Mini Me

 Even though I hear (repeatedly) from Timmy's mom that Emily is a carbon copy of Timmy at that age, I still see some characteristics that she must have inherited from me.  For example, she can multitask with the best of them.  She can help me fold laundry while screaming at Jason and tattling on the puppy.  Above, she is "talking" on the cordless phone that came with her kitchen set while stealthily sneaking dog toys into my purse (below).

What the heck do you want?!  I'm busy!

Grabbing her purse and heading for the door.  Em has a busy day ahead!

Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way now.

Ummmmmm, Jason, you're blocking the door.  Can't you see how important I am?  I've got stuff to do!

Look at her!  Sunglasses (stolen) from my purse, phone still in hand, and trying to convince Jason to move backwards so she can go sneak into the van.

Ha!  20 pounds of raw steel right here!  I'm not moving anywhere!

Fine, I'm going backwards, but it was MY choice!

(Play)Date

Whenever I get a chance to be on the computer, I can bet dollars to donuts that Em will be right behind me, trying to get on the computer too.  She loves to check out our blogs, especially aunt Carrie and Melissa.  She saw Ryder's pic on Mel's and said "I want my Ryder to come to my house to play on my playground!"  I passed along the message to Melissa and we set up their date (play date, that is)

Em showing off her perfect "swipe finger" action on the Nook

Harper preferred to wear her bib as a cape.

Harper:  "That red hair looks interesting..."

Enough PDA you two!

If only adults liked to hug and kiss their friends at every departure....

Aaaahhhhh!  There's a baby on my back!

What's on my head?

Jason: 7 Months Old

My little Jay Bird is already 7 months old!  Can you believe it?!  He's doing lots of new physical things that amaze me every day, like rolling across the floor at Mach-10 speed and sitting up with only a little support.  Sleeping has been an adjustment lately.  About 2 weeks ago, he seemed to go through a growth spurt and needed lots of food (two jars at every sitting), bigger bottles, and longer naps.  He also started sleeping better at night, only getting up once.  Now he's evened out a little with the eating and is on a very regular nap schedule (up at 6 AM, down for nap 9-11 AM, another nap around 3 PM, then down for the night at 6 PM).  Can't argue with that!  And he has learned to flop onto his belly at night to sleep, which I think is helping him get comfortable and sleep longer.  I was always a belly sleeper, too.

 Jason likes:  when people talk/smile at him; being snuggled; going on walks in the stroller; eating new foods; floor time; bath time
Jason doesn't like:  being tired; waiting for food

 No official stats because we don't go back to the doctor until our 9 month check up, but he was most recently at 20 pounds.  He wears size 12-18 months in clothes, size 3 in diapers, and has never worn a pair of shoes yet!

I love this pic!

What a good big sister!  Emily can make Jay laugh like no one else!

Caroline is my "little momma"--she is such a big help.

Garrett's 13th Birthday!

My baby boy came into this world during the Beverly Hills 90210 finale on May 17, 2000 at 9:57 PM.  He was 9 pounds, 7 oz. and it only took 3 hours of massive, capillary-in-the-eye-busting pushing to get him into this world.  He scared the heck out of all of us by getting his shoulders stuck on the way out, a nice frightening problem called shoulder dystocia, resulting in xrays when he was a couple of hours old.  But knock on wood, it's been pretty smooth sailing since.  A couple of stitches in his cheek from a jump into the coffee table when he was around 3 and two ear surgeries, so I consider us all pretty lucky.  

Garrett wanted to invite a couple friends from school to go bowling.  (Disclaimer:  I see this two friends every day in my science class.  Honestly, it was a little weird to go from "Kyle, where's your home work?" to "Kyle, do you need to use the potty before we leave?")  We went to Splittsville, which I had never been to (very cool, and they do adult nights with movies and drinks and have a very swanky bar).  I got the boys soda and pizza and watched their painful 2 games.  Then we headed back home for some run-around-the-yard time, cake and ice cream, and presents! 

Happy Birthday to you!

Caroline, Kyle, and Chris

Willow tried to keep up with the boys, but ended up needing a hard core nap.

Emmy didn't understand why Geet and his friends didn't want to play with her.

Meeting of the Minds @ the picnic table

Kyle is an....interesting child.

Their conversations were about all the other kids at school, teachers they like, teachers they can't stand, and a heated debate about pancakes vs. waffles.

They finally got rid of the Ginger.

Ha, she didn't go far!  Watch me Geet!  WATCH ME!

This birthday is two thumbs up!

Yay, presents!

Pigging Out this Weekend

We've been dealing with daily rain showers for almost the past two weeks.  It feels like I moved to Seattle!  (but without the Starbucks, so this deal sucks all around).  I think at last count, we have to reschedule 5 of Garrett's baseball games (I could be doing make up games til August), the lawn is out of control, and housebreaking a puppy that doesn't like to pee in the rain is really getting old. 

We got a break in the weather on Saturday, and it was that perfect mix of low bugs / low humidity / light breeze that made it very pleasant to be outside all evening.  We invited over some teacher friends (good wrap up for the end of Teacher Appreciation Week) and got to catch up!  Timmy has this fantastic recipe for pulled pork that calls for 2 cans of root beer and 8 hours in the Crock pot and I amazed myself by making not one, not two, but three kinds of brownies (plain, walnut and Reese pb chips) AND my almost famous lemon cake.  I took a couple breaks in the conversation to put the kids to bed and we were all surprised when we looked at the clock and saw that we were closing in on 11 PM!  And yes, that last sentence makes me feel extremely old :)

Norah was not so happy to be woken up after her drive across the MD/VA bridge, but she warmed up to us quickly.

You could say that Emily is a fan of the pulled pork sandwich with extra cole slaw.

Jay was just happy to be included.  He was the best baby ever, hanging out with us and never even giving us a frown!

Tiffany, Natalie, and Craig

Tim and Chris

Tracy and Ski (Sarah's husband Joe was put on "baby walk" duty)

After a quick bout of gas, Norah promptly passed out.

Somehow, Craig ended up being the babysitter AND dog watcher.

Emily kept Craig on his toes!

Wrong way, silly!

Willow slept like the dead after this evening.  The men ran her around with this big purple ball.

Peek a boo!

Ow!  Who put that door here?!