Summertime!!!

Ok, people. I have videos out the wazoo, but I can't for the life of me EVER FIGURE OUT how to do them on the Mac! I'll get there...but you'll have to settle for more pics for now.

The videos are really cute, though, so hopefully I can get some up and running!!!

BIG NEWS this past week! Bella is 11 months old now (wow!!!) and is weighing in at right around 19 pounds! In the past week she

1) Crawled

2) Clapped

3) Pulled herself up in her crib!!!

Wowzers! For real, this baby is on the move, and she is crazy busy and into everything!!! Time to baby proof.
We're officially in summer now! Ava had her last day of school at the end of May. She wont be returning back since she'll be starting PRE-K (yikes!!) this fall at her new school!!! Ahhhhh!!! How did this happen?? We have LOVED the school that she's been in. It only goes through Kindergarten, though, and we wanted to start her in the school she'll be attending from here on out starting with Pre-K. But, let me tell you, I cried like a baby (you know, that ugly cry cause you're trying to talk and cry at the same time?!) when I dropped her off for the last time and told her teachers and everyone else how much I appreciate the extra effort they put forth to expose the kids to as much as possible. And they have always been so loving- especially at the beginning (which you can recall here) when she and I both would be in tears each time I had to bring her to school. I'll never forget her very first teacher, Ms. Kristin, who just took her in and completely gave her extra TLC. It made Ava's adjustment period so much easier. And now, 2 years later, Ava LOVES school, her teachers, her friends, her experiences, and she is WELL prepared for Pre-K. So, to reminice, here's Ava on her first day of school 2 years ago in 2009!
And here's her last day of school, 2 years later. Such a big girl. I'm so proud of her.
Here are her fabulous teachers!!! Her teachers this past year, Ms. Liz and Ms. G:
Some of her classmates:
I also visited at lunchtime on her last day to snap a few more pics. They have always been taught such wonderful manners- they all wait to eat until everyone is at the table. :)

And, of course, we had to get one last hug from the original Ms. Kristin:
She's had wonderful teachers from the start, and they have left some very big shoes to fill!!!


So, this summer, we're all home- Bella, Ava, myself, and Illanka. Illanka takes care of Ava and Bella when I'm working and also helps to keep me sane during the rest of the week as well (ie: watches the girls while I go to the grocery store, the gym, errands, etc)! We're having fun just hanging out, going to the pool, and enjoying the lazy days of summer.

All ready to head to the pool:

Bella gets so excited clapping these days!
And, of course, there's always noise, talking, singing, reading, asking questions, yelling, imitating Bella's noises, etc coming from Ava. (Anyone who has ever tried to talk to me on the phone when she is around can attest to that)! Here, you can see we are enjoying her drumming/singing concert. ;)

Just caught the tail end of Bella's crawling here:
We've been having a great summer so far. I can't believe how quickly everything is flying by already!!! For those of you following Patrick, he finished his board exams (yay, yay, double yay!!) and has started his monthly rotations. For 4 of the next 12 months, he'll be away on rotations (but, he'll usually be able to be back on weekends)! He's 2 weeks into his first one and is doing great (as I knew he would) but is very busy!!! This one happens to be away, so we don't see him during the week, but he does manage to make it home on the weekends. We miss him during the week, but, honestly, they seriously FLY BY, and the weekends are here before we know it! I also get a lot of help from Illanka! It'll be nice to have him on a local rotation in July, though!

I'll be taking a vacation from work the first week in July, so I'm looking forward to that! Usually, we'd make our way to Kiawah during that time, but we're gonna wait until the end of the summer to head that way this year. Can't wait for that!!! (But, I don't want to wish my summer away, so I'll wait patiently)!

Well, I think that's about it!! Things are busy, but totally great actually. I am enjoying life and the girls. I'm pretty damn lucky.

Oh yeah....HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to Patrick and my Dad! We had a great time at Michee's house for the day!!! Love y'all!!!

**UPDATE** We weren't able to see Grandpa Mike on Father's Day and I forgot to mention him in the Father's Day shout out! Sorry Grandpa Mike! You know we love you!!!