Slide Show

I should be doing things like cleaning bathrooms, making beds, washing dishes, playing Candy Land, but somehow I often get sidetracked working on pictures! I thought I'd post a slideshow of some of my favorite pictures from this summer. Oh, and there's sound accompanying the slideshow.

Vegetables

Ellary had her first vegetable this week - green beans! She seems to like them much more than rice cereal. Kellen was excited about her eating them. He said, "you mean she's going to eat real people green beans?" She still makes a big mess when she eats, but she's starting to get the hang of it and she even gets a little fussy between bites if we're not fast enough with the spoon!

Yesterday while the big kids were at school, Ellary and I played with 2 stuffed pumpkins, and she liked being propped up on them. Hopefully we'll make it to the real pumpkin patch before too long!

It seems that no matter what we're playing with,
if there's a ceiling fan in the room she can't keep her eyes off of it!

This is what we've become!

Kellen, Bailey, Katelyn, Fran, Aiken, Benjamin and Addie

all lined up waiting to go to Busch Gardens

We were missing Will, Jessie, Joshua and Ellary and there's even one more on the way!
Somehow we 4 couples have ballooned to a crowd of 19!!

And not to leave out Addie...

Addie and Benjamin are about the same age, and they've been good little buddies from the beginning. Here's a little of their history together. :)



3 years old

At about 2 months and 5 months old

About 1 year old and about 2 1/2 years old

Taking a Stroll Down Memory Lane

This past weekend we went to Williamsburg for what is becoming an annual get together at Busch Gardens of our dear friends from Maryland. When I think about Kellen's early childhood, I will always associate so much of my experience with our good friends the Thomases, Lamars and Roberts. I have learned a great deal about being a mom and raising kids through our shared experiences. I so fondly remember our first play group with babies Kellen, Aiken, Will, Katelyn and Matthew - all us Moms sitting around a blanket on the floor while our babies played on the floor or sat in our laps. I kind of think we were all staring at them thinking, "what are we supposed to do with all these babies?" Now I see these 4 1/2 year olds who are going to be 5 soon and starting kindergarten, who are definitely no longer babies but rambunctious kids who enjoy playing together. I still see their little baby faces somewhere in those big-kid bodies, and I miss that gang of first-born toddlers. But it's so neat to see how they are all growing and how even as little kids they still love one another despite not seeing each other all the time like we used to. Below are some pictures of "the boys" over the years, showing how they've grown from babies to kids.

About 10 months old

About 14 months old

About 20 months old

3 years old

4 years old

4 1/2 years old

Food Face

Today Ellary had her 4 month check-up and we got the go ahead to try "solid" food. She had her first taste of rice cereal at dinner time. I wasn't sure how she'd react to it since she has never been too interested in a bottle or formula, but she ate very well! Most of it even made it into her mouth and down to the tummy. Kellen and Addie were big helpers, each taking a turn to feed her. They were very gentle and careful to get it into her mouth. Oh, and at her check up she weighed in at 14 lbs 1 oz and is 24 1/4 inches long. I had been thinking that she'd gotten really big and especially long, but turns out she's our most petite baby!

The cereal that didn't make it into her mouth

I've Got a Hankering...

...for some Doublemint Gum! Once we knew we were having another little girl I started collecting a few matching sister outfits for Addie and Ellary. Yesterday was the first time they got to wear one of their matching dresses. Addie picked these out herself at Patsy Aiken, and I think they looked really cute! Addie seemed quite pleased that they matched and she was happy to wear her dress all day (she usually comes home from church and changes clothes right away). Ellary didn't seem to have an opinion on the outfits.

It was very sunny in the front yard, so Geof slipped these on Ellary. She is one cool cat!