june with the littles

During Kevin's week off, we had a pizza/pool party with the Richeys.  It was a treat to swim with Daddy, and Colby must have been sleepy because he was so dang cuddly!!  Kevin was in heaven.

Brooke loves Harvey (who is only a few months younger than her), but she REALLY loves Frost, who is a few months older than Colby. It was fun seeing these two interact and play "alligator" and "shark" in the pool.

Moments to remember from June: hanging in the hammock with Daddy...

Mailing all of Brookie's pacifiers "to the babies".  We had been talking about this for a few weeks, and Brooke was excited about the idea.  We were prepping her for the big day by explaining that there were a lot of babies who didn't have pacifiers.  They needed her pacifiers to go to sleep at night :)  So, we packaged up all of her pact's in a box with a note to the babies.  She helped me take it out to the mailbox, and a few hours later, we went out to see if it was gone (which it was).

The first night was a little rough, but not as bad as I was expecting.  She whined a little about needing her paci, but again, not as bad as I thought because she was really attached to those things.  We told her that maybe the babies would mail her something back as a way of saying thank you.  That was really what calmed her down that first night.  She started naming all the things that the babies might send her, like a Cherry Jam doll, a Cherry Jam microphone, Cherry Jam pajamas, and a Raspberry Torte doll (which I suggested since that's what I bought, haha!).

She slept all night without any issues, but when I went in her room the next morning, she said "Maybe the babies can just mail my pacis back to me."  Hahaha.  She's a smart girl.  I told her that we should go check the front porch.  And sure enough, she had a package waiting for her.  She was ecstatic. She asked for her paci once or twice over the next few days, but she was easily redirected.  This was SO much easier than I thought it would be.  I still don't regret allowing her to have them so long because I think they were super helpful for her (especially after Colby was born and she started having tantrums), but i'm also glad to be done with them.

Colby's thighs are delicious!  Such cute little rolls.

We were picking out fabric at Hobby Lobby, and I got a kick out of the fact that my little princess was over there checking out the princess fabrics.

We had Brooke's 3 year check-up, which was a bit rough, even though she didn't have to get any shots.  She just hates the doctor's office now! It makes me sad, but I guess that's what happens when you have too many negative experiences there.  We went to Kroger after the appointment, and she she was super happy about driving that green car.

This is how I found Brooke one morning.  She looked so big to me, so I wanted a picture to remember that moment.

Our good friend Rachel ordered this dress for Brooke, and she felt so fancy in it.  She also adores Miss Rachel, so she was especially excited to rock that dress to church where Rachel would see her.  It is a little on the short side, but I thought she looked pretty adorable.

Sunday picture with Daddy, in a 12-18 month onesie!  I planned on him wearing that this Fall, but I knew that he would outgrow it if he didn't start wearing it sooner.

We had a playdate with Brooke's new nursery friend Teagan.  She is a sweet little girl, and although Brooke had a rough time sharing at the beginning, these two had a fun few hours together. Teagan's mom and little sister Everly stayed as well, so I was able to get to know them better.

And nothing makes running errands better than ending with a little Cold Stone ice cream.  As you can tell by Brooke's rosy cheeks, it was HOT outside.  I hate that we get so sweaty and gross just out running errands, but that is the reality of a Texas summer.

By the end of June, potty training was in full swing.  Turns out that potty training may be the hardest thing I have done as a parent so far.  It was way harder than I thought, and was a MAJOR test of my patience.  I can look back now (two months later), and say that it was worth it, but at the time I really wanted to throw in the towel.  We used a LOT of rewards, prizes, and treats, but hey, whatever works, right??