Babies B Good: Can We Just Talk About...

How horrible I've been at blogging this year? I'm mean, really. I even had the idea that I would go through the past 6 months and say all the new and fun things that happened, but that would just take too long, so I'll start with the end of the school year for Matty. So...

ON TO SUMMER TIME! This summer has already been TONS of fun for me and the kids! We do about 5 playdates a week -- some in the morning and some in the afternoon/evening. We love to hang out with his classmate John who was his best school buddy; we spend lots of time with Abby and Emma, the little girls of my friend who live right around the corner from us; we also get to see my old friend Heather and her three children every other week, even though they live about an hour away; Matty's buddies Solomon and Abe recently moved to a house right by the zoo, so we've been seeing them and cramming in some afternoon zoo time; Sammie has her friend Cami, a 16-month old my good friend Erin nannies for (Erin's back in grad school); and we still do our playgroup at the church on Mondays that Sammie's been going to since August. And we can't forget about my niece Lucy, which we see about twice a week :)

Like I said, we've been super busy with lots of play time! It really helps the days go by quicker and it tires the kids out so that they still get a great night's sleep even while the sun is still shining. I try to put them down to bed around 8pm, although there have definitely been some late, late nights for them. Hey, it's summertime! :) I'm totally jonesing to take Matt to White Water -- and if you know anything about me, you know how ridiculous that statement is. #1, I hate water parks. #2, I hate theme parks, especially ones with water. #3, I hate getting wet, whether it be rain, lakes, pools, rivers, beaches, whatever. (Except showers, obviously.) So the fact that I actually want to take him this year is something that we must do because I doubt I'll have the desire to go much longer!

Some other things we're doing this summer is mommy/Sammie dates and movie dates with mama and Matt. Sammie at that age that she's ready to shine and show off her little personality, and that's often hard for her to with Matt around. The little opportunity she gets where she's the only kid for me to focus on is always a pleasure because I can see how much she's grown, especially in the past two months. She has about 30 words now and will string together some sentences. My favorites are "Mommy, mommy, mommy! Where's Dada??" and "Thank you, Maaaaatt". She has the sweetest little voice!!! What I equally adore is my 1-on-1 time with Matt. He loves movies and I love hearing him talk about them to me. There are a few good ones coming out this summer like Despicable Me and Monsters University that we have marked in our calendar. Monsters University is actually opening this weekend and we've planned to go on Friday!

Which brings me to our next activity we've been doing... birthday parties!!! Ahhh, so many birthday parties! We've had one every weekend since the summer break started, and this weekend we actually have two. I love seeing the kids' little friends, but it sure does tire a mama out! The birthday parties should halt around mid-July, and then hopefully we can spend some weekends hanging out in the new awesome castle my father-in-law built for the kids! He and Jason spent last weekend piecing together the fort that Steve and I designed from scratch by sketching drawings on the computer and emailing them back and forth. It took a few weeks to get it all finalized, but it really paid off because the castle is super cool! The kids really love it, and I think it looks unique and original. At first I wanted to get a store bought one, but the more I thought about, they're all the same and just like a mini playground, like all the parks we visit here in Atlanta. I wanted something different. So we made a large hangout pad on the top floor, a slide, a fireman pole, and I think I'm going to add a lounge swing underneath so they can casually swing. We're in the process right now of painting it, but it's been really hard to complete with the on and off rain. I'll definitely put up pictures when it's all done!

That's really all I have to write about. I'll post some of my favorite pictures that we've taken since preschool has been out and summer has started. I'll try to be better at posting, especially for those family members that love seeing updates on the babies :)

PS: Hate to brag, but my cute little goddaughter was baptized this weekend! Click here to see how adorable she is!

Summer Pictures

Me and Sammie on a Mommy/Daughter lunch date at Sweet Melissa's

Summer begins! Time to chop that hair off, Matty!

They get Starbucks CakePops whenever we go to Target. It makes shopping easier!

Celebrating my dad's birthday with my brother, uncle, and grandfather.

Margaritas and grilling out

Movies with Friends

Lots of Sonic slushies, corndogs, and tots. All that ketchup requires naked babies!

Pool time, water balloons, and grilling out at Aunt Rah and Lucy's house

Celebrating one of my oldest friend's birthdays! I looooove my Cindy Lu!

Me and Sammie took one of my best friends & her godmother Dominique to a miniature farm for godparents' day. It was so adorable! Sammie is obsessed with anything furry :)