Jill at 9 months

At 9 months, Jillian has 5 teeth, crawls (or her version of crawling, see how she kicks her leg out behind her. She often is on one knee and one foot), feeds herself, babbles and sings, and is becoming more and more her own unique individual everyday. We're finding she's part monkey as she uses her legs to cling to mommy and uses her toes as extra fingers. People are always impressed at how she uses her toes so expressively. We have had some difficulty with her naps. She just refuses naps but after a few days it usually catches up with her and she'll finally take a nap anywhere!She loves the pool and is enjoying summer (even has a nice little tan).And check her out, she's getting hair!



I'm predicting that next month will bring pulling up to standing and waving b-bye (ok, so we're halfway through the next month but you'll have to wait until then for the pictures :)

Kid's Camera

The kids got a camera for Christmas (2 years ago?). It's a Vtech Kid Camera. They love it! It doesn't take top quality photos but it can be dropped :) Here are some pictures from the last few months...Can you identify them? I enjoy staring at the pictures (often overexposed, close-up, or obviously accidentally taken of the ground or ceiling) and trying to figure out what the picture is and why it was taken.

1. Flowers we pass by on our daily walk. The kids think they're beautiful (and Cocoa tries to eat them). Jason took this picture because he wants me to print it, frame it and hang it on the wall :)

2. Our street from our walk...who knows who took it and why

3. That's Beth in our hallway

4. This took me a minute...it's the Aquadoodle poster in the secret room (small storage/playroom under the stairs). They like taking pictures in there because it's dark and the flash is fun or so they say...

Another fun aspect of the camera is the games. There's a puzzle game that uses pictures they've actually taken and they have to rotate the pieces to complete the puzzle. It's particularly challenging when they have an overexposed basically white photo :)

Ok, now I'm off to print Jason's flower picture!

Meet Cocoa

Our family has grown. We've added a puppy. Yes, we're crazy but she's super sweet, Beth needed a pet, and who doesn't want to clean-up pee, train a puppy, and take daily walks in Atlanta's summer sauna! We really are loving it. She's very smart, learning quickly, and just an all-around love! If we do this right, we're going to have an amazing dog.

Beth's Birthday

Time is flying by and somehow I still haven't posted pictures of Beth's birthday fun so here goes...Beth is 5!!!!! This is huge. It means Kindergarten, a whole new stage of life, no longer a toddler or preschooler or little person but a full blown kid! We're excited and scared all at once :) For her big day we let her pick all her meals. That meant pancake puffs for breakfast, french toast for lunch and pizza for dinner. We had pizza at our cousin's pool after a relaxing swim. Then back at their house for cake! Her cousins made her feel very special as they each made her a card and decorated their house for her. It's so nice to have family to love you!

Chik-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day

What is our family willing to do for free food? Well, for a third year we dressed up as cows on the second Friday in July for Chik-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. It's become enough of a tradition that just the mention of it sent Jason and Beth into the classroom in excitement. They were cutting out black spots before I could even give them directions. We printed out some extras this year including ears, a nose, and an "eat mor chikin" sign. Adam and Jill even shared an actual cow costume (she wore the shirt and he wore the pants). Was it worth it? Yes, definitely yes. We had fun, the kids were so proud, and we ate free dinners all around. Jill even enjoyed a free bowl of chicken noodle soup. Will we do it again? You betcha. Will I continue to be the one taking the pictures so there aren't pictures of me? Uh huh...See you next year!

(See their tails?)

Happy 4th of July!

Our Independence Day celebrating started on the 3rd with a pre-fireworks show in our town. Rather than compete with nearby large city shows, they have a free concert in the park with fireworks. It was a Journey tribute band, and I expected it to be cheesy but they were good. There were tons of people but somehow we found parking and a perfect viewing spot on someone's lawn. The firework's show was fabulous. It was Jill's first show, and she really seemed to enjoy it. I kept her ears covered in the beginning but she squirmed her way out of my protection and watched the show in awe. We were pleased, very pleased. Now whatever happened on the actual 4th, we had hit all the basics. But the 4th didn't disappoint, either. We started our day with 4th of July style oatmeal cake. Daddy even decorated the plates with jelly and added sparklers to the cake, wow! I have to include this picture of Jill. While we were busy enjoying the sparklers and singing Happy Birthday to our country, Jill grabbed her bowl of yogurt and was drinking it. She was so proud of herself.We headed to our cousins for the evening. There we had a potluck dinner with their neighborhood, enjoyed playing in the pool, (Simeon practicing his surfing)and then watched a fireworks show over their lake (it's dark but that's Talia, Beth, Adam, Jason and Lydia). We were exhausted after two late nights out but we had fun memories to make up for that!

Zemenay took a bunch of pictures of the fireworks with my camera but I think a picture of her is more fun :)

Fun in the Rain!

This is Georgia for you...sunny, humid day. We decide to head to the pool. As we're getting into the car, the rain starts. And this was not a slow, is this rain, kind of sprinkle. Everyone was soaked (and loving it) in seconds! Definitely a when life gives you lemons, make lemonade kind of moment. I got some video but for more pictures, including all the kids running up and down the street, check out my sister's blog: http://itsmylifewith7.blogspot.com/ It was quite a site watching all 10 kids running up and down the street in the pouring rain in their swimsuits. The fun lasted until we heard thunder (almost all rain here includes thunder). We headed home wet, tired, and satisfied with our fun in the rain.