grandpa's work picnic

We've gone out to Holland for my dad's work picnic the last few summers.  Kate loves the bounce house and the swings and all of the treats.  Liv has been a little more shy about the rides, but she likes the treats just as much as her sister.  The picnic was back in July, and I have a few pictures from the afternoon...

my sweet rainbow girl

post-picnic snuggles

Liv's first hair cut!

Our awesome neighbor, Jill, is a stylist and has done Kate's hair cuts (and her beautiful hair for Tessa's wedding!).  It was finally time to trim up Liv's ends, so we went next door for Livvy's first hair cut.  She had a hard time sitting still - there were kids and dogs playing all around her - but she did great!

Will - 4 Months

Sweet, sweet boy.  You are so precious.  Your gummy smile and chubby thighs get me every single time!

Here's a little bit about Will at 4 months...

• His hair is definitely blond - and growing
• He still doesn't like tummy time, but is starting to really like to play on the floor or on his play mat
• He likes to be outside
• He's a big fan of his hands and feet
• He is rolling to both sides, but has only made it over to his belly once
• Still pretty gassy, and definitely spits up more than either girl did
• He will no longer take a pacifier...but he's starting to suck his thumb (left one, same as Liv)
• He recognizes his big sisters, and gives them LOTS of smiles
• He's starting to grab at things - and sometimes even gets ahold of them - and everything goes into his mouth
• He's finally going to bed closer to 7:30/8:00 and taking a more regular morning nap
• Still prefers to be held facing out, except by mommy:)
• He's wearing cloth diapers now and six month clothes
• He's getting more and more fun all the time as he stays awake for longer periods and is getting more playful

Stats:

Weight: 13 lb, 8 oz (bigger than both girls at the same age!)

Height: 24 in.

pool fun

I am so thankful to be close to my parents for so many reasons.  The least among them is their pool.  It's so much fun to bring the kids over to swim in the summer.  Kate is getting really good about swimming on her own, and Liv loves to jump in.

fun with the water squirters!

s'mores, thumbs, and garden goodies

s'more face!

this was Liv's first time doing s'mores.  her facial expression
might not show it, but she loved it!

no s'mores for Will, but he was happy anyway

little love found his thumb:)
and he holds it in with the other hand, just like Kate did

first harvest from our garden!

beans, zucchini and jalapeños

Tisa's Wedding

On July 8, one of my very close friends and housemates from Hope got married to her love, Adam.  The ceremony was outside at BayPointe Inn (on Gun Lake), and it was beautiful! 

The reception was also at the lake, but we didn't get to enjoy much of that:( Will stayed home with my parents, and he was NOT a happy camper.  I guess he refused to take a bottle, and then just got overtired and hungry and totally melted down.  We ended up having to leave early to get home and settle him down.  We're not the party animals we once were:)

Case girls reunited...and it feels so good!

my love

Decca came from Kansas for the wedding, and brought her youngest - Esther - along.  they stayed at our house, and it was super fun to have extra time together over the course of the weekend.  Esther is about two months older than Will, but the two of them were pretty cute together:)

Here's Will apologizing for being a punk during the wedding!
How could I stay mad at this adorable face?

4th of July weekend

We had a really fun weekend celebrating the Fourth this year.  Matt was off (except for about an hour on Monday afternoon), and the weather was perfect.  

We spent Saturday afternoon and evening at my parent's pool.  Adam came home for the day on Sunday, and we did fireworks with him that evening.  Monday morning, we went to the parade in Grandville with my parents.  It was so fun just to have time together and to be outside.

sleeping sweetheart

loud fireworks

 

we love Grandma!

parade pic

big girl!

While we were up north, Olivia was interested in going potty in the big potty, just like Kate, Lincoln and Graham.  She went a few times and got fun treats, but I didn't really think it would stick.  In true Liv fashion, she made up her own mind that she was ready, and refused to put diapers on once we were home.  She's had more accidents than Kate did (she's a little younger than Kate was when she potty trained), but we're going all in.  One kid in diapers is more than enough for me!

Here are the pictures from her first day going accident-free and getting ice cream for her reward.  

too cool for school!