Jill is 10 months old!

I was fine with 10 months old until someone said, "So she's almost a year old then?" My stomach dropped! How did my newborn baby become "almost one year old!!!" I don't know, but here she is developing super fast and becoming her own person at 10 months old... She's crawling and appears everywhere (she's quiet and stealth-like!)

She's pulling up to standing, and is working on her balance...very exciting!She enjoys her daily walks in the stroller. Although with big brother Jason pushing her she's learned to hold on tight (seriously, she holds onto this fish toy all the time!)

She claps whenever we say, "yea!"Here she is happily sitting picture perfect since she doesn't have her own handmade frame (made by her siblings before she was born.) We think everyone should have their own Jillian to hang on their wall :)Being 10 months old is exhausting (I move so much now that I'm actually tired enough to take naps, mommy is very happy!) See you next month!

Our Fancy Nancy Beth

Beth has always had her own style. She has a Fancy Nancy in her (if you don't know the books and have any eccentric girls in your life - look for them!) We've seen this for years in her clothing style but now her artistic creativity and uniqueness is entering all areas of her life. This is how she empties the dishwasher...

I love the thought and seriousness she puts into what could be such a mundane task. It's so fun to see each child develop and show such interesting strengths and interests. Can't wait to see what's next!

First Day of School

Yes, we homeschool but today was their first day at their weekly enrichment classes. One day a week they take classes (art, music, dance, lego building...) at a nearby church. They look so grown-up in their uniform shirts and backpacks. Even Adam is taking a class this year. Seriously, how cute is this kid?!

Notes: Beth's legs look super white because she has on her tights for dance, and Adam did get shoes...Daddy was upstairs getting socks while the photo was taken :)

Jason's feet

We're reading Little House in the Big Woods. After finishing the chapter, "Dancing at Grandpa's," I looked up "jig" on youtube to show the kids what it means to dance a jig like grandma in the book. We found a fiddler and two girls dancing an Irish jig. We all were bouncing along as we watched and Jason commented, "my ears won't let my feet stop moving." As we start recorder and piano lessons this year, I hope his feet never stop listening to his ears :)

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.