Carnival Party...

The boys had their carnival party this past weekend and I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Jenn take some awesome pictures of all the details. Yes, they took me and a few friends much longer then we should have spent on a 3 and 5 year old birthday party, but we had a blast doing it. I am going to post more pictures of the party but for now here are the pics that Jenn took of all the details! Thanks Jenn for once again taking such awesome pictures for me....we love you guys!

Ms. Lynn (Jenn's mom) and I worked together placing the dumdums around the carousel and then Tommy and Jt carefully placed the skewers into the carousel and then into the cake. It was funny watching them do this. I think they knew if they messed it up I would probably kill them. Here we are carefully replacing a few candy's that fell off.

The final product!

Writing "Tickets" on the booth

Tommy worked hard putting this together..it came out adorable!

This was a team effort that Shelly, Brittany and I spent the entire morning doing....but they sure were tasty!

The kids loved the games and especially the snow cones!

What a difference a year makes...

Tyler started fall ball a few weeks ago and I can't even explain to you the difference from last year and this year. Last year Tyler was extremely shy and intimidated and this year he is confident and outgoing. Last year I remember saying to Tyler, "Tyler you have to run after the ball and get it you can't just watch it roll by you." Tyler's response was, "Mom don't worry all my friends go get it I don't need to!" And that's exactly what he did...he would stand there the entire game and watch the ball go by while the others piled on top of each other trying to get it! I am proud to say that this year he is running after the ball and is usually the shortstop or first baseman. And last year when he would get up to bat he would stand there for what seemed like 10 minutes looking back at his coach before he would finally swing the bat. This year he walks up to the plate with such confidence like he has been doing it for years! We are really looking forward to watching him play this year and I know that he is just as excited to be out there playing!

Tommy and Tyler working on hitting together.

Tyler's #1 Fan




Tyler's first game is on Saturday which Tommy and I will miss, but Mema and Papa are going to take him. I am leaving Mema in charge of pictures so hopefully she will get a few!

Backyard Camp Night...

The boys are practicing for our big camping trip that we are planning on taking as soon as the weather cools down a little bit. Tommy got our tent and camping supplies today, so we decided what a better way to practice then a trial run in our backyard! Tyler and Dylan were busy little bees this afternoon helping their daddy get set up for their first night sleeping in the tent. Once the tent was set up the camping fun began. They ate pizza outside, swung in the hammock, read books in the tent, played with their flashlights, searched for frogs, and couldn't wait until it was time to tell stories in the dark! Since Tommy has gotten home they have been all about daddy so it wasn't a shocker when I realized that I was uninvited to the sleep over. They told me it was boys only...I have been getting that a lot lately! I thought that Tommy was going to have a hard time getting them to sleep, but when I went to check on them I couldn't believe that they had already fallen asleep. Looks like they are ready for our big trip because they were great little campers tonight!

The boys playing in the tent.

Tyler enjoying chips and a book and Dylan playing with the sleeping bag.

Best Buddies!

Heading into the tent for bedtime.

One more book before lights out.

Sweet dreams.

Beach Day...

The sun finally decided to come out today and we weren't going to miss out on a beautiful beach day! We packed up headed to dunkin donuts for our usual beach day necessity: two ice coffees light and sweet and 25 munchkins and then we were off to the beach. The beach was beautiful! We had such a great time! After two hours of fun, a sunburned daddy, and two worn out children we headed home. The boys just love the beach and I don't just mean my little boys. Check them out...

Nothing like watching your husband ride a spiderman boogie board with a bright yellow mask on....Now that's HOT!

My sister-in-law and kiddos joined us for the fun!

Look Who's Three...

Wow, another year has flown by and our little Dylan is 3! I can't believe it! We packed in a lot of fun stuff today. We started the morning off with his choice of mickey mouse pancakes for breakfast, which he thinks are the coolest things ever. Then we headed over to my brothers house so Dylan could open his presents. He was so excited to get the red power ranger that he has been wanting for the last month. After that we decided to take a family bike ride up to the park. We didn't stay for very long because it was extremely hot. Once we got home the boys jumped in the pool while I whipped up some cupcakes. My family came over about 1/2 later and everyone enjoyed watching Dylan open presents and of course eating cupcakes! Dylan especially loved his new puppy dog to add to his collection, the fire engine that shoots water and the baseball guys playset. Which by the way is a really neat toy! Then we topped off the evening playing on the water slide at my brother's house. Dylan had a great day and I think he loved picking out all the fun activities for his special day. We kept today low key with just family because the boys are having a joint carnival party on the 20th. We have lots of fun games and activities planned. So, brace yourselves because there will be much more birthday stuff to come this month!

Tyler was so excited to give Dylan the presents he picked out for him.

His favorite new puppy!

Yummy cupcake time!

Precious Birthday Boy!

Precious...

Yes, that is what these two are! They have the sweetest friendship. Although today I had some explaining to do to Tyler about his precious Riley. Mema offered to take the two little grandchildren for the evening so we could go to dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and my niece Riley. We figured the evening would be a lot more enjoyable minus the two little ones trying to run around the restaurant. So, in order to make this work we had to make the big kids think they were doing something special so they wouldn't be sad that they weren't going to Mema's house. We called them over and told them they were going on a special dinner and to keep it a secret. They were so excited and surprisingly were able to keep their secret from the little ones. As I am about to get ready Tyler walks in my room and says,"Mom you aren't going, Riley and I are going on a date by ourselves!" A what....a date! I am thinking are you kidding me and where did he come up with this? Is this what he has been thinking this whole time? Then it dawned on me that they have been obsessed with the Three Musketeers movie in which Mickey Mouse falls in love with Minnie and takes her on a special date. Then I start thinking about how he has recently been calling Riley "his honey" and it all started coming together. That's when our little talk began:

Tyler: Mom, your not going its just me and Riley going on a date!
Mom: A what?
Tyler: A date you know you go dancing and have dinner and then go dancing again!
Mom: Well, Tyler this is just going to be a nice dinner with all of us!
Tyler: But I love Riley and I am going to marry her!
Mom: I know you love Riley, but she is family and you can't marry her!
Tyler: Huh, I can't marrrry her and she can't be my date (with the I'm about to cry face)!
Mom: Your not old enough for marriage and dates...that's a long way a way.
Tyler: But I want to be like Mickey and she is my Minnie!
Mom: Well, this can be a pretend date(trying not to crush him) so you can treat her like a little lady, hold the door open for her and still hold her hand!
Tyler: But I really wanted to marry her!
Mom: I know but one day when your much much older I'm sure Riley will have a really nice friend you can take on a date!
Tyler: Ok, but can I still go get her a flower from out back?
Mom: You sure can!

My heart just melted. He truly loves his Riley! He wasn't very happy about not being able to take her dancing, but hopefully he's not crushed too bad. I'm not sure if he grasps the whole family thing because I think he still wants to marry "his Riley". They were so sweet and walked into the restaurant holding hands. We all had a great dinner and a really fun night! Hopefully, that will be the end of our dating conversations for a very long time because I was definitely not prepared for that today!


Tyler and Riley I can't wait for you both to read this one day. You two have the sweetest friendship and I am so thankful that you have the opportunity to grow up together. You have played together since you were babies and it is so amazing to watch your friendship grow and mature. Riley, I love you as if you were my own! You are such a beautiful, sweet and special little girl! I hope you both cherish your friendship and remain close throughout the rest of your lives!

Ten on Tuesday...

Before Dylan turns 3 on Saturday these are the 10 things that stick out in my mind that I absolutely love about him!

1. I just love his big brown eyes and beautiful long eye lashes. I will have to admit I always wanted a blue eyed baby, mainly because mine are brown and I was always a little envious that my brothers got the pretty blue and hazel eyes. I mean the girl is suppose to get the blue eyes right? That's what I thought growing up anyways! But when I had Tyler I fell in love with his eyes and only hoped that Dylan would inherit the same beautiful eyes. Thankfully he did and I wouldn't change those big brown eyes for anything in the world. I absolutely love their eyes! It's probably one of my favorite traits on both of them. Dylan can melt my heart in an instant with them and he certainly knows how to use them to his advantage. He will look at me when he is in trouble and I swear he starts to blink faster to make his eyes light up. It probably gets him out of trouble way more then it should but I just love my brown eyed boy!

2. I love the way Dylan runs! The boy runs everywhere! It doesn't matter if he is going from his bedroom to the kitchen he is running full speed. It's been this way since he started walking at 9 months. The walking only lasted a few weeks before he was already up to a full sprint! He gets those little arms pumping and that butt moving side to side and the serious face comes on and he is off! Let me tell you the he can move...I think he definitely inherited some speed from his daddy. Although when he is in the house he is pretty scary because he is usually just inches away from running into the wall. Oh, and of course his baseball hat is usually on and I swear he can't see where he is going because its way too big and you can barely see his eyes. But maybe we have the next 2028 Olympic Gold medalist in the 400 meter dash on our hands...who knows!

3. I love his happiness! Dylan is the little bright light that is always shining in our home. He always has a smile on his face no matter what he is doing. His happiness is contagious...I can be in the worst mood but somehow that little silly giggle and bright smile can turn my whole day around. Since Dylan was a baby he has always been this way. He is very laid back and nothing seems to really bother him...except trying to get him to poop on the potty. He loves whatever his day brings!

4. The way he talks with that sweet little voice. I love it when I am in the other room and I will hear out of nowhere...everythings fine mama or nothings wrong just fixing my castle. It's like he is having a little conversation with me even though we are in different rooms. I love it when he will curl up in my lap and say mama can "I please, please, pretty please have a snack" with his sweet and quiet this works everytime voice. His response is even sweeter when he says "now that's what I'm talking about"! I love it when those certain words come out that he still hasn't mastered. And I even love the mad serious growl he gives Tyler first followed by the Tyyyylllller errrrrrr I'm mad at you scream!

5. I love it when he sings. My favorite is of course his favorite which is "Take me out to the ball game". It is just adorable and he usually messes it up, which makes it even cuter. Today he ran inside to get his friends popsicles and suddenly stuck his head out the door and just started singing for everyone. And the other night while he was saying his prayers before dinner it went like this: thank you God as dinner time begins for my family and my Jesus loves me this I know for the bible....you know the rest. That was his sweet little prayer that ended in a song! His new thing is to make up little songs with his guitar. He will walk around the house jamming out with his guitar singing songs that make absolutely no sense.

6. I love the way he gets dressed. I have had to re-arrange Dylan's drawers to make sure all his baseball shirts are on top...at all times. Otherwise I will find every shirt that Dylan owns on the floor because of the frantic search he went on for that one specific baseball shirt. These days he is obsessed with his jerseys. The way he puts his clothes on is what gets me. It doesn't matter to him which way they go front or back and same for shorts. So 90% of the time he is running out of the house with both his shirt and pants on backwards. This is completely opposite from my little perfectionist Tyler. I don't think Tyler has ever walked out of the house with the tag in the front....that is a big no no! Dylan for right now has no desire to even turn his shirt around. As long as it has a baseball on it somewhere front or back he is good to go!

7. I love the way Dylan looks at his daddy. He just loves him to death. He gives him the same response every time he sees him whether its been 1 hour or 2 weeks. He runs up to him so excited he is almost about to cry and jumps into his arms saying, "daddddddy"! I love how close they are and the special bond that the three of them share. I just look at all the special times they have already shared and how many more they have to come! God has truly blessed these boys with an amazing daddy!

8. The way he plays. He has such a great imagination. He will play for hours coming up with all sorts of new things. And best of all he is always so willing to share any of his toys with his friends. He is always so thoughtful by handing his friends certain toys that he thinks they would like to play with. Today while they were playing baseball Dylan ran into the garage and got a soft baseball for his cousin because he knows he is to little to play with the hard balls. It's those kind of little gestures that Dylan does on a daily basis that are so small, but make me so proud!

9. I love the way he swims. You would think he might have gills! It really is amazing that he can swim to the bottom of the deep end and grab a dive toy. I could just watch him swim for hours. He amazes me with how he can swim in the deep end, tread water, jump onto his water skate board and try to surf on his boogie board.

10. I love the way he holds my hand! The way he always grabs my hand when we walk across the street or on our way to drop Tyler off at class. It's something he has always done. I usually never have to ask him to hold my hand because he is always grabbing mine before I get the chance. Even though they are normally sticky or filthy this is one thing I never look forward to him growing out of!