Summer Sports Fun

We've had a fun day with swimming lessons in the morning and an evening T-Ball game. Sam is doing fantastic in both "sports", but mostly just loves hanging out with all his new friends. I'm enjoying carpooling him all over and being a "Sports Mom". For a long time, I never thought these things would happen for Sam due to his health issues at birth. We were told he probably wouldn't be able to ever play sports, so it's so fun to watch him participate and excel! I don't know what the future holds, but I'm so proud of him for defying all the odds at this point. We don't plan to push him into anything, but just take it one year at a time. He is such a special little boy and I am loving watching him grow up (just wish there was a way to push "pause" and slow the whole process down!)

Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

This weekend was awesome, especially the weather! Brian got off work early on Friday, so we spent the afternoon hanging out in the backyard and on the deck...soaking up the sun and swimming in our pools (yeah, we upgraded to 2 pools this year...it's a life of luxury when you can afford not one, but two kiddie pools!)In the evening, Sam went with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ron to the GR Museum and saw a dinosaur exhibit. He loved it but got a little freaked out by the loud noises. He stayed overnight too, so Mommy was very excited to sleep in a bit on Saturday morning! (Especially after a late night out with friends watching the Red Wings game...darn that they lost!)Most of the day on Saturday was sort of gloomy, so we got a bunch of errands done and enjoyed naps in the afternoon. Today (Sunday) was again gorgeous, so after church, we enjoyed another afternoon on the deck. Then we grilled chicken and ate fresh strawberries and cantelope...yum! After that, we headed to Kollen's Park on the lake and walked the new boardwalk. Holy cow! It was a lot longer than we expected and we didn't even finish the whole thing because a certain 5 year old was "too tired". Ironically, he still had energy left to run around the playground. It was a gorgeous evening to be on the lake! To top it all off, we finished the weekend with a stop to Captain Sundae! Enjoy the pictures of our fun weekend!
Carter's 1st time in the pool and he LOVED it!

Got a put a sunhat on this fair skinned child...he's all Beckham!

Sam loves anything to do with water...he even put the sprinkler under his trampoline!

A life of luxury...chillin' and relaxin'

The infamous "Look"...I get this grumpy face when he's either mad or sick of me taking pictures!

Now this is the face I love! So darn cute!

The Murph Dog

Brothers

My boys

Cutest little buns

Three Men in a Tub!

This is as close as you'll get to seeing me in a bathing suit!

Sam feeding the ducks...all we had were Cheerios...that won't kill 'em, right?!

I love my family!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Sam had his first T-ball game this past Tuesday evening and it was a riot! Brian and I jokingly called it a "painfully entertaining" experience as it was hilarious and frustrating all at the same time to watch a bunch of clueless 5 year olds try to figure out the game of baseball. It was even more hilarious watching all the dads yelling, I mean encouraging :) their son to "pay attention!", or "throw the ball!" or "get ready!".(okay, so maybe Grandpa Ron was the loudest of them all!) All in all, Sam did pretty well, had a blast with his new buddies and...the best part of all for him...he got a snack at the end of the game! As I sat on the sidelines with the 9 members of the Sam Fan Club, we reminisced about my own softball career which lasted from age 5 until I was 22 years old. It made me wonder if this was just the first game of MANY MANY more games to come as a parent instead of a player. It was a strange feeling, but I couldn't have been more proud of my future superstar! Superstar Sam Playing Catcher (just like Uncle Alex!) Daddy helping to coach the infielders Coach Troy gets Sam ready for his 1st at bat Swing Batter Batter Swing! This is the HUGE helmet he chose to wear everytime at bat! It usually covered his eyes while he was trying to run from base to base! The Sam Fan Club Hi Mom! Brian and Sam in "ready position" Snack time!

10 months

Okay, so Carter is actually 10 1/2 months already! I'm a little behind on his monthly update, but not a ton has changed...he's still cute as a button and always happy. He fought off a nasty case of pink eye to start the month and currently has a cold, but nothing seems to keep him down for long. He wakes up happy and keeps us laughing throughout the day with his "man growls". Seriously...he growls, especially around other babies and he's quite the bully! This past weekend we went to Silver Lake with some friends who have a 9 month old that outweighs him by a good 6 pounds and Carter would growl at him and try to attack! It was pretty funny, but we really had to keep an eye on him. Daddy thinks this is a sign that he's going to be a football player. ?? Other than that, here's what's "new"... He's got 6 teeth total...2 news ones appeared this past week and really gave him some sleepless nights (of course this happened while we were at Silver Lake which meant mommy and daddy were up most of the night too!) He waves "bye-bye"! He's so proud of himself and does it pretty much on command when we say "bu-bye", "hi" or "da da". I think he associates "dada" and "bye bye" together because I always say "Wave bye bye to daddy". So cute. He also says "dada" all the time and I think he's starting to associate it with Brian, but it's hard to tell. And of course, the walking thing is old news to him now and he's getting brave and gaining speed. Mama is getting tired from chasing ANOTHER fearless child!

Annual Tradition

Outside our home we have a beautiful bush that blooms pink flowers every year for about a week or so in early June. Every year I take Sam's picture next to that bush...this year his new little brother got to join him!
2 months old
1 year old (can't find the pic of him in front of the pink bush, but this is close enough)
2 years old
3 years old
4 years old
5 years old
Brothers ( 5 years and 10 1/2 months)