Puddling - take 2!

 Last Saturday it rained and rained and rained! Yay for the yard - boo because Elena's very first soccer game got rained out. But she still got to have fun when the storm cleared away and a giant puddle river was rushing past our drive... this totally reminded me of a similar incident almost exactly 2 years ago!

Then she decided jumping wasn't getting her wet enough!!

After a combination of this -

 - and this -

it was definitely time to go inside and dry off! :)

 What a fun day (even if she didn't get to have her first soccer game)! 

One more week of freedom. :(

In one short week I will be returning to work from maternity leave and Miss Elena is starting 3 day a week preschool next week also, so we have some big changes in our schedule! On one hand I am excited to get back to work because I really enjoy what I do and also to get back into a routine (it is an accomplishement if I have anyone, including myself, out of jammies by 2:00pm!). But I am throughly going to miss the quality time with my babies! It has been a wonderful (and very fast!) 6 weeks and I will cherish the undivided time I had with them. Thank goodness my company is amazing at work/life balance, I have a flexible schedule and that my parents are able to watch the kids or there is no way I could go back this soon! I will definitley miss this all day every day:

The Lake (again).

 We got to spend another weekend out at the lake with our good friends Nate and Mary a couple weekends back. The weather was fantastic and the kiddos couldn't wait to get in the water!

Daddy was proudly sporting his new t-shirt from the concert the night before. He was also teaching D to box -- I love the look on the little guy's face!

Fun times!!  

They have the coolest skis for toddlers! Drake can go around the lake behind the boat several times so we decided to see if Elena would try it. She was scared of the boat so Nate pulled her on the edge of the water.

She was so excited when she got the hang of it! :)

Hopefully next summer she will be up for trying it behind the boat!!

I was so proud of her for trying the skis out, and she actually got on the boat without Daddy or I too! This is HUGE for her, I don't know why she is so scared of the boat (we've been on it several times). She even tubed with her little friends without us too! My baby is growing up! Speaking of babies - nothing better than a snooze at the lake. Dominic pretty much slept through his first time at the lake - the other kiddos were definitley fascinated by him when he was awake!

 

 Sad to see the summer come to a close but glad we got to spend one last time at the lake before it gets colder! 

Country and Cold Cans.

Robert and I got to have our first night away from the little man, first date night in a long time as well as our first concert together ever a couple weekends back. We went to see Dierks Bentley and he was awesome! He has so many great songs!

It was such a fun show and we had an absolute blast together!

These pics were with my phone so they aren't the greatest but this is when everyone pulled their phones out (instead of lighters - gotta love technology - lol!)

We had so much fun and will be definitely going to more concerts together in the future!!

1 month.

It does not seem possible but my little man is already 1 month old!! He is growing so fast! He seems so much bigger to me!

At 1 month Dominic is:

Eating about 4-6 oz of formula every 3or 4 hours (could be why he is growing so fast!)

Sleeps about 3-4 hours in a row (so ready for him to break through to a longer stretch!)

Very interested in ceiling fans

Loves to be outside

Stops everything to look for Daddy, Mommy or Sister's voice

Is a little bit (a lot!) fussier than Elena was but we are adjusting well

Loves to snuggle and be held

Enjoys laying in his sister's bed 

Very, very strong! He has been holding his head up from day 1!

Makes so many noises! He grunts and squeaks and makes lots of funny animal sounds. He is a noisy guy!

When I tell people how old he is they always so - wow, that is a healthy one month old! (I have a feeling this will be a common theme for years to come!)

Happy 1 month little man!

Pond Project.

A while back I told Robert that I have always loved waterfalls and would love to have one in our backyard. So of course, the wonderful hubby and great handyman that he is, he built one for me!! :) It was a slow process with everything we have had going on this summer but it is finally done! Here is a peek at the steps:

 

 

 Robert would randomly work on it so it was kind of hard to make sure I got pictures of the transformation! I had to snap these at night before he started working on it the next morning! (Not the best pictures either!)

 Elena loves to be Daddy's little helper, every night she would ask if they were going to work on the pond! :)

 The almost finished product ~

 And of course we had to add fish for Miss Elena - she was so excited!

 I absolutely love the pond! There is something so relaxing about sitting outside and listening to the sound of running water. Elena is obsessed with her fish and checks on them multiple times a day - it is so sweet! :)

Thanks Babe for the wonderful pond that we are all enjoying!!

Zoo with Two.

Last week my Mom and I ventured to the Zoo for the first time with two kiddos. Elena always wants to stop at the maps and see where we are and pick where we are going.

 Her choice? Penguins.

 It was really, really hot this day so we definitely hit up these cooling fans every time we got a chance!

 Some of the animals we checked out. Look at the new exhibit below - teenagers! Lol :)

 Elena had a ton of fun and like always, made us stop at every zoo key along the way.

 She also found another way to cool off - a sprinkler!

 I think Dominic's first trip to the zoo was a success!