July 4th!

I grew up being at the lake on the 4th of July. Every year would would get in our boat at dusk and drive to the marina or close to it to see the fire works. I love that tradition and miss it dearly. So this year as I was thinking about what we could do for a 4th of July celebration I decided we should go to the pool. We loaded up the kids in the afternoon and all of our friends joined us at the pool. John was able to find some sparklers so the kids had a blast lighting those before we left.

Layla loved the water. As you can see she is very relaxed.

Zeb Sings Jesus Loves Me

Zeb was in a bad mood today and found himself singing with Kayleigh. After multiple attempts to finish singing "Jesus Loves Me" and a bribery of candy on our part, he finally landed the plane and finished the song in its entirety. Notice the reaction of both kids after Zeb pushes the "Quack" button for the first time.

Layla was a little tired when I put her in the Bumbo, but she had a few smiles left in her before she went to bed. She loves sitting up and not laying down. The theme with our children has turned out to be not liking to sleep during the day. So far, Zeb (in his 1st year) and Layla have had a difficult time sleeping during the day time hours.

Layla 4 Months

Layla is four months today and she is getting more interactive. She has started to scream or squeal in delight probably to be heard over her sister and brother. She is such a happy baby. She loves for people to talk to her. She is already rolling over! I am afraid she wants to be on the move to keep up with her siblings!

This picture was taken in mid-squeal!

Weekend Away

This past weekend John was away. As I was preparing myself to buckle down and take care of three kids all by myself I was trying to figure out what we would spend our time doing. I remembered that my mom and dad had given Zeb a bed tent for Christmas that we had not yet opened. I was hoping that they would spend hours playing in it to help occupy their time while their daddy was away. I was right! They loved it and did spend hours playing in it! I had a bed tent when I was little and loved playing and sleeping in it. Today is Father's day and although I don't have any pictures of them with John we had a great time making cards for him. I for one was thankful when he walked through our door a couple of hours earlier than I expected. That was a gift just for me!

Sisters

These two sisters adore each other. Kayleigh loves Layla. She is always begging to hold her and her new thing or idea is she wants to carry her around the house. I am pretty nervous while this carrying happens but Layla is very patient with Kayleigh and just grunts when she may squeeze her just a little too tight. Layla loves for Kayleigh to talk to her and smiles really big when she is around. I am so glad that Kayleigh loves Layla so much. It is such a blessing to see her delight in her sister.

Kayleigh's Pool Party

Weeks before Kayleigh's birthday she and I lay in my bed brainstorming what kind of party we should have for her birthday. In my mind I was trying to avoid hosting one million of her closest friends in my home since I am already barely making it with three kids. I thought about the things Kayleigh loved to do and swimming came to mind. So I asked her if she wanted a pool party and she said YES! The weather wasn't that great the morning of her party so we were thankful that the pool was heated. Kayleigh had such a good time that after the cake she wanted to get back in the pool and swim more and totally forgot about opening her presents. ( So did her mother since I am losing my mind these days!) We did remember to open her gifts thanks to some friends reminding us! We gave each child a pool noodle as party favors which was pretty exciting since items you can buy to play with in the pool are slim to none in this Asian city that we live. We had such a good time we may just do it again next year!

Some of our "crew" members. Zach, Michelle, Justin and Kate.

Zeb using Layla's pink towel. He had soaked his already and needed a dry one.

The swim caps were required by the way!

This past Friday, Kayleigh and Zeb went to Toys "R" Us to pick our a toy of their choosing for their birthdays, up to a certain monetary limit. Kayleigh of course chose a piano keyboard. Pink. Complete with microphone for performances. Zeb wanted to play with it so bad, he used his feet to get in on the action.

Happy Birthday Kayleigh!

Kayleigh, your five! I really can't believe that it has been five years since you came into this world. You are growing up so fast. You love to ask me questions about everything and are really interested to know why things are the way they are. You are a joy and a delight to be around. Your such a big help to me more than you will ever know. I love your excitement about life and your love for others. So happy 5th birthday my dear little one.

We started out our day with Kayleigh opening her presents. Then we spent the day with our dear friend Danielle and her new little one Harvey. We finished the day with dinner at Pizza Hut ( your mother was thrilled) and shopping at Toys "R" Us.

Kayleigh with her Fancy Nancy Tea Party game and Playdough noodle maker.

This pose is very Chinese!

Layla hanging out with "Uncle" Josh.

Zeb the Lion

Today Zeb put this lion mask on and walked around the house roaring at us. I couldn't stop laughing. I love these pictures especially since his hair seems to blend in with the mask. We have a little comedian on our hands!