Naive

We bought our washer & drayer 9 years ago, pre kids, and I distinctly remember Brian and I laughing at this stain cycle page . Sadly, 3 kids later, we have used every one of these buttons.

 

 

Danielle's Wedding

Danielle's wedding day is finally here!

It was a hot but beautiful day and the bride was gorgeous.

I LOVED the boys in their little tuxes!

 

 Tyler (5), Lucas (4), Delaney (5) & Harper (3) with Danielle and Marc.

Love this one!

We got married the weekend before this one 10 years ago.
 

Colin looked so handsome too.

They did so great! I love how Lucas clung to Harper's arm.  You can see videos of them walking down the aisle on Jen's blog here.

After the kids walked down the aisle they came back to sit with us. They sat quietly enough with a mix of snacks, toys and crayons but Daddy & Colin ended up watching from outside since Colin wanted to babble through the ceremony.

A rare moment of Lucas and Harper quietly paying attention during the ceremony. Those two are such a perfect pair.

 

After the wedding the kids were asked hand out bubbles and were told to make sure everyone got one. They followed their instructions to the letter! They were hilarious to watch as they ran after anyone thought they missed the bubbles and Lucas frisked someone he thought had taken two.

The reception was lots of fun. Several friends and my parents were there. For dinner, we put all of the kids (except Colin) together at their own table next to us.

 

 

My boys had never been to a wedding or reception before. Danielle's brother caught the garter but gave it to Tyler. He calls it his slingshot because thankfully, at age 5, he doesn't yet know what a garter is.
 

It took some urging to get the kids on the dance floor but then they didn't want to leave; The wedding put Colin in an unusually amorous mood and he was full of kisses; The bride and I meet up at the bar.

The kids must have inherited Glam's dancing gene! Colin, Lucas and Tyler all had fun on the dance floor. Landon and Tyler had a bit of competition over Delaney but (for now at least) she told me she's marrying Tyler.

Two things I didn't think would last the whole night- my shoes & Colin but they were both still going strong when it was time to headed back to Edwardsville later that night.  

Danielle's Wedding Rehersal

Our babysitter, Danielle, asked the boys to be in her wedding along with the Cochran girls. We were so happy for Danielle and Marc, but sad to be losing our amazing babysitter who who has been with us since Tyler was a baby.

The wedding was at Danielle's home church in Quincy.

 

 Love that toothy baby grin. 

I was already worried about the kids messing up Danielle's big day and then we confused them even more by changing around their instructions a few times. 

Tyler & Delaney looked sweet holding hands but we realized the girls need their hands to throw their flower petals.

I wondered how Colin would do with a couple of late nights and not sleeping in a hotel room with all of us but he was great!

Colin's Early Intervention Eval

Showing off for the therapist. One of the things he needs to work on is supporting himself on his hands (rather than his forearms) at the activity table.

Today Colin had an early intervention evaluation for his gross motor delays. He continually makes progress but just seems to be a little behind where he should be at this age. For example, he army crawls but can't lift up to crawl over anything raised, even just an inch off the ground. We have been through this process with Lucas so I had an idea of what to expect and know his currently delay won’t affect him long term.

Almost as if he knew he was going to be tested, he worked really hard on his motor skills this week and has begun to get into a sitting position on his own. His new skill helped him to score a bit higher but he still showed a 34% gross motor delay, with the abilities of an average 8 month old. Some of the skills he is not currently able to do: push up to get his belly off the floor, get into or maintain all 4’s, reach while up on his arms and knees, seat scoot, go from back to side to sitting, stand without legs bouncing/wobbling, crawl with reciprocal arms and knees.

His delay qualified him for the early intervention program and he will be starting physical therapy once a week until he catches up. Both the developmental and physical therapist think he needs to build up his strength but neither found an physical limitations that will keep him from doing so! Yea! His immediate goals will be to work on his transitional movements and strengthening his upper body's ability to bear weight (she said he might need a contraption like this to keep him from collapsing his arms).

They also noted a slight oral motor delay and said we should work on building his muscle tone in his mouth. For now he just needs to eat more crunchy textures and drink from a straw more. Oddly, Lucas has always had issues with oral motor as well. I am not quite sure why both boys have had similar muscle tone issues.

Colin did great on all of the other areas of his evaluation. His language was on track at 12 months, his fine motor skills were at 13 months, his personal social skills were at 13 months and his cognitive skills were at 14 months. They noted he was “very smart”, "quick to catch on” and had “great attention”.

Big Boys

When I woke up this morning I was surprised to find Tyler & Lucas quietly completing workbooks in the kitchen when I thought they were still in their beds sleeping.

 

It's cute to see them being so independent but I hope it isn't signaling the end of our morning cuddle time.

Shoe Snack

Since Colin isn't walking and the weather is warm we never put shoes or socks on him.
I was packing for an upcoming wedding today and put some shoes on him to check the fit.
 

He seemed confused about what they were for.  He quickly had one off and into his mouth.

Florida Trip 2012

We took our 3rd trip to Destin with the Cochran family! We had such a perfect trip last time (weather, crowds, etc.) so I was worried this year might not live up to my expectations but it did not disapoint.

The boys were exceptionally good on the car ride. The older boys stayed busy with snacks, workbooks and toys and movies. Colin doesn't do TV yet, but every time he started fussing I would hand him a new toy or snack and it always worked. For his naps, we draped a king sized sheet over the headrests to make a big tent over his car seat and he slept better than I expected.

It was good to be back at "our" house. I can't tell you how much we love this place!

Colin's first time on the beach (at the sound behind the house).

After the long car ride the kids got out pent up energy running on the beach.

As always, a bulk of our trip was spent in the pool.

I was amazed at how well Tyler swam as soon as he put on a mask and snorkel. We realized when he didn't have to worry about coming up for a breath he would swim all over.

The hot tub was turned off during the day as the perfect kiddie pool and then was turned back on at night for the adults.

The kids playing in the sand without having to leave the house is such a nice perk.

Lucas makes sand ice cream cones, a pic of one of many kayaking trips, and a bocce ball game.

 Visiting the Navarre beach.

The Cochran family.

Tyler had so much fun collecting seashells; it was a highlight of his trip. 

 

On the other hand, Colin did not care for the big waves and spent most of his time playing on a blanket with the babysitters far away from the water.

In the lower right picture, you can see a tiny glimpse of one of the dolphins we saw at Navarre beach. We were lucky to see them swimming in the sound every day. Allan, Jen and I tried catching them in the kayaks but they were too fast for us. Brian and Lucas had better luck and got within feet of them.

 

We brought along babysitters to act as mother's helpers and give us time to go shopping and have several evenings out.
Deliberately not pictured- Jen and I taking our turn climbing the magnolia tree.  

 

The older boys walked Navarre bridge while I headed back to the house to read gossip magazines in the hammock while Colin napped.

 

Tyler is super sensitive to the sun so we kept him pretty slathered in sunscreen and picked up a wide brimmed hat on our trip.

 

Colin makes the funniest faces. I love his expressions in these two pictures.

 

We visited the butterfly house and park one day.

An unexpected perk of our house is we sometimes get to see military exercises in the sound behind our house. This year we were able to watch paratroopers from our backyard.

 

Our trip was a great balance between family time and adult time. At McGuire's Brian forgot about the deceptive bathroom doors and headed into the women's.

 

 

One of our kid free nights! 

 

 

 

Love these beautiful girls! You can see more great vacation pics of them on Jen's blog.

 

 

Our attempt at beach photos didn't turn out as I'd hoped.  A storm was coming in, Colin was fussy and my hair was flying everywhere.

 

 

 

Our best family shot. I just wish wrangling my hair in the wind didn't end up making me look like a news reporter listening through an ear piece.

 



 

All good things must come to an end. Good bye Florida house! Hope to see you next year.