Fourth of July Week

We had a busy fourth of July week. We planned to go up on the Sunday before, after a day of swimming at my parents' pool on Saturday. Well, we had a terrible storm on Friday night. It disrupted our plans with my mom for her 60th birthday celebration and really wreaked havoc on the city.

Here are photos from our neighborhood:

This trampoline ended up in our side yard.

We lost shade in our backyard, but it was nothing compared to the damage at my parents' house.

They lost a window in the master bedroom, the pool fence and they need a new pool liner.

Incidentally, I am going to throw in some photos of the kids enjoying the pool BEFORE the storm. It has been so fun! I hope that the pool gets restored soon.

Anyway... Since we didn't have Saturday plans, we took off for the lake one day earlier than planned.

It was Jeni's birthday, and we made it there to celebrate with her.

Over the next few days, we swam at the sandbar, jumped off he dock, went for boat rides... It was fun!

Corbin has really taken to the water like a fish. He loves to jump off the end of the dock and bounce off the neighbor's trampoline.

One afternoon, Jamie posed for a few photos for me.

Of course, I got lots of photos of all of my boys because I have such cute models!

On the fourth, we kept all of the boys up late for the first time. We got lots of glow sticks from the dollar store to keep them entertained while we waited.

After the holiday, we headed to South Haven, Michigan. We had photos scheduled there on Friday evening, but thought that we would get some R & R in before then.

We met up with my Aunt Diane on Thursday. Her sister has a condo on the beach, and a nice pool as well. I wish I could have taken photos that day, but because we were in a new environment with real waves, etc., I was a little too distracted.

But I was very happy to see that the boys loved the water. Jamie loves to run right into the waves and jump. Corbin loved being fully emerged in the lake and jumping around with Daddy. Cameron preferred the sand for most of that time, although he started to warm up to the water after a day.

On Saturday, we went to Posey Lake to celebrate Grandpa Kranz's 88th birthday. We couldn't stay long, but it was nice to see everyone. The boys had gotten dragged out of bed at 6 AM for the rescheduled photo shoot, so they were a little tired and cranky by that time. They did enjoy swimming and shooting water squirted at each other.

With grandma Judy

The birthday boy

We feel a little more prepared for our upcoming beach vacation now. We leave in a couple of weeks to see friends in our first long-distance vacation together.

June Updates, Belated

The summer is just flying by! I can hardly believe it.

The boys are doing great. Corbin graduated from therapies for the summer. We will resume them in the fall, but it has been great not having to rush around twice a week and drag the kids out of bed.

Corbin is really into popular music right now. He will hear a song and become fixated on it until he knows each and every word. He knows more pop music than I do. He really loves Katy Perry songs. His favorites are "Part of Me" and "Firework."

He also is the king of negotiations. He will bargain for everything! He could easily be a salesman, because he is stubborn and convincing. Famous lines include, "Come on- that is not the deal; here's the deal..."

Corbin has made significant strides in his eating. It takes a lot of negotiating, but he eats all meats, most fruits and will try some vegetables now. That is huge! I no longer make a separate meal. It can be hard some nights, but it is worth it.

Cameron has language nearly mastered. He speaks pretty clearly, and in compound sentences. He is an excellent cuddler, and he is (for the most part) considerate and takes direction well. We did have a recent scare with him over at Grandma and Grandpa's pool, but he is absolutely fine now. He will still swim in the pool, but he hates going under water now. He is going to be a great swimmer, I think. He kicks and moves really well, but he can't do it without floaties yet.

Jameson has this thing right now where he likes to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Jameson!" we have come to the conclusion that he prefers his full name and not his nickname. He loves attention, even if it is negative. I've learned that he does well with redirection because he loves to be noticed. Today, I had him organize the K cups in the drawer and then empty the boxes into a main box. He felt very useful.

He is very considerate and sensitive, too. We are very lucky to have 3 sweet boys.

It has been a hot summer, and we have been spending a lot of time in the water. Whether it is in grandma & Grandpa's new pool, our water table or slip n slide or at a lake, we've been happy to have so many spare swimsuits.

I love how active these little boys are!

One hot day, we painted outside in the back. It was great because the mess stayed outdoors, and then I hosed them off.

Look what Corbin made!

War paint!