4th of July Weekend

The fourth of July fell on a Tuesday this year, which actually worked out pretty great as it gave Matt a four-day weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, we went to the pool and Matt golfed. Monday was our anniversary, and we celebrated with Andy's Frozen Custard for lunch.

There's an Andy's in Missouri that we had years ago, but I didn't even remember it until we got to the shop. My neighbor had raved about how good it was, so we put it on our summer "bucket list."

The kids liked it, but I think they were more excited to be having dessert at 11 am than anything else.

That afternoon, we decided to check another thing off our bucket list and golf as a family.

I'll be honest, I was prepared for it to go horribly, but it was actually really fun. Everyone was pretty well behaved.

Of course this guy was happy. When is he not?

It was fun to see Brooke and Miles actually play and demonstrate what they're learning. I enjoyed playing, too. It's literally been years since I got out there.

We lasted four holes - again, better than I'd expected.

We finished the day of fun with dinner at the golf course.

The next morning, we met Mike, Jane and Bri for the parade in downtown Wheaton.

It was HOT. And not that exciting. The kids said they want to do it again, but I'm pretty sure that's only because some of the groups in the parade threw candy.

Matt took the big kids to the pool after lunch and I joined them when Graham woke up from his nap, just in time for all the games.

 

Matt's whole family came out, as did some of our friends from Brooke's school and Matt's friends' brother and his girlfriend. It was a fun day hanging out with everyone.

Graham hasn't met a pair of glasses or sunglasses that he didn't see as a personal challenge to remove.

Giant slide!

Spinning cups!

Choo-choo!

Airplanes!

Ponies!

Face painting! (This was at 11 pm after Matt and the big kids got home from fireworks.)

It was a great weekend with lots of fun and family time. I was sad when it was over. Happy fourth!

Lately

We've been trying to get the most out of our summer, and that has included lots and lots of time playing outside with neighbors. These aren't the best shots, but Miles loves when the Masseys get out the slip and slide. On days that we're home, Miles is outside pretty much the entire day, playing with Tommy.

He also did basketball camp last week at Wheaton South and seemed to really enjoy it. He also did a random tennis clinic that some of his friends were doing. I don't think he's met a sport he doesn't like to play, although he definitely likes the ones that come easiest to him the best.

 

We're also in the swing of golf season (pun intended). Brooke is in the 3-holers, which means that she plays an actual 3 holes of golf each week with other girls her age. She's really enjoying it, which is fun to see.

Miles is also doing Lil' Chippers, which is just an hour of practicing golf skills with other kids his age. It always takes a little motivating to get him there, but he always says that he had fun.

With all of the swimming, golf and other activities the big kids have, these two are troopers and really good sports.

 

Paige is loving the new ponytail style that Aunt Kiki tried with her in St. Louis. Every morning she asks me if I can give her an "Aunt Kiki piggy."

Not the best shot, but they had a "Sisters Makeup Shop" one morning with Brooke's makeup kit. I don't want to jinx it, but overall the kids have been playing really well together this summer.

Paige is such a character. She's still always carrying a bag around and has really elaborate play schemes. She plays really well by herself and when I ask what she's playing, it's almost always some form of "shopping." Not sure what that says about me...Anyway, it's so fun to get a glimpse into her imagination.

I can't believe summer's 1/3 over, but we're looking forward to two more months of fun!

Graham at 10 Months

This easygoing little boy turned 10 months old yesterday and I don't like it. Time is moving way too fast. He continues to be adored by his sisters and brother and as long as they're around, he's usually very entertained and pretty happy.

He continues to be incredibly quick to return a smile, even mid-tears, and he loves to flirt and charm strangers.

He started moving a little right after 9 months, and in the last couple of weeks has really started getting around. He's still just army crawling, but that's enough to cause a lot of trouble. Back to baby-proofing!

He's also super-chatty and I sometimes have to pop the binky in his mouth if it's a bad time for a loud baby. "Da" is his favorite sound and is actually what we named "his" fish when we got pet fish last week. He's waving, but doesn't have a lot of other consistent party tricks at this point.

He's still nursing in the morning and late afternoon, and taking a formula bottle at bedtime. He's become quite a fan of mealtimes and eats solid - and baby - food well. He's napping twice, for about an hour in the morning and for a couple of hours in the afternoon. He's been sleeping through the night for about 6 weeks now. Hallelujah! He's an early riser, but so am I, so it usually works out okay.

I really can't say enough about what a happy little guy he is or how much joy he's brought to our lives. You're a blessing, Graham, and we love you SO much!