Father's Day!

My boys have an Amazing Father!!

He puts in long days at work, comes home exhausted, walks in the door, and is bombarded by the demands of 2 little boys who adore him! And while a lot of guys might find this annoying and wish they could have some time to just sit on the couch and unwind- Shawn never hesitates to get right down on the floor and start wrestling around!

He is slow to anger, wise in his instruction, and has an amount of patience that I only dream of having.

"Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." -Ephesians 6:4

He never turns Kallen away (no matter how "helpful" Kallen is being) and many times finds a way to teach Kallen through things- rather than just get angry with him.
For Father's Day this year we all went fishing! Kallen LOVED exploring the water and learning about fish with his Dad!!

"Can we use that one Daddy?"

And while the big boys were fishing, Lincoln and I had a great time relaxing in the sun!

Happy Belated Fathers Day Shawn!

We LOVE you!!!

Born to be Wild

This year for Kallen's birthday we bought a zoo pass and it has been the best $70 I've ever spent! With 2 small children I love being able to move through the zoo at our own pace (which is pretty fast some days) and never feel guilty about skipping a few things.

And I must say I am excited about the new dinosaur exhibit because Kallen is a bit of a scaredy-cat so I think it is good for him to be forced to step out of his comfort zone.

This was an attempt at getting a "brothers" picture but I mainly posted it because- check out that color difference! Kallen tans super easy and Lincoln is the whitest baby ever. :)

If I were someone who read all the flyers that people hand me, I probably would have known this; but since I am not- I was totally suprised when we found out on Monday that it was "Member Monday" when all members get to ride the train for free!!

This was Kallen's face throughout the entire ride:

He was pretty serious the whole time, but he Loved it!

Let us know if you would ever like to join us at the zoo- I can get one other adult in for free!

Camping!

I love holiday weekends!

(Actually we love any extra days we get to spend with Shawn!)

We spent memorial day weekend camping 10 minutes from home at Acorn Valley in Saylorville with my sisters and brother-in-law.

There are so many things I love about camping, I almost can't think of anything negative to say.

Here are some of the things I love:

Biking!!

I realize you don't have to go camping to bike, but that seems to be when we always do.

We weren't sure if Lincoln was old enough for the bike trailer yet so this was kind of a test run for him, but he did great! The only thing I wish I could change is that I wish the seats would recline...but oh well.
Despite being constantly elbowed by his big brother, Lincoln seemed to love the ride. And Kallen did not ever want to get out! :)

Being Outside!
There is something that is so refreshing about being outside for 48 hours.

Like our lopsided canopy tent? The slouching side would be the side that I put up. oops!

Lots of Quality Cuddle Time!!


Happy Children!!
My boys are happiest when they are outside. So despite the fact that they don't sleep the best, for the most part they are happy the entire time we are gone!!

Boys and their toys!
I'm pretty sure Shawn loves camping just as much as I do because he gets to spend lots of time fishing, playing with fire, and cutting wood to pieces with a hatchet.

Did I mention Happy Children!?

Improvising!
Can't get the fire going strong? Just use your "air mattress blower upper thingy".

The Food!!

Just kidding- this is not what our food looked like, this is just the pizza that Steph tried to make for poor Casey. :P

Perhaps I already mentioned this-

Happy Children!

Great Conversations and Card Playing!!

No Distractions!!

With no housework, tv, laptops, or work you have lots of time to focus on what is really important:

and spend lots of quiet time with God surrounded by his creation!

Almost makes you want to go camping too doesn't it!?

Smile!!

These are the things that have made me Smile lately:

(meaning I don't have anything specific to blog about so I'll just do a big photo dump)

We popped our pool last summer, so Daddy and the boys went to Walmart and got a bigger and better one!

Lincoln is not so much a fan of the heat.

(either that or he's just not a fan of his dorky mis-matched hat)
This boy is obsessed with dumping water on his head!

This is what Daddy gets for lying on the couch.

Our neighbor gave us 2 free tickets to Sesame Street Live so Kallen and I went on a little date!

I thought since the tickets were free, that I could splurge and get him a little souvenir....that was until I saw the price of the "little souvenirs". I'm sorry but I am not paying $15 for a little elmo glow light, or $10 for a giant elmo balloon.

This was the cheapest thing I could find ($4) and since he never gets popcorn Kallen was pretty excited!

(sorry buddy- you have a cheapo mommy)

For being free, I thought we got Great seats!!

Gotta love sugar-free popsicles on a hot summer day!!

Kallen's "cheese" face

Ah yes, and then there is this always happy boy!

That is Always happy when he is around his mommy.

(we are having some issues with separation anxiety- not something we ever had to deal with when Kallen was a baby.)

My boys were made to be outside! If we are having a rough day- we all just head outside and both boys are entertained for hours! This is going to be a fun summer! :)

Lincoln's Dedication

Last Sunday our church had a baby dedication and it made for such a special mothers day!

What a special gift to be able to stand before our church family and commit to raising our child to love God.

We are SO blessed to have such an amazing family.

Our children will grow up surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who love God and I hope they will realize what a special gift that is.

Family photo opp!

Thanks to everyone who came to support us on such a special day!

We Love you guys!!

In my dreams...

I am in LOVE with this duvet cover:

In fact, I have been for almost 2 years now.

The problem: it costs $280

It is online only at Dwell Studio and they do not have sales. :(

I just cannot justify spending that much on something like that.

Ah, duvet cover, perhaps someday we will finally be together...

...until then I will just keep dreaming about you!

6 months

Lincoln turned 6 months on May 1st, but we just had his check up today so I have been stalling his 6 month post.

Height: 27 1/2" (85%)

Weight: 18# 11oz (72%)

Head Cir: 17 1/2" (70%)

Eats: 100% breastmilk - I have started trying cereal/babyfood but he gags when the spoon even touches his mouth. I think he is going to be a little slow in the transition from milk to solids.

Sleeps: pretty good at night! He usually goes to bed at 9:00pm, wakes up briefly to eat around 5am, then sleeps until 7-8. Naps are something we are working on. If I would stay home all the time and keep him on a solid schedule he would probaby do great, but I have Kallen who just takes 1 nap/day and I really want to be able to go places in the morning and afternoon this summer. So Lincoln kind of just gets thrown into whatever we have planned for the day and if he naps- he naps. (it's bad I know :S )

Talks: he babbles off and on, he squeals when he gets excited, his new favorite thing is to suck on his bottom lip and spit, and he has the best belly laugh I have ever heard!! Occasionally Kallen gets him to laugh like no one else can and it is the sweetest thing ever!!

Moves: not at all!! Lincoln seems to have 0 interest in rolling. He sits up on his own very well and I really think he will skip rolling and just go straight to crawling. (which I don't think will be anytime soon) I am totally fine with him not being mobile- keeping track of 1 moving child is crazy enough!

Lincoln is still a very happy and smiley baby!

And although he is still somewhat laid-back, he is also starting to be kind of finicky. He HATES the heat! He spent every hot day this week crying and whining until I would strip him down and stick him under the fan (that is something we will be working on), also if you do not do things the way he wants- he will whine until you do. (another thing we will work on)

He is in that grabby stage where he will grab at anything he can get his hands on, and then of course it goes straight to his mouth! He eyes our food to the point where you almost feel guilty eating in front of him. haha He is definately going to be our little tank.

We love you so much Lincoln! You are such a joy in our lives!!