knew' everyone was there for his special day!

This cake eating business is great...

But I think I need both hands to help it go down faster!

ummm, ummm, ummm- Mom, you really have been holding back on me!

He was kind enough to share with us

On to presents... He had some eager helpers waiting to get to work

He also had helpers ready to play with 'show him how to use' his new toys!

4th of July

Our firework fun day has been spent at Mike's parents house since Josh was born, maybe even before- I can't remember.  This particular evening was filled with great family conversations, Beautiful gardens, delicious BBQ menu, the big New Mexico sky & perfect evening weather.  The only thing missing this year was was the big show put on by the city?!  For some reason Rio Rancho decided to do their big event on July 3rd... Real patriotic right?  Well, we really didn't miss too much because everything else was so perfect and the boys enjoyed the show that Mike put on for them. 

What do you think of the shirts?... I practiced some sewing skills as I made them look patriotic.

Red for Jacob... Classic and sweet

White for Joshie... Bright and bold!

and Blue for Kyle... something a little different.

Let the festive begin!  Our street show via my low light lens... It really was dark out, the lens just captured the light from the setting sun & fireworks.

The excited lookers

The G&G's enjoyed getting cozy with the kids...

Little J made his rounds down the line of family members... Here he is playing peek a boo with papa B's hat.

mesmerized by the fire

K has been talking about how fire crackers are hot all day.  He thought they were pretty cool!

Treasure Dig

Do you remember when I said I had a sewing class to go to?  Well, I will get to that someday on a different blog entry... But while I was in my class, Mike took J & K to the aquarium and of course J convinced dad to buy him a pirate kit, it is a hands on activity that you use tools to get the buried treasure out of the plaster...   

He looks like a scientist!

Here is the kit- it came with a book, plaster dig, tools and safety glasses.

He was really into it and it took him a good 30 mins to chisel out all the pieces!

In the end, he ended up with a treasure box, sword, ring & a few other small accessories.

Here are my 4 kids (oh, I mean 3 kids and 1 husband!) doing what they do best at the moment... Playing pirates!

Spray Park

This year they opened a spray park on our side of town so we packed our bags and spent an afternoon with our friends. 

Kyle was happy because he had freedom to actually play in this water!

He enjoyed playing, but he really spent most of his time trying to figure out how it all worked.

Josh made his rounds to just about every sprayer he could find!  Do you see Kyle trying to figure out the drain in the background?

Oh, the anticipation of the water bucket drop as it fills up before it spills!

It was great, we just camped out in the shade as the kids entertained us with their curiosity.

Friends!

...and juice boxes!

Jacob didn't mind getting a little wet...

here comes a wet hug for me :)!

Swim Lessons

"Quick- get your shoes on, let's go wake Jakey up, grab a bag full of snacks, hats, sunscreen, towel and dry clothes... Everyone in the car!"

What a hustle it has been these past 2 weeks during Joshua's swim lessons.  Besides the exhaustion of getting everyone out the door, we had a great experience.  Josh thrived during every part and was very eager to do each new step!

This is half of his class and they are all friends and all boys!  Good luck teachers!

Lots of kicking and splashing... But they were allowed to do those things.

crab walking, treasure hunting, bubble blowing... getting acquainted with the water.

During the 2nd week they spent half their class in the 'BIG pool'!  I was happy to see that Josh was eager to volunteer.

The ways that preschoolers 'wait' patiently.

Holding on to the wall to kick and hold their breath.

Josh liked to hold his breath so much he practiced while he waited.

Do you sense the energy in these boys yet?

If not, here is a better shot!

You might be wondering where the little guys are... If I had just one little guy, we would be in this mommy & me class with E & M.

But since I have 2 of them, they were stuck in the stroller eating snacks... This was the last day, Kyle got pretty creative over the past 2 weeks!

Anticipation of the big jump... I love his body jesters, he was so excited he couldn't hold his arms still!

The highlight of the class!

It was quite the social event for all of us moms too...  We were able to lay our blankets in the grass let the little ones play and catch up on our conversations.  Summer is here!