365:177 - shoe protester

365:177

Benjamin is a pretty hilarious kiddo. He hates wearing his shoes and takes them off whenever he gets the chance. However, he loves to take shoes off of other people and put them on himself. It's a strange phenomenon.

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365:176 - mason jar

365:176

I recently started trying to get back into the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle and many of the great recipes that are included in the lifestyle are drink recipes! I thought that getting a fun, cute, and personal mason jar would encourage me to drink more of the THM drinks throughout the day! So far, so good :) I love this thing!

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So Much Love.

I just had to post these additional photos from June 24th! Samuel and Benjamin LOVE their baby brother. Any chance they get, they are loving on him! Who wouldn't, right?

Since it's summer vacation for Lauren, we are hoping to spend a lot more fun afternoons with her! She and Benjamin have such a sweet connection and I love the photos I captured of them…and Gabriel being sweet and cute. (Samuel wasn't captured in the shots, but he's pretty cute and sweet, too :))

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365:175 - marching ants

365:175

I've been trying to give the boys healthier snacks between their meals and this afternoon, I decided to make "Ants on a Log." It was really fun to let Samuel march the ants onto the muddy logs and ask me to sing "the ant song."

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365:174 - father/son

365:174

(iPhone pic)

Love this father/son duo! Joshua is Samuel's hero and best friend! He really loves him so much and wants to be like him in every way! I love that :)

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365:173 - squishy cheeks

365:173

(iPhone selfie.)

Love these squishy cheeks.

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365:172 - getting' dirty and groomed

365:172

Again, the boys' favorite pastime is spending time in the garden with their abba! They always get very dirty so an evening in the garden usually requires a good bath. This evening, Joshua gave Samuel and Benjamin both new haircuts. Don't worry, the mohawk only lasted for the picture!

(6.21.14)

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365:171 - shake it up

365:171

(iPhone photo)

Special treat for Joshua that he shared with the boys: chocolate shake. This kid loves it.

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365:170 - thai

365:170 

This is me trying to be creative late at night after a crazy day with kiddos. haha. This was our 5 year anniversary since Joshua proposed to me. We wanted to go out on a date but thought about it too late and wasn't able to get a sitter. So after the boys went to sleep, Joshua went out and got Thai food and we watched some HGTV together instead :)

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365:169 - piano

365:169

A highlight for the boys while staying at the Lotz home was their piano. Any time I allowed them, they were there pretending to make beautiful music ;) Samuel even played and sang some of his favorite songs. I loved it!

(6.18.14)

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365:168 - pillow hoarder

365:168

As I explained in a previous post, our dear friends, Doug and Jenny Lotz, opened up their home for us to enjoy while they were away on a trip. We took care of Duke, their dog, and enjoyed the extra space and amenities. Jenny loves pillows. A lot. Seriously, there are probably at least 10 pillows in each room and it's amazing! The last picture is of Benjamin, the boy who never wears his own shoes, wearing Joshua's shoes! Funny kid.

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365:167 - Gabriel is one month old!

365:167

Gabriel turned one month old today! He is such a sweetheart and he has already stolen our hearts! He really is a piece of sunshine in our days :) He is a great eater and great sleeper. He is more alert now, but still sleeps SO much! He still has a newborn look but is starting to chunk up a little. We are so excited to see how he grows and changes!

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365:166 - Father's day

365:166

On Father's day, we went to Joshua's dad's house to celebrate the fathers in the family and to celebrate Bill's birthday! It was fun to be in the sun and splashing around with family!

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365:165 - housesitting

365:165

For almost a week, Joshua, the boys, and I are house and dog sitting for our very dear friends, the Lotz Family! At first, it was crazy trying to keep the boys from touching and getting into EVERYTHING! Here you can see a random sippy cup in the middle of the formal dining room. This is pretty much how the entire week went…

(6.14.14)

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365:164 - dinner out

365:164

It is terribly hard (and expensive) to go out with 5 people in our family now. However, we had no groceries so we went out for diner-style burgers and enjoyed some family time!

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365:163 - arrrgh matey!

365:163

We made our first trip to Target with just me and the three boys. First stop: the dollar spot to pick out some pirate gear :) When we got home, the boys had a blast with their patches, hats, and swords.

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365:162 - the tired days

365:162

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365:161 - peas and tricycles

365:161

Our garden is starting to flourish! Last night, we started to pick the peas that are growing in our garden and the boys loved the crunchy sweetness! We also pulled out the tricycle for the boys to play with (and fight over). 

(6.10.14)

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365:160 - sleeping baby

365:160

When I come to the end of the day and I haven't taken a single photo, all I need to do is look to my handsome, sleeping baby for a great shot! :)

(6.9.14)

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365:159 - train set + jake

365:159

Since Joshua bought the boys extra train sets, Benjamin has been really enjoying building tracks! First thing in the morning, he goes to the box and starts building. I just love his drive! I liked this photo, too, because it has the Jake and the Neverland Pirates ship pictured, which is also one of Benjamin's very favorite toys (which was actually given to Samuel for his birthday…)

(6.8.14)

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365:158 - cry baby

365:158

Gabriel is not yet a fan of his carseat. I hope he grows out of the hatred soon! Later in the evening, Samuel got to spend some one-on-one time with baby brother :) Both seemed content!

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