Straight from a 2 1/2 year old

"Mommy, you ootiful (beautiful)"

"I don't like it, no more little trees (broccoli) pease"

"I need to go potty" (haven't even started potty training, just copying the big sister)

"I ick mommy, hold you"

"bess (bless) mommy, daddy, ma-ee (maddie) and I-E (eli)"

"this water is icky, now I want juice"

"I hun-ree (hungry), I neeeed food"

"No go bed, I not seepy (sleepy)"

"I want to pay (play), no go home" (every time we drop off Maddie at preschool or playgroup)

"I want to help mommy, let me cook"

"let me do it, aw (all) by MYSELF"

I LOVE this BIG, little guy. He is saying the funniest things now. I love how much he loves his daddy- the world seriously revolves around his daddy, I love his big hugs "with arms" that he gives, I love his teasing little personality, I love how he tries to tickle me and then runs away laughing hysterically, I love that he is obsessed with trains, cars, and balls, I love how he will softly pat the baby and smile and say "I soft", I love how he wants to cook with me and always wants to help, I love how he will spend 20 minutes vacuuming the floor for me, I love how he has to have his special lion and "bankie" (blanket) in bed with him every night, what can I say....I am obsessed with each of my kids, including him!

swimming

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green? (or in our case, scorchingly hot and more of a brown tint, rather than green)

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

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Is that what you do? So do I!

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Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool or swing in a tree up high?

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Is that what you do? So do I!

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Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades or count all the stars in the sky?

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Is that what you do? So do I! we sure love our summers...even in Arizona. There is something magical about this time of year; for some reason I feel like I can have lazy days reading books around the house, go swimming pretty much every single day to keep nice and cool, eat ice cream and otterpops WAY too often, fill myself to the brim with super yummy chilled watermelon on a weekly basis, watch my kids turn to a beautiful shade of brown right before my eyes with white little bums, & meet up at McDonalds with my sister and talk while the kids run around like crazy and feel their belly's full of french frys. Aahhh, I LOVE it! Now that school is back in session and Maddie has entered the "preschool" stage of life, I am smiling back upon some of the fun times we have had this summer.

my favorite niece, Kater bug hanging out in the pool

now who wouldn't want to play with such a fun little guy!

Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain

A few weeks ago, we were able to attend the wedding of our good friend, Preston. It was neat to look at them in this blissful moment and reflect back upon that time oh so long ago, when we also made that same commitment to one another. Preston has been waiting so long for this to happen and we couldn't be happier for him. I have so many fun memories of Preston, including the time I went to Peru with Jesse, Preston, and Danny (yes I know...me and three boys :) We are so excited for him to FINALLY take this big step in life and wish him all the happiness that marriage brings!

Another exciting part about him getting married was the FABULOUS wedding reception/dinner at the Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain. The view was gorgeous, the food delicious, decorations were elegant, and of course the company was the best! We were lucky enough to even bring our sweet boy with us for this fun date night. He was so good as always and fell asleep during the wedding video and then slept in his carseat for the remainder of the evening. We enjoyed catching up with Dan (formerly known as Danny to ALL of us :) and his cute date. Maybe at some point we will venture back out to Scottsdale for dinner again, but for now this was MORE than enough!

Eli at SIX months