10 Months

Eh Hmmm, (clearing my throat)

So, I'm only a few days late this month (seeing that the 27th was when I actually turned 10 months old). So glad that you'll give me a break - I've been busy celebrating my MaMaMa and DaDaDa's 8 year anniversary. The real test will be tomorrow night when a babysitter will come to the house to watch me and my big bother while they go out to eat.

Here are some of the highlights from my month:

- I'm getting more and more confident on my belly. While I'm in my crib I've started to pull my knees up underneath me. It's only a matter of time before I start to crawl. (Ready or not, here I come... and I'm going straight for my brothers cars. It will be a blast to see his reaction!) For now though, I'm scooting around s-l-o-w-l-y on my bum.

- Speaking of bums....have you seen my new fashionable look? I'm sporting my new Bum Genius 3.0 cloth diapers. They are quite comfortable and do the job. Mom dashes downstairs to do the laundry just about every morning... but I don't mind. I'm just trying to do my part to keep this world greener. (Jude requests the cloth diapers... he loves them.)

- So what has been going into those diapers you ask? Well... I still nurse 3 times a day, eat pureed food 3 times a day, and eat lotsa finger foods. A few of my new favorites are grilled cheese sandwiches, cherries, mac'n cheese, corn on the cob, and graham crackers in the form of little fishes. Sure, I eat plenty of other things too... these are just some of my faves. With all of this eating, it surprising that I'm not packin' on more pounds. When I stepped on the scale with MaMaMa, I weighed roughly between 19 and 20 lbs.

- At the beginning of the month I had 4 teeth. (I think I forgot to mention that one came in last month.) Steadily, they have been coming in... and now I'm up to 6 chompers. There are times that they really hurt. If I cry about it for a minute it seems to help. That, and my brother keeps me distracted from the pain. We'll see if a couple more pop through next month. My bottom gums are starting to swell.

- OK, I absolutely LOVE being outside. Just about every morning I've been going for a stroll around the neighborhood. It's so nice of my MaMaMa to do all of the work while I sit back, prop up my feet, and enjoy a delicious breakfast of Cherrios. Within the last few days I've been able to ride alongside my brother in a double jogger. Thanks to Aunt Aunt Marsey I've been able to enjoy the mornings next to Jude. Another activity that I love to do outside is to play in the water. Whether it's a trip to the beach or a splash in our kiddie pool, I love to play in the water.

- BIG NEWS... I'm saving the best for last. I'm finally sleeping through the night. After our last Dr.'s visit I had a few nights that I just cried and cried and cried. Nobody came to my rescue... No extra night caps, no late night snuggles... nothin'. I was on my own. Guess what? It wasn't so bad. I quickly learned that I needed to eat more during the day and learned how to soothe myself back to sleep in the middle of the night. We all feel so much more rested. And now that the nights are settled, I've settled into a daily schedule of 2 naps. (I get the best end of this deal... my brother and I are on opposite schedules. I get some one on one time with my parents while my brother sleeps. - No rest for MaMaMa and DaDaDa.)

As you see, I'm getting progressively more difficult to photograph... here are some of my bloopers.

Fabulous Friday

Jude was so excited to hear that his cousin's were coming on Friday. He could hardly wait for the Caswell's to arrive from Maine. Still morning when they arrived, we whisked them off to the beach. What a wonderful picnic and play time we had!






After lunch, Mars and I manned our positions. She was in charge of the digging station, while I stood guard on the shore watching the girls body surf. (Joel and Levi fell sound asleep listening to the waves....)






Gemma and Eleanor did a terrific job of taking turns with the boogie board. Thanks girls, for showing Jude the meaning of sharing!

Summer Days

Upon our return from MI, we have been busy getting out and about. It's getting increasingly more difficult to find time to post pictures due to the boys having opposite nap schedules. Pardon me for this lengthy post.... I fear I'll never get the pictures up if I don't just post them all together.

We've had many chances to escape to the beach. This particular Saturday we were about to head out for a hike when it started to rain. We hit the beach for a short visit instead.... who cares if it's raining when you're already planning on getting wet in the waves anyways?




Levi wasn't so sure about the rain... we camped it out a bit in the car while the guys kept playing....
Levi has discovered that he loves corn on the cob... just like his big brother!

Although we weren't able to get out for a family hike on Saturday; Jude, Jack, and Joel went mid-week to Mount Major. They had an awesome time finding the orange striped trailblazers.

Jack- checking the view out from the top...




Jude has discovered the stability that hiking sticks can provide....
After meals - Levi's hair is often filled with plenty of styling product.
With temps. making it into the 80's, we've been high-tailing it to the beach a lot. Sorry, if you're feeling jealous... Really, I'm not trying to rub it in by posting so many beach pics....

The boys have found the perfect tide pool. It's nice and warm when the tide goes out. Jude's been having a fabulous time finding the tiny crabs that inhabit his bathtub.
It had been far too long since we had gotten together with the Bucks. We enjoyed at savory meal hot off the grill. Jude was completely entertained by Eliza, while Levi was busy making eyes at Natalie (almost 4 months old).

So, I know this picture is a bit corny... but as I was trying to eat my corn, Levi kept coming in to get a taste of his own. It didn't take long before he had confiscated my ear altogether.
Father's Day was the perfect day to spend more time outdoors. We started the morning out with a wonderful 3 mile walk. Mid-day we headed to the beach. We are all so blessed to have Joel as the family Daddy. He is an AWESOME Dad and a wonderful role model to the boys.





After nap, Joel headed out with some guys from our small group to serve baked ziti at the local homeless shelter. Jude and Levi cooled off with our new water table (thanks Grammy, we used some Christmas money to make this purchase).
The table is of course another way to wash cars....


In case you haven't heard... we have a couple of resident frogs living in our pond. Jude has taken the liberty to name them all by himself. Pictured below is Tad, the brave warrior of the two. Jude was courageous enough to give Tad a little pat. Tad wasn't so fond of this action and hopped back into the pond. Kermit is the shy more reserved one. Kermit is a pretty green.