The Swanson Family: July 2012

Happy 4th of July!!!

Awww, Livy giving mommy a kiss!

Ella's turn!

Livy riding the horsey (pool noodle)!

Strike a pose Ella!

There is the cheesy Livy smile!

We spent the 4th of July in Hastings again this year. Bamma got a pool for the girls to swim in which was awesome since the weather was unbearably HOT! Thank you Bamma!

Livy is pretty excited for the 4th of July!
We love our little firecrackers!

Apparently the 4th of July and golf go hand in hand for Ella.

Ella doing her "shock" face once again by the flag.

Livy's first corn on the cob ever!
Of course it was delicious, it was Nebraska corn, not that ol' Iowa stuff!
Way to use those teeth you have been breaking through all winter doll baby!

Corn on the cob is one of Ella's favorites!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!
This photo is so much the girls right now. Ella is making her signature shock face in the picture and Livy is making her signature scrunchy nose face, all while wearing daddy's baseball caps!

Daddy was showered with kisses, hugs and cuddles the morning of Father's day, when the girls delivered him breakfast in bed.

Ella and Olivia want to tell the world how much they love their daddy and that he is the most devoted, loving, fun, smart, ambitious and energetic daddy ever!

It takes a special man to raise daughters and Ella and Olivia's daddy could write the book on it.

All 3 of your girls love you daddy!

Livy's first painted piggies! Oh, so cute!

Poor Baby Girl!

Oh, little miss Livy Lynn and her boo boos!
It is true how you become more relaxed after your first child. With Ella, I can count on one hand how many bonks to the head she received in the first 2 years of her life. With Livy, I can start on a Monday and be on my second hand by Friday, and then there is still a weekend ahead of us! GOD BLESS this little girl! I don't know why she gets so many bonks on her head. Is it her personality, is that we are more relaxed, is it the result of her big sister, who knows?!?! What I do know is that she is a tough cookie, just like her big sister and her daddy - not like mommy!
This gorgeous (deep) scratch on top a lovely bruise is the injury that resulted from the girls jumping on Ella's antique wrought iron bed. Inevitably, Livy bounced off the bed and smacked her face on sharp piece of metal that was sticking up from the frame. The good news is she only cried for about 2 minutes compared to mommy's 20. The bad news is, she still has a scar. Hopefully it will continue to fade with time, and we will do a better job of watching our precious baby!

Ready for dance class!

Ella's shock face!

What a doll!

Ella tells us that she "swings like a bat!"

What form!

Balance beam.

Ella's first day of gymnastics!

Ella started gymnastics and dance classes this summer. She LOVES gymnastics! Dance however, is a different story. Luckily we only signed up for 6 week summer sessions. She will continue with gymnastics this fall, but we are planning a long break from dance class. There are too many kids in her dance class, which really just means a lot of waiting around and no attention, so she is bored to tears (as are mom & dad). It's a different story with gymnastics, there are only about 5 kids in her class and she is constantly moving. She loves the trampoline, doing flips on the bar, and practicing her cartwheels!

Twirls!

Ella relaxing on the deck.

Cousin Kade walking the girls to the car after the parade.

How cute is this?!

Mmmm, finally a lollipop!

Livy still on the lookout for more candy!

Sister teamwork to gather all the candy!

Livy focusing on the next candy throw!

Daddy and Livy at the parade.

Daddy and Ella at the parade.

Cute little Livy in her piggies!
Governor's Day Parade in Grimes! Our first parade as Grimes residents! We went to the parade with Bamma, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Tanya, cousins Kade & Dayne. We had a fun weekend with Bamma and going downtown with Jeff & Tanya that evening.

OUR NEW HOME!!!

Whoo Hoo! May 7th - The first day in our new house!
Welcome Home To Grimes!

We had lots of much needed help from family and friends during the move.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR HELPING!!!

Here are a few pictures of our new home from one of our showings. I need to take more now that we are moved in, but there are still a lot of boxes left to unpack! Slowly but surely we will get it done. We are overjoyed and have felt at home since the first night. We have fantastic neighbors and love the community. We are looking forward to many wonderful years in Grimes.

After looking at many houses, and not finding anything that was even close to what we were looking for, we fell in love with this one instantly. It has everything that was on our "must have" list which included, 2 story with finished walkout basement, open floor plan, 3 car garage, fenced in yard, large bedrooms and closets and large kitchen island. Not to mention all the additional perks that we received like built in organizers in every closet and pantry, laundry shoot, triple shower head master shower, loft area, located in a cul de sac, and again fantastic neighbors! We thank God for blessing us with this home where our family can grow with love!

Living room on the main level

Living room, looking at office and front entry

Entry

Kitchen

Mother's Day!

Bob and the girls did a secret photo shoot for part of my Mother's day gift this year. They had quite the covert operation for the photo shoot and enlisted the help of Bamma and our dear friend Holly. As always she does a fantastic jobs and has such creative ideas. Bob and Holly had a large framed print made of one of the pictures to hang in our new home. Thank you Bamma for picking outfits for the girls and helping in this special surprise! Thank you my sweet husband for always being so creative on Mother's Day and making me feel like a princess! Thank you Holly for sharing your talent and your love for our girls, you are a great friend!