It's time...

This is our hallway. The most recent picture of Tate is when he was 6 months old.
I think it might be time to change out some of these.

I take A LOT of pictures, so I've found it kind of pointless to get professional pictures taken all the time when Tate is not the most cooperative when getting his picture taken. I just hate to spend all of that money when I fear the result may not be good.
So the last time he had professional pictures taken were his 1 year pictures. It was not a fun experience. We don't have any recent plans to get professional pictures taken again, but I have TONS of great pictures of Tate that I could fill those frames with. I guess I just am not ready to let go of the baby pictures!!!

Sean's Nightly Ritual

I sometimes can't even count how many of these Pop Ices he eats a night.
He's an addict.
And kind of a child.

Surrounded

We are surrounded by children's items. I never knew my house would look like this...

Tate's bed.
Could he have more blankets and stuffed animals?!?!

And the striped wallpaper is a subject in itself that I just can't even get into right now.
Remember...we live in a rental.
What the previous tenants were thinking when they decorated the kitchen is beyond me.
Yes, this is 1 of the walls in our kitchen.
Thank GOODNESS they didn't wallpaper the entire kitchen!
Anyway, the numbers are so fun for Tate...so we leave them up...in our kitchen.
Why not? A kitchen can be educational, right?!!

And why wouldn't we bring the whole "kiddie" theme into the bathroom?
Notice the not so adult looking shower curtain and the training potty (which never gets used!).

Moving into the living room.
This is Tate's area where all his toys are stashed behind one of the couches. The point of this was so that his toys could kind of be hidden and we could have some sense of "adultness" (I know that's not a word, but go with me here) without feeling like we were being swallowed by toys.

And as you can clearly see, that plan didn't quite work. The toys are not only behind the couch, but ALL over the living room...

And there's nothing like a sweet family picture covered up by your sons basketball hoop...in the middle of the living room.

In all honesty, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love that every where I look, I see Tate. Whether he's there or not.
I love being a Mommy and I love that if anyone walked into my house, they would immediately know that that is what I am.
I am Tate's Mommy and everything about me and my house shows it.
It is my greatest joy.
And even more...Sean happily lives this way also.
He doesn't complain about the numbers on the kitchen wall, he doesn't complain about the "kiddie" shower curtain or the toys all over the living room.
Some may say that it's because he's a kid himself (and it may partially be that)...but I know that it's because he feels the same way I do.
Being Tate's Daddy is his greatest joy and he would also do anything for Tate.
He was born to be a father and Tate is so blessed that he got him as his own!

Paparazzi

So I'm thinking I need a daughter. A daughter would let me take her picture, right?!?!!!
Seriously...this is what I get every time I try to take a picture of one of my boys. I have to catch them off guard or do some serious bribing to get a good picture. It's like I'm the paparazzi!

Tropical Sno

It's been years since I've had a Tropical Sno. I used to love them. I found out last night that I still do! Tate doesn't mind them either. :-) He especially liked it when it got liquidy and all of the ice that was left was melted into the sweet syrup and he could drink it. We all shared a Passion Fruit one and a Strawberries 'n Cream one.

MMMMMMM...

Great Grandchildren

My Grandpa Clodfelder turns 92 on Wednesday. Here he is on Saturday with 8 of his Great Grandchildren. Considering all of these kids are under the age of 7, I'd say we got a pretty good picture!

Batter

Brenda made brownies tonight...

So the boys got the batter.

They were H-A-P-P-Y!

I mean seriously...his smile makes me weak. Oh how I love you Bode!!!

Soapy Boy

Oh how I love this little man!

Lots of prayers going up tonight...

Can't get the tragedy in Parkersburg out of my mind. It's so hard to understand why these things happen. We have been lifting the community and all of those involved in this tragedy up in prayer tonight.

Playing Outside

But not for very long. It is just too hot and sticky out!
Tate was pouring sweat within about 30 seconds.

Typical Tate...dirty face and snotty nose.

And Sean and Tate created a new "bowling" game where you roll the ball between each other's legs. Look at the concentration on Sean's face. He takes every type of competition seriously.

And Tate running over to me to present me with a flower.

My boys' feet...and we can't forget Tate's Barbie bandaid. He loves it!

Quite the little Daddy...

Tate totally "fathers" his Manny dolls. He put his Manny down for a nap and said, "Mommy, Manny seepin!" I love how he made his Manny comfy with a pillow and soft blanket.

Blooming!!!

My basil!!!

Movie Night

We had a nice evening of hanging out, relaxing and watching a movie together. We ate pasta for supper and watched Ice Age before Tate went to bed. The evenings just don't last long enough. By the time I get home from work and supper is prepared, it's hard to feel like I've spent much quality time with Tate. It's tough, but when we are all together as a family, I cherish it! It was a really good night.

I can't believe it, but my basil has already sprouted!!! It only took 3 days for them to sprout! Hooray! The sprouts are extremely small, so no pictures yet, but when they grow a bit, I'll show you their progress. It's so exciting!

So on our front porch, during our big rain storm, I planted a couple more pots of herbs. I will probably have an over abundance of herbs when these all grow! I can't wait to make some homemade pesto with my basil and LOTS of homemade salsa with my cilantro!

On another note...it has been SCORCHING out! I am not so much a fan. In fact, it is out right miserable outside! And that's all I have to say about that.

Is it Friday yet?

We have another fun filled weekend planned for this upcoming weekend. It's only 9:15 Monday morning and a I'm already longing for Friday!

A Fun Father's Day

We went to Knutsons for the day today. It was so nice to spend time with them...it's been SO long! They are such great friends.

Fathers got in free to the Nevada pool today, so that's where we headed. It was so much fun and Tate had a blast swimming with his water wings (until BOTH of them tore!) and jumping off of the edge. And, like every time I'm the sun, I got fried! Ugh.

When we got back to the house, Tate combed Delaney's hair...

and then the kiddos relaxed and watched a movie.

Tate had fun playing with all the "girlie" toys. Notice the Barbie Bandaid on his leg. It replaced his regular bandaid...he requested the Barbie one over another regular one. Too funny.

And we can't forget Dirt Cake...MMMMMM dee-lish!!!
Tate is such a clean eater. Ha!

It was a terrific day and Tate played and swam so hard! He didn't get a nap either. He was dead asleep by the time we got on the interstate.

It was a great day!

What a blessing!

There is no way we will be able to properly thank Tate's birth father, Brandon for blessing us with Tate.

The love he has for Tate, and Tate for him is so evident. It pours out of him when they are together. Seeing Tate with Brandon is something! The bond they share runs deep and cannot be denied.

To say that seeing them together is one of the most special things I have ever witnessed would be an understatement.

Brandon, we hope you always know what an amazing person you are.
We hope that you will always know what a blessing you are to us and to Tate.

We love you and couldn't be more happy to call you family!!!

Happy Father's Day, Brandon!!!!!

Happy Father's Day, Sean!

Sometimes words just aren't enough.

I will try, I will keep it simple...

Sean is amazing!
I wouldn't want any other person to be Tate's Daddy.
Neither would Tate...he adores Sean with every ounce of his being.

Sean loves Tate more than words could describe...

He is proud of his son and Tate is so proud to call him Daddy!

Tate is happy as long as Daddy is nearby and is at his happiest just playing in the living room with Sean.

Sean is at his happiest when playing with Tate.

Tate learns so many things from Sean. And Sean loves to show him new things!

To see the love Sean and Tate have for one another is one of my greatest joys!

Sean takes his job as Tate's father more seriously than anything else!
Tate couldn't be more blessed!

We love you Daddy!
Sean, I could not have picked a better person to go through this journey of life with and wouldn't have anyone else in this world raising my children!

You were meant to be a father and there are no words that could adequately describe how amazing you are at this job!

Oh how we love summer!

And look at this little stinker looking at me out of the corner of his eye!
(click the image to enlarge it and you'll see what I mean)

"I Wimmin!"

Tate had so much fun in the pool while we finished our yard work.

Little Stinker thought it was especially hilarious when he decided to "clean" my dirty shoes.

Yes Tate, I see what you did. Great, just great.

At least they are Crocs so the fact that they were soaking wet really didn't matter.