Chasing Butterflies

One morning Sarah and I were out watering the garden when we noticed a butterfly in the yard. Of course, Sarah wanted to chase it. The butterfly never flew out of the yard. He just hung around like he wanted to play. Our neighbors had just given us a butterfly net and house, so we got Emily and caught the butterfly.

Nana was visiting, so of course she made it a teaching moment. We found out it was a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Isn't it beautiful?

 

Smith Mountain Lake

At the end of July, we had a nice vacation with my family at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. It has become an annual trip and we always have so much fun. The house is perfect for everyone and is right on the lake with a beach like entry into the water. Todd brings his boat and takes everyone out for fun rides.

Of course, we take lots of pictures...

There is nothing better than to see pure joy in your children's face. Emily loved being in the water and playing with her cousins.

Sarah was not as excited about the water. We would have to take her in kicking and screaming, but she would be OK once she got settled on my lap. However she would hold on to me for dear life when the waves from a boat would start rocking us.

The daily visit from the ice cream boat was the favorite time of day!

The boat rides were also a big hit!

Last year, Andy would only ride with a kid so that he could guarantee not to get thrown from the raft. However this year, he agreed to ride with me... and of course we got thrown! Thankfully I didn't get kicked in the face, but we did take a nasty spill! OUCH!

And for some reason, I agreed to get back out there with my sister and get jerked around some more.

Todd is a pro at hanging on for dear life!

Sarah was pretty happy just hanging out on the shore and with her 2 favorite buddies, Nana and Charly.

Our annual group shot...

 All the kids!

Yes, we have a lot of girls...

 but thankfully we do have 2 of the cutest boys ever!

This year Dad came up for one night too.

There is nothing better than family!

4 months...

... and as cute as they come!

Abby is such a good baby!

She laughs at everything and everyone.

She loves being bounced up and down and thrown around by Daddy.

She is a great sleeper and no longer has to be rocked to sleep, but sometimes I still do because she is my baby girl!

She cries for only 3 reasons... hungry, tired or nobody paying attention to her.

She loves this little white bear. She grabs on to it at night and lays it over her face.
She still has to have her paci all the time.

Weight: 12lbs, 11oz (25%)
Height: 24.25 in. (40%)
Head: 40.4cm (30%)

A few months ago our pediatrician recommended a ultrasound be done on her sacral dimple. An abnormality was noted because they could not detect the "bottom" of the hole, so they referred us to a Neurosurgeon at UNC. The Neurosurgeon then recommended an MRI. So on July 29th, we went in for the MRI. I was a bit nervous about the anesthesia, but felt sure the results of the MRI would be normal. She couldn't nurse after 5:00, so I was worried she would be quite fussy. However she was happy as could be and the nurses were eating her up. We didn't actually see them put her under, so it wasn't too bad on me.

After 2 hours they came and got me and it was quite stressful for awhile
trying to get her to fully wake up and nurse. The nurse suggested giving
her a bottle of apple juice and that did the trick!

And thankfully the results of the MRI reported that surgery would NOT be needed! What great news!

**And actually Abby is now 5 months old...so I am officially a month behind in blogging!**

Bubbles!

Grandma and Grandpa Morris came up to visit one Sunday afternoon and brought an awesome bubble wand. This thing made HUGE bubbles and the girls had a blast chasing them. Candy said one of the girls had told Larry previously that he was a lot of fun, so she said he brought the bubble wand so he could keep up his "fun" reputation. How sweet!

Oh, to be a kid again!

Build A Bear

A few months ago Emily went to a birthday party at Build A Bear and of course she came home with a bear. And of course, Sarah then wanted a bear. So we told her when she started using the potty she could get a bear. Emily was really great at encouraging Sarah to try to use the potty, since she was sure she could get new clothes for her bear while we were there. Eventually... Sarah started using the potty! She is not completely trained and in no way am I ready to leave the house without a diaper on her, however she is doing awesome!

So we made a special trip to the mall for Sarah's Build a Bear experience. She was so excited and looked so grown up listening to everything she was supposed to do.

Emily brought her bear along too and she was very eager to show Sarah exactly what to do. It was so cute watching them get excited together.

Sarah loves her new bear, which was named "Ram."

Do you think Andy had anything to do with the shirt and name??!

Marbles Museum

Recently we went with our Joyschool group to Marbles museum. As usual, there was a lot of crazy, chaotic fun. The kids love this place. The moms tried to sit and chat, but that is not really a possibility these days. The one moment I did find a chair and sat down, I realized Abby had a major blowout and got it all over my pants. As I picked her up it was streaming down like a faucet out both sides. Oh my! Thankfully Erin and Lindsay were quick thinkers and we got it all under control and cleaned... as much as we could!

These girls are getting much better at taking group pictures.

You think they would have it down pat at this point since we attempt one at every gathering!

I love this picture of Sarah kicking the soccer ball.

These 3 girls used to be our babies at the Joyschool activities....

but now we have NEW babies. Crazy!