First Half of May

Lots of random fun and pictures from the first part of May so figured I'd just do one big post to include them all.

Mornings like these just make me smile!  These were taken around 8 a.m. before we took Joseph to school.  It sometimes amazes me the things that we have accomplished by 8 a.m. and the amount of energy in our home at that time!  Lots of superhero play this month and Ella loves getting in on the action!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!  

We still had Turty at this point so they were checking on him.  

After we dropped Joseph off at school, our friend, Tucker, joined us at the library storytime and we played at the park.  They were so cute playing peek-a-boo!

Ella has been using a spoon and fork more frequently and with more success.  Most of the time she still ends up like the pictures below but she is getting better and definitely enjoys it! 

May 2nd

On Friday, May 2nd we met up wtih our church playgroup for a splash pad playdate.

I wish Ella's eyes were open in this picture but I had to include it because I thought her pose was just too cute.

She is a fan of drinking the water-yuk!

Lots of fun in our backyard this month!

May 3, 2014

It has been at least a few months since Joseph has taken a nap in his bed but every once in awhile he will fall asleep on the couch (they are few and far between though.)  Today, I told him to pick out a few books and that I would come to read to him once I was done with the lunch dishes and this is what I found when I walked over.  It was after a busy morning at the park!

I was going through clothes to pass on to friends and Joseph found this baby tank top that Aunt Lindsay gave to him and he just had to put it on!  Quite the summer muscle shirt!

Ella in action!  I know I have posted about this before but this girl loves to eat and can eat a ton!  Her breakfast is always more than I eat (1-2 eggs with spinach and cheese, 1/2-a whole packet of oatmeal, a yogurt, fruit and sometimes dry cereal, too!)

Joseph has really been into the Army recently and pretending that he is a soldier.  Daddy has been showing him his pictures from Afghanistan so often during the day, Joseph is capturing bad guys and putting them in prison, keeping Ella and I safe and driving his tank.  One of the funniest things that he has done is he was pretending to open a package while he was in Afghanistan and he said, "Yum, pita chips!  Thanks Mommy!"  Rich had told him the night before that I would send him packages with pita chips in them!  Too cute!

May 7, 2014

Ella continues to love her baby and here was "asking" me to put the shirt on baby.  Most days baby is without clothes!

And, here, a few days later she was putting diapers on baby.  

On May 8th Joseph had a dentist appointment and did amazing again!  He jumped into the chair/bed as if he had done it a million times and actually seemed excited to be there.  Our pediatric dentist is so awesome and they are SO kid friendly!  Most importantly, all of his teeth looked great!

May has definitely been the month of splash pads and fountains.  On May 9th after boot camp we played at the Market Street fountains for a long time!  Always a great way to spend the morning!  

And, then we came home for a picnic lunch!

And, then, after lunch that day Joseph played doggie and pretended to be stuck in a cage off and on for a good hour!  What a way to spend the day!

We have been stopping on our walks recently to feed the ducks.  Ella gets so excited (and then often very upset when it is time to go!) but it is a nice way to end the walk and to let them get some energy out.  We played at the area for awhile on May 10th to kill the time while Daddy was riding on his bike.  

 

On May 14th Ella got into her winter beanies and decided to wear them around the house all afternoon.  I had to get a few pictures of them!  

Sweet siblings!

Daddy was out of town on May 14th so went to dinner with friends and Joseph fell asleep on the car ride home (at 6:45) and slept the entire night through!  

Back visiting the ducks on May 15th!  

And, finally, to finish out the first half of the month, on May 16th we kept up with our Friday tradition of boot camp and the fountains at Market Street.  Nothing beats that to finish out the week!   

Joseph and Olivia taking a little break to warm up!

The rest of the month has been just as busy and just as fun and has definitely flown by!!  

Mother's Day 2014

I am SO very thankful to be the mother to these two sweet kiddos!  We had a nice, relaxing day including breakfast made by Daddy and Joseph, church, lunch, a trip to the pool and grilled out for dinner.  Couldn't have asked for a better day surrounded by my favorite people.  

Joseph was in desperate need of a haircut!!  

 Oh, Joseph!  

Ella stuck around for a few more!   

And, I had to get a picture of my first Mother's Day gift made by Joseph in school.  So sweet!

I wanna be like you!

There is a country song by Rodney Atkins called "Watching You" and the chorus is:  "I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool. I'm your buckeroo, I wanna be like you, and eat my food, and grow as tall as you are."

I heard this song earlier today and couldn't help but smile!  We are pretty immersed in triathlon life right now and although some of the days get long with Daddy training so much it all makes it worth it when I see Joseph (and even Ella) learning and watching from his dedication, motivation and accomplishments. I can't imagine our kids having a better role model and father to look up to.  I love that we are teaching our kids about our healthy and active lifestyles at such a young age.  Joseph often asks to "play triathlon" and loves wearing Daddy's helmet, drinking his gatorade, trying on his bike shoes and riding his bike around the cul-de-sac with Daddy as he leaves for a ride.  

Here are a few pictures of Joseph "playing triathlon" early one morning:

He knows always to start with the swim

Then he pretends to take his wetsuit off, put on his pretend helmet and bike clips and to hop on the bike (which is hilarious to watch because although he is just running through the house he runs differently to differentiate between the bike and the run and it looks like he  has a towel or something stuck in between his legs .)  

And then he puts his running shoes on and is off for the run!

Coming towards the finish line!  

Here is Joseph's biggest fan and she even got a medal after this "race" and wore it around the house all morning!  

And, speaking of Daddy's accomplishments, on May 3rd he competed in the CB&I triathlon (sprint distance) here in The Woodlands and came in 2nd in his age group!!!  He had a great race finishing in 58:04 riding over 22 mph on the bike and running 5:54 minute miles (his swim pace was 1:47/100 m which I guess is pretty great, too, but since I am not a swimmer that doesn't mean much to me!)  When he told me his run times I did give him a huge "WOW" though-that impressed me!  Not bad for an almost 40 year old!  He's amazing!!  Oh, and I should definitely note that after the race he went on a 75 mile bike ride!  I am sure most of the other competitors in the race went home to nap but it was his long training day to ride so he had to fit in!!  He did take Sunday off at least :)  

We were there to see the start and it was a beautiful morning!

Giving us a pose before getting into the lake!

And, they're off!  When I told Joseph that the starting gun may be a little loud he looked at me and said, "Well, mom, no guns at school."  Yes, you're right Joseph!  

I didn't get any pictures of Daddy on the bike or the run but we were able to see him during each part and he even gave us high fives as he was finishing!  

Joseph and Ella were more intersted in the bridge and the lake towards the end! 

We hung out at Northshore Park for awhile after so that we could hear Daddy's name get called and that he could receive his award.  THey had live music that Ella was loving-she wasn't dancing but would just stand in front of the stage and stare!  

Here he is waiting for his award.  

A little more than 2 months left until the big race and we can't wait to see how well Daddy is going to do!!