Crazy boys at target!

Her newborn headband still fits!

We tried a new restaurant tonight and it was so much fun! Novo is just a few minutes away so we're excited to have a new special restaurant close by. We ate delicious food and gelato, enjoyed the ambiance and the service was really good.

While M and I had our date, Ricardo worked, Diego watched a soccer game and Alexia read. Marco wanted to peak at the soccer game so I snapped a shot of everyone on the bed :). Babycakes was already asleep.

While the cleaners were at the house we decided to make a quick last minute trip over to the nature center. It was awesome. They have a new playground which is super cool and the kids loved wading in the water for awhile.
Today was a wonderful day for me. We had a great balance of work and play and a whole lot of togetherness.

And then tonight was my date with marco. Oh my, what a sweetheart. He was soooo excited. We all had dinner together and then we started our date with a walk and climbing a magnolia tree together. As we were walking, holding hands, he looked up at me and said "I can't believe our date night already started!"
We held hands the whole time we walked and I just wanted to melt!
We came home to play two board games (he beat me both games!), read a book and eat a delicious dessert.
He was an absolute delight and just beaming with joy.
Tomorrow is Diego's turn with me and we'll do the same as marco and I.
It's the first time we do home date nights and they have been awesome!

These children are just amazing and we do not want to wait to celebrate them and pour into them. One on one time fills them so much and meets needs that just can't be met as a brood. I am grateful for a dad who puts intentionality as an absolute priority in our family. This date night spree was his idea!!

We decided to have a date night marathon and in two weeks, the three big kids will each have had a date with both parents!
Last Monday was the kick off with Alexia and I getting our nails done:

We had so much fun and even snuck in an ice cream at Morelli's before going home to read a book. This girl is just way too fun to hang out with!

The next date was Ricardo and Diego on Tuesday. They had take out pizza, munchies and watched Star Wars together. Diego absolutely loved it!

On Thursday Ricardo took Marco to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and fun. Thursdays are super fun there with balloon artists, etc so it felt like they had gone to a festival!

The pictures above are from last night when Ricardo and Alexia had dinner together and then played board games, went for a walk and had dessert.

Her favorite spot!

This is summer fun at its best!

We went to Hannah and Benjamin's pool last week and had so much fun! The kids absolutely loved it and Hannah and I enjoyed hanging out!

Lucias favorite thing to do is pull out these plastic dishes and stack them, line them up, put lids on, etc. adorable!!

Today we went to the Piedmont Park splash pad and had a blast! We met several friends there and stayed for over 3 hours! Lucia absolutely loved it!

I think all the kids in this pic were part of our crew!

The Coxes have a new baby in their family!!! Duncan was born ten days ago and is doing great! They're super auntie brought them to the splash pad and we were all the last ones to leave! :)

Ricardo's aunt was in town and stopped by for a visit yesterday. Lucia loved Aldo's dog, Snoopy!!

Oh this man. I am so very grateful that he is the father of my children, the love of my life and the best friend anyone could ask for! We had an amazing date last night that lasted for 6 hours and took us to 3 different restaurants, all within walking distance to each other. We laughed so much and just had a blast. Happy Fathers Day to the very best!!!!

Meanwhile the bathing beauties were enjoying their peace and quiet inside :)

The boys measured how many loops they'd have to do around the yard to make a mile. We determined it was 10 so they took off running and felt so accomplished (and sweaty!) by the end. They wanted to show off their muscles for a picture!

At 16 months, Lucia's words:

Leche (milk)
Gee gee (her blankie)
Papa
Mama
Cerrar (close)
Panza (belly)
Hot
Hi
Hola
Alexia
Agua

Signs:
All done
Where

The kids had a blast at Appstles VBS last week. On Friday Kim and I took the kids (minus Alexia who went to Meira's house for a play date) to a picnic lunch and then she left and the boys, baby and I had a lovely nature walk.

These boys enjoyed their special time together, throwing sticks and rocks, running, getting dirty and being wild.

Precious brothers

Making mama nervous :)

She could not be any cuter. I couldn't stop kidding her head!

Tostadas with cheese, beans, meat, onion and grapes!
He ate every last bite and even had a third one!

This boy adores this girl in a way that would melt the hardest of hearts!

after a fun afternoon at the pool, Lina and the kids came back to the house for a pizza dinner and we had lots of fun!

I think this was this beauty's first time in a swimsuit. She was very hesitant about the water at first, but once she got comfortable, she LOVED it!!