Mount Lookout Swim club!

These cousins are having a BLAST together!!! Most of them can swim, so going to the pool is a bit easier these days. Grandma brought them all squirt guns so they have been having SO much fun getting Grandma!

First Day in Cincy....Smale Park!

Cincinnati here we come!

Middle of Summer & Anniversary!

Summer seems to be flying right by...way too fast! We have had lots of time to relax and just take it easy. Derek and I celebrated out SEVEN year wedding anniversary, the boys have been busy playing around, and we leave for Ohio in a few days. Thankful for summer!

{Gavin 71 Months}

Dear Gava,

Pretty much everyone is calling you Gava now. Your brother started this trend, and you seem to think its pretty cool. 

You are busy these summer days! We have done swimming for a week then this week you have Water/Sand/Dirt Camp, then next week swimming again!

We walk down the street to the Brookside Swim Club, where you have one on one lessons. You are doing great! You asked to do the lessons, because you wanted to "learn strokes" so we signed you up! You are doing freestyle like a champ and can float on your back...almost backstroke. Its incredible how hard you work, and how quick you pick up things. You really do put 100% into what you do, and it shows. 

You love camp too. Your instructor is Teacher Jennifer's daughter, Sara, and you LOVE her. She was your horse camp instructor too, so this is PERFECT for you. You adore her, can't wait to see her, and hug her the entire day. She calls you her "Gavin Belt" and says she wears you around. Oh boy, you love her. She says that you are most focused on helping her throughout camp. Singing kids in to camp, passing out name tags, setting up projects, leading the project, giving instructions, cleaning up, and putting things away. She said she didn't ask or expect you to do these things, but you want to, so she let you do it! So there you have it, running your first summer camp at age 5! The beauty of Sara (Just like her mom Jennifer) is that she recognizes your interests and strengths and she lets you run with it. What a neat thing. 

You are out of 5T totally, and into 6T some 7T! You are in size 1 shoe and as tan as ever. Your little body browns JUST like your daddy!

Still napping. Still going to bed at 8 and sleeping 10 hours. We are thankful. 

You turn SIX in one month. OH MY GOODNESS. Then you start K~! WHERE HAS MY BABY GONE???

LOVE you Gava to the moon!

Love-

Momma

{Austin 41 Months}

Dear Austie,

Where has my baby gone? I can't believe that you are almost 3 and a half. Time is passing so fast. I tell you every day that I want it to slow down. You smile and tell me "Why momma?!"

You are a HAM these days. You perform. You show off. You KNOW when there is an audience, and you milk it. We call you Austin Joseph Ham Bottom Moore. Gavin added the bottom in there because you shave your bottom ALL day long.

Sing. Boy do you love to sing! You make up your own songs all day long and just sing and sing. Funny because a year ago you were not singing, and in speech therapy, they were trying really hard to get you to sing. All you needed was TIME.

You eat all day long. Every hour or so. Anything. So thankful for this. If you don't like it, you let the world know.

You are still an expert napper and sleeper. Love your sleep. We love it too!

You are in 4T clothes, size 11 shoes, and still wear diapers in bed.

We love you more than words can describe!

Love-
Momma

Summertime Fun!

Creme Brûlée!

The boys all worked very hard making their first batch of creme brûlée! It was a lot of work but worth every last bit. 

God bless America!

We had a super fun 4th of July! Started it off decorating the bikes. Then we headed to Kevin Moran Park celebration. The boys got to ride their bikes in the parade and thought it was pretty cool. Saw a firetruck, sat inside, and got to chat with the firemen. After naps, we headed to Jan and Jim's house for a BBQ and swimming, an annual tradition. We ended the night going straight to the Shoreline fireworks...parked, walked, and sat up our blanket right under the fireworks. It was a great day and night!

*Austin was a little scared of the fireworks, it was his first time seeing them. He was concerned for everyone's "safety" and wanted to make sure that there were firemen around just in case a fire started. Besides his concerned talk, he was very pleased to watch the show!

Happy Birthday Tara!

One of Austin's great friends this year was Tara. They saw each other twice a day at Mulberry dropping off the JK'ers and then LOTS of playdates. Happy 3rd Birthday Tara!