Happy 4th from TRL!!!

We spent another FABULOUS 4th of July in paradise, aka the VanDeVelde lake house at Table Rock Lake.  We had an amazing time, and I absolutely love that the lake is one of Dylan's favorite places in the world!!  Jim and Jane are fantastic hosts and we are already excited to go back next year!!

I know I've been a huge blog slacker lately...so Erin, this one is for you!  I'm going to let the pics tell the stories...and as always, I will try to catch up on everything else soon!!

You mean most 30 something year olds don't still drink Boone's??!!??

"Max" the new golf cart!

D loved tubing this year...I did have to throw him on the tube against his will the first time, but once we started going, he was in heaven.  And says it was his favorite part of the lake!

D was so excited tubing with Ryan and Lauren (aka Lolo).  He is SO in love with both of them...it's awfully cute!

As you can see from the pics, D also mastered doing front flips into the pool and lake (thanks to Lars!!).  He was bummed Carolyn wasn't at the lake this year (for many reasons), but specifically because Erin told him that Carolyn would do flips with them.  He convinced me to try it...I told him I only had one flip in me, so if he wanted me to do it, we better get it on video on the first try...turned out pretty well, we are quite in sync.  But for the record, if it looks painful, that's b/c it was :)  

One more funny story...you'll notice in the pics that there are a few of Dylan playing beer pong.  It will come as a surprise to nobody that Dylan is quite competitive and loves anything involving a contest (I have NO idea where he got it).  On Monday, when I dropped D off at school, we were telling his teacher about how he loved tubing and got really good at doing front flips.  Then D smiled and said, "and I'm really good at beer pong too!"  I turned bright red and tried to change the subject...but he's right, he is awfully good!

Busy Busy Busy!!!

Never seems to slow down, but the good news is we are having lots of fun around here.  Took D to his 5 year old check-up (see I'm behind on everything!)  He continues to do great!  He's up to the 85th percentile for height (45 inches) and 60th percentile for weight (42.5 pounds).  He had to get 3 shots, and wasn't happy about that.  But he also got a "prescription" to take to the pharmacy (in the same building as the doctor) for a popsicle and thought that was great!!

Aunt NiNi and Baby Sydney were here all week and we had a GREAT time with them!!  More pics later, but I couldn't go another week without posting!!

Spring Program

Dylan's spring program was last Sunday...Dylan was VERY excited and loved practicing all of the songs.  It was hilarious when his individual class sang, he had the most serious/intense/seemingly angry look on his face.  They sang Let's Go To The Zoo, and let's just say that everybody there knew that Dylan really wanted everybody to go to the zoo :)  He may or may not have been the kiddo that the audience was all laughing with because he was so cute and funny!  He did a GREAT job and knew all the words and motions!  I told him next time, he needs to remember to smile.  I tried to capture his expression in a few pics :)

There was a small group that sang the first verse of America the Beautiful. Dylan wasn't originally supposed to be in the group but one of the kiddos got sick.  His teacher knew that he could do it and he did a great job.  It was one of those mommy moments that made me so proud it actually brought tears to my eyes.  Here is a little snippet:

Dylan Says...

I'm stealing this from another blog that I read...Dylan says the cutest/funniest things.  When people get to spend quality time with Dylan, they never fail to mention to me how well-spoken he is and how cute it is to see the way his mind processes things.  So, here's a good way to share with everybody:

Me: "Dylan, what is your favorite part of church?"  (I assumed he would say the part where you shake everybody's hands and say peace)
Dylan: "Leaving!"
(I walked into that one!)

We were walking back from the park one night...
Dylan: "I better not do too much more walking, I don't want to get a horsey leg!"
Took me a few minutes to figure out that he was talking about a charley horse.  He got a bad cramp last time we were in NYC, and NiNi taught him that phrase...apparently, it got a bit lost in translation!

I know I am (months!) behind in pictures...good news, they are all loaded to the computer, so I will get them up soon!

Jumping in puddles...fun...flooded basement, not so much!

It's been a rough week to be Dylan's forehead...you'll notice he has an "old" bruise on the left.  Then he proceeded to slam into the corner of the counter and now has a matching bruise/gash on the other side.  I thought this one might need a trip to the ER, but luckily, it wasn't too big!  And yes, D is hamming up his pitiful face, b/c I told him I was going to take a picture for Aunt NiNi.  He was back to running around within minutes!

We will miss you, Grandpa Richard

We spent the past week in Chicago mourning the sudden passing of Grandpa Richard.  We spent a lot of time with family which definitely made the whole process easier.  Dylan was much more aware of the sadness and finality of death which, of course, stirred up many questions about why his daddy died as well.  I have lots of updates (from the past few months!), but for now here are a few pics of D and Richard over the past 5 years.  We will miss you, Grandpa Richard!

Happy 5th Birthday, D!!!!!!

A very happy 5th birthday to Dylan!!  Hard to believe it's been 5 years already!!  

Dylan, 
Thanks for making me the luckiest mommy in the world.  I think to myself on a daily basis how incredibly blessed I am to have you as a kiddo.  You make me laugh, and your smile is contagious!  I can't wait for many, many more adventures with you!

Love,
Mommy

p.s. I know I am so far behind on the blog...we really haven't been up to much...oh wait, that's completely untrue!  We've been our normal, crazy, busy selves!  I have tons to post about (and a TON of adorable pictures)...promise to get them all up soon!!