Graduation

So my little boy graduated from preschool.

The same little boy that I prayed for (I really, really wanted a boy first- thank you Lord for blessing me with Brad and then two more!!).

The same little boy that I was so very excited to start in the same preschool I went to as a little girl.

Here is Brad on my last day of his regular preschool class (he is in a special reading program this month that is extra at the end of the year) looking at a book after snack.

It was my last day as helping mom with his regular class.

 

Here he is standing in front of his art projects after the graduation ceremony.

The boat and owl on the left are his teacher's, his are on the right. :)

He was so cute and proud smiling and waving to the people he knew in the crowd.

Before we left for church that day, David took a picture of the boys and I.

My three handsome guys!

This week Cor Cor started walking more!

 

The ceremony was cute- the little preschoolers walked up and down the isles so that everyone could see them. Then they each got their diplomas and a flower for their moms from the teacher and then they performed "Who Built The Ark," complete with hand motions. We had a nice snack time outside afterward.

It was a lovely afternoon and a nice close to Brad's three years in preschool.

Then in a couple weeks he will be done with the reading program and it will be time for Mommy to get ready for homeschooling.

I'm so grateful that Brad was able to experience the same preschool I did growing up, even the same teacher the first two years.

It was very special. :)

Lately

The summer seems to by flying by. 

Brad ended the three year old class of preschool the end of June.

A week or so later he had two weeks worth of VBS to attend. Now we have a quieter week, thankfully.

I can't believe my baby will be 5 months old on Thursday.

I keep think he is "4 months or so" and before I knew it, 5 months is almost here.

He is teething his first two teeth but they have yet to make an appearance.

At his 4 month checkup he was 17 pounds 7 ounces. 

He is doing more baby talking and is generally a good baby.

I love how his hair curls in the humidity.

Brad still rides his tricycle but this summer he has finally gotten the hang of his bicycle, with training wheels, of course.

He will put on his helmet and go for a ride up and down the driveway. I'm thankful for our longer, flat driveway; I have many fond memories of riding my bike up and down my driveway when I was a kid.

Bradley is a wonderful big brother to Corey. He loves to talk to him, sometimes getting a bit close to his face, but Corey really does like his company. :-)

Our Ty Baby loves dump trucks. We got him an extra large Tonka truck for his second birthday.

He has been content letting his brother play with it mostly while he uses the smaller one.

This "outside" dump truck is one I got at a garage sale, we have the nicer one indoors and then the extra large one now.

We have a vegetable garden this year and some flowers.

The poppy is from my grandmother's house, and the next picture is of Tyler smelling the lilac flowers that were past their prime. :-)

My little lilac tree finally bloomed this year!

I'm so thankful to be having a nice summer with my boys.

I really want the time go by slowly because in September Brad will be going to the four year old class at preschool, 3 days a week, and then Tyler will be in the two year old class, one day a week.

We will be busier, but a good busy.

This is my last year before Brad starts Kindergarten and I will be choosing a curriculum for homeschooling him.

So, it's our last year of "fun." :-)

I have my work cut out for me; I need to work on being a more consistent parent with disciplining. I'm always falling short of where I want to be as a parent but it's been a good reminder that I cannot do any of this without God's help. I need His grace every day.

Around the house, lately.

This is what life has looked like, lately, with three little boys in the house.

The big brothers inspect the little brother.

Brad was wearing a one piece bathing suit with flotation devices in it. It looks like a muscle outfit.

 

A little baby sleeping away in the bathroom while Mommy gets ready for the day.

 

Corey looking up at his Daddy while we were eating dinner.

A fussy Tyler taking a time-out from play to watch airplane videos with Daddy.

And also picking his nose. :)

The cause of the little boy's fussiness:

Teething his 2 year molars.

Visits from Great-Grandparents.

 

Book reading.....

......and coloring.

And lots of mischief-making and messy-room-making, of course. :)

And Baby Makes 5

It's been almost two weeks since this little guy made his appearance.

I have been thinking about all the cute things Brad and Tyler have been doing and saying and also, Corey's birth, and I definitely want to write more blog posts.

For now, here is a quick post and a picture of Corey before and after. :-)

Corey

9lbs 10oz 21"

Strawberry Picking

 I have such fond memories of picking strawberries from when I was a little girl.

The drive out to this farm is beautiful and the scenery there is just breathtaking.

 Bradley was excited to help.

This was his third year going strawberry picking.

 And Tyler's first year, obviously. :)

 The first year Bradley and I went, it was just him and I. That was special with just the two of us.

 The next year, when I was very pregnant with Tyler, my mom went with us. That was helpful for making sure Bradley didn't run through the strawberry field too far.

 This year I had the idea of driving to Daddy's work when he would be done, and then having him drive us to the farm.

 It was such a fun family outing and hopefully we can make this a tradition!

 Bradley likes eating the strawberries as he picks.

 I had to remind him about not picking green strawberries. :)

 At first Daddy held Tyler while he helped Brad look for berries.

 But then I told him that Tyler would probably do fine sitting in the straw.

And he did.

He was content looking through the leaves around him and he stayed in that same spot until we were almost done.

We had fun, Bradley and I got our strawberries, and we have a special family memory now.

We will definitely have to go with Daddy again next year, even though he doesn't eat strawberries. 

That's what happens when you are a little kid that eats WAY more than you should....you don't want to eat them ever again.

Maybe we should warn Bradley. :)

The thing about Spring...

 ...is that the weather can be very warm, like in these pictures.

Or quite cool and chilly, like it has been recently.

 I took these photos on a hot day and poor Tyler turned beet red outside.

Even in the shade.

 

 Brad enjoyed a few munchkins and some of Mommy's iced coffee. 

(I love donuts and coffee more than I should)

 Tyler likes to have what we have so he played with the straw for a while.

 We went inside because I wanted to see if Ty would nap.

It was nice to be out of the hot sun.

Brad decided he would put his pirate shirt on and pull it over his face.

He's a smart and funny little guy. :)

  

We all went back outside later when Daddy was home.

It was so beautiful out!

Tyler watched his brother be silly in the yard.

 Then when I tried to get pictures of Tyler and David, Brad got in the way. 

He thinks he's funny.

 And sometimes he just does it because he wants attention.

 

 Brad agreed to get in the picture and we got a nice "Daddy and sons" photo.

 

Brad likes to take pictures, too, so he put David's hat on me and took this photo.

Tyler liked the hat, as well. 

He liked chewing on it though.

Mommy had to take it away because Daddy's hat is dirty.

He sure did like it for teething though.

Enjoying The Weather!

 We are so grateful for the perfect walking weather we have been having.

Last night Brad fell asleep about half way through our walk.

We put him in bed when we got back and he slept all night!

 It was Ty's first time facing forward (I think his first time, he might have done it once before but I had him laying down) and he LOVED it!

He loved looking around, talking, and sometimes he would do a happy scream. :)

 He also liked chewing on the tray.

 Tonight the boys and I went on another walk, but before we did that and before we had dinner we made a family trip to the library and the park.

Ty had his first swing ride and enjoyed that.

And Brad was in his glory running around. He had been asking to go. :)

The boys and I had a crazy, long, and tiring day today, so it was nice to have some fun outdoors tonight. 

Thank you, Lord, for this weather!!