Donna's 50th...

We had Doo's 50th surprise birthday party at Mi Cocina tonight, and she was so surprised! The kids had a blast - they love any kind of birthday party!

Nana and Papa were there too!

Nathan was attached to Doo tonight and would not stop giving kisses and hugs! I know Donna loved that, especially for her birthday!

And the whole gang, minus me. I always end up missing in group pics because I take them! :( Ohwell, it was a fun birthday celebration!

Madison's art...

She learned this today at school and is SO proud of it. She came right home and did this to show me!

Sibling love....

I just love seeing my kids love each other and enjoy being together. They are truly best friends and it makes me so happy! The other day they came in and said, "Watch us." They sat down, bowed their heads, and started praying together from a prayer book. LOVE these kids!

Playing school together on the ironing board with a booster seat...oh the imaginations of kids. It's what Madison loves best - teaching others (and being in control too)! :) He looks up to her so much and soaks everything up. She's really taught him a lot over the years!

The other day, we picked up Madison from school to go to the dentist. Nathan said about a million times, "Madi, I had SO much fun with you today." And that was her high for the day - spending time with us during the day. It just melts my heart hearing my two kids tell each other "I love you." It's so amazing to see their little relationship. I love it.

Fun with Andrew!

We went over to Andrew (and Matthew's!) house today to play. We haven't had many playdates because of the baby, but he's 9 months now and getting a bit easier! And I'm so sad I didn't get one single picture of him - he's adorable. But the boys had a good time being boys!

I missed the first hug, so Nathan was aware of the camera right here. You can see him looking up at me! But aren't they adorable??

He was also VERY excited that he got to pet Andrew's doggie and he never broke out! That was a hot topic this entire afternoon/evening. I love that they've been friends for so long though. On our way home, Nathan smiled and said, "I like Andrew...I had fun!"

Finally!

This 2nd top tooth has been loose FOR.EVER. It was really loose at Christmas because I was thinking maybe she'd be singing about her two front teeth! So, after many many many meltdowns and fits, the tooth is out. I think Madison would much rather skip Christmas than pull her teeth (or have us pull them!). She was determined to let it fall out on its own, and it basically did. This afternoon, I was in the middle of trying to get her to pull it out, and it just fell out on the ground when I touched it. I barely touched it! It was literally hanging by a thread. She was one happy girl after it came out though...you'd never guess that we had a lot of tears with this one tooth!

Preschool is back!

After many days of tearing the links off the chain, the day is finally here...Nathan's first day of preschool! And silly mommy completely forgot to have him unwrap the last link, but ohwell. It served its purpose, and he loved seeing how many days he had left.

This morning, he was sleeping so peacefully, and I hated to wake him...

This is what he thought about my first day of preschool excitement!

Last year and this year. He wanted to wear his Spiderman shirt today, and was very excited about it. My baby has grown!

Ms. Rachel, his teacher. My stinker child would NOT take his picture with her, so she snuck up behind him when I took it. Sometimes I wonder about this boy!

He had a great first day, and is excited to go back. He was beyond excited and proud that he stayed on green - I hope that excitement lasts the whole year! But all afternoon/evening, he kept kissing me and hugging me and telling me that he loved me. He said he misses me when he leaves me! My sweet boy. I can't believe this is our last year for preschool...ever. It is so bittersweet, but I am going to soak up every minute of this last year!

A beautiful Labor Day!

Today was the first day of beautiful weather for us since....well, I don't really remember! Back whenever it was mid 80's, I remember thinking that was hot! But today, it was such a wonderful break from this 100+ degree heat and we enjoyed every minute of it. This morning, it was even in the upper 60's and it felt so nice! It's been so long since we've been to the park - the kids were SO excited to play!

We spent most of the afternoon riding bikes. It was so nice being able to get out and do this again....we've missed it so much! We love our summers, but we've all been really ready for fall to get here.

Silly Sunday....