I bought a Canon Rebel

I invested in one of the coolest cameras ever, and man, it was worth it.

The quality of my pictures have changed tremendously

and it is just in time to capture some of the

sweetest moments of the

summer.
My boys. My mom and LJ (who's almost swimming by himself).

Great Grandma Kurtz came to visit from Arizona

Enjoying the summer rays while eating dinner on the deck

Love you boys.

Aren't these pictures perfect??

Q and A

Where have we been?? We typically are found at a pool in the morning.... and the afternoon. We are going under the water, and almost swimming on our own. Today we attempted to dive several times. Who is this little boy?? He used to be such a chicken!! How have we been?? Knock on wood, but we've been healthy. Ray will have his 4 month check up in 2 weeks, although he'll be 20 weeks old and I'm pretty sure he's going to be more than 50th percentile this go round. Ray rolled over for the first time this week and he smiles at anyone and everyone. He's had a little tummy ache this week and so many people said this was the first time they've heard him cry. He's been a pretty amazing baby. It's crazy how much you learn after your first.

Work is going great for me. I'm still working 2 days a week and it's the perfect break with Grandmas and Grandpas watching the kiddos. We have 2 spectacular babysitters on the weekends, and Joey and I have been heading out about once/week.

What's new? Well, we're getting a fence this week, which is a must.It'll be the little brown 4 ft scalloped fence. Poor LJ loves the outside and poor Ray hates it. This way our Outdoorsman can bake in the sun while we watch :)

We've been so busy having a blast with weddings, but now we are able to do a little more grillin' and chillin'. The boys are really enjoying each other. We do hugs, kisses, pat pats, "hold Ray Ray's", and "baby paci" all day long.

It's a real treat to watch the world through their eyes. Every night before I go to bed I pray for the health of our sons. It's amazing how life can change in an instant. The minister who baptized me JC Hunter who runs Northland Church in Orlando and across the world has a granddaughter who was just diagnosed with malignant brian cancer with a 1% chance of survival. She is only 6. Please pray for them. Their blog is off of northlandchurch.net. Their family has meant a great deal to ours over the years- my mom watches their sermons every week on their website- it's pretty amazing stuff.

New tricks

I don't know what you call it,

but when our kids reach a new milestone,

they've learned a new "trick."

When I hang with my Mama girlfriends and they ask what the kids have been up, we usually go over our new "tricks."

Well, here they are. We can pound on Grandpa's piano with our cousin, Sloanie.

More importantly, we are learning to share.

We can sit in a Big Boy chair and eat cookies straight from the box.
You're caught!!!!


Baby Sydney is only 9 months old and is almost walking!!!!
Way to go Syd!

We are learning to share at such a young age.

Who said you shouldn't put two babies in a crib together???

Nice eyes Ray!

And we are spending nearly every day in the pool. We are going under and swimming to the edge with just our floaties and life vest. Our baby boy is turning into a fish!!!

Growing up too fast!

Can you believe this chunk is 15 weeks old???? Stinkin' adorable!
One day this guy is such a big boy, and the next day is trying to act like a "little baby."
I think he's outgrown the swing- what do you think?
See what I mean when I say growing up too fast!!!

Already sagging!

Or jammin' to "Pants on the ground, pants on the ground!"

A Tough Balance

I think I have figured out how to balance two little boys throughout the day. Luckily it's summer, and going outside is typically a cure all. What I'm having a hard time with is trying to balance the life of being a stay at home mom, an employee for 2 days a week, a wife, daughter, sister, friend, and bridesmaid. I only have a few friends that have kids, so if I do meet some girls out for a night out on the town they are at their peak at 1:30am. Me... that's my first potty break for my post 2 babies bladder.

How do I balance all of this??

So I've decided to have a few blogs that show my double life. During the day I'm waking up at 6:30am, working out by 7:30am, and I have 2 kids fed and I'm on the swingset or at the pool by 8:30am.

We have 8 weddings this summer. One of the weddings I'm in is one of besties, Brittany Whalen. I organized her 30 girl bachelorette party last weekend in Bloomington. What a fun weekend!! However, it's so hard to keep up... our day of jello shots, beer bongs, party boating, and lingerie party began at 10:30am and lasted till 2:30am. I was home and taking care of the boys by 10:30am, and that included an hour and a half drive.
So yes, I'm beat. But wedding season has just begun. I am supposed to be in St. Louis on June 11 for my pledge sister's wedding, but we have a very good family friend getting married here on June 12, which also happens to be my 26th birthday. So we've decided to stay here.

I had to get in pre-baby body form by May 14 for another wedding I was in, so fortunately I felt fairly comfortable in my bathing suit. I think the girls understand a little extra skin was going to be sittin' on this Mama.

So like I said, throughout the week the whole family has been working hard to keep the house clean and the laundry done. I think dusting the fans and windexing the windows will have to wait till the fall.

The few Sundays we do get together have been spent in the pool AFTER our work is done. We love love love the pool!!!!

I already have 3 pledgesisters engaged with a wedding date for next summer.

Tis the Season!

More May Pics

Tiffy and Chad with LJ on his bday My organic carrots from our Farm Fresh delivery- don't they look scrumptious?!

Grandpa Matis watching the kids

Jules and Ray

Sloanie

We've been busy, very busy.

Look what someone got for his 2nd birthday from Grandma and Grandpa Matis!!! Man to man talk with Uncle Mikey.

Celebrating with Nannie and Sloanie. LJ knows the birthday song now. He made us do it 3 times yesterday at his family party.


He also knows how to blow out the candles. Oh... did I mention he now says "excuse me" when he burps or toots, and he says "bless you" when Ray sneezes or coughs. Who's kid is this??

He's growing up on me. A few weeks ago I even signed him up for preschool next year. It's only one morning a week, but where has the time gone?

LJ's Godmother, Tiffy, was in town this weekend. We usually bombard their home within the first few hours she's here.

After LJ's 2 year check up, we went to buy a fish with Grandma Matis. We named her Goldie.

LJ hasn't gained a pound since his 12 month appointment weighing in at 31 lbs, but he's grown 5 inches at 35 1/2 inches. I think he's about 75th percentile for height, 90th percentile in weight, but still over 100th in head. Nice work.

And.... we're still giving love to baby Ray. He's 12 weeks old now. At Ray's 2 month check up, he weighed 13 lb 2 oz. He's 50th percentile for height and weight and only 25th for head. Who's kid is this??

I was in my good friend Leslie's wedding last weekend at the Indiana State Museum. The ceremony was on the canal and it was GORGEOUS!!!!!

Here are my high school girlfriends that were in the wedding. It was a great girls' weekend, and some much needed time away for me. BUT hopefully I don't have to spend this much time away for a little while. Man, I missed those boys.

Welp, I have a ton of pics on my camera, and we've been so busy. We have 8-10 weddings were trying to make it to this summer, we just planted a garden, and I'm back to work 20+ hours/week. We either have a bachelor/bachelorette party or a wedding every weekend from now till mid July. Meanwhile, on my days off I will be bugging people who have pools and teaching LJ to swim. Any takers?