So, I'm going to tap into my recollect and regurgitate everything worth noting from May-August.
May started with soccer and Gavin's very first ever goal. He's traditionally been a very timid player, but came out of his shell a bit with each practice/game this spring. And then LITERALLY on the very last game day, at the very last play, he surprised us all with a successful kick and SCORE!
And I captured the goal on film!!!
My mom, Gavin and I went to see the Wizard of Oz at Broadway Grand Rapids. It was fantastic. Gavin was SO into it. It was fun to watch him so engaged for the entire show and paying full attention. The next day, he learned to skip (must have been all the characters the night before) and was on a skipping frenzy for weeks following.
Another round of swim lessons (Ray) wrapped up at the YMCA. Our little fish!
Gavin ran his first every race. Lots of anticipation...with a big let down. Cute tee-shirt all ready to go, running a couple laps with dad...and he falls...flat on his face and did quite a number on his lip and nose. Poor guy was pretty frustrated, but soon after was saying he'd run another race soon.
There he is with Brad on lap one.
And there he is with a nasty scraped face :(
Speaking of running, I ran my first few post-Isla races in the spring. The Gazelle Girl half marathon in April (one day after getting back from our spring break vacation, a little tired) and the Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k. Both were just great! And then I had a nice relaxing 5k Girls on the Run race with our niece Lexi. She did great and it was so fun to be her running buddy cheering her on along the course!
Now, the REAL highlights of May...our girls birthdays. Grace celebrated her third birthday in heaven and Isla had her milestone first birthday four days later.
So, I'll start with Grace. We made our traditional butterfly cake, had our traditional Day of Grace complete with a massive celebration and remembrance at the cemetery complete with Frozen balloons, newly planted flowers, a mulch freshening and picnic. Her birthday was on a Saturday this year, so we were able to celebrate a mass that evening and then family dinner followed by a lantern launching from our backyard that night.
The milestones are so very bittersweet. The anticipation of her birthday is emotional, the day is emotional. It doesn't go away. We miss her as much today as we did the day we said goodbye. In many ways, I am still a very jaded person. Jaded, but with lots of perspective. I suppose it is good and bad. I'd trade it all in for just a day with our little girl.
I think of the things she'd be doing at three - likely potty trained, getting ready to start preschool, entering a challenging year of "three", gaining a love for reading and beginning to write and count. Our home will forever be missing a piece of the puzzle.
Miss Isla turned ONE! Where did the past year go! We celebrated with friends and family with a "You Are My Sunshine" theme - yellow and gray chevron. I executed about 20% of my big Pinterest ideas, but I must say, the decorations and celebration were fabulous! I was up until about midnight each night before the party getting things ready. This milestone felt so long in the making and so appreciated. Not every little girl makes it to her first birthday, how very special!
She is our sunshine! Our glimmer of light during a storm.
We all dressed in yellow for the occasion, including Gavin who really wanted a bow tie. Isn't he so cute!
Our sweet sunshine birthday girl in her dress that MaeMe made!
And the cake, oh the cake! It was just perfect (no, I didn't make it, thank you Sara's Sweets). It was as delicious as it was cute!
Time for some cake smashing! Delicate at first, then all in!
A new car! It's gotten lots of use this summer!
The actual factual birthday - dinner at Noddles and then Build a Bear for a special birthday bear from Gavin.
Memorial Day Parade with Uncle Dude in his fire engine.
Gavin's last day of school picnic at the park.
Mrs. N - what a loving, wonderful lady. Gavin will SO miss having her as his teacher. Our Gavin is a sensitive kid. She was the perfect match for his personality this past school year. We were very blessed to have her!
Where's Gavin (hiding behind the tree)...
A special mom and kiddos evening at the zoo. Petting the sting rays.
Ice cream after the zoo.
Being silly.
We really enjoyed an capitalized on season produce this summer. It started with picking strawberries, then cherries, blueberries, peaches, etc.
Finally complete thanks to nephew Luke and his work to spread mulch.
We took a long weekend trip to Traverse City the end of June. The water in the bay was about 50 degrees, numb chilling. But the kids still swam and we had a lovely time together as a family enjoying a Pure Michigan get away.
One of our favorite little breweries in TC has sand boxes to keep the kids occupied.
Fishing, one of Gavin's highlights of the summer.
Mini golf, another hightlight.
A new water table for Isla (and Gavin, too).
Cherries.
We had a very nice get together with friends and parents from Gavin's class! Kids enjoyed being wild and crazy and the adults got to know each other a little better! We are blessed with a very special school family - great kids!
Brad and I enjoyed a clam bake and brews from Fish Lads.
I'd be remiss if I didn't provide a developmental update for our little Isla. But I'm too tired now, so I'll dedicate a post to it very soon. And one for Gavin's updates too!