I know, I know, not more excuses!

Here it is June and I wanted to try to do a blog every week. Not doing so well, but I am now determined to keep this up! So, no excuses, just a new blog with what is new and exciting in my wonderfully exciting life! (those of you who know me: stop laughing)

My friend Tracy is visiting from Virginia. She leaves tomorrow :(. If you've read my blog before this is the same friend that I visited in January. We are having a great time and it's wonderful to have her here visiting.

Tate has turned three (very weird to really think about). How can he be three already? A little update on him:

-he knows all his letters and a lot of the letter sounds

-he can count to twenty without help (after that with help)

-he talks wonderfully and has a great vocabulary

-he's all about rules (for example: he knows that a red light means stop, so when I make a right turn on red I get in trouble and I have to explain that I am allowed to turn right on red as long as there is no sign saying I can't and I look for other cars. I'm not kidding. I really explain all of that to him almost everytime I make that turn)

-he's really a sweetheart with his little sister, and he asks for her when she's sleeping.

-he's learning to write his letters, these he can do on his own: T, I, J, L, O, X, the rest we are working on. He does a great job.

-he is going to start preschool this September which is sad and exciting all at the same time.

-he tells Andy and I 'I love you' unprompted.

-one of his front teeth is kind of purplish/brown because of his and Grant's head colliding and I know that it's going to require a touch up at his three year pictures.

-he sings wonderfully, but doesn't like a lot of attention put on him.

I know there are a million more things that I am forgetting and I know some of them I will post when I remember because I don't want to forget in the future.

Let's see, what have we done since the last time I posted? Andy went fishing with his brothers, we went to Ocean Shores, my friend came in from Virginia and we've had two 3rd birthday parties for Tate. So here are a few pictures of what we've done so far:

Ayden playing basketball at the miniature golf/arcade that we had Tate's first 3rd birthday party at in Ocean Shores. Andy and Tate played too.
Thank goodness for Grandma, she kept Ayden occupied while we did Tate's party.
Enjoying the cupcakes.
Notice how Andy is holding Tate's neck to blow out the candles? It's because Tate kept telling him to blow it out, eventually I just told Andy to blow it out, no more waiting!

I'll just warn all of you now. It is very difficult to play miniature golf with two little ones. Many of you are probably laughing and thinking, 'we already knew that!', but I figured it wouldn't be too bad. Not too bad if you like to constantly guess where your ball is, take 30 putts to get the ball in the hole because the kids are in the way, get hit by a club, etc. Tate made a good effort but he always picked up his ball after he hit it, and put it down elsewhere.

Ayden just kept trying to put her sippy cup in the hole.
I rode the bumper boats with Tate because Andy didn't want to, and we had a great time. We didn't even get that wet because the boats didn't have water guns on them.
Tate looking at all the tickets he earned and was given.
Ayden kind of enjoyed this ride. That is until she saw me, then she wanted off so I could hold her.


Tate and Mikie at the Rainforest Cafe. This is after moving tables because they put us next to the elephants. Tate thought they were too scary!

Tate playing on the beach at Ocean Shores.

This is his footprint in the sand. Getting so big!




Ayden is looking through a carpet roll tube. How Andy caught this, I don't know.

Ayden and Zachary. Zachary would throw his ball and Ayden would pick it up and give it back to him. Isn't that just like a guy? Letting a girl do all the work! ;)
Ayden loved this crocodile at the Rainforest Cafe.
Sorry, accidentally put two of these in and I STILL can't figure out how to delete a picture once it is downloaded into the blog.
I tried to get all of the kids together with the crocodile but they wouldn't look all at the same time. Surprising, huh?

We went to Jungle Playland (a large play structure inside a church). The boys took their siblings down the slide.


Our family on Tate's actual birthday and second party.

Our little Diego!
His birthday pancake the morning of his birthday.
The night before his birthday we had dinner and the kids were so cute eating at the picnic table.
Playing around with daddy's old lab goggles.



Tate got ice cream for dessert one night and Ayden climbed up on his chair so she could have some too. Tate, being such a sweet little boy, shared his with her until it was all gone.

Since there was an error making Tate's birthday cake at Albertson's, we ended up with two cakes. So Holley (brilliantly, I might add) suggested to just put the cake down in front of the kids and let them at it. This is the aftermath.
Zachary (Tracy's youngest) just loves the ball pit!
Here are the kids eating the cake.
Blowing out his candle. He actually attempted this one, although I think the wind did it for him.