Splash Pad!

Yesterday we headed out to the splash pad and there were fun times to be had!  It was easier with Christian there for sure, but definitely something I think I'd like to take the boys back to again.  Maybe just with a friend along so I'm not completely solo incase something happens.  The boys had a blast!  And there were glimpses of them playing together and not just fighting...continued hope for the future!

"Momma, it's too bright!"

Micah is hilarious in this sequence.  He wanted to go but couldn't keep his eyes open.  Reid doesn't even shut his eyes and just blinks through the water.  Such a difference between the two boys!

Sweet baby girl.

Right before Micah hit the ring because he was running through with his eyes closed, lol.

Tag, you're it!

Take two: and eyes are still closed on one and open on the other!

What a fun way to spend an afternoon - much needed with all the chaos/changes going on in our lives!

9th Anniversary

My mom has been up this week - which has been a huge blessing!  More on that later, but I did want to get our anniversary picture up, as we were able to go out to eat without the boys to celebrate 9 amazing years together!

Our annual anniversary picture:)  I love this man!

We headed out to Cooper's Hawk and enjoyed a fantastic dinner.  Gemma came along with, as we just didn't know her feeding schedule.  Turns out we could have left her, almost, as she was silent until dessert showed up on the table.  It was such a great time out with Christian really getting to enjoy a moment with each other in the crazy that is our life.  And being only 2 weeks post baby, our life is quite crazy right now :)   But I wouldn't trade it for anything - and I love that Christian is my partner for life...the highs and the lows, we're in it together and I couldn't have a better person to do life with than him!

The sweet princess who was able to join our celebration out!  

Daddy and son time!

Thankfully Christian was able to take the entire week off, plus the 3 days we were in the hospital, making 8 days he was home and off of work.  I would NOT have survived if he hadn't taken the time off, and I'm very grateful he did!  The boys are grateful too, as they were able to do some fun outings with Daddy, even on a hot and rainy week.

Monday: Park Visit #1

Tuesday: Park Visit #2

Wednesday: Arboretum time!  We ended up purchasing a year membership with this visit, thinking it would be a good place to be able to take the kiddos to whenever we wanted without paying the ridiculously high day fee!

The storm that moved in within 1.5 hours of Christian being there.  It was a pretty raining week last week!!

Thursday: Trip to the doctor (as an entire family - our first official outing, just the 5 of us) to get my 17 staples removed and then lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  I don't have pictures of this day, but it was a successful outing :)

Friday: BlackBerry Farm Outing!  We have not been to BlackBerry Farm, and they offer "free" days to Illinois residents periodically throughout the summer.  While those days tend to get quite crowded, this day started out as an exception due to the suspect weather.  Christian and the boys took the chance that the storm wouldn't come through, and it paid off.  They were able to ride the train right away with no wait, compared to a 25 minute wait the second time they went on about 1.5 hours later.  The boys loved their time at BlackBerry Farm and we will definitely be going back a couple more times this summer!

Poor Micah woke up with a swollen left side, from his ear to his chin.  You can tell a little in this picture (the right side in the picture) and we ended up taking him to the doctor later that day.

Waiting for the train - holding hands!  Be still my heart :)

Train ride!

Smiling's hard to do when you're in pain...

Reid being a silly goober.  He loves making faces with the camera!

Train ride #2 with Reid selfies :)

Micah had to go to the doctor later that day due to a swollen lymph node on his left side.  His entire face was swollen (you can tell in some of the pictures from Blackberry Farm) and they were passing time in Walgreens waiting for the medicine to be ready.  Enter Spiderman!  It appears he had an infection in his lymph node, but thankfully today (Sunday) the swelling is much better and he's not in near as much pain as he was Friday and Saturday.

My mom is coming up this week, and Micah has VBS all week, so the combination should make this week manageable as well.  Next week will begin the real test of me managing all 3 kids by myself, including two days in which Christian will be out of town.  That when the fun really begins :)  Stay tuned!