Let's Do June....

Shall we?  Let's just go ahead and start with June....well, and the end of May.

 

The end of May and the month of June can be covered with two exciting events.

 

First of all on May 20th I got a beautiful new niece!  She loves me almost as much as I love her. And when she's with us she gets lots of lovin from all the little people in my house.  Here she is when I went to stay with her the day after she got home from the hospital.  She was a big girl...which makes my favorite kind of baby.  The squishy kind.  Don't you just want to smooch her?  Believe me...I did.

 

And here she is more recently...cute as ever.  There are lots more pictures where these came from.  We'll save those for another day.

 

The big thing that happened in June is that my Aunt Lisa came to visit.  This may not seem like a big deal, but let me just tell you where she visited from.  Mongolia.  That's right...like the country.  That's a long way to go to visit someone huh?  Lisa is my Mom's only sister.  They have always been close, and therefore I have memories of fun times with Aunt Lisa from the time I was a very little girl. 

 

 

We are very similar people, Lisa and I.  We have the same sense of humor and I just LOVE spending time with her.  It's been a few years since she's come up to the resort to spend time with us so I was SO excited when I found out she was coming for 10 whole days!  Yippee!  I couldn't wait for my kids to spend time with someone who is so special to me and for her to meet my kids and really get to know them.

 

Well let me tell you...they fell hard for her.  As I knew they would.  Jillian fell especially hard.  It was as if she'd known her for years.

 

 

She is still talking about things she learned from Auntie Lisa.  She finds heart shaped things...rocks, chips, whatever, and says, "Love ya like a rock!"  She thinks it's just the best.  Sometimes she wants me to fix her hair like Aunt Lisa did it. 

 

The boys had a great time with her too, they just didn't get to see her quite as much since they were still in school.  The poor saps. 

 

We took a whole day and went thrift store shopping and out to lunch...just Jill and I, Lisa, and my Mom.  So much fun.  Jill and Lisa and I even went to Shakopee for the weekend.  We went to see my brothers and their wives and all their kiddies.  It was a super fun adventure. 

 

I know I speak for my Mom too when I say we are so thankful to the Lord that he provided Lisa with this time to come and visit us.  It was time that we all needed so badly and it absolutely flew by.  I wish with all my heart she lived closer and could spend time with us more often, but she and her family feel God calling them to be in Mongolia right now and you can't argue with that.  Maybe someday they'll live closer.  We sure hope so.  We miss our Lisa and all the laughs we have when she's with us.  Love that girl to pieces!

 

Happy 9 years and 6 weeks Birthday, Calvin!

You celebrate those right?  Well...when it's the end of the school year for mom and kids and you're trying to fit in writing a blog post...you celebrate those.

 

We did celebrate his actual birthday on time.  I promise.

 

Now, just because I like to look back at old pictures, let's look at this cute boy when he was my first born adorable baby.

 

 

 

 A classic.  One of my favorite pictures ever.

 

 

 

 Calvin was a jolly baby and a jolly toddler.  He has always been so loving and happy.  It is just a delight to be his mama.

 

Now, he's not so little, but he is still so much fun.  He loves to laugh, does a fantastic British accent, and takes care of everyone around him.  He's very sensitive and does his best to make sure everyone is happy.  (Yes, he has his moments where he teases his brother and sister.  He's normal.)  He is learning lately what it really means to love Jesus and I see him put it into play in his everyday life at school and at home.  I'm so thankful for that.  And for him.

 

Nana made the basketball cake.  She's good huh?

 

 

 Pitching for the first time in a game.  He loved it!  As he loves everything about baseball.  So much so that he recently had this done...

 

 

 

He and Daddy went fishing tonight and he caught his very first walleye!  So exciting.  

 

 

 

 This boy is amazing for so many reasons.  And not just because he's my baby.  He is growing up so fast and I just can't wait to see all he does and all he becomes.  We love you, Cal!

 

 

Nathan!

Clearly I'm not trying for Mother of the Year this year.  Nathan had a birthday two weeks ago and I still haven't done his birthday blog!  Oh you sweet sweet boy.  I love you so much and the only reason I haven't blogged yet is because I just can't find the words to say how special you are.

 

Birthday number 7.  This is a big one. 

 

Whenever I do a birthday post I have to put baby pictures in.  If nothing else it's just a fun way to show all these cute pictures.  Looking for cute baby pictures of Nathan is torturous.  They are ALL adorable.  Cutest stinking baby ever.

 

Always been a Twins fan...

always up for a party.

 

He's still up for a party, so this year we had three of them.  Three mini birthdays instead of one big one.  My boy was thrilled.  





 

Here he is opening one of his gifts from us.  It was a Playmobile ambulance.  Super cool.  Nathan is very into all things police, fire, and ambulance.  Papa and Nana got him the Playmobile Fire Station and it is awesome.  We knew the ambulance would be a good fit.

 

Call it a coincidence, but soon after he opened his present this guy got stuck upside down in his chimney.  Not good.

 



 

Don't worry...Nathan and his men to the rescue.  Check out that tongue.  Love.

 





 

Our first party was with Uncle John and Aunt Alicia.  They came to visit, so we got an ice cream cake and had a party!

 

 

 

The second party was when our family went to Mi Rancho for dinner.  Nathan specifically asked to eat here so he could, "wear the big hat."  I think he wore it well.

 

 

Here he is enjoying the festivities...

 



And the final party happened when Max, Sara, Will, Greyson, and Tate came to visit the next weekend.  When cousins are around you HAVE to have a party...right?  And since we were so close to Easter, Nana made the traditional bunny cake this time. 

 



 

Nathan and Sara, who he calls his best lady, set up a little road and jail for the police cars.  It doesn't get any better than that.

 

This is not a birthday picture, but I have to include it.  A week or so before his birthday Nathan and I went to the eye doctor together.  We both had to have our eyes dilated during the exam.  Nathan thought the sun glasses they gave us were the coolest thing ever.  When we were driving away he said, "Thank you so much for the new sun glasses you bought me, Mom!  I love them!"  We went to McDonalds for lunch and it was very bright in there so he just wore those things proudly.  I did not.  Maybe I'm a little vain, but not everyone can pull this look off like he can.

 

 

 

 This boy is so special.  We could all learn a lot from him.  God has gifted him with a personality that just lights up a room.  He makes people smile.  He speaks straight from his heart and has such passion.  Nathan sees the good in people.  In everyone.  He wants to be friends with everybody...no matter who they are.  He doesn't care what you look like, how you dress, if you're in a wheelchair or anything else.  Nathan sees people's hearts.  How many of us can say that about ourselves? 

My precious boy....the last seven years have been amazing.  God gave me the greatest gift when he made me your mom.  I can't wait to see all the amazing things you do in your life. 

I love you so much.

 

 

 

Shootin Hoops

That's how Calvin spends all of his time lately.  There is always a basketball in his hands.  I can't lie to you...it can be annoying.  The constant

BANG

BANG

BANG

of the dribbling.  But, I know this is how a star is built.  And he is certainly a star in my eyes.

 

He has had two tournaments this winter and we have two more the next two weekends.  During the first tournament he scored three baskets!  In one of their games he scored two-thirds of the teams points!!  You're trying to do the math on that one aren't you?  The sad news on that:  his team only scored six points.  The good news on that:  Calvin scored four of them!  We told him when he's telling that story...just stick to the first part.  Two-thirds of the points.  End of story.

 

Here he is last weekend.  Warming up at half-time.  See that kid airborne under the basket?  That's my boy.

 

Put it in #24!

One of the three cutest fans at the game...the birthday girl.  At one point a couple sitting behind us tapped me and said, "Your daughter looks exactly like an American Girl doll".  Is this not one of the highest compliments you could receive?!

The other two of the three cutest fans.  Nathan is not a big fan of the noise from the buzzers and all the basketballs, so he wore headphones this time and it was great!  He was a happy boy.  Calvin also had both Grandmas and Grandpas,  Marc's Grandma, and friends Kevin and Kari in the crowd.  He felt VERY special.

Here is my tired, sweaty superstar after playing three games in a row.  Boy did he sleep hard that afternoon.

His team took third place!

 



Smile, Calvin!  You just won a medal!

The team.  What a bunch of cool dudes huh?  (Did that sound momish?)

I absolutely love this picture because Calvin missed the memo about the jumping.

 





 

We are having so much fun being basketball parents.  I don't know if this is weird, but I am exhausted after the games.  I'm not sure what will happen as he gets older.  I'm in trouble.  This boy is a sports lover.  Whatever sport he happens to be in is his favorite sport in the world.  Tonight he said, "Mom, basketball is my all time favorite sport.  It always will be." 

Until baseball season. 

It's so awesome to watch someone you love doing something he loves.

 

Stay tuned for this weekend's tournament update.  UNCLE JOHN is coming and Calvin could not be more excited.

My Birthday Girl!

On Saturday, this tiny girl...

 

 

turned 4! 

 

I just can't believe it.  It seems like yesterday I was meeting her for the first time and I was SO in love.

 

 

My little girl.  After growing up with 3 brothers and having two boys I was thrilled to meet this tiny pink peanut.

 

 

 

She has been just as much fun and I knew she would be.  She is all girl, with just the right amount of feistiness.  She is beautiful and funny, sweet and a little sassy, and she makes every day more fun.

 

She said to Nana a couple days before her birthday, "Someone is turning 4 in a couple days and I'll give you one guess!"

 

 

The night before her birthday we had a little party.  Grandma and Grandpa came and brought GG (Marc's Grandma) and Papa and Nana were here.  She absolutely loved being the center of attention.  She played it very cool and acted like she had turned 4 a dozen times.

Pascal was a favorite present...

 



She had been asking for a princess scooter for a LONG time.

 



 

Nathan, always the giver, wanted to help Jilly by pretending to rain on her umbrella.

 

 

She got princess shoes (3 pairs) and had to go put on her dress to see how they looked.

 



Appropriately, Nathan and Papa got the job of putting together the scooter.  Perfect guys for the job.

Nana and Jillian made her cake together.  She opted for pink cake with purple frosting.  Not something the boys have ever chosen.

SHE thought it was fabulous.

It's always entertaining to watch Nathan eat cake...

They could have been twins don't you think?  Wow.

 

My sweet handsome boys.



Here she is in bed after the party while she was still three.  I told her I needed to remember what she looked like when she was still little.  Be still my heart...

 

And here she is at Calvin's tournament the next day as a big four year old!  Doesn't she look older and wiser?  In the car that day she looked down and said, "Mom, even my hands are bigger today!" 

 

 

 Oh, my sweet baby.  I really want you to stay tiny, but I love watching you grow up!  You still suck your thumb and sleep with your taggie and I love that.  But, you have gotten sweeter and funnier with each age and I just love every single day with you.  God knew exactly what he was doing when he put us together because you are the perfect girl for me. 

Happy Birthday, my princess.