Salt Dogs Game

part of the stadium where we sat

getting out of the sun and playing

camden saying "look at me mom!"

Eli and Carter

Cam and Dad
on our way out they just had to sit on the balls

"cheese"

please disregard our sweaty faces

We went to Chad's company picnic last night at the Salt Dogs game. We left baby Callan with Erin and Brian (thanks guys!) and took the other two out for a night in the blazing heat! It has been so hot here I was not very enthusiastic about going, but after about an hour or so we found some shade and enjoyed the game. The boys had a blast and we got to enjoy some time with our friends. They got to play at the little play area there and they really enjoyed that. We ended up spending some time away from the Interact seating because it was in the "home run" section which was also the "sun beating down on your face so you can't see what is going on" section. We didn't get home until after 10 last night so the boys went right to sleep and will probably take great naps today!

Camden's first movie

I didn't think I would be blogging about Camden's first movie quite yet but it just so happened that the movie Winnie the Pooh came out. Not only was it 63 minutes (the perfect time for a 2 1/2 year old) but Grandma Ellen offered to take them. So on Monday afternoon she picked them up and to the theater they went. Both Carter and Camden went and she said that Camden did great. He was pretty mesmerized by the whole experience and just sat and ate his popcorn. She said there weren't very many people in the theater so when he got excited and pointed out the balloon it wasn't a big deal. I did pack some popcorn and some skittles to keep him busy just in case. But he did great and he loved it!

The snacks!

ready for the movie

enjoying the popcorn

feelin' hot hot hot

lego time - and callan pulling himself up

giving callan his morning yogurt

the boys helped chad put in shelves in the garage on saturday. carter really enjoyed mimicking what chad was doing

little miss sunshine

mr. i don't need a nap

our new house helper doing the dishes

loving his avacado

wearing hats

It has been crazy hot here. That means we have been staying inside a lot more. We also hit up the pool once last weekend. He is what the boys have been up too.
Carter just finished his last summer camp and has enjoyed the last few days just staying home. He is getting excited about his birthday coming up and is always quick to point out or talk about all the things he wants for his birthday. He wants a kite like curious george and I think he wants a real live Clifford the bed red dog. Despite him trying our patience lately he has been in mother hen mode a lot. He has really taken a liking to helping with Callan. He loves to feed him and put his clothes in the hamper. He (and camden too) will also take the empty bottle and put in on the counter for us. He looks for Callan and lets me know if he thinks he is getting into something he shouldn't. The other day he was helping and encouraging him to crawl and pull himself up. Those two have a special bond. Here is something funny he said last week. As we were leaving for his camp he asked me what his teachers name was again. I said "mrs. Blank" (who by the way always brought her 6 month old little girl with her to camp) He then said, "we should ask Mr. Blank if we can trade Callan for the girl baby" I asked him if he would miss Callan and he said yes mom but you have to make a trade! Funny kid. He loves girl babies. One other thing that cracks me up is that he mistakes the word favorite for flavored. So he often asks for his flavored puppy.
Camden Parker is soaking in his terrible twos. I hear "no" come out of his mouth way more than I like. He is really trying to find his place in the family and what he can get away with. But he really enjoys the praise he gets when does something for himself or he figures something out. He enjoys playing games that test his knowledge and gets excited when he is right. He is still Carter's shadow. He will repeat anything that he says and does anything Carter does. He also instigates a lot more now. There is a decent amount of rough housing that starts with Cam.
Callan is changing every day. He is now pulling himself up. Mainly to his knees but he got to his feet twice. This means he practices his new skill instead of falling asleep for his naps. But after he cries because he is stuck we go in and lay him down and he will fall asleep. This also means that he has pulled himself up onto unstable objects that have toppled over on him or has frequently pinched his fingers in drawers. He is so fast and quick it is hard to keep him from hurting himself. He got a giant bruise on his forehead this weekend after he fell over. I imagine this will be a frequent occurrence at our house.

Last summer camp

Last week marked the last summer camp that Carter has. It was the "splish, splash" camp at his preschool. They did all things water. Including a pool, slip n slide and body paint. This was Carter's favorite camp. He really enjoyed his teacher and wanted to go back this week. Here are a few pictures of him at his camp.

in his class room

ready to head home with body paint still on his face

with his friend Eli
(i wasn't planning on getting camden in the picture, that is why it is off center)

10 months

the boys love taking turns feeding callan

callan loves it too!

wow! i can't believe that i am typing that. he is getting so big so fast. since he has become so mobile our lives have changed. lots more attention to what is on the floor and what he can get into. luckily carter helps out and will occasionally let us know if he is headed for trouble. our little man sleeps like a gem and eats like a champ. he sleeps 7 to 7 with a hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap. he is a very happy baby and loves his new mobility. we are working on crawling and he is pretty close but he reverts to the army crawl to get him where he needs to be. he is also starting to pull himself up on things which helps him get into even more things. i think i am going to give him a new nick name of tiny tornado. this kid can do major damage in a few seconds. it is amazing! he is still enjoying a wide variety of table foods and ate half of an avocado the other day. he likes to feed himself and make a mess. he has also started to do the crocodile death roll when you change his diaper. he is amazingly strong. i have to have something to distract him or he will flip himself over and crawl right off the table. crazy baby! he enjoys showing off his tricks of waving and clapping on a regular basis. he doesn't have anymore teeth than the bottom two. loves when his brothers entertain him and he even tries to get in on the wrestling matches. i cannot believe that in 2 months i will have a one year old. unreal.

Swimming Lessons

I have been meaning to take some video of Carter swimming for awhile now. I finally did it and made a little video. He has gotten a lot better this session and he is loving it more and more.




here is the link as well. the video gets cut off on my blog page.

Happy Birthday Nase!

Happy Birthday Nase

Our first baby turned 8 years old today! Even though the pugs take a back seat these days, I picked up a special treat for him for his birthday. Both of the pugs got a bone and fun dinner treat. Nase wishes he was still our only baby, but he gets along great. He loves the kids, and loves Tatze and overall has a pretty good life.

Block Party

slip n slide pool

ready for more

carson and camden figuring out life's problems, poolside

yummy bomb pops

firework chaos
the newest neighbor
chad lighting the snakes, while the little ones watch
end of the night watching all the fireworks

We ended our long fourth of July weekend by spending the evening with all our wonderful neighbors! If I haven't said before, we love our neighborhood. All of the neighbors surrounding us have kids about the same age as ours and we have a ton of fun in the evenings letting the kids play and the adults talk (and have a few drinks). Anyway we got a pool out for the kids, snacks, drinks, and some fireworks. It made for a great evening and another late night for the kids! We even got to meet the newest member of the neighborhood who was born about a week ago. Luckily Chad took today off so we could recoup. But we do plan on taking the kids swimming later today. (make sure and check out the five posts below this one. i was a busy blogger)

Carter's first movie

Outside the theater

ready for the movie to start

Since the movie Cars 2 came out, we decided we should take Carter to his first movie. So on the Fourth of July we took Callan and Camden to my parents house and Chad and I took him to the theater. We didn't tell him until it was just the three of us in the car so he wouldn't make Camden feel bad. He was so excited and so good! We talked to him about how you have to sit down and not talk during the movie and he did great! We got some popcorn, and I brought his water and some cheaper candy from home and he was in heaven. (especially since the popcorn and candy was his lunch) The movie was kind of long but Carter really liked it and has been talking about it since.

Party with the cousins

ornery kids

kara and sebastian feeding callan

fun on the swing set

messing around

popper time
carter lighting a parachute

jessi and todd

carrying the fireworks

found a roly poly

will, carter, camden, sebastian, grace, and xander

On the third of July we went to Brian and Erin's house for a BBQ and some fireworks. We ate some yummy food, let the kids play and then out front to light off some fireworks. The kids enjoyed doing the poppers and against my better judgement some sparklers. The kids were up late again but had a great time. The next morning they slept in until 8 I think. Unfortunately baby Callan did not get the memo that we were all going to sleep in. Since he went to bed at his normal time he was up at 7 or 7:30 every morning of this long weekend.

Randy and Judy's Cabin

Camden picking up the wet sand

enjoying the raft

little fish
(Xander and Will are at the ladder. Carter and Grace are swimming)

the perfect cannon ball by Xander

Carter jumping to Chad

On July 2nd we went out to South Bend Nebraska for our annual trip to Judy and Randy's cabin. This was the best year by far because the kids had an absolute blast. They swam for hours! Carter got the hang of his puddle jumper and go out and swim where he couldn't touch. Camden also enjoyed himself and played a lot with the toys and sand. Xander amazed me because that boy would swim over to the platform, climb up the ladder and jump, over and over. We even got Carter to jump off a few times. After we had to drag the kids out of the water they got to throw some poppers and watch the big fireworks show. It was a show again this year. There was some sprinkling rain during the show but it was still nice. I *love* this tradition of going up there and I think every year the kids love it more and more!