The Hillebrands: The Fourth and Before

This summer is flying by because we are so busy. July is a scheduling nightmare. We have 3 weddings in 3 different states (2 of them in the same weekend) and AJ is gone 6 days with the youth group. I've barely had enough time to catch my breath. And it's only the 10th.

I am so behind on the times I haven't even had my camera out since the Fourth of July. So here are some pictures from a while ago.

Since AJ was going to be gone we managed to take another trip to the zoo the week before the Fourth. This time with some friends.

Ari is becoming such a big boy. I wish I would write down more of the things he says because he is so funny and sweet. Now he asks me "How is your morning, mama?" For some reason he has gone back to calling me mama. That's what my name was at first, then it was mommy, then it was mom, then it went back to mommy, and now it's back to mama. He's so silly.

We really wanted him to see some fireworks so we trekked 15 minutes to a park after driving 25 minutes to get there. He played on the playground for a while, ate a snack, took a potty break, then started to see some random fireworks people were shooting off. He asked about this dog sitting next to us and why the people were leaving. Well I must have made the mistake of telling him the dog was scared and that it was too loud for his ears because he became panicked afterwards and wouldn't uncover his ears. He was crying and scrambling around to try and get out of there. So we packed up camp and trekked back 15 minutes to the car. He kept his ears covered the whole way and told lots of people who were on their way to the fireworks that he was scared.

We ended up stopping and watching them from a distance while we sat in the car. It actually worked out really well because we were one of the firsts to get out of there and didn't have to sit through crazy traffic. Next year we will skip the 30 minutes of walking and just watch from a safe distance.

I love this sweet moment Ari is having with Evangeline. He is getting better at being gentle on his own without being told, but we still have to remind him frequently that she can't play the same way he can. These two months with her have flown by. I am loving all the smiles and coos she gives us now. She is doing a great job with holding her head up and even strains to get in a sitting up position.