Braddy Frankin is 4 years old!!!

Hard to believe that it was 4 years ago when we were blessed with our second child and first son. He was a sweet, laidback little fella who slept alot and allowed his 2 year old sister to dote on him quite a bit. Now he's a precious, sweet, energetic, funny, caring, silly, tough little boy who can hang pretty well with his big sister and is really enjoying teaching his little brother all kinds of cool stuff! He is so excited about his birthday, which he has been anxiously waiting for since Christmas! (It was hard for him to celebrate: mommy's, Trent's, Rachel's and daddy's...not to mention grandparents', etc...) He kept saying, "when's it going to be my birthday...it's taking such a long time!" Well, sweet son, your day is here! We hope our adorable son, Bradley Franklin enjoys his special day! We are taking him to his favorite restaurant...McDonald's...for lunch and then we are opening his presents when daddy gets home from work, eating sausage balls for dinner (another of his faves) and eating Spider Man cupcakes for dessert.

Happy 4th Birthday Bradley Franklin Milligan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We love you soooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!

15 months old!

Trenty poo is almost 16 months old now. Last week, I (finally) took him for his 15 month check-up. He did great and hated every minute of it. He just doesn't care about talking to the nurses and dr. or even giving them a pleasant expression. He practically hyperventilates when they are about to examine him. And, he cries angrily when they're checking him out. This time I took him and Rachel at the same time (for her 6 year check-up). He didn't even like it when the dr. was checking her out. He just kept watching with a quivering lip and a rapidly rising chest. Anyway, poor Trent had to get 2 shots, which he didn't like and which made him very mad...especially the part when he has to be held still while he gets them. We are so happy and thankful to have very healthy children who are growing and developing just beautifully.

Here are his 15 month stats: (unfortunately I can't find R&B's 15 mo. stats)
Trent- 23 lbs. 12 oz. - 30 1/2 inches

We sure do love our Trenty poo!

the 4th of July

sweet little Trenty enjoying his cookie in the wagon

together again!

big boy taking a break

the sweetest girls and bestest friends

6 of 8 enjoying popsicles...

Trenty was to the left, out of the picture shot and Abby was asleep.

On the 4th, we went to mom and dad's and ate a delicious meal! We had a great time getting all the Duke grandchildren together to play and having all the Duke children together also. The kids had fun playing on the playground and in the sprinkler! It was a super fun day!

the 4th of July (on the 3rd)

Bradley and Carter on their "sweet rides"

the bobbin' tub

Rachel...ready to bob!

little Ms. Lauren


my sweet Rachel...best "apple bobber" around

Trenty preferred eating the apples instead of bobbing for them

our "white" son, Bradley, lathered up with sunscreen

lovely Sophia

Rachel, Carter, Elle and Lauren in a pool in the pool

(somehow the baby pool busted after an hour or so!)

The 4th of July...

~was so much fun at Gege and Papa's.

~had the BEST BBQ ribs, chopped pork and chicken...YUM!

~involved the kids bobbing for apples.

~was when we all swam and swam.

~was a gorgeous day with perfect weather.

~also included a water balloon fight...

~in which Nick threw one at Matt M. and left a welp on his leg.

~and also when Nick was running away from Sophia

and fell in a hole and almost twisted his ankle.

~is such a wonderful tradition!

Trent's 1st big haircut

(pre-haircut)

Say "cheese"!!

look at those long locks! (pre-haircut)

(post haircut)

the sides don't really match all that well...

his sweet little neck

yea, not too good at blending anything...

Post hair cut...our handsome little boy!

We finally did it. We cut off Trenty's hair. We had been contemplating for awhile and after a few people asked us if he was a girl, (Really??!!) we decided it was time. I did the official cut, and it's not that great, but thankfully he's really cute no matter what his hair looks like! He was pretty cooperative sitting on my bathroom counter, messing with every possible thing he could...from toothbrushes to make-up to the faucet. But, it's cut and it'll do fine till we take him to a professional next time.

the kids @ the beach

hangin' on our balcony in their underwear

All my loves

waiting to take an airboat ride at Boondock's

Believe it or not, we did get a few pictures of the kids together. It's just hard to get them all to cooperate at the same time! :)

Rachel, our lovely, caribbean girl

We've had the joy of taking Rachel to the beach many times and it just seems to get more fun each year. Rachel swims like a fish so she's super confident in the pool. She liked the ocean and gave it a fair try, but it was just too rough. She did like the sand, though, and enjoyed building some sand castles. She also LOVES putt-putt and would have played at every miniature golf venue if we had let her. She and Bradley went once with Gege and Papa and once with me and Nick. She does not want to putt correctly, so it takes her about 9 or 10 times to get her ball in the hole, but she enjoys every minute of it. Of course, her beautiful brown skin is even darker and more caribbean-like as usual for the summer. This year, Rachel took her own room at the condo. She said she wanted her own bed and was (scarily) almost like a teenager. (However, after the first night, she got scared and wanted Nick to sleep in her room.) She took snacks and drinks into her room, watched tv all the time and kept her doors closed. It was kinda funny, but also a glimpse into her teen years. She is such a sweet girl, always wanting to take care of her brothers, full of compassion and kindness. She's so smart and observant and is truly becoming a big girl...her interests are changing and she doesn't always want to hang with her brothers. She also thinks she knows more than she does and can make decisions without asking her parents. This is something we're working on with her and she's so bright that I know she gets it. She's still such a cuddly, sweet little girl who loves to get attention from us and her grandparents. We love our sweet caribbean girl!