Anndra's first tutu

My sister took these pics of our darling girl last month.


Little fingers reach to explore the grass:



I love the outline of that little round cheek against the white blanket:



All sweetness - she's got 'sugar & spice' in abundance:



She looks like Lincoln when she lifts her eyebrows up like this:



She spent most of the photo-shoot trying to taste every piece of the tutu:



This is my favorite shot of her blue-blue eyes:



Check out that little pinky toe! Too precious:



I am so happy that my amazing sister spoils me with her talents. I still can't believe how well these turned out because it was the night before we left and it was Anndra's bed-time so she was pretty tired and cranky... AND I didn't have a thing for her to wear because I was waiting to do laundry when we got home.

But my sister knew just what to do. She brought the cute out-fit with her and only spent about 5 minutes taking pictures so that Anndra could go right to bed... AND she was still recovering from giving birth to her own little girl. I was ready to say "Let's just not worry about it this time," but somehow she pulled it all together. What a woman!

4 Eyebrows?

The other day Parker walked out of school looking like he had shaved a small section in the middle of each eyebrow. I think the words that came out of my mouth were, "What did you DO???" Actually, what I was wondering was how he got his hands on a razor at school... then I was quickly trying to remember how closely I had looked at him when he left for school that morning, because maybe he did it with one of our razors and I just didn't notice (I have to confess that if I'm changing a diaper or something when our carpool friends arrive I just yell, "Have a good day!" from the other room).



At first he genuinely didn't know what I was talking about... which made me even more flabbergasted! (Remember, that this conversation is happening in front of many other students and parents). At this point, I'm wondering: Did someone else do this to him? How could he not know what happened? Do I need to go in and talk to the teacher?



It turns out he had completely forgotten already that he had used his little school scissors and attempted to "trim" his eyebrows because he got hot at recess and they felt "too bushy." Until he saw my reaction, he had no idea he looked any different. But when he got home and saw himself in a mirror, he laughed and said, "Wow - it looks like I have four eyebrows!"

Funny kid. Here's a pic from last month for comparison (what his eyebrows should look like).




It reminded me of the brief time a few years ago that I plucked my eyebrows to make them look more shapely. I distinctly remember wishing that eyebrow hairs did NOT grow back. Well, as the mom of this quirky, fun, wonderful 7-year-old - I'm VERY glad that eyebrow hairs DO grow back!



P.S. Mom - does this post remind you of a certain little girl who "trimmed" the fly-away wisps of hair that had escaped her french braid?

Jump

Lincoln is getting all the bumps and bruises of a 2-year-old and we happened to catch this one on video:



We have a tiny half-step between our living room and entry. Lincoln had been jumping down from it about a hundred times - you know how kids are when they learn a new 'trick' - and, of course, the moment we pull out the camera he takes his first spill! But don't worry... he only cried for about 20 seconds. I think it scared him more than hurt him.

Happy half-birthday, Anndra!

Our little girl is changing so fast. She turned 6 months during our vacation and I wanted to do a post just about her to capture this adorable halfway-through-the-first-year stage.







For those of you who want to know what Anndra looks like right now, these next three are the most recent (taken last week).











I think she is the most beautiful baby I have ever known and I fall more and more in love with her every day.




She's starting to do so many cute things. She likes to sing, dance, and say "da-da." She even wiggles her fingers a little when she wants to wave at someone.

Mini-adventure at the Creek

Virginia is beautiful! We took a walk into the woods behind my brother's house to let the kids explore a little and play in the creek.





There were several spots where fallen trees made natural bridges from one embankment to the other:










Here's Natalie holding one of the little "boats" the kids placed in the current and then ran alongside to see whose boat made it the farthest fastest.



Parker simply couldn't stop smiling... it made me think that I probably need to find a way to have more "adventure" in our family (not just when we're with cousins!).






Thanks, Ben, for making sure my kids had such a great time during our visit. I love you!

Happy times with cousins

My kids LOVE spending time with my brother's kids when we go to visit them in Virginia. Of course, on this trip they also got to meet their new cousin, Addie (my sister's first baby)... but for some reason I didn't really take any pictures of them together - probably because we were just too busy adoring her! **Sorry, Erika**

Lincoln with the girls:




Ben introduced Parker to one of life's little joys - getting to have a campfire without having to go camping!



Mmmmm - I had almost forgotten how delicious a fire-toasted marshmallow could be.




Anndra even enjoyed some cousin bonding time.



After trying to feed her a bottle, Bethany leaned in to give Anndra a little forehead-to-forehead 'kiss' - very sweet.




But overall, the best cousin gathering spot was the trampoline. I still can't believe they managed to have so much fun, with so many different-age kids... without squabbles, and without anyone getting hurt. 6 kids (ages 1-9) jumping together almost everyday for 2 weeks - I kept waiting for someone to come back into the house in tears, but it never happened. Amazing!

I guess it was taking me a little too long to get Anndra's breakfast ready.

You know your baby is teething when...



she'd rather chew on the table...



than eat her food.



"What's that, Mommy? You want me to lift up my head so you can spoon cereal into my mouth? No way - this wood is much better!"