First Beach Trip and More!

We have had such a blast over the past week that I had to get on here and update everyone! We were very fortunate last week to be able to take the boys to Edventure Children's Museum. My mom and I took my boys and A.J. for the morning, and it was so much fun! Kaden has been twice before, but each times gets better because there are always new things for him to discover, plus, he is getting older and becoming interested in different things at the museum. Noah slept most of the time we were there, so it was a great morning. Afterwards, we met Kimbo for lunch downtown and then went home where we all crashed from exhaustion! It was a fun day!

This past weekend, we loaded up the minivan (literally - it was crammed) and took a trip down to Dataw Island where my grandmother lives. Dataw is a really nice retirement island located not far from Beaufort, SC. It was a long drive, but we made it without any major meltdowns. Anyway, the reason we went down is because my grandmother has begun having a little reunion for some of the family members and we go down once a year to the island's marina to see everyone. There's a nice picnic area where all the adults relax, and there's a playground and TONS of fiddler crabs to keep the kinds entertained. We had a fantastic time visiting with that side of the family :)

We stayed in Beaufort overnight, and the next morning we met back up with my mom, Kimbo, and A.J. to go to Hunting Island Beach which is located not far from my grandmother's island. It's a really nice beach that isn't too crowded, and it was the perfect place to take Kaden and Noah since this was both of their first times visiting a beach! I wasn't sure how Kaden would like it because he is funny about new things lately, but he absolutely LOVED the ocean! He loved jumping the waves and having Patrick carry him out into the water, and he especially loved digging in the sand with all the sand toys we took with us. Noah and I spent most of the time relaxing under the umbrella, but I did christen Noah as a beach bum by dipping his little feet in the water... he liked it too! I'm so glad the beach trip went well because we are going to Folly Beach with my parents for a week in August and this was great practice!

Enjoy the pictures!

Kaden driving the Volkswagon Bug at Edventure

My sweet boy changing a tire - at least one of us can!

Kaden next to Big Eddie's shoe

Kaden checking out the ocean for the first time!

Digging up the beach... and tossing sand everywhere!

Fun in the sun!

Mommy and Noah relaxing under the umbrella

Adorable!

Family picture on the beach

Our summer so far...

Well, judging by the fact that it's been almost a month since my last update, I'm sure you can tell we've been wrapped up with other things! I'll start off by saying that my parents' anniversary party and Noah's baptism were huge successes. Everyone had a blast at the party, and I'm so glad it was such a special evening for my parents. Noah's baptism went very well too. He slept through almost the entire service and never made a peep when he got the water on his head. I was such the proud mama :) I'll include a few pictures from each of those events.

I took Noah for his four month checkup on the 19th. He is a chunky monkey weighing in at 14 lbs. 11 oz., and 24 inches long! We started him on cereal shortly after his doctor's visit, and he is doing well with it. He isn't too crazy about it, but he'll at least eat about half of what I fix him. I'm hoping to start him on some veggies next week, so wish us luck! Another big development with Noah is that he has started sleeping in his crib finally! I have had him in the bassinet right next to our bed since he was born, but, obviously, he has just gotten too big for it. He has slept in the crib for the past three nights and done a fantastic job. It makes me a little nervous not having him right next to me, but I guess I'll just have to get over that! He is such a happy baby and is perfectly content to sit in his new jumperoo just bouncing away. We absolutely adore him!

Kaden is doing well too! One exciting development with Kaden is that he just read his first book yesterday! It is a touch and feel book by Scholastic called How to Build a Snowman (yes, in the middle of summer). I was on the phone with my mom, and Kaden walked up holding the book and I guess when he figured that he would have to wait until I was off the phone, he just decided to read it himself! I am so excited for him. Hopefully I can catch some video of him next time he reads something. Also, we are beginning the potty training process with Kaden! We have started putting him on his potty every night while we run his bath, and most times he goes potty! I'm so excited for him and so happy that soon he will be out of diapers!

Patrick has been in Wound Care now for about a month, and he has adjusted really well. It sounds like he is picking up the necessary skills quickly, and he works with two great ladies who are always more than willing to help him out. It is so nice having him home on the weekends and getting to spend that time with him. As for me, I am now the proud owner of a minivan! I have been in denial for about a week, but I have really grown to love it. A few weeks ago on the way to Noah's checkup, the Jeep just gave out on me while I was driving on the interstate. My mom had to come pick us up, and it was just really scary. I decided then and there that I was not getting in that Jeep ever again! Patrick and I had been talking about upgrading to something bigger and a minivan just made the most sense. We bought a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, and it is really nice. I love having rear AC for the boys, and it just amazing how much space we have for groceries, shopping, the humongous double stroller, and anything else we take with us. Overall, I am very happy with it, even if it is a minivan!

Hopefully I will be able to update more regularly, but I make no promises! Take care and enjoy the pictures!

Our family following Noah's baptism.

Kaden in between tantrums :)

The 2 party girls!

Noah's first time trying cereal

All smiles (and wearing his golf outfit in honor of Grandaddy)!

Kaden's cool new trick!

You can't tell me he's not the most adorable baby ever!