here's how we spent our 4th of july this year... started out with sleeping in - rivers slept til 8!! then we headed over to gigi's & papa's to visit with friends...

after lunch & rivers' nap it was time to play in the pool!!

i told rivers to give the giraffe a kiss - just as he did jeremy got hit by the sprinkler & i caught it in the background! it was pretty darn funny! :)

after he was bored with the pool we got his water hop-scotch out. he loves it!!

then he decided he was tired again from all that swimming & the brick stairs looked like as good a place as any for a nap.  he was even pretending to snore!!

this was waaay late - past his bedtime - after the fireworks. he loved them! and he got his face painted with elmo on it! a little smudged, but still cute!  :)

by the way - there's 1 more super cute picture from this day over on my photo blog.  check it out!

i love summer. its so hot. but i love it! here's to warm evenings chillin by the pool.  ;)

a few from the other evening...

watering the plants.

keeping an eye on the neighbors.

playing t-ball.

all in a hard days work.

so i got my 2 canvases in that i ordered for MYSELF!! i'm seriously in love with them. they are gorgeous and add an amazing pop to my home! only problem is, now i'm obsessed & want more...  those things ain't cheap. i keep thinking how adorable this next little set would look on one my walls.... it just melts my heart.  :)

so many cute pictures from our adventure today.  it was hot, so we didn't spend much time at the park, but long enough to get some good ones, find some sticks, throw some stones into the water, and have a good time!  :)

he thought he was clever standing under the leaves!

running, so so fast!  ;)

another one?!

my sweet 2 year old!!

its been so long without a post, but i couldn't let today go by without a little something...  my baby is now 2.  it does & doesn't seem possible at the same time.  here he is first thing this morning on his new 'bicycle' as he calls it... along with his new 'hat'!  he had overheard me talking to jeremy a few weeks back about getting rivers a bike for his birthday.  since then, when birthday was mentioned, he would say, 'birthday bicycle'.  so obviously, that was what he was getting!  of course, he has no concept of steering or pushing the petals himself, so this was perfect.  we can push & steer until he figures it out, then the handle can be removed.  he looks like such a big boy on his 'bicycle'.

this was a last minute family photo.  ms photographer forgot to ask someone to take a photo of us today, so i broke out the self-timer (with remote - thank you very much 5d mark ii) and grabbed this just before rivers went down for the night.  i love our little threesome!

happy 2nd birthday rivers!!  you continue to amaze me daily - we can't wait to see what the next year has in store!!  xoxo

a year and a half later and i still see the same face...

oh my sweet, sweet boy. can't believe you're almost two!