Independance Day

Did you celebrate the 4th of July?
We did :) We had some friends and family over to watch the parade.
The fun thing about the parade is that it went right in front of our house.
So we just took our chairs outside and watched the show...

...and waved our flags.

John, Christine & Olivia were there.

Eric, Leilani & Isaac came too (though Eric had to leave early to go to work...hence the outfit.)
Abuela & Abuelo were there as well. Leah got lots of snuggle time with Abuela :)

I don't think Eli really knew what to think of all these people coming down our street...he pretty much stood in one spot the whole time and didn't say a word. He DID smile when the horses came by...but that was it.

Here comes the parade!

The town's SWAT team car...it kept stalling. I think our town needs a new SWAT team car...

A bagpipe band

Olivia waving to the people in the parade.

Edgar wearing his newly acquired beads.

Eli still standing there...we just kept putting beads on him...

Our car was in the parade :) I wanted to go fix the banner...

Yup...still standing there.

A dog in a baseball uniform.

A band.

Very festive

This lady made me laugh...I wasn't trying to take her picture. She saw me with a camera and stopped to pose...so I HAD to take her picture :) The confederate flag? Kind of an odd addition to the parade...

We had so much fun watching the parade (after we had a pancake breakfast). This will definitely become an annual tradition!

9 Months Old!

My little girl is (already!) 9 months old. What an incredible 9 months it has been! Leah is such a delight! She is always so happy and is so easy to take care of. She 'goes with the flow' most of the time, so if we are running out the door early, or just hanging out at home, she doesn't mind a change in schedule.
What can she do at 9 months? Glad you asked. She LOVES to eat. She eats 1/4 cup of rice cereal and an entire jar of baby food at breakfast, another complete jar at lunch, and two jars of food at dinner. This in addition to nursing 4 times a day...and there are usually a few puffs eaten throughout the day :) She really likes picking puffs up and feeding herself...she's probably getting ready for some more finger foods, but I haven't wrapped my brain around how to do that. So for now I just buy (a LOT) of jars of baby food. I have not been very good about making her food...Gerber makes it way too easy to just buy pre-made food :) I've made a few things for her, though.
She is getting close to crawling, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. She rolls all over the place, though. She'll be in the family room one minute, and the kitchen the next. She's a quick little roller :) She gets to things so fast, which has resulted in many 'finger sweeps' of her mouth-she puts everything in her mouth. Just last night I took a chunk of crayon out of her mouth, and I've taken out a lot of paper in the past few weeks as well...I apparently need to sweep and vacuum more often.
She has three teeth so far. The normal 2 on the bottom, and one on the top...but it's not one of her two front teeth. She has gotten the tooth to the side of the 2 front teeth first. I think it's kinda weird, but oh well :) I'm sure she'll get her 2 front teeth at some point :) Her little smile is so cute with the little teeth, though I think I will miss the toothless grin she had for so long.
She is getting HEAVY! Carrying her in her car seat is getting ridiculous. She hasn't been weighed for a couple of months, but I know she's growing. (Her 9 month appointment is in a couple of weeks) She seems to be getting longer in addition to gaining weight, and while she still has the most adorable rolls, they are starting to go away :( I suppose I don't want her to ALWAYS have those rolls, but they sure are cute on a baby!
She's been enjoying 'zooming around' in her walker. She really likes it when her cousin, Katie, or big brother push her around, but when she's on her own she's getting better and better at getting around in that.
She loves to be the center of attention, and when she realizes she is alone, she'll often cry out until you come, and then get a big grin on her face. She's already learned how to get her way ;)
She really does say the word 'momma'. She says it when she wants me, but more often she calls her pacifier 'momma'. I'm not kidding. I've been replaced by a pacifier. Not sure what I think about that :)
We are so thankful that God chose to bring this little girl into our lives!!

6.17.11 Final day of vacation

Friday morning we got up and Edgar, Eli and I went for a bike ride (Abuela watched Leah) It was really nice to get to go for a bike ride myself :) We rode to a park and climbed up a tower and the view was GORGEOUS.

'Hey mom! It's time to go home!'

We got back and after a discussion we decided it would be best to pack up and all go home a day early. Dad was not feeling well, and neither was Krista, so rather than rushing to get out Saturday by noon, we figured we'd just head out Friday night. Mom had sprained her ankle :( so she watched the kids while we packed up. It was exhausting, but oh so good to be home. Vacation was wonderful, but there's nothing like your own bed :) We got home and unpacked everything before we went to bed (Ya know...cuz I'm married to Edgar and he wouldn't have it any other way). It was super nice to wake up Saturday morning with the house clean!

06.16.11 Thursday at the beach

Warning...lots of pictures :) Thursday was a fun day of vacation as well. Abuela got lots of snuggles from her grandkids.
Isaac and Eli went for a bike ride. (Loving the very pink helmet Isaac is wearing-he borrowed Katie's)

Edgar took Eli for a bike ride every morning, and ended up spending all morning with him. They would ride to the park and play, then Edgar would bring him back and swim with him in the pool. What was I doing? Sitting on the couch chatting with the girls :) Love vacation!

Edgar got a good workout hauling the kids!

Eliott after his ride. Doesn't his hair look lovely?

Thursday evening we went back to the beach to attempt to see the sunset one last time.

Eli enjoying the sand.

The hermit crabs were VERY cool. I had taken Leah in the water to just sit and play, and I suddenly noticed that all of the shells were walking around. These shells have crabs inside. Leilani found a HUGE one. It was amazing.

Abuela showing Katie the 'walking shells'.

Daddy time
Isaac is loving the sand

LOVE this picture

Katie had a blast playing in the sand as well.

Snack time!

The sun on its way down.

Erik building another castle.

Me and my love :)

The sky behind us...the colors the sunset was 'throwing off' were gorgeous.

And I got my sunset picture :) Well...about 100 of them ;)

6.15.11 Wednesday

We decided that Wednesday was going to be a 'chill out' day. We thought we'd stay home and just enjoy each other's company :)Leah hung out for a while in the laundry basket...ya know...cuz it's cute.
Abuela got lots of time with her grand kids.

The pool was the place to be that day.

Katie got braver and braver as the week went by.

Getting kisses from daddy :)

...and hugs.

A little pool volleyball...baseball...whatever.

Abuela shooting water at people.

There was also some hanging out on the balcony. Katie is so cute when she reads books. Now, she CAN read some books, but the books that are beyond her reading level she points her fingers along the words, and makes her own story up. It's pretty cute. She has such a great imagination.

Eli telling daddy what letters to draw...he loves this game...a lot. If you've been around him for more than a few hours, I'm sure you've been asked to draw letters, or pictures. He loves to watch people write. I can't wait for him to learn how to write on his own. I'm sure someday I'll look back and think with fondness on this game. Right now I'm kinda tired of it :)

A wonderfully relaxing day! Our plan worked ;)

'Sunset' at the Beach

On Tuesday night we decided to make good use of our 1-day parking pass and head back to the beach to watch the sunset. The kids were thrilled to go back. Well...I'm not sure Leah cares where she's at-as long as mommy's close :)
Leilani came with Isaac-Eric had to teach a Bible Study. Edgar's parents came along too.

Isaac is DEFINITELY a beach boy. He LOVES it!

I have no idea how Eli constantly got sand all over his face...but it seemed like as soon as we wiped it off it was back.

Leah havin' a good time...

...and Eli too :)

Oh yeah...the sunset...this is as close as I got to the actual sunset before it snuck behind the clouds. I thought it was quite pretty even though it wasn't quite on the horizon :)

In lieu of getting a shot of the actual sun setting, I decided to capture a few of God's other beautiful creations :)

Ya know...some pictures of our little girl (Eli is kinda over being photographed...but he's a pretty beautiful creation too :) )

Fortunately, we DID get a sunset shot a few days later...