After Dinner Dip!

With Mike in town we decided to head to the pool after dinner. Noah & Griffin had fun playing in the splash pool....while Miles was clearly 'over it' and immediately ready for deeper waters. He and Mike spent their time at the humongous water slides. It was Miles' first time on them and he couldn't get enough! (.....time to get that mother's helper before Miles' is forced to spend hours with me, Noah, and Griffin and all of the baby pools around Charlotte!)

Discovery Place!

We spent a few hours at Discovery Place today. We hadn't been in ages so it was fun to be back on our old stomping grounds. The boys found some favorite exhibits (the gravity chair and a ball table) and we also had fun with the new dinosaur exhibit. The boys loved building dinosaurs - while Griffin had more fun sitting in the block tub.

At one point the older boys hid from me inside an enormous wooden truck. I spent 3 minutes in a complete panic before Miles popped out and said with a huge smile, "we were just hiding from you, mommy!". Yikes! I just may be in the market for a mother's helper this summer!

Griffin's Baptism

Griffin was baptized on Sunday! It was such a special ceremony and it meant a lot to have my mom and Dana to celebrate with us. Chris Payne baptized Griffin - which was nice, since he also baptized Noah. Another great aspect of the service was that Mike and I exchanged wedding vows for the 4th time (the first part of the baptism is for the parents to recommit to each other...so we did it on our wedding day and again as we baptized each son). Rejoice!

Rock On, Griff!

Admit it, every parent does it at one time or another.....we take advantage of our little ones -- giving them Mohawks just to get a cheap laugh. This one cracked us up: Griffin's hair was perfectly primed as it was full of sunscreen. While he ate his peas, we shaped and molded -- and then just sat back and laughed.

I honestly hope that one of our boys has an alternative hairstyle someday (....I know, be careful what you wish for!).

Makin' the Most of Water Restrictions

Saturday is our one-and-only day to use water -- so we took advantage and filled up a little baby pool in the backyard. The boys had a blast sliding into the water....you would have thought we were at a water park. Looking forward to next Saturday already!

Summer Night with Fun Friends

We joined the Williams at their very cool pool on Friday night. Everyone enjoyed the water slide -- even Griffin! Noah asked Mike if he could "stay forever". Needless to say, the boys are looking forward to lots of playtime with Ella & Jack!

Mmmmm.....Tasty!

The boys are fascinated with the food chain these days. I'm constantly answering questions like, "what does a lion/frog/worm/etc... eat?" Tonight Miles and Noah were playing with two toy dragons. As expected, Noah said, "mommy, what do dragons eat?" Unsure of the 'correct' answer, I gave the boys a big smile and jokingly said "little boys!". Mike gasped and immediately predicted that we'd have two extra bodies in our bed tonight --- but Miles didn't skip a beat. He looked right at Noah and said, "boy do you look tasty!" Hilarious....

Tuckered Out!

While Mike was out of town I kept the boys running.....park, pool, playdates -- you name it, we did it. Two days in a row someone fell asleep mid-activity. Now....if I could only figure out what would get Miles to nap a little maybe I could hop onto that dusty treadmill!

Miles' Personalized Gifts

I asked Miles to help me make cards for his teachers as part of our end-of-year-thank-you gift. He ended up drawing a picture of each of them which I thought was really sweet. I've included a picture of them so that you can see the comparison. :)

Wrapping Up Preschool for Miles!

Its hard to believe that Miles' preschool days are coming to an end! I can still remember searching for daycare centers when I was pregnant with Miles and crying (with relief!) when we finally found Calvary. Where does the time go?

Miles' class had a little party on the church property today. The hit of the party (for the boys) was a Buzz Lightyear tent. They kept knocking it over and then putting back up. Glad to see my boys aren't the only ones that love to do that!

Ready for the Circus?

Our crazy Friday night consisted of playtime in the driveway. Miles' horn fell off of his bike and Griffin got a hold of it. I crack up every time I watch this....he has such intensity!

Don't You Smile!

What is it about kids and the "Don't you smile" tactic? Pop introduced this game to the boys and it always works!

Let's Celebrate Griffin!

Its official....Griffin is ONE! He's not yet walking, but he crawls everywhere (lots of up the stairs, down the stairs) and babbles a ton....not a tiny baby anymore!

A few highlights of the night: Griffin decided that Mike's famous baked beans are his new favorite. After dinner, all of the kids 'suited up' in costume (it always happens!) -- including Griff who wore a cute Squirt costume (Finding Nemo). He didn't know what to do with his cake and spent quite awhile just looking at it (another Brown that likes things clean?) --- but he eventually made a mess of things (another Brown that loves chocolate!). After cake, Aunt Dana took some of the big kids for a fun wagon ride.

Check back on Tuesday night for a link to all of the pix!

Miles' Special Card for Griffin

While Griffin and Noah napped, I asked Miles if he wanted to make a card for Griffin's birthday. He immediately grabbed the markers and got to work. It was a labor of love -- and will certainly be a keeper!

Nature Walk with Maclaren

The kids love to explore at Latta Park. They raced over the bridge, rested at the fireplace, and ultimately ended up at "the big rock". (3 seconds after the bridge picture was taken I turned back around to see Noah peeing off of the bridge. Good grief!) This last shot cracks me up...everyone doing their own thing....