July and Beginning of August Sneak Peek

These are all out of order and honestly, I don't have the patience to go back and rearrange them..

But I haven't posted in forever it seems so we're going to play catch up a tiny bit.

Super proud to announce that we bought our first real house in July!!

It needed a butt load of work but thanks to a ton of hard work on our part and my parents (especially Papa, who has been amazing with all the electrical/plumbing/remodeling/and and and parts) its definitely getting there! From busted/leaking pipes to insulation to hot water heater replacement to renovating the kitchen with all new everything to roofing to fencing in the yard to dry wall repair to painting to....well the list continues for a mile! But its over 3/4s of the way done now and we couldn't be happier or more thankful!!!

This house picture is of the day we signed the papers. Thankfully, the day before we signed, the bank had the lawn "mowed" from its original hay field status. Trust me, the house still needs some work but the major list has been narrowed way down and the tiny tiny things that only we notice continues to grow! (Haha!!) And best part, the kids LOVE it.

A friend's family hosted a birthday cookout in July and Rylie definitely enjoyed more than her fair share of cupcakes!

The kids enjoyed multiple fourwheeler rides with Bapa this weekend and Tucker even got to ride with Bud once. The kids are in heaven while riding! You usually can't erase the grins from their faces.

Bapa recently scored this awesome find at Goodwill for 3 bucks!! One side is a chalk board, one side dry erase, both with paper clips and paint trays. Rylie totally misunderstands the use of it and insists on getting inside it and lifting it up and carrying it all around the house. Tucker is less than amused by this when he wants to draw or write but thinks its hilarious whenever I say no more. Of course!

Not a great picture, but I love how focused they both are in watching the thunder storms outside. And it shows that their eyes are the same color!

Lucy is the kindest, sweetest, most gentle and patient dog ever. She puts up with so much love from these kids. Here she is sporting a bowl hat and patiently waiting on Tucker to grow tired of this game and go back to just snuggling and petting her.

For my mom's birthday. she picked to go to Hollywild. The kids, mom and I had a blast! By the time we climbed onto the bus for the safari tour, we were sweating buckets and the kids were nearing their breaking point, but the entire trip was great! Tucker really enjoyed feeding the baby goats a bottle.

And I even kissed a zebra on her lips!

It never fails. We have fun and get dirty at Bapa and Papa's house. After dinner one Sunday night, Rylie got a bath and not ten minutes after I lotioned her up and strapped a diaper on her, I sent her to give Papa kisses bye in his garage. Literally less than ten minutes after her bath, she fell in a small puddle TWICE. Still adorable all covered in mud!

When we moved back from Greensboro, Tucker begged and begged for a dog. So we got him Lucy. She has been such a wonderful dog for him and for us. When we told him we were buying a new house and going to have a big fenced in yard, he told us immediately that Rylie needed her own dog. The week after we fenced the yard, we began the puppy search and ended up bringing Jake home with us. Lucy is a border collie boxer mix and Jake is a border collie shepherd mix. Both wonderful dogs for the kids and for us.

Tucker refuses to call him Jake. Instead, its "Jake from State Farm" (like the commercial.) Mom, Jake from State Farm is running. Look, Jake from State Farm and Lucy are playing! Awe, Mom, Jake from State Farm wants a bone!

Fortunately, it was an instant friendship for Lucy and Jake as well. They play non stop.

Both are super aware of what the littles are doing on a constant basis. If possible, they are almost always beside at least one of the kids. Even just to watch Rylie slide.

Rylie slept thru the night ONCE before she turned 14 months old. The one and only time before 14 months was on her first birthday! The first night we slept in the new house, she slept thru the night..and has almost every single night since!!! So proud of my little girl. Plus, she looks so peaceful and beautiful sleeping, I can't help snapping pictures of her sleeping.

Another Hollywild picture of Bapa and the kids with Holly, the zebra. We had such a great day!

Tucker has always been such a sweet brother. Little Rylie has a BIG attitude and personality, so while its still rare compared to most siblings, Tucker is super sweet and dotes on her more often than not. He helped her break into the bathroom, put tooth paste on both their brushes, wetted them and kept giving her instructions on how to do it properly. When she was done, he cleaned her brush and gave her a sip of water and told her what a good job she had done and that he was so proud of her.

On the safari bus, we tried and tried to get Tucker to feed the cows or the buffalo. He kept refusing and telling us how disgusting and scary it was. Some young girls sitting in the row behind us invited him over to see a different longhorn on their side of the bus and he immediately showed them how to feed him like a man. He was so proud of himself and ended up loving to feed them and feel their tongues!

When a friend recently came for a weekend visit, Tucker gave up his big bed and camped on our floor. After playing all day, he crashed hard at night!

More Hollywild fun.

When she isn't pitching an epic, ear drum busting tantrum, Rylie is the happiest, most smiling little girl ever. She almost always has a smile for everyone she sees, unless they get to close. Happy girl!

Tucker FINALLY decided that he wanted to start pedaling his trike and his bike instead of scooting along on them. He loves to give Rylie little rides and teach her how to do it as well!

My men. My rugged mountain man and my little handsome man. So in love.

Love all the adorable positions she falls asleep in and can sleep in for hours with no issue. Precious.

This past weekend Rylie finally hit 20 pounds. She is officially big enough and old enough to be forward facing. That thought terrifies me! She looks so tiny still!

Rylie and Kynzie riding in the wagon. Adorable!

Love his hair in this picture. Absolutely adore that little face.

Tucker watching some turtles at Hollywild.

She is so beautiful and happy.

So while its been an incredibly busy July and beginning of August, we've had tons of fun and made some wonderful memories!! We are definitely blessed and so thankful for our lives and everyone in them!