Photo Dump

Just some pictures from my phone that I wanted to share....

Favorite Things

Some of my favorite things is watching Nolan interact with Olivia. He has taken on the big brother role so well (he has great role models to learn from). Nolan and Livi are only suppose to have their plugs in their cribs during bed and nap time. Nolan will go up and try to sneak his, but he always will remember to get Olivia hers as well. He also will go get him milk in the fridge and make sure she gets hers too. When we are in their room, he always makes sure she has her toys in her crib. And my favorite - she always gives her a big hug good night.

Girls Lunch

When my mom was here we got to have a girls lunch. Just Oma, Olivia, and myself. It was very nice as I don't think the last time just my mom and me got to go out was before Tyler was born. Olivia did very well on our girls date and I love that we get to do this together as we decided it will now be at least an annual tradition if not more frequent. We finished lunch with a little shopping - a perfect day for us girls. We love you Oma!

Rockies Game Number 2

The Kasks were in town, so along with the Heplers we all went to another Rockies game. I was a little more worried about the boys this time, as the novelty of going to a game had worn off. Carter was not happy from the start but once we got him some food he was happier. The kids all went to the playground as well, but in the end I think they did very well. It was fun to catch up with our old friends as well. Most of these pictures were taken by Carter.

Big Talker

Olivia is getting so big! In the past few weeks her speech has just taken off. She says mama, daddy, and hi very clearly. She also can sign all done, milk, and more - and no I didn't even try to teach her these things. I attribute some of this to her sitting through Nolan's speech session with me (at least for the signs) but mostly I think its because she is a girl. Nolan's speech therapist can pick up what kids are saying a lot easier than most. She is pretty sure she heard Olivia say mama down and then tried to sing along the clean up song with us last week. I must say I love having  her this vocal already and can't wait to see if explode even more.

Climber

Nolan can climb on anything. This started at a young age when he could scale things before even walking. He could very easily climb out of his crib (and he has once), but I am thankful that he doesn't yet. He learned to climb onto the top of my car by using a vent under neath the car as a step along with the grill on my front bumper. He climbs tress, ladders, and pretty much anything else. It gets a little frightening at parks when he tries to climb some of the things, but he has yet to fall.  I can see some rock climbing in this boys future.

Outside

Since its summer time, we are obviously spending a lot of time outside. Tyler is mostly throwing a football around, throwing a ball up and hitting it with his bat, or playing golf. Carter is almost always on the trampoline unless he can convince Tyler to make a fort with him with various items from our yard. Nolan loves his sandbox still or the trampoline. Olivia loves to sit on the deck or climb on all Nolan's toys, until Nolan notices and then wants to play with them as well. It is very hot this summer however so usually our outside time is after lunch. Ready for some cooler temps so we can be out there even more.

First Campout

The boys have been asking for a while and we finally found a night that it could happen. We put the tent out on the trampoline and Justin and the older slept outside. We started the night off right with Smores. The boys were very nervous of the fire and Tyler even brought out the fire extinguisher just in case. However I loved the smores once they tried them. Then they headed to the tent, which much to my surprise they last all night. Justin said they both woke up once but went right back to sleep and it was a little cold, but they both did very well. They are already asking to do it again!

9 Years

9 years ago I married my best friend and I can say its been the best 9 years of my life. When Oma was  here we went on a much needed date night. We went to Tocano's, a Brazilian grill where they walk around with skewers of meat for you to eat. They also have a giant salad bar that includes fresh shrimp and sushi. It was very good! We followed that up by going to splash were we both painted a picture. A very fun date night indeed. For our actual anniversary we went out to eat at On the Border (good place for kids) and then grocery shopping. Oh how kids change things, but for the better!

Oma in Town

Oma came in town! It was so nice seeing her as always! We all got some great time with her. She took all the kids shopping for new shoes, which is always nice (and Livi had to get 2 pairs), she and the older boys had a fun morning at the park followed by lunch at chick-fil-a, and while Justin and I were out on a date night, she and the kids had fun with home where they did great for her. We always love when Oma is here and can't wait til October when she will be coming out again!

11 Months!

One month til one year, it really is going way to fast! Olivia walks everywhere now and is getting more and more vocal every day. On her 11 month birthday she also had her very last bottle. She had been becoming less and less interested in them and wanting/stealing Nolan's milk cup on a daily basis. We switched her over with no problems at all. She is also totally done with baby food and eats whatever we eat. Her favorites are macaroni and cheese, chicken enchiladas (with cheese), and string cheese....see any connection? She no longer likes to cuddle and her favorite time of the day is when Justin comes home. My little mommy's girl has quickly become a daddy's girl. She now pulls out any bow I try to put in her, unless its a pony tail, but she doesn't like it when I put those in. Still trying to get used to this girl thing. She waves her little wrist to wave and it is the perfect princess wave and so adorable. She loves to be tickled, but doesn't like it when pushed by her brother or a toy taken away from her. She has learned to climb to the half wall from the couch and get off the bed safely. All of this to say my baby girl is quickly becoming less and less baby and more and more toddler. No matter how old she is though, I am sure she will always be bringing us the joy and fun that she is now. We love you Livi!