We had a pretty quiet weekend at home, but we had so much fun.
Friday we finally opened the princess' that Bentley bought Evie in Florida last winter! I had to do a little side by side to show a difference of 6 months. ;)
We spent most of our evening outside, enjoying the nice weather. The boys had fun splashing and jumping, and Miss Evie had fun crawling around and holding herself up on the water table. She loved her front row seat to all the shenanigans!
Saturday we headed over to Aunt Pams pool for a couple hours. Kipton was there and he and Bentley had a great time swimming together! :)
Saturday night we celebrated Robert's 27th birthday with friends, and on sunday we celebrated as a family! Gramma always spoils and each of the kids gets their own cupcake and candle to enjoy!
So hard to believe we have only five weekends left until school starts! thank goodness this past one was GORGEOUS, and we soaked up as much of it as we could!
Friday we had ice cream in the afternoon to gather and show support for "Aunt Stephanie" as she ran her half marathon Saturday for Parkinsons! So fun to come together to support those close to us!
Saturday morning we headed out to Hutchin's lake where my cousins have a cottage. Between three cousins we had three girls and six boys! It was a busy day but we had so much fun!
Baby Jolie & Miss Evie got to meet for the first time - finally another girl in the family! The boys had fun playing in the sandbox and the water.
Ethan and Bentley took the kayak out for a bit, and Evie pretended to swim on the deck! ;)
We took a post lunch pontoon boat ride and went for a swim.
So proud of both of my boys for being brave and getting in the water with me! Bentley was awesome at swimming and had so much fun with his cousins. Harrison was absolutely terrified, but he was brave and he did swim for a short time.
From the cottage we headed straight to the boat. The kids took super short naps and we went out for a dinner time/bedtime cruise. With no naps, it was an early night!
We woke up Sunday, stopped home to unpack and repack and went back out. Miss Evie decided it was a good weekend to learn to crawl, so things got interesting for me! She is pretty proud, and she doesn't stay contained anymore...so that makes things challenging. Things like naptime. ;) but she is such a trooper and she just goes with the flow!
We had Knapps with us and beauty girl Quinn proved to be a perfect little boater too!
Sunday was the third day of no naps for Harry and it finally caught him. He asked to watch tractors on my phone and I found sound asleep about twenty minutes later. :)
We have a quiet week ahead, followed by a busy one. We are soaking up the last days of summer together, but we are also looking forward to school and a new routine!!!
She decided that this weekend, on the boat, would be a great time to show off her new trick! :) Cell phones and keys are her favorite things to crawl for, so far!
Last week we spent a morning at the beach with the bitties. It is so fun to watch our kids interact together! Evie was her normal bathing beauty self and she hung out and took in all the chaos. Bentley was a real brave big boy and went swimming in the lake! I am so proud of how far he has come with his swimming this year!
Bentley, Evie, Everlyn, Jace and Harry (Graham sat this one out!)
It started to sprinkle so we packed up and headed for some ice cream before we left. The boys had so much fun ending their play date with some sand wrestling. Rowdy bunch! ;)
So many things changed again this month, Princess! We are just loving watching you grow and change, and can hardly believe how fast time is going!
You had your first swim this month, it Auntie Chels' pool. it took you a minute to warm up to the water but you did, and you loved splashing and floating around! You are such a trooper always and you go with the flow like none other. You will nap in your wagon or stroller pretty much anywhere. Watching your crazy brothers must be constantly exhausting!
You started rocking on all fours and scooting backwards into everything, this month too. You aren't moving in a forward crawling motion yet, but you are close. It won't be long. You love to scoot backwards and then yell at us when you get stuck. You are SO close to crawling, but just don't have it down yet. It will just be a matter of weeks, I am sure! :)
Towards the end of the month you also started pulling yourself to your knees on things. Like in the wagon at the beach. Jettson is ahead of you and starting to stand on things. But we are okay with your slow progress, we like you being stationary for a while yet! ;)
Something I started with you that I didn't with your brothers is baby led weaning. You were not sold on pureed food from a spoon, so I started feeding you solids instead of pureeing things. You seem to like this much better, you like to gum things and smash them with your tongue..and it keeps you busy. :) It won't be long and there isn't much you won't be eating, I can just tell!
You are a jabber box when anyone gets around you. You love to chat, and move your hands and arms. You love talking to your brothers the most.
Your happy place is daddy's boat. You are all smiles, all the time when you are on Daddy's boat. You sleep like a champ, at night and for naps, and you ride like a champ too. We had our first experience with some rough water and you were unphased. You still don't love your life jacket, but we are working on that! ;) You love to sit in the shade and watch Dad and your brothers. If they are in view, you are a happy girl.
You are loving sitting up in the bathtub too. You splash and giggle and love to watch your brothers play around you. :)
They have even started waking you up in the mornings and laying in bed with you. Speaking of bed, you are on a pretty consistent two nap schedule, and have omitted your dinner time catnap. Just in time for school to start, we finally have a schedule figured out. ha!
SOOO many times I look at your beautiful little face and see myself in it - more than I ever did with either of your brothers. Finally, a child that looks like its momma! But then, I snap pics like this one, and all I can see is Daddy.....Daddy in a 'kini! ;)
We are excited for another month, watching you grow, but we are sure many things will change again as you are so close to being mobile! :)
We spent most of the month outside, as much as we could be. I am so thankful for all Daddy's hard work in making our playset and sandbox, it sure makes for hours of fun!
We were reminded early in the month that God is in control. I wake up every day and plan our day in my head. When there was a tragic and sudden loss of a neighbor and young mom, many of our plans were cancelled and changed to help those close to us in need. They say it takes a village...I am so glad God chose these people to be a part of mine, and me of theirs.
We had our first picnic of the summer at the beach, and played on the dunes. Love our beach!
Bentley attended day camp at MVP and while he was away, Harry had a special morning working in the dozer with Daddy.
Our cool and rainy days were spent picking out fabric, cutting and tying fleece for the boys new blankets for the boat. The two sides don't close to match but the boys are proud anyway!
We attempted a family walk around Kollen park, one week night, but we got rained on. The kids wanted to play on the swingset so we stopped at McDonalds and got ice cream and let them play. Even Evie got a slide ride. :)
our yard has had an abundance of tiny little toads this year and the boys, along with the new neighbors, are loving catching them! :)
the boys have really started using their imaginations, too. Its so fun to watch. Below, they are deer hunting, though it looks like they are about to rob a bank. I can't wait to look back at this and laugh someday!
We spent a week and a half indoor, sick. Evelyn started with a runny nose and eyes and it spread to both her brothers. Harry ended up the worst,
with an ear infection and some constricted airways so we visited the doctors a couple times too. Our sickness started on a Friday, and finally Weds we ventured out to market for the first time all week. The fresh air, and fresh food was just what we all needed!
We took a walk the next morning around Kollen Park, again to get some more fresh air.
We were finally on the mend so we spent a day at the Grand Haven State Park, enjoying the sun and sand and watching the Coast Guard Ships come in.
We spent the weekend on the boat for the Festival Weekend, and that brings us right to August! So crazy to believe we have just a handful of weeks left before school! :)
