Summertime = Busy

Summer has been great so far!! The boys and I have spent lots of time at the park and checking out all the stuff at Deanna Rose Farmstead. It is so nice to have a facility like that for free! Jack has been bugging me about going to the pool in our subdivision for a few weeks now b/c we walk by it on our daily stroll. I am not convinced that taking two rambunctious little boys who don't know how to swim to a pool all by myself is a great idea. It was fine when it was just Jack and me, but with Gray I think we'll have to wait till daddy can come with us. In the meantime, our little pool in the backyard will have to do.

JP is heading to Chicago for the weekend to participate in some strange strong man marathon, and I plan to "deep" clean this house while he's gone; Blinds, ceiling fans, light fixtures. . . Something I try to do twice a year.

Jack will start gymnastics in a few weeks and then soccer again in the fall. He is very excited to try something new and I think gymnastics will be good for him. Gray is busy gabbing away with real words here and there, and his "own" words in between. He knows most all of his body parts and follows many simple directions. He has mastered his fork and spoon and really insists on using them.

We are looking forward to attending some friends' weddings and our upcomming trips in July and August, as well as my parents' visit here over the 4th of July! Hope everyone else is having a great summer too!!! Here are a few pictures I took of the boys at the Overland Park Arboretum:

A Quick Update

It's been a LONG while since I've had the time to blog. When the weather gets nice, the Davies clan is OUTSIDE!!! This past winter was such a long, horrid one that being in front of the computer for more than a couple of minutes at a time is difficult. Especially when we can see the sun shining and the lush green grass that we work so hard to keep tip-top :) (I should say I, not we :) the hubby hates lawn work. haha!)

The past few months have been full of new stuff. For starters, we have added a new addition to our family. He has not been completely accepted by all (JP does not consider anything under 30 lbs to be a dog), however, the rest of us LOVE LOVE LOVE him! Walter is a PooChon (Toy Poodle/Bichon) and He's the sweetest. He is non-shedding and will grow to be about 9 lbs. If you know our family, you know that we already have 2 BIG dogs. You are probably thinking OMG how could someone have 3?!?! Well, I have always been an animal lover and have also always been obsessively clean. This means that I get to do two of my favorite things ALL OF THE TIME: clean AND have lots of pets. haha!

In addition to the new puppy, we decided to paint the exterior of our home and update the ceramic tile in our master bath. We have been looking "leisurely" at homes with land (at least 3 acres) and are still looking to find the "perfect one". We will probably be here for another year and are slowly making little upgrades here and there to keep up with the rest of the competition on the housing market here. There are so many nice homes for people to choose from that we don't want to have to wait forever to sell ours when the time is right!

Over the past 3 years I have completed the landscaping around our home and have planted several trees which have grown fairly fast!! I am slightly sad this year b/c there isn't as much for me to do outside. The boys and I have planted our flower pots and filled the bird feeders (several times). I have a few Hosta's to add to my shade garden and have fully enjoyed the tulips I planted last fall. What a great way to add Spring color!!! This year the only addition we'll be making landscape wise is to add some flowering mounding plants around each of our trees to add a little color. Other than that, our house looks pretty spiffy!!!

JP has two business trips to go on in the up-coming months--one to Boston and the other to Tempe. The boys and I will head back to Nebraska during one of them (not sure which one). JP and I are EXCITED to take our first REAL vacation since Jack was born. We are heading on an all inclusive trip to Riviera Maya in August. Should be sweet!!!

Jack is enjoying his 1 day a week preschool. His social skills have improved greatly and he's always looking forward to Tuesdays with Ms. Kyanna, and his new best friend Matthew.

Gray has been in exploration mode. He LOVES to be outside. When he's not outside, he's constantly trying to give everyone hugs. He is SOOOOO sweet natured. We are so lucky to have had such great boys!!!

Walking Boy

Such a sweet little video of my boys. As you can tell, my house is kinda crazy :0). I love every minute!! This video was made last week when he began to really "cruise". He spent a couple of months taking three or four steps here and there, but I couldn't count it as "walking" yet. Now he's really going. He is getting better by the minute, although his brother will be able to claim the prize as far as who walked first. . .he was cruisin' by 10 months.

He walks!!

Gray has officially started walking. His movement of "choice" is still crawling, however, it is mixed with standing, walking 6 or 7 steps and then "power crawling" to his final destination. It's pretty cute :). I will get a video on here soon.

On a crappier note, we are all battling the flu. Gray came down with it on Friday, then it hit Jack & JP, then finally, me. For a while there I thought I was Superwoman, but apparently not. Jack, as usual, was hit the hardest. The rest of us are up and poking around the house today. Hopefully by tomorrow, Jack will be too. Poor guy :(

A few Pictures from Christmas 09'