Catch up post...

So I have tons and tons of pictures of fun things we have been doing over the past week. You may want to scroll through fast because I know I got a bit carried away :)

The kids and I had a blast celebrating Handley's 4th birthday at a really fun gym! I didn't get any pictures of them jumping in the foam pit, trampolines, or bounce houses and I should have. I guess I was too busy chasing them around. Happy Birthday Handley, we love you!



Another, oops, I forgot my camera at Cooper and Tre's 2nd birthday party. We all enjoyed a fun day at the pool and both kiddos were jumping off the diving board. Melissa also made the CUTEST beachy cupcakes I have ever seen. I am so disappointed I forgot the picture taker!


Father's Day cookout was at our house. I didn't get a picture of Trevor. He was manning the grill. We all had a great day celebrating the special men in our lives!










Avery dressing up and putting on a little show. I had to include this because her outfits continue to crack me up!





Mommy and Avery date! We went to a jewelery show at Auntie Tally's and got to see our Aunt Steph from Florida. Wish we could have seen Uncle Todd but we were crazy busy and they were doing some land shopping!



Dylan is obviously still teething :)


The kiddos cook us our Sunday morning breakfast. They love to cook! Since, I can't get this blogger to put my words in the correct place tonight I am just giving up on captions and will explain the other pictures here. Avery got Dylan all set up for his nap binkie and all. He doesn't even like binkies but sucked on it just because she asked him to. He will do anything for her, it is so sweet how much he adores her! Then, we have a picture of the campers. This week the girls are off to camp together. The first day was iffy and now they are loving it. Finally, we had two date night pics of the railroad and then the rain that set in. I thought they were kind of neat and wanted to include them. Have a great night and I promise to figure out what is going on with the blogger and picture uploader.

Thank the Lord!

Friday morning we woke up early and headed to the cardiologist. I was able to put off thinking about this dr's visit because of our very busy week. However, upon walking into the office I sobered up. My immediate thought was how blessed Trevor and I are to have two healthy, happy children. I talked with all of the patients in the waiting room and was so glad to have the opportunity to do so, but I was overwhelmed and very emotional. I could not possibly put myself in the other patients place, it was just too much to bear. We waited a while, and then got to have our appointment. Dylan had his blood pressure taken in his leg and arm. He was hooked up to some kind of monitor for a few minutes and then we saw the doctor. The doctor was great, he answered all kinds of questions from Trevor and I and told us Dylan was healthy. To rule out all "what if's" he did a EKG. With the help of a lollipop it went better than anticipated. Dylan was a champ and heart murmur and all he is healthy and strong. Thank you God! It is times like these that I just about fall apart. I love my husband, and these children are certainly are everything!




Sorry for the wrong way pics, I wasn't able to change them!

The 4 Year Old Check Up

So she passed the hearing and vision screening, got a good read on her blood pressure, and was basically a delight during her doctors visit. Except for her shot, that did not go over well at all. In fact, it still bothered her a week after the appt. Her height and weight fell into the 50-75% tile. She answered all the doctors questions exceptionally well! For example, when asked her favorite food she replied, "pears" when asked what other foods she eats she said, "broccoli and cauliflower." She made us proud even if she exaggerated a bit :)

Tonight's big news is that on the first night of summer Avery caught her first firefly! She is over the moon excited. That means that at 9:45 she is still awake but very happy! We caught a grand total of four and kept them in a glass cup. A few minutes ago she let them all go and wished them a good night. Something tells me she will be begging for more nights like this. It was really fun, and I can't help but think about when Dylan can join us!

Running down our hill with the firefly in her hand, so excited!








She still loves to get dressed up and set up for an imaginary party. We have these just about every single day! She is even making me get dressed up now!

Our Boy

Last week we had the big weigh in...
Dylan was 23 lbs 8 oz and 31 1/2 inches tall
That puts him right in the 10-25% tile. Let's hope he can break out and hit the 50% mark at his 2 year check up. He checked out great. However, the doctor heard a heart murmur and we are set with a cardiologist appointment this Friday. So, if you have a minute we would appreciate any prayers for our baby!

I still think of him as a baby but everyday I realize that he is growing so fast. He continues to use more and more words and will even put two or three together. He is still the sweetest most cuddly baby I have ever seen. But... he is also a little mischievous and can cause a bit of trouble sometimes. He loves his sister! Over the last week he has become obsessed with trains. He sleeps with his blue Thomas and green Percy. They are not the least bit cuddly but they sure make him happy. He also will veer from his preference of watching Boots on TV and watch the train videos. Everyday he makes us smile. He is so picky when it comes to eating and loves to have a cold sippy cup but we love him all the same! Love you Dylan!!! XOXO

Hacking on a rib! Mommy's favorite food!


Freshly bathed and dressed for bed!


Being silly after 3.5 hours on the airplane!

The Big Getaway

For the first time in roughly 24 months Trevor and I were able to enjoy a night alone together. We have been very fortunate to have dinners and date nights but never an overnight. This weekend was fantastic! We started off Saturday with a fun birthday party then dropped the kiddos and Riley off with Ammy and Bampa for the night.

Trevor and I drove to Birmingham and after a brief time of not quite knowing what to do with ourselves we adjusted and enjoyed our alone time. We snuck in a workout, showered, and hit the town. We were able to spend time with a bunch of my college girlfriends. One of them is getting married next month and we all celebrated her engagement. We had so much fun catching up, I think Trevor and I were glowing as much as the gorgeous bride to be! We left the shower about 10pm and enjoyed a good night of uninterrupted sleep!

Us with Mary one of my sweetest friend and former roomate. She was with me the night I met Trevor!


In the car on our way out!


Some of the Auburn girls (phi mu pledge class 1996, wow we are getting old!)


A huge thank you to Ammy and Bamp for taking such great care of the the babes. They had a blast and weren't quite ready to come home. I guess between the good food, horse park, pool, and playing they were just having too much fun. Dylan made it through the night and was a big boy! I am over the moon that they all did so well! I know everyone will sleep well tonight.

Oh, pictures to come of our Father's Day. We all enjoyed a nice afternoon cookout over at our house. Happy Father's Day! And thanks Mom and Dad!

Crazy cousins!

Ballet first thing in the morning, then a play day with the Sander's! We had a blast. The kids couldn't get enough of each other. The only problem was that they are each on a different schedule so someone is always napping. We did get a good glimpse of the fun they are going to have together! They are hilarious. We had lunch, swam, and played. I sure hope we have more of these kind of days this summer!

The Last Hurah!

Avery was very surprised that we had a birthday party for her and Daddy in Arizona. After coming in from our afternoon swim she was shocked by the beautiful princess cake. That alone was enough to send her to cloud nine! Then, we had presents, pinata, and tons of fun! I will let the pictures do the talking!



















Thanks Grammy and Aunt Lyn-Ann for planning such a great last 4th birthday bash! Tons of fun! XOXO

Arizona Trip- June 2011

The past few days we have been fortunate to enjoy a wonderful family vacation in Arizona. We have spend lots of time outside in the sunshine swimming and relaxing. It is amazing that even thought the thermometer reads HOT, it doesn't feel that hot outside. The entire Atkinson Family made the trip out to Lyn-Ann's house (Lyn-Ann was able to take time off of work) and we really had a great time!





As always we packed a lot into a short amount of time. We spent a lot of time outside in the pool, the water park, shopping, and chatting. We went out for some delicious meals and stayed in and grilled out (thanks Uncle Scott). The big kids snuck out to Mexican while the little kids enjoyed a Grandparents date!





Of course both Avery and Dylan couldn't get enough of Speedy the cat. Poor Speedy got locked in rooms, petted, played with and bothered more than any cat ever has. He was a champ and let them "play" all week!



Both kiddos enjoyed getting some extra time with Grampa and Grammy too! Dylan loved to sit on Grampa's lap and watch baseball. While Avery and Grampa like to sneak jellybeans and share jokes. Not only did the kids fight over Speedy but the also fought for Grammy's attention. There is nothing Grammy doesn't do and they both love playing with her. Avery and Grammy made tons of pictures and books! Now Dylan, he prefers to call her "ME!!!!" and just wanted her to do everything with them. I can't tell you how awesome it is to see them adore their family so much!

Grammy, Grampa, and Avery enjoying their private Tea Party with real tea!


Grammy does it all! Runs thru sprinklers, slides down slides, can teach how to dive and much much more!









We love you both!









Thanks for having us Aunt Lyn-Ann! We had a great trip! Uncle Scott, Aunt Lyn-Ann, Grammy and Grampa...thanks for being so flexible of all the crazy schedules and okay with the commotion and noise that comes with us visiting :) Grampa and Grammy, thanks for all of your help! We love you all!