We took Declan to the mall on Saturday to get him out of the house.  He hasn't been feeling too well the past few weeks so he's been couped up in our apartment and was starting to go crazy...and so was I!  Here's a pic of him riding the dragon on the carousel.

He didn't quite know what to think when it actually started going around and the dragon went up and down but he seemed to like it! 

He loves being mischievous in the kitchen.  As soon as the dishwasher or fridge is open he comes crawling full speed to try and catch them before we close them back up.  It's really cute.  Yesterday I was unloading groceries and as I was putting them in the fridge he would take them back out.  I also caught him with a few grapes in his mouth that he tried to sneak while I had my back to him.  ha ha

I took these pictures last night when he was supposed to be getting ready for bed.  He's had a hard time lately winding down for the night and has been fighting his nightly routine.  He was just too cute last night though, I had to let him play just a little longer.

This picture is random but I just wanted to show y'all how curly his hair can get in the back with a little humidity!  We went swimming for a second time a couple weeks ago and got this picture of all the boys who had the same swim shirt.  Declan is the furthest on the left.

We started giving Declan a sippy cup when he was 6 months old while he ate meals and he caught on pretty well.  Well, the last month or so he's realized how much he likes sucking out of straws.  I have a water bottle that you have to bite the straw to open and then suck up and he loves it.  Zach and I couldn't believe he could actually get water out of it but he does!  He refused to take his sippy cup if he ever saw my water bottle around so we decided to get him one of his own.  He was really excited when he realized that it was just for him and he didn't have to share with me anymore!

swimming!

I took Declan swimming for the first time today and he definitely had some mixed feelings about it.  This is what he looked like in the beginning...

Definitely not happy!  He started to warm up to it or maybe he just gave up complaining about it once he realized I wasn't going to take him out.  Here are almost all the kids that went with us, minus Jonah and Macie, with Corrine.

By the end he was talking and starting to splash around although he still looks like a grumpy old man in this picture.

Hopefully he won't be like his dad and hate swimming! 

Weekend Getaway

For Memorial Day weekend we went to Franklin, TN (just a little before Nashville) with our good friends the Welshes.  Jesse's family was so nice to let us stay with them all weekend.  Declan loved chasing the two dogs and we all had a lot of fun.  We went to the Factory on Saturday morning and looked around at the shops their and also went to an awesome Farmer's Market. 

I love this picture of the kids!

Declan sucking on a lemon at Mellow Mushroom for lunch.

On Saturday night Jesse's parents were so nice to watch the kids so we could go to dinner.  We went to Puckett's and they had three country music songwriters performing while we were there.  It was so awesome to hear the background about some of my favorite songs!  They were really funny also.  

I am going to miss Marissa so much when we move!

On Monday morning on our way back to Memphis we were able to meet up with two couples, the Loves and the McKenzies, from our BYU-I ward.  We went to Mimi's Cafe in Murfreesboro and it was delicious!  They even gave Declan a little bowl of cheerios, crackers, and an orange slice.  It was really nice to see some old friends that we haven't seen in a few years!

I tried to keep Declan entertained on the way home. 

Daddy's boy

Last week we went for a walk at this huge beautiful park called Shelby Farms.  I got some of the cutest pictures of Zach and Declan and just had to share them.  We were given the outfit that Declan is wearing and Zach just happened to have something that matched perfectly!

I absolutely love this next picture.  It's my new favorite picture of my two boys.

Declan loves to walk around and has been doing so for a couple months.  Of course he doesn't like it if we let go of his hands.  He has taken a couple steps on his own but he is still a little unsure of walking all by himself.