Fourth of July

We had a great 4th of July. We spent Sunday night with our good friends the Hamilton's and another family the Daily's. Kathy took some great pictures of the kids as they played in their backyard. On Monday, we headed to McDonough to spend the day with Poppy, Tutu, Unca B, and Auntie M. Before we left the kids helped me make a special 4th of July dessert.

Russell playing with Poppy and Unca B's favorite hat.

After lunch we headed to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tony's for a nice swim. The kids love their cousin Abby and were so excited that she was there. Can you tell they all had fun. I think Abby could have fallen asleep right there.

Swim Meet w/ Poppy and Tutu

The picture says it all. This was taken when she saw that Poppy and Tutu had come to watch the meet. She was about to do the backstroke. She was so excited that they came to her meet.


The boys only went to 2 meets. It was so hot and hard for them because they wanted to jump in the pool too. Here R is with Tutu between K's events. They normally stayed home with our wonderful babysitter Ms. Kelsey.

Poppy and Tutu with the K after her events the backstroke and freestyle.

And every serious swimmer needs a snow cone after a tough meet!

Lego Land- CA

The Sunday after Aunt Jill and Uncle Mark's wedding we all headed to Legoland. Everyone had a great time and definitely a place I would not mind seeing again. They are suppose to build one in Florida, so maybe we will go back when R is a bit older. Brian and Uncle Chris took the older kids on a pirate ride. You may not be able to tell but they got pretty wet on this ride.



Here is the only picture of the crew minus Brian who was taking the picture.

The only ride that R was able to ride (no height requirement) was the little Lego train. He loved it!

We had such a good time that we stayed till the park closed. With 6 kids total we had a wonderful time. If there were any meltdowns I don't remember them! Grandpa Pete got to snuggle with R on the walk back to the car. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Pete we had a great time!

Jill and Mark's Wedding IV

We were hoping to get a really good family picture with the photographers but that never happened, so here is our unsuccessful try. We should have not waited to see about the photographers and taken it earlier in the day before people got tired. As you can tell R was not happy, I look weird, Brian is squinting even though we are indoors and the sun has gone down, JW is trying way too hard, and K looks beyond thrilled!



K and JW dancing with Grandma and Grandpa Pete

At some point R just gave up and fell asleep while Tutu was holding him. They left shortly after with our crew to put them to bed.

This is what Brian and I found when we got back! They were exhausted.

Jill and Mark's Wedding !!!

Well, Saturday was a busy day for everyone. The boys, my parents, and Brian had to be at the church a little after lunch. So there was not much time for hanging out on Saturday. All the kids did great during the hour long ceremony. Not sure what "tricks" Poppy and Tutu pulled but both JW and R made it through and I never heard them from the front of the church. K was with me and LOVED her roll as a flower girl.

Jill and Mark dancing



Daddy taking a break from dancing with his little girl

Aunt Jill and R

Uncle Don making a train with all the cousins

Jill and Mark's Wedding II

On Friday, I went off the Jill, Karen and Grandma Pete for manicures and lunch. Tutu stayed with Russell while he napped and Brian, Uncle Chris, and Grandpa Pete took the older kids to the beach. It was funny how cool the weather is out there. I always think the weather will be like Florida and it is not. The kids had a great time and were able to release some of their energy!

Some how we failed to get a group shot at the rehearsal dinner but here R is leaving early with Poppy to go back to the hotel.. Don't worry Brian was moving R's carseat while this picture was taken. Some people were staring at us for a minute till they saw Brian coming with the car seat. I am sure if we had just told them from Georgia they would just think - those crazy Southerner's!

Jill & Mark's Wedding I

For some reason the computer put this pictures out of order, but I am certain you can figure out the order they were suppose to be in. At the end of June we flew to California for Brian's little sister's wedding. To say this stressed me out would not even begin to scratch the surface. We took R last year on a 2 day road trip up to the lake and did not even think twice about it, but the thought of being trapped on a 4 hour flight with unpredictable children and complete strangers was a bit stressful. My crew handled it GREAT! My mom flew out with us on Thursday morning. My Dad flew out the next afternoon. After getting the rental car and checking in we all headed to the pool. Most of the Peterson's family and friends were all staying at the same hotel so we ordered pizzas by the pool and just had a nice time catching up.



K so excited to be with her cousins!

R slept the first part of our flight out there.

Taken after we had successfully landed in CA!

Long Time No Post & Miss Mallory

So I am attempting to update the blog and some post are not going to be in order b/c I need some more pics for some of the posts. But if I wait till I have time to get those pictures I may never catch up. So out of order some will have to be- this I am sure will only bother me!

In June one of my best and oldest friend Mallory came to spend a few days with us. We had a wonderful time catching up and playing with the kids. We even squeezed in some shopping just the two of us! We love when Miss Mallory and her puppy Abby come to stay and only wish we could see her more often. I am truly blessed not only to have such a great friend but one that loves my children as if they were her own.



O- and since this visit Miss Mallory got engaged!! We love Mr. Joel and can't wait to share in their special day in March!

Baby Can You Hear Me? R update

Yes he can!! We went back for R's post op appointment for tubes last week and were very pleased with the results. The tubes are still in and doing a great job of helping his ears to drain properly. They tested his hearing earlier this year and just as we suspected R had lost much of his hearing. When he was retested last week he is back in the normal range!!! His babbling is expanding and says something that sounds an awful like "Kackie"(this is what JW called K).

He is also doing great with PT. He is cruising and loves to walk behind push toys. No steps on his own yet but he is getting stronger everyday. We also saw the pediatric ortho. this week and all is well. He is still not real concerned with R's kyphosis (bowing of his lower spine) and is still on a watch and see plan. We will go back in 6 months and they will take x-rays and reevaluate. His hips look great and the dr. was overall very pleased with our little guy. When we go back for R's 15th month check up with our peds. we will then plan his next MRI. It will be a year in August so we are thinking that the next one will also fall sometime in August.

Everything is going well and we are staying very busy these days. Hope to catch up on all the BIG events that have been going on around here. But for now here are just some fun shots from a rather lazy summer day!

K's Practice Meet

K is on the neighborhood swim team. Last Thursday she had a practice meet and she really enjoyed it. She did the backstroke and freestyle. She was nervous but did great.

She took some breaks on the freestyle event! The hardest part was keeping JW out of the water. Should be an interesting season!

K's Pre-K end of the Year Party

The kids had a blast at their party. They played limbo, water balloon toss(that turned into a water balloon fight), and popsicles. These two peas in a pod had a great time. K is going to miss Mia so much next year!

The whole gang together one last time.

K was so sad to say goodbye to this sweet class and her two amazing teachers. We love you Ms. Valerie and Ms. Karen- thanks for a great year!