sweet july .... you bring us FUN

sweet july, you bring us LOTS OF FUN!

you bring us the beauty of the fireworks that light up the night sky ...

you bring us patriotic littles showing off their red, white & blue ...

you bring us a long weekend visit with our very best friends ...

you bring us sweet summer nights of family fun, like the drive in perhaps ...

you bring us a vacation to CaLiFoRnIa ...

you bring us to sandy beaches and palm trees ...

you bring us a little bit of magic that will spark the eyes of all of us once again at disney ...

sweet sweet july, we can hardly wait for you!

1 year ago ...

1 yr ago on june 29th we were sitting in a court room at the lasalle county court house and we couldn't have been more excited!!! i took the stand first, followed by brian and then there was the sweet sound of the judge saying "i grant this adoption" and that officially made us "the shermans 5"! the adoption of julie & jonah was final! :) even though they had been with us for quite some time it was a GREAT DAY and a sigh of relief for us knowing they were officially OURS!!!!

brian & i always make our kiddo's adoption day a pretty big deal! we call it their "gotcha day" ya know, the day we officially got them. ;) it's kind of like another birthday for them with special treats because it was the day they were "born" into our family!

3 & 7

although the day turned out to be a rainy one, the boy's had a great b-day!

the yummy cake

time for presents

noah with two of his buddies, jayce & trenton

my little julie girl

our friend's new puppy, misha

noah kickin' dad's butt @ wii baseball

do you think he is surprised?!?!? LOL

the wii

jonah with his new ride ;)

this kid actually LOVES to get clothes

good morning birthday boy

making a WISH

... and my wish for them is a lifetime of happy, heathly birthdays to come!

gettin' ready ...

no monkeying around at the sherman household! we have noah & jonah's b-day party to get ready for on saturday! :)

jonah

my sweet baby jonah,

little did i know when i held you the very day you were born that you would be mine in 10 short mons.! even though i didn't know i would be adopting you soon i was able to watch you grow your first 10 mons and see you often being that julie was in our care! i snuggled you every chance i could. :) you are such a love bug! and who could resist your adorable little face with the deepest dimples!?!

you have come a long way my little man! i will tell you more in years to come but you are proof of what a loving home & family does for a baby!!!!! you definitely bonded to me instantly and hung on for dear life! a momma's boy you ARE and I LOVE IT! jonah ... you are sweet, playful, hilariously funny and love your bro & sis as well as everyone else in the family! you are all boy and think "toots" are the funniest thing on this planet! one of my favorite things about you is watching you with your BIG BROTHER. you want to be like him in EVERY way and it melts my heart! i love that the two of you share your birthday, it just makes that bond even more special!

how is it possible that my baby is 3??? i feel that with you we just soak in every little ounce of babyhood left knowing that you are our last wee one! we aren't in a hurry for you to grow up, for example potty training! yes, you are turning three and want nothing to do with it and honestly i don't even care! you'll be potty trained before preschool ... i promise! ;)

jonah, you are such a fun little guy! everyday you make us laugh with your little actions & stories. i am so incredibly happy that you came into our lives ... you complete us! i'm excited for your 3rd birthday and most of all for the chocolate cake YOU are so excited about ... LOL! i love you more then words can say! xoxoxox

noah

my little buddy noah,

i find it so hard to believe that in just a few short days you will be turing 7 ... where does the time go? it seems like just yesterday we received the call saying "a sweet little baby boy was born, weighing 5lbs 9oz, very healthy, and he is the perfect match for you and brian". just seconds later i literally RAN upstairs to the computer to open my e-mail to see your precious face! this is the very first glimpse of you that i got! :) my heart melted instantly and the tears streamed down my face.
yes, i know you hear this story over and over but it is one i will never get tired of telling! after all it is the story of YOU! :) noah, being your mom is the greatest joy. watching you grow the past seven years has been so much fun! you are all BOY yet you are sweet, sensitive, caring and have your very own unique qualities (one of my favorite things about you). you love your family immensely and i LOVE that. watching you interact with julie & jonah is so sweet. there are typical days of fighting ... ya know the normal sibling rivalry but all in all you take such good care of them. knowing that you are the oldest you always watch out for them and it is the sweetest thing for a momma to watch!

there is one thing from this past year in particular that stands out, though there are many many things! this one thing though, just reminds me of how sweet my little boy is! one day during the school year we were running totally behind schedule, i remember everything just being a little chaotic on the way to school. the the van door opened and you hopped out. it was the first time i didn't give you a kiss before you went into school! it literally bothered me the whole entire day, i had a little lump in my throat that i just couldn't get rid of. well, 3pm came and i was at school in my normal spot waiting for you to get out. out of the school doors you came and hopped right into the van. the very first thing you did was give me a huge hug and kiss and said "mom, we forgot that this morning!" talk about melting this mom's heart! there is not a day that goes by that you don't make me smile.

i look forward to celebrating the big #7 with you in a few days! keep dreaming big noah and keep being the sweet little boy that you are! make new friends, run and play outside, hit a ton of home runs, catch lightning bugs at night with your brother & sister, love everyone always and most importantly enjoy every second of being a little boy! i love you more then you will ever imagine! xoxo

my boys ...

it is the week of my BOYS! this coming saturday (the 25th) is noah & jonah's birthday!!! as i flipped through my albums tonight i smiled yet shed a little tear just because it's hard to believe how fast time is really flying by .... my 1st baby is going to be 7 and my last baby is going to be 3!

noah ... 1 yr old
1st bday ... #1 theme :)

noah ... 2 yrs old
2nd bday ... mexico trip but we had a jungle animal theme party ( i am searching for those pics frantically right now ... sad face )

noah ... 3yrs old

3rd bday ... curious george theme

noah ... 4yrs old
4th bday ... pirate party theme

noah ... 5yrs old
noah's 5th bday & jonah's 1st bday ... all about baseball theme

noah ... 6 yrs old
6th bday ... cowboy theme for noah's classmates out at cedar creek ranch

jonah ... 1yr old
jonah's 1st bday and noah's 5th bday .... all about baseball theme

jonah ... 2yrs old
2nd bday .... mr. dino theme



more to come this week but for today just a trip down memory lane :)

happy father's day

happy father's day to one GREAT daddy!

daddy ... you make our lives so much happier

daddy ... you make our "boy" days so much fun

daddy ... the love you give us is incredible

daddy ... the sweet times we share together will always be cherished

daddy ... the three of us are soooo lucky to be able to call YOU and only YOU our daddy! you go above and beyond for us and we couldn't love you more! xoxoxox

random

total randomness going on in this post ....

~ summer is here and i am loving the time with my littles hence the absence of blogging

~my kitchen will be almost complete next week ... i've never been so excited to cook! lol

~i am now trying to decide on new furniture and a paint color for the living room

~father's day is approaching rapidly and i have to get my booty in gear and do a little shopping for the special guys in our lives

~speaking of special guys ... my little guys (noah & jonah) have a birthday coming up a week from saturday so i also have to do some birthday shopping for them. the cake is ordered and invitations are sent out

~that is about it in a nut shell, i vowed to myself that this summer would be all about my kids and us spending some good, fun, quality family time together and that's just what we are doing

let summer begin :)

random thoughts ...

~ our kitchen is moving along now quite nicely ... oh how i wish it was done though

~ summer vacation is so close, monday is noah's last hour of school ... woohoo

~ i need to get my kids summer activities scheduled ... swimming, t-ball, ect..

~ back to the kitchen, it's making me so unorganized ... ugh, i hate that feeling

~ it's so hard to believe that i will have a 2nd grader in the fall and another one of my babes will be starting preschool ... sad yet excited about a new adventure

~ the 25th of this month is noah & jonah's b-day ... have to get my game plan going for a party (thinking paul frank, saw some super cute stuff @ target)

~ we are way overdue for a get together with our besties from MN ... it is a MUST this month

~ i cannot wait to sleep in with my kids and enjoy the summer to the fullest ... every single second of it

~ i cannot wait to go on vacation in july, it's our first "big vacation" as a complete family of five ... sea world, disneyland and lots of beach time :)

~ as i type this i cannot help but notice all of the plaster dust i have missed ... can you tell it's driving me insane yet?!?!