juillet

July, we started out on such a sweet note.  My hubs & I celebrated our 10th Anniversary on July 1st this year!!  I was so excited to reach this milestone; it felt weighty from some reason.  I still have a special post up my sleeve for my sweetheart, but alas, it has not be finished...yet. ;-)

Another special moment happened on July 1st as well; Aunt Michelle got to meet our sweet baby David!  We ended our family vacation with a stop in Charleston, SC, and we were able to meet my little sis for a lunch date while driving through Columbia.  It is always good to see my sister.

On we drove to Charleston, and boy was it hot.  It feels like a giant understatement, but oh my word Charleston is hot in July! haha, somehow I did not factor in all this heat when I was planning this trip.  We managed to find a place to eat dinner our first night in town that apparently didn't have working AC, or it was just how they roll... ((mental note to self: Charleston Crab House)) 

But, it was our 10th Anniversary dinner, and it was sweet.  Usually, we get to go out alone to celebrate, but this year we enjoyed spending it with our 4 little fellas.  The sunset cast a beautiful light across the table, and my husband looked so handsome sitting with these two as they played 'pouting'.  Crab cakes & shrimp and grits made our night with a glass of wine.  You can't get a better date than this.  Who cares about being sweaty.

We decided to take the boys across the harbor on a water taxi to see Patriots Point and the ships docked there.  They absolutely had a blast looking at all the jets and airplanes on the naval ship, and loved every minute of the war footage, the submarine, the guns, and all of it.

You can't really celebrate the 4th of July any better than this.

Our sweet baby David turned 5 months old during our trip, and this precious little guy learned to grab his toes!  It is one of my favorite things my little babies have learned to do, this sweet 'happy baby' pose.  He was a champion for this big road trip, but by the end in Charleston, he was done.  He started crying before going to sleep for longer&longer, and this momma yearned for home.  But we made the best of our final days away & chose joy.  What a trooper!

The food in Charleston was seriously amazing.  But it was not family friendly.  This restaurant, Amen Street, was absolutely delicious, but we had to beg to keep our stroller by the table with no other option to hold our little babe.  It surprises me that people would give us such a hard time, but then again, we didn't see many families out downtown.  But the food, amazing!

The boys loved the big foundation down by the pier, and it was the perfect way to cool off after dinner & give the kiddos something fun to do.  I didn't really think about how much fun it would be for them to be walking around downtown, but they really did great.

This picture of the four of them is probably my favorite from the whole trip.  I just love how their personalities show through when they take pictures, and how much difference there is between them all.  It warms my heart in such a lovely way.

These boys loved snuggling with David in the mornings.  I would nurse him when he was waking up around 5 or 6am, and then let him sleep by me for the last hour before everyone was up.  This was one morning where he actually was sleeping when they were laying with him! It was precious. They piled their lovies on him as you can see baby sheepy & elephante there with them.

Our last morning in Charleston we took the boys on a horse drawn carriage tour of the city, and we sweated it up while we learned more about the history of Charleston.  I think I liked it most of all, haha, but then again it was definitely a history lesson!

We finished our trip eating lunch at Poogan's Porch, which was another great spot.  This time, we actually tried to put our buddy up in a high chair since we were seated on the second floor of a historic home.  It ended up being the first time we all sat at the table together!  Fun, sweet memories.

Once we got home, David started sleeping better again! Yay!!  And he started giving these nose-biting-kisses-and-hugs! haha, I love these pictures of Matt&David.

I had to catch a picture of David doing the superman!  He got his little arms & legs up off the floor, but y'all he never stops kicking those feet. haha, he may be our 'kickiest' baby if that's a classification.

My beautiful baby boy.

We hit another big milestone for our family: James went to summer camp!  He got to attend day camp practically where Matt grew up because his family gave the property to the Bible School.  So this was a special thing for the family, and for our boy.  He spent the night at his Mimi&Grandpa's all week long, and he had a great time.  Mommy had a hard time letting go, but I hope he doesn't remember that part. ;-)

David&Grandpa hanging out. :-)

When we drove down to pick up our buddy James after camp, we were able to stay for our nephew Max's 2nd birthday party!  He had a 'finding Dory' theme, and of course Mimi helped by making an octopus & the cake.  Max's mommy, Aunt Natassja, has become a cake baker as well, and she helped make this cake too!  It was a great day to celebrate Max :-)

Our July was winding down with the birthday celebrations of our own!  Hayden&Matt get to celebrate together with their back-to-back-birthdays as always, and Hayden had a TMNT birthday party!  Our family was able to enjoy our slow days in between as we soaked up the last of summer.  These boys love swimming, and Calvin has become quite the swimmer this year!  I cannot believe I have a 3 yr old who can swim as well as he can. It's amazing!

The boys had a great time with all the celebration, and Hayden really got into his party planning.  Here he is in his number '5' shirt that I made for him.  He had a great day!!  Check our the blog on his party...

I surprised Matt (sort of) by getting a baby sitter & having a date night to celebrate his birthday.  He chose an awesome restaurant on the other side of town called Palm Valley Fish Camp, and y'all.  It was so so so good.  We had a great time, just the two of us getting away for a few hours.  We even left little David at home asleep for bedtime.  It was a lovely time celebrating my favorite guy.  You make 37 look so good babe.

So our fourth baby, at almost 6 months old gets a hold of his first food: my banana.  He was staring so hard at it while I was eating, that I stopped and held it in front of him to see what he would do.  Y'all, he dove into that banana!!  It was hilarious, and it makes me laugh.  Poor forth babe had an unceremonious introduction to food, but he loved it none the less!

My little fish swimming every day during the summer under the canopy of trees in one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived.

We said goodbye to July with a trip down to our favorite park in St. Augustine where there is a carrousel to ride and all kinds of swings.  We let David have his first time in a big boy swing, but what really took my breath away was how BIG my James looked standing next to him.  WHAT!!?!  He looks like a giant, a goliath!  haha, I still remember him pushing Calvin on this same swing, but of course the wasn't too much above his head then because he was only 3.5.  Now at 6.5, he towers over this tiny babe, and it makes me realize how much he's grown.  unbelievable.

My world's cutest baby in a swing.  He loved it & would have kept swinging all day long.  Golly I love this sweet bonus baby!!  He has been the best gift, and we just adore you little love bug!!

Lord, thank you for a month full of many of our favorite things.  Thank you for a lovely vacation & time away together as a family making memories.  Thank you for our time at home & our days of sleeping in with no schedule.  Thank you for birthday parties & cousins & camp & grandparents.  Thank you for trips to the park & movies & games to play.  Thank you for legos & all the games that can be played.  Lord, thank you for this family you have given me.  May you enable me Lord to be a good steward of these lives in my care.  Lord help me to guide them & teach them & help them to know you.  Lord, Align our hearts to your testimonies & not to gain.  Thank you for always being present in our days. Amen.