South Haven, Michigan

We are excited to report that we found a new vacation spot close to home. The white sand beaches of Lake Michigan are just 2.5 hours from Adrian. We spent two days in South Haven and had a blast at the beach. The kids had a great time playing in the sand and swimming in the lake. Kaylee learned to dive into the waves, which were the highest I've ever seen them on the lake. We had a great time with lots of laughs. It was beautiful there!!!

By night, we were at a nearby campground. The kids had fun playing on the playground there, playing with other campers, flying their new kites, playing in the sand and eating Smore's. In hindsight it was a bit ambicious camping with an 18 month old. Trace is a great, easygoing, little guy but is very schedule driven and needs his naps. He had a tough time napping in the cabin despite the air conditioning. Thankfully, we rented a cabin instead of using our tent, which would have been even sportier. I had said I was up for the challenge of tent camping with Trace, but thankfully Trevor quickly talked me out of it! Our second night in South Haven, a huge storm came through complete with thunder and lightening. I am a sound sleeper and rarely wake up in storms. However, lightening struck something right behind our cabin causing me to be wide awake and pray veraciously that God would protect us in our little cabin. It was really scary for awhile. The kids somehow slept through the storm only to be awoken by the smoke detector going off around 4:00 AM alerting us that it was in need of a new battery! Needless-to-say, we didn't get much sleep that night.

In the morning, we were greeted by a tent which had been staked down across from our campsite. The storm had blown it past both of our cars without scratching them (miraculously) landing it between our cabin and our cars. Ironically, as strong as the winds had been during the night I found my soap bottle still balancing upon the water spicket I had placed it on the night before. I found that pretty amusing! All in all, we had a fun time on our trip, but I don't think either of us are wanting to camp anytime soon...

Trace is 18 Months Old

Trace is an active little guy and runs pretty much everywhere he goes. When he does walk his little belly sticks out and he often puts both of his arms behind his back. It is pretty funny to watch. We call it the Grandpa Bob walk because he does the same thing. Too funny! Trace really enjoys going to the park, playing in the sand, going down slides, swinging and climbing. Our little guy is very active and then crashes hard. Trace gave up his morning nap over the past couple of months. He now takes a 4 hour nap every afternoon and then sleeps for a little over 12 hours each night.

Trace is still obsessed with balls. He loves throwing balls, shooting baskets with balls, carrying balls around with him, just seeing balls, and saying "ball". Trace can say quite a few words including "nah" (knock), "uh" (up), "mi" (milk), "bah" (ball), "mum" (mom), "dah" (dad), "nana" (Kianna), "Kayee" (Kaylee), "dah" (dog), "pup" (cup), "NAH" (snack), "iwannaNAAAAAH" (I want a snack)-this one gets pretty loud, "bah" (BYE loudly while waving enthusiastically), and "nigh" (night night). When asked he knows that a doggy says "whoof whoof" and that a monkey says "ah ah". Trace has really begun to comprehend things the past couple of months. It is fun watching him get smarter. Whether it be telling him to put his toys away, throw something away, take a bath, go tell his sister's sorry, etc., the comprehension is there. Although given he is just 18 months old, he often chooses to run in the opposite direction...

Trace has developed a bit of separation anxiety the past couple of months and especially does not like it when I leave him in the nursery at church. Trace adores his sisters and wants to be and play with whatever they are playing with. The girls both enjoy playing with their little brother and adore him. Trace continues to struggle with pulling hair, especially his sisters and their dolls. He still likes sucking his thumb with a handful of hair in his fist. Yuck! We are also working on not hitting, spitting, and pushing. Silly Boys!

Trace learned to eat with a spoon and fork pretty well. He also enjoys drinking out of straws and regular cups, although the latter are still pretty messy. Trace loves to try on shoes. He can often be seen walking around our house wearing someone's shoes. He is always proud of getting them on and comes to show us his accomplishment. Trace really likes to dance and is starting to sing "twinkle twinkle little star" with me at night. He has a really sweet spirit and still smiles frequently. Trace learned how to blow kisses and really plant an open mouthed kiss on us. He likes to do the open mouthed ones over and over. He is a lover. He also gives great hugs. We love our little mister!

Visiting the Matterns

We took a trip to visit my friend, Heather's family in Nappanee, IN. As you might recall Heather passed away last November. It was good to see her little guys, Charlie and Brennan, and her husband, Dustin. It is tough being there without my dear friend. Here are some pictures from our time there.

We Finished!!!!

Remember the book we began last year "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"? Well I am happy to report that Kaylee has just completed the book and can officially read. She is super proud of herself and gets excited when she finds a sign or book she can read without help. We took a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate this milestone. We all had a great time. Way to go Kaylee!!!

4th of July Weekend

We had a great weekend spent celebrating our countries freedom with our family. My mom, John, Grandma Carie, sister, Bree; and niece, Aliyah all came to visit. They got here late Friday evening or early Saturday morning depending how you look at it. So after quick hugs and being showed to their beds we all hit the hay. Saturday morning was spent giving tours of The Center and school to Bree and my grandma, who hadn't been here yet. We then spent the afternoon lying by the pool. The weather was amazing this weekend. It was sunny and in the high 80's/low 90's making for ideal pool weather. Sunday was spent attending church, giving a quick tour of Adrian, taking naps, playing in the pool, eating BBQ ribs, and watching fireworks.

We found a beautiful place at a nearby lake to view the fireworks. Trevor opted to avoid the crowds and volunteered to stay home with Trace so he could go to bed at his usual time (7:30 PM). The rest of us had a great time watching the fireworks. It was a great weekend!

The Shannon's Visit

My sister, Stacie; my brother-in-law, Patrick; and my nephews, Matthew and Andrew stopped by our house on Friday afternoon and part of Saturday. We had a great time visiting with them and hearing about their vacation to NYC and MA. We gave them a tour of The Center and school and spent the evening enjoying our pool. The next morning, we headed to The Center's pool so the boys could check out the climbing walls. Proudly they both made it to the top, as did Stacie and Patrick. I was pretty impressed since I apparently have no upper body strength these days. It is an inverted wall, so it is pretty tough. I can only make it so that my arms and legs are on the wall and then I fall backwards. Kaylee and Aliyah (who arrived at 1:00 AM Saturday) both made it halfway up the wall. Kaylee was determined to go down the big slide for the first time. She did it repeatedly and was really proud of herself. This spring Kianna was afraid to put her face in the water. However, this last month she decided to try and it and loves it. She now can be found fully immersed in the water. We had a great time with The Shannons!

Shoe Fetish

Our little guy recently discovered the shoe bins. We now find him digging through his sisters and his shoes trying to cram them onto his feet. This keeps him entertained for a really long time, so I haven't discovered the practice. It seems the easiest pair for him to get on are Kianna's church shoes...