July

These summer evenings have been all about what can we do indoors which is why hide and seek is still our favorite game after dad gets home from work. It is so fun how much Everett and Nathan get into it. Everett loves hiding in the same spot every time. Nathan gets so excited when he finds Everett.
Just like last summer we are dealing with ants again. They especially love eating Nathan's leftovers on the floor and in his highchair. After trying a few different sprays we found something that so far has kept them away.
We have really slacked on going to the beach this summer. We made it one Saturday and it was perfect weather and the perfect day. Nathan took some time to cuddle on me while Stephen and Everett were playing in the water. There were two sea turtle nests which was really exciting. It was a much needed reset day. I love living by the beach during this season of our lives. The boys are little still and don't have busy schedules on the weekend which makes beach days totally doable.
Cow appreciation day is always so fun. We dressed up like cows and had free dinner at chick fil a. Then we left without letting Everett play in the play place which I did feel pretty awful about for about a minute. It was just to beautiful of an evening to not play outside. We took the boys to the park to play for about an hour. Stephen was off work that day which made it an extra special day.
We took a day trip to Wilmington. We walked along the river and had delicious shrimp and crab nachos at Gorges and a fruit bowl for the boys to share. Next we walked up the street a bit and got ice cream. Nathan was giving me the sweetest kisses in the ice cream shop. Watching the boys eat their ice cream was one of the highlights of the day for sure. Another favorite was watching Nathan walk the streets with dad. Everett's favorite thing from the day was walking past a random water fountain next to where we parked the car. I love asking him his favorite part of the day when we explore new places. He always surprises me with his answer. We stopped at a really fun park and ate at an amazing crepe shop before heading home.

Nathan: 16 Months

Nathan you give the absolute sweetest juicy kisses and loves.
You are such a sweet cuddle bug and you always smell so good.
You are such a climber. Always moving furniture around to climb up on things. You make me so much more nervous than Everett did at this age.
At church one Sunday you heard Everett from down the hallway getting drinks at the fountain with his primary class. As soon as you heard him before even seeing him you started running down the hallway for him.
Momma gave you her strept throat. We caught it right away but then you got a rash from the antibiotic. You were pretty miserable for about a week a half.
Our favorite family game lately has been hide and seek and you get so excited when you find Everett. You will give him the sweetest hug after you find him.
Your face is starting to thin out a bit and your baby features are turning into toddler features.
While I was at my ENT appointment you ran right into the glass door thinking you could get outside. It was both so sad and hilarious.
You love ice cream, popsicles, and graham crackers.
You had such a fun time playing at the beach.
You love sitting in chairs of any kind but especially little toddler chairs.
One of your favorite toys is Mr. potato heads glasses. You love tucking them under your neck.
I am loving this age of finally being able to give you a snack in the car if you are hungry. You like reading books in the car for a few minutes at a time but still try eating the corners of them.
I held you for an entire nap when you weren't feeling well. It don't ever get to rock you for naps so it was really special for me.
Any time I want to eat something and not share I have to hide it because you are always wanting food.

Monarch Butterfly

Raising monarch butterflies is at the top of my coolest things I've done list. They are incredible and fascinating and it was surprisingly very therapeutic for me.

Fourth of July

I am honestly so glad we didn’t have a lot planned for the fourth this year. We had a nice church breakfast at the park, then home for naps and resting. We had a pretty intense rain and thunder storm which was fun watching from inside the house. For dinner we tried highway 55 for the first time. We went to the same spot in little Washington to watch the fireworks as last year and had a really fun time. The boys loved running around and playing with their light up sticks. It was a really nice day even though I was sick with strept throat, had zero energy, and just wanted to stay in bed all day and rest, which I was able to do for part of the day. Next year we are planning to go to Washington DC to celebrate!