We took a visit to Bass Pro Shops to get out of the house and heat, and we had a fun morning of pretend boat adventures, riding ATVs, dance parties in tents, and watching the fishies in the aquariums. Nolan was in awe of the scuba diver swimming inside the tank, and was disappointed when he had to get out because he "wanted to watch him forever." Later, he saw a huge stingray that took his mind off of it.
We went out to dinner to Lucille's with Jason's dad and Acelyn was all about putting the straw in and out of her cup. Girlfriend had some major focus and did this for over 15 minutes straight!
I found her cuddling her bunny one night, which had me taking a billion pictures because she never sleeps with her stuffed animals, and looked way too adorable doing so.
Acelyn showed off her stubbornness (nah = no!), but then decided she would show off her skills on what body parts she knows! (and she actually does know her belly button... I'm not sure what she was searching for down there!)
She was being craaaaazy running around like a maniac and opening and closing doors (a new favorite)!
We grabbed dinner at Chick-fil-A and Acelyn got down on her first Chick-fil-A ice cream cone, while Nolan downed his own yumminess!
The next morning called for a Donut Date at Krispy Kreme, where the kids got messy on some hot, fresh glazed and sprinkle donuts.
That night, we finally took a night sans kids and enjoyed dinner at Oyshi with our friends to celebrate Jason's birthday, followed by fruity and yummy drinks at The Golden Tiki. Brock was our chauffeur for the night in their new minivan, whoop whoop, so of course we needed a selfie to start the night off! Dinner was SO good and is always a favorite for Jason and I, but towards the end, something in my stomach did not sit right, so unfortunately I had to take it easy for the rest of the night. We still managed to have the best time with all of our friends, and getting out without the kiddos was a welcome break to enjoy warm food and conversation for once! The Golden Tiki had the craziest drinks, and this one that Jess, Courtney and I split was SO good and SO sweet... I wish I could have drank more! Later in the night, we made our way over to Parkway Tavern, where I schooled Brock in some hoops (which he then redeemed himself in Round 2), we played some pool (and managed to get yelled at for spilling on the felt.... whoops!), and hung out in a crowd of kids that made us feel really old... but it was still such a fun night! Love getting to hang with all of our besties!
Acelyn decided to play "Boo!" with the tupperware bin, and looked like a little piggy with her nose smushed against the plastic.
Later that morning, we met up with some of my college girls at the Westin for a cabana and pool day. The kids swam and swam and swam, where Nolan had races with Jeremy and Acelyn only wanted to jump off the edge over and over again. Afterwards, we picnic'd and Acelyn hoarded french fries, then let the babes play and read books together while we all chatted. I love that more of my friends are entering into Mommyhood, but I also love that my girls with no kiddos yet make the best Aunties!
We read Peek a Boo Jungle, and Acelyn was really into the snake sounds!
I've been having heart palpitations recently, and decided I needed to go to urgent care on a morning they were really bad. They hooked me up to an EKG and sure enough, I was throwing PVCs. They monitored me for an hour and nothing was consistent, even though I was randomly throwing them my entire stay there. I got set up with a cardiologist referral and am waiting for that appointment currently... so hopefully we can get some answers soon, as I'm still experiencing them weeks later! Hoping it's nothing too serious, and can be an easy fix or can be blamed on stress or something... so we shall see!
The kiddos received their Why and Whale monthly surprise pack that we unboxed and got excited over all of our goodies!
We had another Thursday at Dancing with Miss Jenny, where we played with streamers, practiced the balance beam, and Acelyn's favorite, scooping balls with strainers!
Acelyn took her mismatched PJs outside to enjoy the sprinkles one morning after breakfast.
She got all dressed up with nowhere (but Target) to go, and we ran the aisles, happy as always to be in our favorite store.
And she looked way too adorable sporting her piggies during playtime.
Nolan asked me to take a picture of his Lego "car wash" that he built!
We took advantage of the cooler weather one morning and headed to the park, where we played on the playground and took a walk around the entire park. O'Callahan is a park we don't frequent often, and I always forget how much I enjoy all the grass and trees until we are there (especially when it's newly mowed! Heaven.) The kids ran all their energy out and played for a solid 20 minutes around the bridge and up and down the hills. It was a morning well spent!
Acelyn showed off her farm animal sound skills, minus pig. We're working on that one!
Nolan had to get some blood drawn for allergy testing (and passed, so all is fine!) and he was SO brave while getting it done... he didn't even cry! I couldn't believe it and was so proud of my big boy. To celebrate, we got a haircut and stopped in to Panera for a special big boy off to PreK / brave boy lunch!
We started a My Gym membership towards a class for Acelyn while Nolan is in PreK during the week, so we attended a free trial class and see if we would like it. Turns out we loved it, and even though the trial class was for Nolan and we didn't have time in our schedule to sign him up for his own, he still gets to participate during the Open Gym Play once a week which is great!
During the free trial class, I was super impressed with Nolan's separation (no tears!) and how he followed directions extremely well. Summer preschool helped tremendously with Nolan's separation anxiety and I can totally tell he's going to be a little teacher's pet, because he's constantly at the instructors side and always wanting to help. They were able to participate in some gymnastics exercises and even rode a zip-line, which the boys loved! Acelyn and Shaw entertained themselves with toys and each other, while their brothers got some quality "big boy" play in.
Acelyn has learned the "Shake a Leg" book that we used to read with Nolan, and she's got all the moves down for each page. I finally got it on video even though she's been doing it for a month or so now! I love that this book is something her and her brother both love(d) at this age!
We were invited to a first birthday party of one of my Mom's friend's grandson, and they went all out with a petting zoo and pony rides, which the kids were so excited about! Acelyn could NOT get enough of the ducks and was quacking at them as she chased them around. She wanted to hug them so bad, but they weren't having it. Nolan favored the goats and thought it was the coolest thing to feed them grass! In the front, the kids weren't too sure about the pony up close, and Nolan was a little timid to ride the pony around. Once I convinced him to at least try, he loooooved it, and asked to go on over and over again. Acelyn, on the other hand, preferred watching the pony from afar, and wasn't too fond of her walk around the street. They had the best time hanging with the animals, thanks for the invite Mrs. O'Brien, and Happy Birthday Logan!
Later that afternoon, we went to the My Gym Open House to officially sign up and the kids had a blast with all the activities they had. Acelyn shared some jumps with Shaw, Nolan loved the ball pit and the zip line again, and both of them had a blast chasing bubbles. They both conquered the obstacle course and Acelyn was in the zone, going on repeat and doing it over and over again. We had a great time and can't wait to start our regular classes each week!
Right after My Gym, we met up with the Luks and the Harpers for dinner at Pizza Rock. The kids did their own thing and entertained each other well for the whole dinner, and then we brought the (raging) party back to our house for Smores and playing late outside!
We had orientation for Nolan's first year of Preschool, so Jason took the morning off to watch Acelyn so I could take him. While the parents got all the details and info, the kiddos separated to play independently and make a fun surprise craft that they came out to show us in the end! They received their bags and Nolan was SO excited to start this school year! He's come a long way from his separation anxiety and I was amazed at how well he did since the orientation was a lot to take in with lots of kids and parents combined.
On Thursday, Nolan had a quick one-hour intro class of PreK where we separated, and he did AMAZING and had zero problems or tears! I was super proud of him and am so glad that summer school prepped him for an easy transition to a big milestone in his life! While he was enjoying his first hour, Acelyn and I did some quick shopping with some cute pictures in between!
When we came home from PreK pickup, the kids played in the backyard for a bit and Acelyn decided to explore and wander the entire time.
The final weekend of the month was a busy one, starting with a playdate with our local June and January Mama group at an indoor playground across town. The kids had a bllllaaaassstt and we spent a few hours here with our friends! If Acelyn wasn't following her brother around, she was hanging with her bestie Perry! Nolan was all over the place from the ball pit, to the slides, to the train table and the roller coaster tracks, while Acelyn kept it mellow sticking to the smaller playsets and avoiding the ball pit like, NO WAY. We attempted a huge group picture of all the kiddos in their J&J, and I'd say it was a win when most of the kids are staying still and looking at the camera! We really enjoy getting together with this group and try to make it happen monthly!
We got together with everyone for the Mayweather v. McGregor fight at the Luks' house, where we chowed down on pizza and snacks while the kiddos ran wild and had a blast together. Acelyn and Perry decided to raid the cabinets together before racing back and forth about a million times over! Becks asked for a picture with Acelyn, and I died watching these two take pictures together. SO cute! The big bros decided to photobomb and made for some even more cute pics.
These two bonded by sharing snacks and cheers'ing over and over with their waters.... and I can definitely see them recreating this photo in 17 years... sans water.... (ha!)
Huddy asked for selfies, and Scarlett snuggled Acelyn, and then decided to be the best little babysitter and play with the girls by playing with them and singing songs which they definitely enjoyed!
The next day, we headed over to Aaron and Althea's house to (finally) visit their new place and spend the morning at their community lagoon! Nolan was obsessed with the beach/sand, while Acelyn wanted absolutely nothing to do with it and opted for the beach chairs, instead. Anytime the sand landed on her, she immediately went to picking it out of her toes and would scream if I sat her in it. She enjoyed spending time in the water much more, and we had a great morning swimming and catching up with our friends.
Nolan helped fill out his chalkboard, adding that his favorite color is Green, his favorite book is Dogs by Sandra Boynton, and he wants to be a teacher when he grows up (he specifically said, "I want to be Miss Suzanne and Miss Shirley!" who are he teachers this school year). Nolan looks like one of the tallest in his class, and his favorite part of the day during school is free play where he plays with cars with the "other boys in class", and snack time, too. We can't wait to see how much he grows by going twice a week this year!
While Nolan started Preschool, we started Acelyn's class at My Gym, where she loves independent play, but isn't a fan of circle time or following directions (stubborn). Acelyn takes a loooooong time to warm up to strangers, so any type of activity that involves the instructor leading is not her favorite, but that's exactly why we're in the class- exposure! I'm hopeful that with regular interaction, Acelyn will eventually warm up to her teachers and willingly want to try each activity. Overall though, she loves doing her own thing on each different piece of equipment, and her favorite this day was the stacking rings activity and jumping on the trampoline!
When we got home, the kids got down on some lollipops, where Acelyn tried to "lick" hers.
At school, Nolan made a chalkboard for his first project and worked on a matching worksheet, coloring and drawing lines.
She passed out for nap time and looked so big and so sweet.
On the last day of the month, we headed for an early morning Target trip while Nolan was in preschool, and Acelyn got down to some Trolls music and toys!
Nolan came home with a painted Alligator for his first letter of the week: A!
...Until next month!
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