Goin' for a Swim in Ms. Darlene and Mr. Tom's Pool!

Grammie telling Kenden to make sure he holds his breath!

Face in and Kicking! That is the next Michael Phelps!

READY.......

SET.......

GOOOO!!!!


Kenden and I drove Nanny home to Hopewell today, so we made it a day visit and after we hung out with Nanny at her place for a bit, we went to see Grammie and Papa to have dinner and swim at the home of their very good friends, the Merritts, Darlene and Tom. Kenden was SO excited and has become quite the little fish lately. He will hold his breath and put his head under and kick his legs (with water wings on), as well as jump in all alone, too. Today was the first day he's jumped off a diving board, too. We had a ball over at Ms. Darlene and Mr. Tom's house, swimming and jumping in their pool. I am so excited that Kenden has taken to water as he has, since Jeff and I were both competitive swimmers for years. I will be enrolling him in swim lessons for sure this fall as well, just to keep that bravery and confidence in the water.

Nothing Like a Little Water Up the Nose!


Grammie and Kenden

Kenden trying to convince Papa to either throw him in, or come in for a swim, too! Papa had been working, so he was fully dressed....you can see in the next pic what Papa decided to do!

"Fro ME IN PAPA!"

PJs from Nanny!

Jeff's mom (AKA Nanny), came to visit us this week from late Monday night to Thursday. Jeff drove to Hopewell to get Nanny, and I drove her back today. Nanny doesn't drive long distances alone, and now that Granddaddy is in Heaven, we had to figure out a way to get her down here to hang with her youngest grandson for a few days! We had such a fun time with Nanny! On Tuesday, Nanny, Mommy and Kenden all went to Norfolk to MacArthur Center Mall and did some serious shopping! Then we played in the kids play area and ate lunch there before heading home. We all went to dinner together that night since Tuesday is a "non-gym" night for Jeff and me. On Wednesday, Kenden went to his My Gym camp for a couple hours, so Nanny and I hit up Kohl's, a place we both love! She was sweet enough to get Kenden several pairs of adorable PJs, one of which she let him have early (she's keeping the others for his birthday). He has them on in the pics below! I love them because they have crocodiles on them, and he's totally into them for some reason! He was so stoked about those! Kenden and I drove Nanny back to Hopewell today and I know we are both going to really miss her company! Thanks for the great time Nanny! We love you!

CHEESE!!

Check out my "ja-jamas"! Kenden calls his PJs "Ja-Jamas"

Chillin' in Da-da's leather chair in the office

Happy Birthday Uncle Tim and Aunt Carrie!

Wishing Tim and Carrie both a very Happy July Birthday! Carrie's birthday was on the 20th and Tim's was the 25th! Hope you both had a super birthday and were able to celebrate and do something fun! We love you both!

A Day at the Beach with Friends!

Kenden and Blake are 2 Very Busy Boys!



I called Kenden's name prior to taking this pic in the hopes he'd give me a smile, and instead, he looked up and said, "Quiet Mom! We are working!" Well, EXCUSE me Mr. Busy!



Today, Kenden and I spent a fantastic day on the beach with our friends Kelly and Blake, and Sandra and Kayla! Sandra wisely suggested that we take a trip to the oceanfront with the kids and we couldn't have asked for a better beach day! The weather was perfect and the kids had a ball playing together! Miraculously, we moms were able to actually sit and relax a little bit, as the kids were so consumed with playing in the sand!

Sandra, AKA "The Bag Lady" toting her stuff out to the beach!

Kayla is getting so big!



Look at these 3 busy-bodies!

OBX with the Breeden Family!

My cousin and her family took their vacation in the OBX this week and invited my family to come down to visit! My brother and his wife as well as my parents went from Sunday to Tuesday, and Kenden and I took the day trip down there on Monday (it is a short trip for us, only an hour and a half). What a super time we had! We were all so excited to do this, because we usually only see each other at Christmas~once a year. It was a blast. The kids had a ball playing together (in between fighting! ha!) and we adults had a great time talking and joking. We sure hope we can do this again next year, and hopefully we can all stay with them longer!

The Gang's All Here!


Mike, TD holding Zach, and Uncle Ricky

Michelle and Carrie

Aunt Dale thinks Kenden's Crazy!

Now, it is Camden's turn for a head dunk in the bucket! He and Kenden took turns dunking their heads in the bucket of salt water!



What's a beach trip without being buried in the sand?!

Kenden and his 3rd Cousin, Zachary Playing the CARS Video Game

Kenden and Zach are only a month apart in age, with Zach being older. Michelle and I found out the same weekend that we were both pregnant! They were so adorable together!

Future Gamers!

Jammin' On Top of Nanny's Deep Freezer

Oh! This is a great song!

Gotta Turn This One Up!

Go Kenden, go Kenden, go Kenden~Get Your Groove On!

Kenden loves the stools that Nanny has on her back porch and has discovered how to use them as ladders to climb on top of her deep freezer! Once on top of the deep freezer, he discovered the small boom box she has on top of the table beside the freezer. He figured out how to turn it on and was dancing like a crazy goon on top of the freezer!

Getting to Meet Declan Leake!

Kitty and Declan


On Friday evening, my good friend Kitty Leake brought her new baby Declan over to my parents' house for me to meet for the very first time. Kitty and I grew up together, her mom worked with my parents, and her family was like a second family to me! I was so very excited to meet the new addition. Declan is adorable. He was so sweet and cuddly. Kitty is a wonderful mother and is so good with him. I could tell she was totally enjoying motherhood. I am looking forward to getting to see him again and see how he changes with time! Congrats to you Kitty and Deneb on your beautiful son, Declan!

Visiting with Hilary and Cayden

Friday morning, Hilary and Cayden came to my mom's house to visit Kenden and I! This is the first time I have seen Cayden since he was born in October. So very hard to believe he is 9 months old now! When he was born, I happened to be in town that weekend and made the trip to Johnston Willis Hospital in Chesterfield to see him, but since then, Hilary and I have been so busy we haven't coordinated anytime together until now. I am so glad they came to see us and hang out and have lunch at my mom's while Kenden and I were in town. Kenden had a bit of a hard time sharing his toys at first, but loosened up as time passed. Cayden was a happy, easy going baby and so sweet and adorable! I hope we are able to see him and big brother Colin again soon!
Kenden being gentle with Cayden

Cayden Scott Warthan

Cousin Michael's Swim Meet at Wood-Dale!

Michael waiting his turn to swim in the Freestyle Relay


Swimmers Take Your Mark!

GO MICHAEL!

Kenden and I took a trip to Hopewell while daddy was out of town in Orlando on business. We got there on Wednesday evening and spent the majority of Thursday morning with Nanny (Jeff's mom), then that evening, Kenden and I went with Nanny, Vickie and Amanda to Wood-Dale Swim Club to see Michael swim in the swim meet. Mommy spent the majority of the evening reminiscing about her old swim team days with dada (we both swam on the same swim team for years), and catching up with a whole bunch of old friends she grew up with. Vickie and Amanda took turns chasing Kenden all over the place.

Michael did so well and it was so much fun to watch him. The cool thing was that the starting blocks they were using were the same ones Jeff and I used for years when we swam, AND Jeff's dad made them! By the time we left, Kenden was telling me, "Mommy, I gonna get on that white block and DIBE off"! I see another competitive swimmer in the family for sure!
Vickie, I gonna jump in dat water!

Kenden with cousins Michael and Amanda (Jeff's sister's children)