Happy 4th of July

We had a fun Independence Day today. Well, most of it was getting our house ready to have some friends and family over, but the evening was at least fun! We're so very grateful for all that we have in this wondrous land. Carson, Jensen and I also had the privilege of walking around the corner to our neighbors house to watch fireworks this year. (Dustin stayed home with the sleeping baby.)Yeah, this was the best I could get out of them. Who can blame them, right? Why turn around and smile for mom when there are fireworks going on behind you!I had my phone with me, so I put on a little MOTAB during the show. Love their version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The third verse always gets me.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.
As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.

My, oh My!

Besides his messy face and funny expression, do you see anything else that is special about this baby?Look at that mouth.

Down there in the bottom.

Can you see 4 of them?

If only you could see the top.

You would find 6 more.

Yes. 6.

That includes his 2 new molars!!!!!!!! (Which typically don't even show up until after their first birthday. Mason is determined to stay ahead of the curve with his teeth. :))

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Well, the good is that Carson finally lost his second top tooth this morning. It has been dangling in the front of his mouth for a couple of days now. Now he's got a real hole! (And that's his tooth in the plastic bag.)I'm going to have to be responsible for the bad and ugly today. Yesterday I found out that I have shingles. They are on the left side of my face, on my forehead and in my left eye. Yes, they are very painful. I'm praying that none of the boys get this or chicken pox from me. Because the infection is in my eye, it's going to take longer than normal to heal. Good thing I like being at home, because I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks here. Besides being contagious and not feeling great, I'm afraid to go out in public. #1, I can't wear makeup and #2, I look like this: Scary, I know.

Happy Father's Day (for Grandpas Too)

So not all these pictures are super recent, but they all have the right people in them. Happy Father's day to our dads. And may each of these fine little men pictured with them grow up to be wonderful fathers too.

First Hair Cut and Some More Teeth

I went and took Mason's 9 month pictures last week and even though his hair was getting long, I wanted one more photo shoot with his cute baby hair. But it needed to be done. The sweaty head, plus his desire to rub food into it were our driving forces. And since Carson needed a trim something fierce, today was the day.Here are his before photos. Such a sweet little guy.
And here are the afters. Ahhh! My baby looks so big now!I'm hoping this will keep the little guy a bit more cool in this unbelievable heat. Plus, he still looks cute. Bald, but cute. :)

And now for the teeth. Carson woke up Sunday morning with this big hole in his mouth. Apparently he lost it in his sleep. I'm just glad he didn't loose it. That's 3 lost teeth for him now.And wouldn't you know, Mason got another tooth on Sunday. (It's funny how he and Carson have been on this loosing/ gaining teeth schedule together.) This is Mason's 8th. And he's been super fussy all day today, which makes me wonder if there's another one coming through in that little mouth. At this rate, he'll be able to eat steak at his first birthday!

First time Swimmers

So, I realize I live in a place where you might be able to use a pool 90% of the year, and yet, my children, now ages 5 (nearly 6) and 3, cannot swim. And it's not that they can't do a proper back stroke or a swan dive, or even doggy paddle. They cannot even keep themselves afloat, let alone "swim." And it's not like we never go to the pool. We're at the pool at least once a week during the summer. Part of the problem is that I usually have a baby to hold, so I can't exactly give a swimming lesson while making sure the infant doesn't drown. The other problem is that it's always just me at the pool, since my hubby doesn't like going to the pool. And perhaps my kids just aren't naturally inclined, like I've noticed in some of our friends children. But we're on the right path. We FINALLY signed them up for swimming lessons. (I know, there's something wrong with us as parents.) Today was their first day.

They were very excited to be taking lessons with their friend, Lusia. How cute are they all sitting together?Carson was very nervous about today. He is the one who still cries when you get his face wet in the bathtub. He really tried hard, though. The best was watching him try to "jump" into the pool. He pretty much would crouch down by the edge and hold onto his teachers hands and then kinda scoot himself into the water. I'm sure the instructors thought he was crazy, but this is not my first experience trying to get him to jump into the pool. I've seen this MANY a time! We'll have to work on this skill.
Jensen did pretty well. He's much less concerned about getting his face wet than Carson is. His main problem was wanting to come and hang out with me during the lesson. He's been going through this "Mama's Boy" phase lately. Speaking of Mama's Boys, here's one of my favorites! :) Mason loves to make this face. Especially when someone is trying to take his picture! And he's super good at the pool. We just have to make sure he's wearing a hat, since his partially bald head tends to burn easily. (And no, that is not my super tan hand holding him. That's our friend, Jake, who was nice enough to hold him for me this morning.)

No nap, No problem

To the little boy who told me he didn't want to take a nap today:Sweet Dreams.