For a little more than a month now Finn has been going to Aqua Tots Swim School for two lessons each week, one on Monday and the other on Tuesday. His first few lessons he was pretty timid in the water and not very confident. This week you can really tell how much progress he has made! Can you find him in the photo below? Yep, that’s him, completely submerged under the water. That’s a big deal for this kiddo who initially didn’t want to get anything more than his chin wet! He is doing GREAT!
And yep, another trip to Graeter’s for me and this one. I mean, come on, when they release a summer “bonus” flavor that is peppermint ice cream with chocolate chips – how could we not go see if we liked it?
Oh. my. word. This one. Nearly everyday there is something about this kid that cracks me up. This particular day it was time to hop in the shower so I asked him to head up to get undressed. He usually puts his dirty clothes in our dirty clothes basket in our closet. When I went upstairs to get him started in the shower I saw this! This silly boy got a purse and some shoes of mine (in the closet where the hamper is) and was modeling for me, lol. Certainly these photos will be shown for years to come. 
And then there is this one. He. loves. to. sleep. And he is really good at it too! And it makes him happy. Well, not always happy, but he’s usually happy to go take a nap!
Jenn and Griffin had a fun rainy-day morning of making pancakes this week (including some with chocolate chips!). Yummers. 
This year the “spring celebration – yay we made it through another spring season” party was a Columbus Clippers game downtown at Huntington Park. As it turns out, it wasn’t a very popular (aka well-attended) event for our staff. I guess some don’t like baseball or to drive that far :(. Well, those of us that went had a great time! We even had our name on the monitor. 
Uncle Andy and Aunt Amy invited us to go swimming this weekend. Unfortunately, Reid had been to the doctor on Friday and was diagnosed with enterovirus. So we didn’t feel it appropriate for him to go! Kevin stayed home with Reid and Finn and I headed to church to work in the nursery and then for an afternoon of pool fun. We haven’t been to the Dublin Pools before – they are a treat! You can tell Finn is gaining confidence in the water. Even from the beginning of our day to the end – he was far more adventurous in the pool. Thanks to Uncle Andy for snapping some pics. 
Griffin is so happy to play with Reid and be a big brother. He’s enjoying helping him learn to walk too. 
July 1st marks my 20 year work anniversary at Millcreek. This year, prior to my annual review, I reviewed my entire employee file. As you can imagine it’s pretty thick after 20 years! There were lots of things in there that were fun to review, including my original application for employment (a paper application, gasp!) from 1998 as well as my resume. Check out my hourly wage for my high school and college jobs!
eek
Each year the Powell Festival seems to be up against summer storms! This year is no different and we didn’t think we were going to venture out. Even though the skies were looking iffy we decided to go for it and had a blast! It had rained so much during the week the kids activities area where they have numerous inflatables and fun things for kids was an absolute mess! Deep tire ruts in the grass from where the entertainment trucks drove in to get their activities setup. We didn’t even venture off the path back there but rather Finn had a go at the trampoline for a few minutes which he seemed to enjoy just as much. It turned out to be a beautiful night and we were glad to have gone. 
Baseball games continue on Saturday morning. It’s nice to get up and have some time at our house in the morning and then head out to the ball field for some fun. 
I put this picture in, even though it is blurry, as it perfectly captures Reid’s expression when he is getting tired and wants his paci. He takes his finger and puts it up to his lip and just babbles a bit, all while making his sad eyes and scrunching his forehead. 
And here is a picture of Rowan from when he was 10 months old. He and Reid definitely share many similarities!
Look at those blue-eyed babes! Here we are enjoying a quick dinner at Panera after swim lessons this week. Reid ate really well – he had lots of the grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit, and Finn re-fueled all the energy he burned from being in the water.
My snuggle bud Brutes. This boy just wants to be sure he’s loved!
Friday marked the third anniversary of Nathan’s birth and death. Each year when June rolls around, actually more like May 15th, all kinds of thoughts and memories become more vivid as the date is a constant reminder of losing our little boy. Each year we visit the cemetery together, say a prayer, and then have dinner together after as a family. Even though three years have passed it so often still seems surreal and the emotions can be overwhelming. We don’t yet have a headstone or a family plot stone at the cemetery – hoping we will be able to make that complete by next year. Thanks to my parents for the thoughtful arrangement to remember all of our boys, the red roses for Griffin and Reid and the white calla lily for Nathan.
Saturday began the summer baseball season for Finn. This year it is coach-pitch so it’s a step up! Griffin is enjoying it and gets so excited during the week and counts down the days until he has a game. 
After his game we were home and Reid and Kevin were napping. I had asked Finn to play on his own for awhile so I could get some bills paid and work in the office for awhile. As I was working I thought, forget this – let’s have some fun! So we headed to the zoo only to find out they closed early for Zoofari! So we quickly switched it up and went to Zoombeezi instead – thankfully Finn was wearing his dri-fit OSU gear (basically like a suit!) and I had on yoga pants, flip flops, and a dri-fit shirt too! He had a blast in the tiny tides area for a couple of hours. 
I love these smiles!
Sunday was Father’s Day, and Kevin was excited to take Finn fishing for the first time ever. They headed out (in the crazy heat!) to Liberty Park for an afternoon adventure. As it turns out, Finn caught a fish really quickly (not very realistic first fishing experience – but they clearly stock the pond from this area where they were fishing!) and he was pretty happy about it. He held the fish and then they threw him back in! My favorite part is his outfit. He had asked, “so guys, what do you wear when you go fishing?.” We told him just comfortable shorts and shirt. He was asking about getting wet and such. And then he came down in this outfit, complete with his boots to keep his feet dry. Love this boy and his attention to detail – camo for fishing 🙂
I’ve realized I don’t have too many recent pictures of Kevin with both of the boys so during our dinner at Rooster’s I wanted to snap a pic. That went as well as I thought it would, as in not well, but here are a few for memory sake. 
And this week we received Finn’s Kindergarten information from Tyler Run! He has Mrs. Menary and will be going to school on Tuesday/Friday and every other Wednesday. He is in the same class as our neighbor, Cole, so he is super excited!
