August Family Picture

And if anybody has any bright ideas on getting a baby to smile at a tripod let me know! :)

Rain!!!

After at least two full months without a drop, we were thrilled to wake up to rain this morning!

The kids went right out and enjoyed it.



Then Lorelei got decked out to splash in some puddles with Daddy.












And not only am I thrilled to have water for our sod to grow, but extremely thankful for 40 minutes to keep them busy in the morning! Two weeks stuck mostly at home have given me cabin fever. We also made muffins (great time with us girls during Makin's nap), enjoyed the cool down and went for a walk around the neighborhood, and then just as we were running out of ideas, got a package from Grandma and Grandpa with new toys to occupy us. Big Thank You!!! (You should all check out Smart Snacks: http://www.learningresources.com/category/teachers/shop+by+brand/smart+play/smart+snacks--174-.do Stringing the "Trail Mix" was a huge hit!)

Come Monday we are hoping to get out most days again now that things have settled down. Just have to find some ways to beat the heat for another month... :)

Watermelon Day

Cannot say enough how much I love this picture and how it just captures summer and our afternoon so well.

National Watermelon day was actually August 3rd, but since we had a pretty busy week there was not much time to do this, so we celebrated a bit late this year. Both kids absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE watermelon. I just thought it would make it a special afternoon to have them be able to just bite into it outside and enjoy themselves. Lorelei did that without hesitation, but Makin just kept taking handfuls and eating them. :) We did have a book from the library we read a few weeks ago and then we also did a craft. Lorelei really enjoyed getting a chance to paint. :)








After our usual swim we dug into 1/4 of a huge watermelon. They devoured it and only had about a small bowl's worth left. It was simple and fun and now looking forward to a Watermelon Day every summer. :)

Guess Who Loves To Color Now!

Yep, wants to be like his big sis coloring now too. Will throw a fit (um yes, I get two kids that throw fits now...soooo looking forward to this year...) if we do not give you a paper and crayons. And look at that good crayon-holding form already!

Makin At 11 Months

And my heart is breaking just a little bit typing that number. You are so close to not being my little baby anymore. I still cannot believe it.

You are walking like crazy. No help, and rarely even crawl anymore to do anything. You are great at getting up and down and everything. You are still in that clumsy stage where you think you can go faster than you really should, so getting lots of bangs and scrapes and I'm coming close to putting you in a bike helmet. :)

You do not like to be told no, or get things taken away and you are now very vocal about letting us know that this is making you unhappy.

You still have not gotten the hang of nodding yes, and when asked a question you shake your head "no" when you really mean yes. :) One of my favorites of these is when I was asking if you were ready for nap and you kept shaking your head no. :)

You like to make noise with mouth and patting your hand on and off of it.

Your hair is consistently gelled with banana or applesauce after breakfast. It is also now long enough we brush it each night and you can really see the curls at the end.

Your eyes have officially changed to brown.

You love to give us big slobbery kisses and melt my heart each time I ask for a hug and you just lean in to give me one.

You love to stand in front of us and then back up to sit in our lap.


You love rough housing but I'm constantly discouraging it because your sister is way too rough...ready for you to be big enough to handle it better without falling! You looooove to roll around on the bed (and think its hilarious to go to the edge and give me a heart attack) and dive into pillows where you know its safe to plop anywhere.

Love the magnets on the frig and love to dance to the songs. If I ask for "Annie Ooo" on the frig you will go try and play it for me.

You love to play chase with your sister and squeal happily when she almost runs into you and screams. You also already know how to switch directions and go the other way to catch her faster.

You still love musical instruments, especially drums and love walking around the house with drum sticks...very safe.

You especially love balls. You love to throw them (and you are throwing Little People too...working on that one) and you also like to walk behind them to make them go, but not quite kicking yet.

You still love to eat and eat a lot. You do not like to be fed at all. Right now you are really loving peas. (Gasp!) You also love to drink water from a sippy cup.

You seem to be understanding so much more and can follow one-step directions and identify objects and point to them in a book

We are pretty convinced your first word would be "mama" and you seem to say it to me more often now. Not totally sure though. :)

One cute story from Brad (technically the day after you turned 11 months) is when he was reading a book to you before bed. You squirmed off of his lap, walked over to your basket of books and picked out the one you wanted him to be reading instead and handed it to him. Love that you are able to communicate so much more! You still love your books!

A Quick Hello and Goodbye

We were beyond thrilled to have my friend Luke and his wife Annette stop by on their way back to Japan on Monday. Luke and I have been friends since around age 5 and it had been almost 4 years since we had been able to get together. This Oklahoma boy surprised us all by heading off to Japan for Annette to take a teaching job on the base there. Yes they have weathered the crazy earthquakes etc there and are hoping for a much less eventful two years they have left. They will come back about 6 weeks each summer and we hope to see them longer next time!





He was, of course, great with Lorelei and I'm wishing he was here for babysitting! He comes close to having her level of energy and she had no trouble giving him a work out.



Two of their friends brought them to Dallas so we enjoyed having some wonderful company and giving them a big send off with their "last meal" with "real food" for a while. :) They don't seem to mind the sushi so much but he does love his beef.








After hearing about Brad's amazing corn cob eating abilities Luke was not to be outdone by a Nebraskan, so they had to see who could eat the fastest. Brad won and I think the time was something like 35 seconds or so? :) Lorelei had to join in too of course. :)

I drove them to the airport and we are sad for a short visit but glad we got to see them for just a bit. Looking forward to hearing this years adventures!

Loving Some Puzzles

Maybe we will finally have a puzzle person in the family! Either that or its just one more thing for him to leave all over the house for us to step on... ;)