off to the park!

Have I mentioned that I love the summer? I love going to the pool.. I love Kings Island.. I love the park.. I love lazy mornings... I love cuddle time.. I love family time... oh how I wish the summer could last forever! Late last week we took a trip to Sharon Woods to explore and play. We do this a lot in the summer.. mostly because mom can't stand being stuck in the house all day long and needs to be busy all the time (no wonder I have such busy children). Jacob had a blast pushing around Bella's Bity Baby in the stroller and Bella had fun playing in the creek. :)

Bella's first time fingerpainting!

So I was feeling brave last week and decided to give finger painting a try with the kids. OMG.. what a mess.. but oh so much fun! She loved it. But I am certainly glad we took it outside. (not sure dad was so much.. he had quite a bit of paint to spray down off of the porch.. oops! Sorry dad!)

Jacob's 3 1/2....

ok.. so a bit older than 3 1/2, but better late than never, right! I thought I would do so in a letter to him.. because I always want him to know how incredibly proud I am of him... beyond proud I should say.

My Dearest Jacob,
How to even start.. first off, I want you to know you make me so proud. Everything you do I love and adore and I thank God for you everyday of my life because without you and your sister (and dad of course), life just wouldn't be complete. It amazes me how fast these days of your toddler life are going by. It seems like just yesterday I was watching you take your first steps and teaching you how to put your shoes on.. now you are helping mother your little sister, Bella. 3 1/2 years old has proven to be full of laughs and many many smiles. You have developed quite the personality and are quite funny. Your facial expressions, the way you copy your mom and dad.. just to be funny, and the way you are quite sneaky and pretty good and figuring out how to get what you want. However, even as you grow and develop your own little personality you continue to be the sweet, sensitive little boy you have always been. You love your "cuddle time" with mom and will often ask for it. At night you always cuddle with your stuffed animals. You love to help mom and and dad whenever you can. Especially helping dad clean out mommy's messy car. You even helped dad this past week paint the dinning room.. oh man, were you in heaven! You are very particular about how things should be and if they aren't a certain way sometimes you get a little upset.. for instance.. you hate when you cracker is broken and won't eat it. You won't let us cut your sandwich unless you tell us to. When you color, which you are really great at.. you get a bit frustrated if you color out of the lines. You are doing tumbelbees right now and you just LOVE it! Your favorite part is jumping on the trampoline (who wouldn't blame you). Although you love Bella.. it is a bit hard at times to remember that you need to share with your sister, but most of the time you are the sweetest big brother around. I know you are going to hate this one day.. but you LOVE her babydoll and will often fight over it with her. But that is ok, because she often wants your cars. I always tell you that one day you will make a great daddy one day a LONG LONG LONG time from now (wink wink). You LOVE doing puzzles right now. You can do them all by yourself and you are so proud. I often catch you doing puzzles in your room when you are suppose to be sleeping. ;) Jacob.. I could go on and on, but really what it comes down to is I am so proud of you.. you are such a great kid and we love you very much. I can't wait to see what the rest of 3's bring for you!

I love you!
Mom :)

I am going to end this with an interview with Jacob..

What is your favorite color- Red
What is your favorite food- Cheeseburgers
What is your favorite thing to do with mommy? Play down in the basement and play with my cool trucks
what is your favorite thing to do with daddy? Play with trucks
What is your favorite thing to do with Bella? Share her stroller ;)
Who is your favorite friend? Isabella
What do you like to do with Isabella? Play with chalk
What are you excited about? Mommy and Daddy are home
What do you want to do today? Play with Isabella?
What is your favorite TV show? Mac and Ruby
What is your favorite Toy? Trains
Anything else you want to tell me? I like to play with Bella
What is your favorite things about being a big brother? Hugs... and hugs to daddy... hugs to mommy

It's Already July???

It is so hard to believe that it is already July. We are having a great time It has been so much fun all of us being home. We have hit the pool, Kings Island, Fireworks, cook outs, and many other games of puzzles, sidewalk chalk, and playgrounds.

Bella is getting so big, I can't believe she is 15 months old. She is such a little spunky, outgoing, happy little girl. She is always smiling and whenever we are out she says hi to everyone she sees. She is also such a little peanut, which is funny seeing how big she was when she was born. When we went to her 15 month check-up she was just short of 20lb leaving her at 8% in weight and around 30 inches leaving her between 50-75% in height. Man.. I will certainly take those percentiles. lol! She is beautiful and has her daddy's dark tan skin which makes us all jealous. She loves the pool and will go under water non-stop at the pool, just like her brother did at her age.

Jacob is turning into such a big kid and continues to be such a great kid. I am so proud of the sweet little boy he has become. He is so polite, and most of the time is so sweet to his sister. He is so excited about going to "Big" preschool this fall and is already talking about riding the bus. He loves playing with our neighbor Isabelle and especially likes going to "Nanna's pool" and Kings Island and ride the "rollercoaster". We started a star chart for him this summer for things like going to bed when asked and brushing his teeth, cleaning his room and basement. He has already earned the movie "Dora Pirate Adventure" movie.

Life is great with my kids and all of us being home.. sure wish we could do this year round. here are some pictures....