Good Times with Great Friends

About two weeks ago we had a whirlwind of busy-ness! In an 8 day stretch, Rachel came to visit for two days, Alyssa came with her husband and two boys for five nights and a weekend full of family, friends and a baby shower, and then we finished up our busy week with a one day trip to College Station and back to visit Avery and Kirby and their kiddos. I rarely get to see my best girlfriends who each live between 1 and 5 hours away and in this 8 day stretch I got to see all three! Fun was had by all, but I sure was tired at the end of it!


Aunt Rachel's Visit
It started on a Tuesday, the morning after we returned from 5 days away for the 4th of July weekend!
Aunt Rachel came for some fun with Logan

A couple pics from Chuck E Cheese's

That night we left Logan with Jeff and had some girl time. We caught a movie and got some ice cream and it was so nice to just catch up with her! On day two we took Logan to the pool at the Y- and I forgot my camera! Logan loves seeing her and was very happy that she brought him her Lion King movie to borrow. We have watched it over 30 times in the last two weeks and now he's singing all the songs and quoting the characters- thanks Rachel for this new obsession! :-)



The Cartwright's Visit

Rachel left on that Wednesday afternoon and on that Friday night, Alyssa and Rick came into town with both of their boys and all that having two kids includes! It was a busy house for those five days, and not the quietest either, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! I just think it's so great that my friends and I have been able to share in the family growing process together and now our kids are growing little friendships of their own!

The first day Alyssa was here was the morning of my baby shower
It was so nice to have her here to meet my friends and share in this time with me. The shower was so wonderful... I cannot say enough about how much we love our church friends and family here in Conroe and how blessed we feel to be raising our boys with such wonderful, loving people! Everyone was so generous... little Ryan is already so loved!
Some pics from the rest of their visit...

Swimming in our backyard
Coloring time
We went one day to my mom's to swim
Alyssa and Jordan

A trip to the Children's Museum

Alyssa and Jacoby

Logan LOVED the baby... as usual.
A glance at what's ahead for us??

Jordan checking in on his brother

Logan singing to Jacoby
He enjoyed telling him "It's ok" whenever he would start to cry.


College Station and Back
IN ONE DAY!
After Alyssa was packed up and on the road, we did the same. We drove a little over an hour to stay in CS for 4 hours and turn around and drive home that night. So worth it though! Avery lives in San Antonio, which is a good 3+ hours from our house, so when she comes to CS to visit her sister, we like to take advantage!

We took the kids to a splash pad park to play
Walking hand in hand...
Logan, Asher and Brynn
...too precious!
Fun in the water

Logan and Asher loved the bucket that would fill up and then dump on you. Logan would stand so patiently and wait over and over and over again!
Brynn getting herself a drink... yummy!
Camdyn and McKlayne
The girls taking a snack break
McKlayne, Brynn and Camdyn
Brynn had turned 3 on July 5th and we brought our gift with us to give her in person. Logan was very proud to have something to give her and has not yet learned to keep a secret. He kept saying, "Brynn, we got you Madagascar! You want to open your Madagascar?" I think he was more excited about getting to watch it once she opened it! Fun times!

Not the best picture of me, but it had been a long day... no, a long week!

We wrapped up our College Station visit by meeting Aunt Kelley (Jeff's sister) for some ice cream. Not knowing how our day would go, this was a last minute addition, but Logan was very excited to see her and I'm glad we worked it out!

Silly ice cream faces

Sharing

Special times...

We truly are blessed to have such great friends in our lives! Thanks so much to Kirby for letting us crash in on your time with Avery and for the delicious homemade pizza dinner- delicious!

We are now approaching 36 weeks into the pregnancy! Can't believe in just one month our baby will be in our arms! Due date is exactly one month from today!

Hungry and Tired

So earlier today I posted that Logan started pre-school,
two days a week...
see below if you missed that post.

Well, the first day went GREAT for both of us. He did a wonderful job, actually did take a nap on a mat with other kids around (which I was sure would not happen, at least on day one!) and came home very excited about his new venture. I couldn't get much out of him about what he did, except that he completed his first art project and that he went potty in the bathroom there. He also told me that they went to church and sang songs, but they didn't play on the playground because it was too hot! He came home very hungry, though my friend that teaches at his school informed me that he did eat almost all of his lunch that I packed, so maybe his brain just needed more food than usual today. The eating continued through dinner, as he ate almost all of his dinner and then after his bath asked for a bowl of cereal and some fruit... can we guess growth spurt??

The most amazing thing to me today was that after awhile of being home and getting over the excitement of all that had happened, this is what happened next...

We were watching Cars, him playing on the floor and me resting on the couch. He came and asked if he could lay with me and before I knew it, we were both asleep. I woke up to the phone ringing (which didn't wake him up), proceeded to hold on three phone conversations for the following 30+ minutes laying right next to him, and once my arm started to fall asleep and really begin to hurt, I had to wake him up. It was almost 5 o'clock and God knows I wanted him to still sleep tonight! For those of you that don't know my son- he has NEVER fallen asleep anywhere in our house besides his bed, so this is not a normal thing!!
I actually had to take this pic with my phone because I couldn't get off the couch without moving him!

In conclusion...
School makes for one hungry and tired little boy!

Oh, and I should mention what I did today...
Laundry, a little tidying up, and then...
I got a facial!!
Jeff won a spa beauty package for me at an auction fundraiser that our church had and I was yet to use any of it. So yes, the day was great for BOTH of us!

School Days

Our little boy started school today!

We found a preschool for the fall that also offered summer sessions, and that was just what we needed. All the fall sessions around here start on the week that I am due, and I wanted him to already be in a routine of going so that he didn't link his going to school with the baby's arrival. There will be enough change for him when Ryan arrives, so adding school in at that time just wasn't something I was looking forward to. Plus, I wanted to be the one to take him on his first day and who knows, I could be in the hospital with baby when the fall session starts on Aug 25th.

With his new backpack and lunchbox- he was so proud!!

Saying goodbye to Dylan for the day.
He actually said, "I'll miss you Dylan!" So sweet!
Oh, and how big is that backpack??? Almost as big as him!

He did so well at drop off. We were greeted at the door by the school secretary who asked, "You must be Logan" and he replied, "Yes, and I'm two and a half!" He proceeded to lead her down the hallway and tell her that he had his new lunchbox and was going to be eating lunch there today. He was so excited as we entered and once the teacher spoke to him and told him they were going to be learning about bears this week, he was off to the toy area to see what he could find. I'm going to try to take advantage of these Tuesdays and Thursdays before baby comes to get the final things done around here... and then I'm sure the alone time with Ryan will be very precious to me!

Happy 4th of July

This year we spent the 4th at the lake in Graham visiting Grana and Papa. Logan LOVES all that the property has to offer with the lake and there is just so much to do. We got to spend some great time with friends that we rarely see and I got to sleep in every day! Good times!!

What better way to spend an evening?
Showing off his casting skills with his new Spiderman fishing pole!
Papa knows how to get to a kid's heart!!

Logan jumps in the lake like he's lived there his whole life.
He was a fish the whole weekend!

Time with the Jones family
6 Boys between us= lots of action!

Logan and Davis ready for a ride
So here, baby Avery looks like he's going to enjoy this...
Think again! It's alright buddy, it was pretty loud!
Boat Hair
Logan chasing the ducks.

This took quite a few attempts...
How do you get 6 boys and 3 dads to all look at the same time?

And this is how my husband announced that the photo shoot was over. A back flip for Logan!

Fireworks

This was an introduction for Logan and with his sound sensitivity, I was a little worried, but the kid LOVED it!

Papa keeping a good hold on him as Abe and Bo look on too!

Trying out some sparklers!
LOVE the face he's making with those puffed cheeks!

Can we say TIRED?
"Someone take me home and put me to bed"
Thanks Grana and Papa for doing just that!

Playing at the Jones'

Logan LOVED this track set and how the cars go on their own.
Too loud in here for you buddy?
Sound blocking headphones... so funny that HE would be the one wearing those! He takes after his mom in the volume dept... I'll admit it!
Time for some gymnastics!
Flipping off the couch

And...
PURE JOY!


What a great weekend altogether. I am very happy to be home and know that our busy travel season is over until baby arrives, but no better way to celebrate the holiday weekend than with family and friends! Logan had a great trip and slept most of the car ride home, so mission accomplished!

The Perfect Summer Birthday Party

We wrapped up June with Logan's buddy Levi turning THREE! The Turner's are some of our best friends here, so we were very happy to be able to celebrate with them. What a great party it was, though I'm not sure who had more fun, the little boys, or the big boys! :-)

Levi and Logan hanging out waiting for the party to get going. There was a mix of Levi's favorite songs, so they were dancing on the deck for a little while.
How happy do these two look?!

Opening Presents
She had such a cute idea to have each guest give their gift and sit with him to open it! Logan was very proud to give him Tow Mater and the movie Cars... though he wanted to watch it right then!
Mason and Logan checking out one of the other gifts.

Waiting for cake time!
The cake table... with homemade ice cream! Yummy!

Not the best picture,
but how many kids can you fit in one kiddie pool?

A Slip and Slide!!
The biggest one I've ever seen! The dad's had quite a time and there are some great videos (and some bruising) to prove it, but I'll stick with the kids as much as I can here!

The birthday boy, showing how it's done.

After some kids were choosing to "walk" on it, which really meant fall, Jeremy showed how it was to be done!
This is not what is supposed to be meant by "slip"
and yes, he cried a bit... but was back at it in no time!
They had a great way to make it easier for the kids...
Using a red rubber cord, the kids held on and got pulled, and then when the adults yelled, "Let go!" they flew down to the end! Very effective!
On the belly!
Daddy and Logan
Lovin the close up of that face! Having so much fun!

David and Daylen

Logan working the hose...
any chance he could get to spray people.

What better way to wrap up a summer party than with popsicles!
Levi, Logan and Daylen
Can't wait to have comparison pics as these three boys grow up together! I'm sure we'll be celebrating many more birthdays together through the years!
Happy Birthday Levi!
We love you "Little Buddy!"