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We're trying not to let six months go by again without posting, so we've been playing catch-up lately and back-dated a few blogs from the previous few months. Scroll down to see what our little guys have been up to. Firetrucks, movies, parades, time at the beach and birthdays have consumed our summer so far.

This recent picture isn't that great since it was taken with my phone, but I love the memory behind it. Sometimes Noah likes to play in our bathroom while I'm getting ready. Eric and I were headed to a couples baby shower later that night, so I got to "get dressed up." Well, once I put the necklace on that you see in the photo below, Noah said, "That looks like chips." I cracked up and so did he, so I couldn't resist taking a picture with him to forever remind me of my chip necklace!

Zoo Party

On Saturday, July 17, the boys went to their first birthday party at the Zoo for their friend J.P. who was turning three. It was so much fun! The party was at the Zoo's Wee Play Center -- an indoor facility with several rooms, including a commissary, barn, vet clinic, puppet stage and reptile area. The boys mainly stayed in the kitchen (or commissary as it was labeled) and enjoyed making meals and chopping food. After lots of free play and visits from small zoo animals, the party guests enjoyed pizza, cake and ice cream. Noah managed to stick his finger in the birthday cake before it was lit though! The best part was a special appearance by Einstein, the Zoo's famous talking parrot. She sang "Happy Birthday" and answered several questions for the kids. After that we headed to the carousel and then the big play area where the boys played and got more sweaty than I've ever seen them. We quickly made it through the Safari part of the Zoo to see the elephants, zebras and giraffes, but a pre-nap meltdown ensued and we made a dash for the car. Brenton fell asleep in his stroller while Eric carried a crying Noah on his shoulders. Both slept the whole way home. It was a great time and fun way to celebrate J.P.'s birthday and Brenton's first trip to the Zoo!

The commissary was really neat. The boys enjoyed "making dinner" and going shopping for groceries.

Different varieties of animal hats were used as party favors - a very cute idea! Noah wanted a tiger and Brenton got a giraffe.

Brenton's first ride on the carousel.

Noah chose to ride the "big gorilla."

The African Safari exhibit is my favorite. Noah enjoyed watching the elephants too.

Brenton tried to keep up, but fell asleep in his stroller. We have a picture of Noah in this same stroller at this exact spot (Black Bear Falls) during his first trip to the Zoo in the summer of '09.

4th of July Weekend

We love the weekends around our house. Breakfast in PJs, playtime outside and just the four of us being together is such a blessing. Of course, we don't get to sleep in since both our boys are early risers and there is an occasional "Cranky Sunday" as we like to call them when one or both boys decide to have an attitude and/or not nap. At that point, we're ready for Mondays to roll around again :)

The Fourth of July was very low-key for us this year. We were both off work and had a great three-day weekend together. Eric picked up a watermelon on his way home from work Friday, I made brownies and decorated them with red, white and blue icing and we got caught up on some Netflix movies.

On Saturday, Eric, Noah and I made a flag cake. I took Noah to the store earlier in the day to get the ingredients. Flag cakes are super easy to make and very kid-friendly. Noah like spreading (tasting) the whipped cream and putting all the fruit on top. He really does enjoy helping me in the kitchen these days, mainly because he gets to "help" (i.e. lick the bowl and spoon). Right now, his favorite thing to make with me are blueberry muffins. He asks to make them all the time and would eat four at a time if we'd let him.

On Monday, we went to the 24th Annual Town of Farragut 4th of July parade. It lasted a few hours, but we only made it for one. It was pretty crowded and really hot. Brenton liked to wave at everyone and Noah's favorite souvenir was a small bouncy ball.

Of course we got the kiddie pool and water table out which has been nice to have on these hot days. The boys love to play in the water together.