Happy 4th of July!

We had our first official pool party with having the entire Palmer family come over for the 4th of July! It couldn't have been a better day weather wise - just the right amount of heat and sun! We had a great time hanging out with everyone and enjoyed hosting Sam's first, and maybe only, July 4th celebration! Sam is a relative that came from Sweden to visit for several weeks this summer. We all loved meeting him and enjoyed his energy, enthusiasm and spirit! He will certainly be missed even though we've only known him for a short time...he's always welcome back!

Summer is here!

Well, we thought we knew what we would be doing this summer, and most of it stands true, but sadly both of our family vacations have been cancelled due to Matthew's pending surgery and astronomical plane ticket prices by the time we knew when we'd be available, plus not being able to fly 8 weeks out from due date...I am truly disappointed to not be able to travel and visit the family as I planned this summer, and even more so since I know it will be quite awhile before we are ready to travel as a family of 5 the long and pricey distances to see everyone. Thankfully, Grandpa and Nana are going to be able to take the boys with them to visit Iowa the week of Matthew's surgery. This was an answer to prayer, knowing that they'll have a blast and completely distracted while Daddy is in the hospital for a week and Mommy doesn't have to juggle home and hospital life. The Palmer family was ready to step up as they did last time, but we think this is a great idea. I will no doubt cry my eyes out the morning they leave (I get teary eyed just thinking/writing about, seriously!), but they will have a blast! With that said, we are spending our summer otherwise as planned...

Drew 'graduated' from PreK at the beginning of the month and did fabulous throughout the program. He was very enthusiastic during the songs and played his part well...there is a song they sing "God has a plan for us" and they individually stand up (in costume) and say "When I grow up, I want to be..." Drew's end to that was "a police. You're under arrest!" Very cute! He's enjoying his summer days at school with lots of free play and fun with his friends. He was able to attend our church VBS with some drop off/pick up juggling from Mom and Dad, but well worth it! He had a GREAT time and was surprisingly willing and un-clingy despite not knowing the kids in his group/crew super well. The following Sunday he was disappointed that we showed up to church and it wasn't VBS style!

Drew continues to love playing video games, especially when Daddy gets to play and help, so they can unlock more levels, people to play with, etc. He was very excited to have defeated/finished all the levels of the Lego Batman game this month! He is also becoming more and more interested in Legos and playing with all of those...the little ones now versus the Duplo blocks. And Superheroes are huge as well - it feels like a daily part of life right now! He is certainly picking up on Daddy's hobbies, likes/dislikes, making their relationship stronger and stronger - very sweet to watch!

We have finally remembered to start Drew's reading book this month and it's going great. Obviously they spend time working on that in school this year, but this book takes a different approach (that we seem to like better overall) and Drew is really responding! He's enjoying it for the most part and we are having fun making games out of spelling words and focusing on sounds. I hope we can stick with it through the summer! :)

The weather has been unseasonably cooler than normal (and by cool I mean 80s/low 90s, with more rain than normal), making for more opportunities to play around in the yard in the evenings, but making for a slightly disappointed Daddy as he is counting down the days until the pool water temperature is ALWAYS ready for a dip! The boys have certainly enjoyed their swim time in the evenings most nights now, while Mommy gets to casually sit on the side and relax, as the water is still a little too cool if you ask her...it's also much more relaxing to sit and watch rather than have to catch jumping boys and dive after toys, etc.! We had swim lessons for both boys (with a friend for each as well) at our house at the beginning of the month, which was fantastic! I think we both had our doubts as to how much they could learn in 5 30 minute sessions shared with another child of the same age, but we were more than impressed! Drew is now swimming almost all the time without floaties, which he was terrified of prior to the lessons. He is improving with diving down to the bottom of the pool to get dive toys and can swim the width of the pool by himself. Noah was hilarious to watch, as is usually the case, but he LOVED his lessons too! He always came up beaming, looking over to us for approval of how great he was doing! He loves to go under water and see other people as well as get some of the dive toys too! Also, no surprise, no fear about jumping in from the side of the pool or diving board and is a very enthusiastic swimmer when it comes to kicking and splashing his feet! They both have really improved on a daily basis with different swimming skills it seems this month and are just loving it!

We had a fun visit from Grandpa, Nana and Uncle Kevin for a weekend, which of course meant lots of silly playtime - wrestling, games, chase, new rocket toys and even a "chicken" type game with the boys on Grandpa and Uncle Kevin's shoulders! It also meant lots of to-do list items knocked off our list to get done before Matthew's surgery/Kate's arrival! LOVE when they come! Then Nana stayed for the week! Talk about a great week...they boys had a blast with her around and she was a huge help to Mommy and Daddy as well! We are lucky to have her and her willingness to do anything we ask! :) The boys had such fun with her and did get one whole day at home with her while both Mommy and Daddy went to work - a treat for all 3 of them! Grandpa came back up the next weekend for a day and then we were sad to see them go Saturday night, but so happy to have had them as long as we did! Looking forward to the next weekend visit for sure!

We had a nice time celebrating Father's Day this year as well...the day started with sleeping in and then donuts, so can't be that bad! The boys loved sharing their presents with Daddy, especially since it meant a toy they could play together - another Lego set! :) We surprised Daddy by showing up for part of his soccer game and then went home for swimming and dinner outside! A fun day all around!

 

We had a week of HORRIBLE sleep this month...nightmares, rare potty accidents, and lots of stirring/even arguing in the middle of the night made for a very tired Palmer family! I think we are all still recovering now 2 weeks later...crazy what a few nights in a row of interrupted sleep will do to you...thankfully we won't have much more of that...just kidding! - maybe they are just preparing/reminding us in their own way what it will be like to have an infant again!

Both boys did AMAZING at their dentist appointment this month! They actually went back into the treatment rooms together, without ME! The staff said they did amazing, both sat perfectly still, no anxiety, nothing! Noah sat and watched Drew and then when it was Noah's turn, Drew came back out and Noah stayed back there all by himself without issue! It was amazing! What a difference from our first visits!

We had a Saturday family fun day this month that just kind of happened, and so glad it did! A rare occasion where we felt we had the time to just play with the kids all day! We all went to go see Train Your Dragon 2 in the movie theater and Drew loved it. Noah still didn't really like the noise level of the previews (they are louder than the movie I think!) and he sat in Mommy's lap for quite awhile so I could cover his ears to dampen the sound. Then he got better and wanted his own seat, but by the end, he was ready to go up and down the stairs, etc., so he's still not completely ready for the theater, but it was nice to go together. We had ChickFilA for lunch, one of the boys favorites, mostly because then they got playground time! Nap time was good and then it was still pretty cloudy, so we decided to go to Putt Putt and Games. The boys had fun playing video games while waiting for pizza and then went to play Putt Putt, which turned more into a rolling game as Noah didn't have the patience to use a club and then Drew realized that would be easier too, so we just bounced around and let them play however...it was for their enjoyment any way! It warmed up some so we were able to swim before bed when we got home. So truly, a fun day all around! Glad to have had that time with the boys to focus on them and do some special things we don't often have time or energy for!

Noah has started to copy Drew in ways that are irritating to Drew these days. Noah has copied Drew from the time he was able really, but it's really starting to get to Drew lately. Noah will pick the same breakfast food, or want the same cup or whatever, and as soon as Noah does that, Drew throws a fit and changes his mind, and Noah follows right along and changes his too! Sigh! It's not always, but it's not uncommon these days either. While I feel like those instances are mostly harmless, there are times that Noah mimics/parrots Drew's words and then it's getting a little bit closer to purposeful irritation from Noah. So, that's been interesting, and not real sure that we can stop it, but rather hope it's a short phase for one or both of them to grow out of!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this previously, so if I have, I apologize for the redundancy...but Matthew in particular, but we all times, have nicknamed Noah "Rhino-Man"! He simply charges at things, mostly at us, at random and with full force quite often. He will even kind of stomp his feet rapidly while in place as if revving his engine and then charge full steam ahead. He can be quite brutal depending on what he hits with his head, but he's definitely not one to back down!

Noah also tends to be quite the instigator at bedtime. He is usually the last one to be talking and trying to delay sleep. We had to take the light switch extender off their room light because he would get out of bed and turn the light on and off. Now that's gone, every now and then he'll go and pull the night light out of the plug. He really is a handful! Drew sometimes plays off his energy and joins in, but since he almost never takes a nap now, he's usually ready to go to sleep pretty quickly, so he tries to ignore Noah most nights, but other nights just gets real irritated with Noah, which then of course requires some parental guidance. Anyway, all that to say, Noah can be quite the little trouble maker - I'm sure there's much more of that to come! And this may or may not be related, but his friends in his class are always so excited to see when Noah walks in the room. The teacher tells me no other child gets a welcome quite like Noah does! One day they all just screamed at the top of their lungs as soon as they saw Noah - it was a little overwhelming, and kind of a proud moment, as his Mom - he's a little almost 3 year old super star in their world! :) The teacher tells me there's just something about Noah that all the kids really love and that he is always making them all laugh when they are at the table or playing...very fun, and yet there's that small part of me that's not sure if this will turn into a good thing or not if it continues! I can just see him being a leader with a bit of trouble making in him being a dangerous combo! :)

Noah's favorite toys are super heroes and cars for the most part. He can role play with those for quite some time, but again, no surprise, there's lots of crashing or smashing...all boy for this kid for sure! He still likes trains and puzzles and is getting much better with his puzzle piecing skills. He is also showing more interest in bugs and such...he loves to find ants and 'feed' them, which usually involves placing rocks in their path! He gets a kick out of chasing after birdies, shouting "Birdie, birdie!" and gets so sad when they fly away because he just wanted to pet him!

So, that's the start of our summer, some more time in the pool and a week in the hospital to come...we'll see what else the next month brings!