6 and counting...

Jaxon has been losing teeth since last summer and he has officially lost his two front teeth. It's funny to watch him eat right now... he takes bites from the side of his mouth, certain words have a little different sound coming from them right now, and his grin is pure toothless :)  He has seemed so old as I listen to some of my friends tell me about their teething babies and toddlers, all while mine is losing all those teeth he worked so hard to get in 6-7 years ago! He is getting older...in so many ways. He is on 6 missing teeth as of today and one is working it's way loose as I type. I can't imagine him with his adult teeth coming in the front this summer! Crazy! The boys sleep together and I don't know who is more excited for the "tooth fairy" to come each time... Jaxon or Austin?!?! That darn tooth fairy forgot a couple nights... apparently if they don't show up the first night they pay double or triple once they finally do come! oops :-)

Last day

 My Learn and Play group on their last day! Our class of 6 shrunk down to 4 by the last month... one friend moved in December and another moved in April. It was a lot of fun to teach these little ones this last school year and it went so fast! I forgot how much I do enjoy teaching a group of young ones and seeing them progress through out the year. I am so proud of the steps they took towards being independent little learners and friends. Austin will miss his buddies next year, as I don't think I can swing teaching from home with a newborn...at least not very well :)

 We partied it up, pool style for our last day! Fun water play, fun snacks, and fun games! Yahoo...summer break is here!

here comes the sun

One of my favorite times of year is now... when the sun comes out early in the morning and stays up all day long until we have exhausted ourselves from being outside all day and fall into bed at night... rosy cheeked, warm skin, freshly bathed, and lay on crisp clean white cotton sheets. Ahhhh, summer! Every summer I invest in a cheap pool for the backyard and our kids (as well as others) splash and play in it all summer! I love the sounds of them out there and even get in to play at times. I hope my kids have fond summer memories when they think back to being a kid and love the outdoors as much as I do this time of year. 

Being almost 9 months pregnant during some of these humid days has about done me in a few times already, but I wouldn't trade them :)

Being 9 months preggo also gives me a good excuse to sit back and enjoy this view as my boys play away!! :) Feels good! Welcome summer time!!!

You know you've had fun when...

... you get home and your feet look like this :-)  It's defiantly summer and we're defiantly taking baths every night!!

one of my favorite things...

Two very sweet brothers sleeping soundly after a long fun day playing out in the sunshine...

UNI Greenhouse

Until I had a UNI student who majored in biology live with us I didn't even know the UNI Greenhouse was open to the public! Even better, it is free! It is a small greenhouse, but it is perfect for little ones and introducing plants, gardening, and the idea behind "growing things" to them. I took the boys last summer and they liked it, so I took my little Learn and Play group for a field trip last week to the greenhouse. It was pouring rain, but I think they had fun walking with their umbrellas to our destination. If you are looking for a cheap "filler" for the kids, check it out! There is a cozy outside patio spot perfect for a snack time too! Austin was so excited because Brother had a field trip the same week and he loved that he could talk about his too :)

snuggle buddies :)

This is how I found these two, plus the dog, one day last week. I was finishing putting away our food from lunch that needed to go into the fridge and I asked them to find their blankie's and binkies so we could read books before nap. We usually cozy into one of their beds and read together or find a spot on the couch. It got REALLY quiet so I walked around the corner and found them here :) Binkies popped in mouths, blankies covering them up, and snuggled in with each other. They were ready for nap and wanted to lay on the chair that day with the dog too! It was so cute I almost said yes.....   but only for about 3 seconds before the realistic outcome sat in on my mind and we found our way to the beds! I love the little friendships Austin has and the one with his best buddy Avery just always makes me smile in every way. I hope they always make room to snuggle into each other's life a little bit.