Doesn't Your Grandma Kiss You?

Austin is fortunate enough to have Nana at his school most days. The other day she ran into him in the lunchroom and gave him a big hug while he waited in line. She went on about her business and before leaving stopped by to tell him to have a good day. He was already seated at the table, so she went up behind him and playfully rubbed his head and kissed his cheek. The little girl sitting across the table witnessing this gesture of love questioned, "Why did you just kiss him?". Nana replied, "Doesn't your grandma kiss you?" She replied pointing down the table, "Yes, but Austin is down there!"
Needless to say, Nana's face turned 5 shades of red!

My Punkins!

Fun at the

Pumpkin Patch!!

Tyler wasn't too happy about posing with his cousins!! Oh well, we tried!!

Madilyn's First Car

Nana and D got Madilyn her first car for her birthday! She absolutely loves it! She hasn't quite figured out that she has to hold on to the steering wheel, but we have 14 years to learn that! The video is of Madi enjoying her car and below is a picture from the day she got the car. She was so upset when the battery died and had to be charged.

Nana and D-I'll have Madi hit you up for a car when she turns 16! :)

Pat-a-Cake for Nana and Me!

Turning 2!!

It's Madilyn's birthday!!!!! She is 2 years old now! My how time flies!

She is so big. She loves to play with Austin and ride in her car. She loves playing outside and popscicles in he bathtub! She also likes to dance and is daily perfecting her nonverbal communication (which will one day get her in trouble...she can throw some mean looks!).

We love you Madi and are so proud of you!

Happy Birthday!!

Riding Bikes!!!

D and Nana located another great yard sale find!!! They found Madilyn her first tricycle...and she loves it, especially the bell!!! She is still a little short to reach the pedals, but it won't be long! She's getting so big! Austin was excited he will have someone to ride with soon!

Tyler Dawson

Tyler Dawson finally made his arrival yesterday!!! We are all so excited! What will he call me...we have DiDi (D), GiGi, KiKi, BiBi....who knows?? We haven't discussed it yet. Austin is very excited to have another boy cousin. I'm sure Austin will teach him lots of things (some Kiera may wish Austin wouldn't pass on...but I guess that's what cousins are for!). I'm terribly going to miss him not growing up here with Austin and Madi, but I guess it isn't my decision...and we'll make due! There will just be alot of traveling between Florida and North Carolina.

I overhead Austin on the phone with Kiera asking her if Tyler would be walking when she came down to visit (which will be in October). He was quite disappointed that he wouldn't be running around the yard with him yet. That time will come soon enough. Madilyn calls him "Tys." It is absolutely adorable. We cannot wait to meet Tyler!! Way to go Kiera and David!!!

Say Cheese!!!

Austin lost his first tooth today!!! GG said she wanted him to "show" it to him and she yanked. "Ouch! GG that hurt!" was his reply. Much to Austin's surprise the tooth was out!! He was so excited and Madilyn has been talking about teeth all day! When he called Kiera to tell her, he asked how much does the tooth fairy give you? I held my breathe...questioning whether Kiera would reply with something along the lines of $20, but instead she told him that the tooth fairy always left her $1. Thank you Kiera!!! I owe you one!!

I wonder if the tooth fairy will visit tonight???

Check out the video below. P.S. We had a pajama day staying home with Gustav...

Fishing...again!

Austin has the BEST Nana and D!!! Nana (and D when she can talk him into it) started a ritual of taking Austin fishing once a week (more if Austin is particularly persuading). He absolutely loves it and now, with out a doubt, Austin knows that he has the best grandparents EVER!!!

Thanks Nana and D!!!

First Day of School

Austin is now in first grade!! Austin started first grade at a new school this year. He is now at Rhodes with Nana. His teacher is Mrs. Rinehart. Mrs. Rinehart is a very patient, calm, nurturing teacher and I can already tell we made the right choice!

Austin was a little nervous this year. During "Meet the Teacher" he leaned over to me and asked how was he suppose to know if he did good on a paper in first grade. In kindergarten he would get stars or smiley faces...but what about first grade? He was very concerned.

The first day went well. When I went to wake him up for his second day of school, he was a little more reluctant. We sat down and talked about what was wrong and he said, "Mrs. Rinehart said that everyday was going to be harder...yesterday was like Kindergarten and I could do it, but today is going to be harder." Much to his surprise, he came home from school with a big grin and stated that today wasn't harder!

Austin's backpack (with the BASS patch from KiKi and David)

Ok, mom...enough pictures!!!

Another funny story before I go. Austin came home from school after his first week of school with a certificate that he was awarded for being able to spell his color words. This came much to my surprise because I know for a FACT that he doesn't know how to spell all of his color words. He has discovered that on his name tag on his desk, there in black and white are all the color words spelled out for him already!! He sure fooled Mrs. Rinehart (wait...I probably shouldn't be bragging about that!)!!

My Silly Kids

Austin and Madi...I couldn't get them to look at the camera at the same time to save my life!! They looked so adorable, but I never caught that perfect picture!!

Madi is wearing the dress the Temples got for her from Panama. Isn't it adorable?

Can anyone tell me why Austin is pointing #1?? And notice the leftovers from lunch on his shirt...oh well, maybe we'll have better luck next time!

My how time flies!

6 years ago today, I was blessed with Austin. He is growing into such a fine young man that I am very proud of! Austin, I love you!!!

The day started with breakfast in bed for Austin. He chose waffles...yummy!

Then came the best part. The surprise...he was going on a shopping spree at Bass Pro Shop. He was so excited he was shaking! This day was all about Austin. He got to choose the songs we listened to on the radio and all the other details that came along with a "family day!" We spent 2 hours shopping for various fishing items. It was such a hard choice!

Austin also got to pick our lunch location. He wanted seafood (surprise, surprise!!). So we went to a fun restaurant, Anglers. It was a great start to a 6th Birthday!!!

Madi Sue Zanne

Austin proudly announced yesterday that he knew his sister's whole name. When asked, he response was, "Her name is Madi Sue Zanne." I tried to explain that Suzanne was one name, he just couldn't get it. And it really upset him when we informed him her first name was Madilyn. He wondered why didn't we just name her Madi if that was what we were going to call her. It was adorable!

Splish Splash!

Although, the weather wasn't totally cooperating, we decided to head on to the beach. With not many days of summer left, I just wanted to fit it in a few more times. So off we went. We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours until dark clouds finally pushed me to the car. As we headed over the bridge, it cleared up so we decided to go to the Navarre Splash Park. The had a blast playing in the water as I stood under my umbrella...frustrated, but determined that it was going to be a good day. I was sadly mistaken because shortly after Austin left to play on the equipment, he fell from the top when his feet slipped. It knocked the wind out of him, but thankfully we walked away unharmed. Maybe we'll have better luck next time!

Have I mentioned....

Austin LOVES fishing?!?! He lives and breathes fishing and everything it involves! Kiera and David were kind enough to take him to the Branch's pond while we visited North Carolina. Austin caught alot of fish and was absolutely adorable!

What country are we in?

"What country are we in?" That was the question Austin asked on the way to North Carolina. Every prayer while we were there included, "Thank you for letting us make it in one day." For some reason to Austin, Kiki and David are countries away! This is our 2nd trip to North Carolina this summer. We have had such fun times while we were there. On the first trip, we spent most days sleeping in and hanging out and most nights hanging out at the pool.

The second time around we had Nana with us. We shopped, cleaned Kiera's house, and just enjoyed being together. The first night we were there, Madilyn somehow got a hold of a bottle of powder and before we realized what was going on she had it everywhere (and was very proud of herself).

David took Austin fishing and he had a blast! Later that night, Kiera's friend Sarah brought over some catfish for Austin to let go in a pond near her house. Austin thought that was really cool.

Thanks Kiera and David for letting us hang out with you!!! We had so much fun and can't wait to meet Tyler! Love you both!

Kentucky

The second leg of our trip was Kentucky for Rachel and Gabe's wedding. We arrived there on Wednesday. On Thursday, we had a surprise baby shower for Kiera. She was very shocked...we actually were able to keep it a secret. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Aunt Mary Alice's house and stalled Rachel while everyone prepared for her Redneck Wedding Party.

We had a blast!!! It was a "girls only" event. We all dressed in trashy
clothes and Madilyn was complete in her diaper (she fit the part perfectly!). We played games and laughed and ended the night with matress rides, pulled by the 4-wheeler. The boys came over the join in on the fun and Austin had a blast!

4-wheeler matress rides

Yee-Haw!

We start them early around these parts!! Mow, baby, mow!

On Friday, we hung out with the family and then headed to Bowling Green for the rehearsal dinner. Saturday morning we had a bridesmaid luncheon, came back to get dressed, and then headed to the wedding. The wedding was beautiful and it was nice to see all the family. We went to church on Sunday and rested up before we headed to North Carolina.



Rachel and I

Madi and Abigail (Nick's daughter)

(Grady, Kate, Aunt Kate, Madi, and Jane)

Sit, Sit, Daddy (Cincinnati!!)

It's been a few years since we have visited Cincinnati. We had so much fun. We arrived on July 4th and watched fireworks from the back porch. On Saturday, they had fireworks at a local park and we sat on blankets watching the sky. Both of the kids really enjoyed it!

We spent the days playing cards, shoppings, and hanging out around the house. It was very relaxing and fun to watch the kids interact with the Ohio folks!

On Monday, we headed to Kings Island at 9:00am. We spent the day riding rollercoasters, rides, and watching shows. We had a picnic lunch outside the park. After lunch we rode a few more rides and then headed over to the water park for about an hour. Austin LOVED the rollercoasters, especially the Vortex and The Beast. We rode them over and over again. Austin got Nana on a couple of rides and D on the water rides. It was so much fun!!! After watching fireworks, we were headed back home around 10:30 pm. It was everything I remembered it being as a child and hope to create many more memories there with my kids.