Father's Day

Let me begin this post by apologizing for the lack of editing in these pictures. I just realized that I haven't posted yet for June and want to get something on here before the month gets away from me.

Father's Day was obviously a couple of weekends ago. Matt was able to golf on Medinah's new course 1 on Saturday, then on Sunday we went to church and Matt's family came over for a BBQ on our new and improved patio. We took the opportunity to have a little photo shoot.

Brian with his kids.

Of course, there was a tough guy shot or two.

The whole family. Thankfully, our neighbor was home and outside to take this for us.

Grandpa with the grandkids.

This is obviously a blooper, but I love that Brooke is picking at his hair in this one.

And Matt with his kids. Miles was over pictures at this point.

Happy Father's Day to the dads in mine and my kids' lives. We're so blessed to have such strong, caring and funny (among many other attributes) men who love us so well.

Amy's

A few weeks ago, we made the trek down to Mattoon to visit Amy and her kids. Krissi and her kids came up to visit at the same time. It was a little chaotic and a lot of fun.

Everyone liked "playing" with the babies.

Paige really seemed to like her spot in the kitchen. I got some great smiles out of her.

The weather was pretty nice so we spent a majority of the daytime hours playing outside. There were definitely a few tears and fights, but overall, the kids played well together.

In the past, we've driven down and back in one day, but this time we stayed overnight, making for a much less stressful and tiring drive home.

Miles obviously loved this bus.

What visit would be complete without a little photo shoot. Here are Paige and Ty together. Again, he's only 5 weeks older than her. He's a tank!

I'm pretty sure Miles and Luke weren't cooperating when we took this one.

The Timmerman-side girls. We had a lot of fun and look forward to doing it again. Thanks for being such a gracious host, Amy!

Lately - May Edition

The weather has finally been nice enough to spend time outside. Of course now the kids complain about it being too hot when we go out. The other day, just the kids and I went to a playground and they were ready to go after about 20 minutes.

We compromised by playing in the shade.

...and getting ice cream after.

Yay! Playdates at the park! Finally!

I have no recollection of the context of this picture. But what a cutie. Oh, and you'll probably be seeing a fair amount of that hat this summer. She got to pick out a hat that we're trying to get her to wear to protect her scar from the sun, and this is what she chose so we're going with it.

I was able to accompany Brooke on her class field trip to Cosley Zoo. It was rainy and in the 40's that day (yes, in late May), but we still had fun.

Matt's dad, Jamie and Will joined our family for our church's fundraiser 5k (we did the 2 mile walk). Miles and Brooke stepped it up at the end and ditched the stroller. Thanks to Debbie who stayed home with Paige - because it was yet again too cold for the baby to be out.

This little lady is getting more and more alert. She's already losing that "newborn" look, which makes me sad. Newborns have their own sets of challenges, but I really want time to slow down!

She's really not usually cross-eyed. I think I was a little close with the camera.

There's a smile!

Miles is pretty into his baby sister. You can't tell from this picture, but he was leaning so far in to hug her that his feet were off the ground.

He's also into trying out her equipment, whether she's using it or not.

I got out the play mat the other day. I'm not sure how much she's going to be able to use it, though, because I was running interference the whole time she was down there. (Thanks Aunt Jamie and Will for the cute jammies!)

There are definitely worse problems to have than being too well-loved.

Happy summer!

Tiny Dancer

Brooke's ballet recital was the weekend before last. She's been in this class since early January and the parents have been able to observe a dry run of the dance for the past month or so and I have to admit, I was a little worried about how things would go. Brooke even commented on being "nervous" the day of the event. She also invited pretty much everyone that we saw in the days leading up to it.

The girls danced to "Be Our Guest," a song that Brooke knows and loves. And how cute were their costumes?

I was really impressed with Brooke's performance. Her class was for 4-6 year-olds, so she was on the younger end of the spectrum, but I really think she held her own.

And in Kinderballet, it's always cute to be a beat or two behind on occasion, right?

Zach, her future husband (although he'd protest that title), came to watch after she invited him. He even brought her flowers!

Her BFF, Kali (on the right), had her class recital in the same group as Brooke.

Here was Brooke's cheering section (minus Katie and Zach). She should not doubt that she's loved.

 

It was a special day for a special girl.