*indiana part 3*

i grouped three days together for this post...

Starting with 4th of July:

a not so flattering picture of me and slightly blurry...

but it shows the huge crowd of little ones meeting each other for the first time (minus Shi and V)
and it makes me super happy.

it was so much fun to see everyone all at once. i hadn't seen my younger sister and her family since January 2011 and my older sister since December 2011. this was O's first time meeting my sisters and his five girl cousins. three of which are the same age as Oliver..just a couple months younger.

it was by far the hottest 4th of July i have ever experienced. we took O and the two oldest girls to the local parade with us. O loved the fire trucks, police cars and horses. even though we were drenched in sweat and feeling like we were going to pass out, it was worth it to see Oliver so excited about the parade.

this is unfortunately the only picture i got of Oliver with V and Shi at the parade. like i said...

it was so hot.

July 5th:



the day after 4th of July, we celebrated my dad's birthday with some yummy ice cream cake and pizza. we had a small gathering of family to help celebrate. 

before everyone came over, my dad took off with two of his son-in-laws to grab a celebratory drink. something i don't think they've ever done and so i had to get a picture of them leaving. of course V, Shi and WB got in the picture too.

my Grandma came over to celebrate with us. this was her first time meeting Oliver. 

can you believe she turned 94 earlier this year? i am praying i got her no ageing gene! ;) 

i love this picture. my Gram was so sweet with Oliver.

here she was teaching him how to draw circles.

July 6th:

the next day, we met my Aunt Susie, Uncle Bob, Uncle Dean, Grandma and Grandpa H at the park. we met them at 8:30 in the morning and you would have thought it was high noon. the kiddos were super troopers though...i think all of us adults were melting though. ;) here is a picture of the four little ones under 2. soon i'll be able to introduce to you my two sweet twin nieces! we have to wait until their adoption is finalized before i can show you their adorable smiles!

Oliver showed off his muscles by moving the handle on this old water pump.

this was b's big moment...i had to share. 

we were all super excited to meet Willow since this was her first trip to Indiana..actually anywhere.

b had been waiting to meet W since the day she was born and when the time came she was a little afraid of him (and many others). it took a couple days but at this park, she came up to him wanting him to blow bubbles with her and then after she wanted b to swing with her.

it was sweetest.

it left b with a nice big smile on his face. he's such a sweet uncle!

my beautiful nieces...Shi and V.

it's still hard for me to call these two the "big" girls. i remember both of them when they were O's age. to me, they still are. sniff...sniff.

my younger sister, Jenny with her oldest daughter.

 left to right: me, Jenny and Cara.

these two beautiful ladies are my best friends. they are the ones i go to for parenting advise because they are truly the most amazing mothers! these two give me such peace and make me belly laugh like no one else can. i love them to pieces!