Dear Birdies,: July 2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

2.5!!

In this family we celebrate half birthdays. That's exactly what we did last Thursday. We spent quite a bit of our day at the zoo. The giraffes weren't around for feeding but we still had a great time. Oliver was a little angel and he walked next to me while Julianne was in the Ergo. That was the first time we were successful with allowing him to walk beside me. It is much harder with both kids in tow! He explored, pointed to the animals, drove the truck, and played in the splash pad. He's been telling me when he's done at the splash pad which has been really nice to avoid a screaming tantrum when I tell him it's time to go.

After the zoo we came home and made dinner. Oliver asked to eat on the porch so of course we did! He must have worked up an appetite at the zoo because he ate a heaping plate full. Since he's spending a lot of time naked while we're potty training he was eating in the nude. After he finished his dinner he remembered his kiddie pool was on the deck so he ran over and jumped right in. Every kid should get to skinny dip in the summer, right? It is actually easier for me too because then there's no wet swim trunks to take care of! ;) He swam until Libby, Haddie, Cathy, and Will came over. We visited a while and enjoyed brownie sundaes in celebration of Oliver's half birthday! This year I didn't light candles but we did sing Happy Half Birthday To You! The first picture was a celebration of the ice cream he was about the eat! His face in the second picture shows he was rather confused about whose birthday it was! Lol!!

Saturday morning Kurt took Oliver with him to band practice. While they were walking Kurt noticed a new sign at The Oliver. He got an awesome picture of Oliver standing under the sign. I absolutely love this picture! My boy is so fun, sweet, loving, adventurous, independent, wild, and all boy!

I love you, Oliver! Every day you make me laugh and roll with the punches (sometimes quite literally).

XOXO,

Mama Riss

Sunday, July 14, 2013

One Year!

I cannot believe it has been a year since we found our home. This place has been such a blessing to our family so far. It is cheesy, but this place was built with love, cared for with loved, and purchased with love. The owners we purchased from built the house to raise their family. It was on land his family had owned for decades. We are the second owners and plan to raise our family just as they did. There is something different about this home. It's perfect for our family and means so much to us!

The year has been wonderful and full of so many changes. We have had quite a year and look forward to a lifetime of memories to come. Some top favorites from our first year include Oliver turning from a baby to a toddler here, the holidays, almost having Julianne in the living room, and brining our girl home here! The photos that follow show our home and some of the details we love about it.