Baby Hiccup

Today Christina and I took the kids over to swim with Jenny and her son Phillip. When Allison first met and played with Phillip, she thought his name was "Hiccup". She has ever since called him, "Baby Hiccup". This is the sweetest, most relaxed baby. A far cry from my two. Their pool had water sprays, and Aidan and Phillip loved sticking their faces in them.

I am also so pleased with Allison's swimming. She is such a fish. It seems as if in the last week she has suddenly improved by leaps and bounds. I'm sure her swim lessons are paying off, at least I hope those expensive little suckers are, but also we are at the pool swimming most days. Tyler and I love being in the water period, so I'm thrilled she is also nuts about it.

Aidan and Phillip playing

Looking for Trouble
This boy is crazy. It can only truly be appreciated in person.

Spinning with Christina

Allison has been really perfecting her cannonball!

Peek-a-boo with Phillip - He also would hug her repeatedly. So sweet!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

So far we are doing a great job at keeping up this "Kids Cook" Sunday deal. Last week we picked them up from Omie and Papa Fred, so we reheated leftovers from Friday night. The kids made popsicles for dessert. This popsicle maker is so great! We constantly have healthy popsicles in the freezer right now. Considering it's 100+ degrees outside, this is one super little item to own. I even went and bought more sticks due to the high demand.

Today Tyler had a super Father's Day. Allison gave him a gift that she made in preschool. It was a painted rock that said "Dad Rocks". ha! It's really cute. We had to keep it away from Aidan since we actually enjoy having windows. The kids also both gave him cards. We gave him some quiet time while Aidan napped. Allison and I headed to the pool. And, then this afternoon we played outside in the blow-up pool.

For dinner Tyler and the kids made homemade spaghetti. He then threw in this and that and made a delicious carbonara. It was a hit all around.

Getting ready to start making the pasta dough

Helping Daddy hold the spaghetti as it is cut

"It's so cool!"


Laying out the spaghetti

Dusting the spaghetti

Family Photo

We took this as part of a gift with the camera on a timer. It's not very often all four of us are in a picture together, so I figured it had better get posted!

Today's Allison-ism

This occurred as we were getting out of the car at HEB.

Mommy: "Allison, will you grab the HEB bags from the back?"

Allison: "Sure."

Mommy: "Do you mind carrying them in?"

Allison: "I'd love to. And yes, I'm just saying that."

All the Ladies (and a boy dressed like one)

This morning we went to Montgomery to visit our friends we really, really miss. Allison counted down the days until we were going to see Bella and Kenna. We had fun visiting, playing, and swimming. Aidan is sporting Kenna's floatie bodysuit from last summer. Doesn't he look beautiful? It was the perfect thing for him today. I am on a puddle-jumper mission, and so far no luck. They had such a great time! Thanks for having us over Tessmans!

Camp Omie and Papa Fred

Allison and Aidan spent last Tuesday - Sunday in Portland with Omie and Papa Fred. They did so many neat and fun things each day!

Texas State Aquarium

New splashpad at the aquarium

Children's Museum

Columbus Ships

Playing in the Backyard

The T-Heads

Boat Ride

The Boat Captain

They also went to the beach and to the community pool. I cannot believe how much was accomplished in six days! I know both of them had a very memorable week. Thanks a ton Omie and Papa Fred!

Dinner Helpers

Last night Allison brought us a recipe she printed off of the computer while playing on disney.com. It was for cornbread muffins. Tyler and I decided we would try to include the kids in the making of Sunday night dinners. Tonight they made those cornbread muffins, and they really are quite tasty!

Stirring the Dry Ingredients

Beating the Egg

Teamwork

Filling the Muffin Pan

Please excuse the fact that Aidan is in a pull-up and needs a haircut! That's happening tomorrow morning. It's Sunday, we're relaxed around here.

Anabelle

Meet Anabelle. She is Allison's dwarf hamster that has been part of the family for maybe four months now. Just like my children, this thing is crazy! We all crack up because she (really a 'he') loves to run on the wheel, get going as fast as possible, hang on for the ride, and then get flung off. She does it repeatedly. This might be completely normal hamster behavior, but it certainly makes us laugh. This was the best video I could catch. Yes, the entire cage is pink, of course.

Children's Museum

The kids and I went to the children's museum this afternoon. Allison has been begging to go for a few weeks, and today Daddy said he could leave work around 5:00 for us to pick him up afterwards. He has been working so much lately on his project, so we were thrilled.

Climbing up the Lily Pads

Scaling a Wall

Snowboarding

Grocery Shopping and Crab Attack

The Veterinarians

Keeping the Streets Safe

Artists at Work

The Diner

We spent a good amount of time here. They both loved prepping the food, putting it in the brick oven, and serving it to me at my diner table. It was adorable! Maybe these two will entertain us all one day in their restaurant.