Anna and the Owl

Some of you may recall that when Daniel was a baby, I took a picture of him with a toy bear each month to show his growth the first year.  I liked that photo series so much that I decided to do the same thing with Baby Anna and our stuffed owl.  Enjoy!

2 weeks

1 month 

2 months 

3 months

(Oops! I forgot to take a picture with the owl that month, so Anna's posing with Big Sister instead)

4 months

(Yay!  She's starting to smile! I think this picture is my favorite one in the series) 

5 months

6 months

(Hey wait - where's the owl??  Oh well - at least the headband is cute.)

7 months

8 months

(I sure loved that little Sunday dress)

9 months 

10 months

("Hey, Mom - this owl needs salt")

11 months

12 months

(Enjoying a pink birthday cupcake, courtesy of Pink Grandma)

Happy birthday, Anna!  We love you, and we're so glad you came to join our family.

Our First Kindergartener

It's the first day of kindergarten . . .

. . . and Joy is stoked!

Here's her classroom . . .

. . . and the diligent student hard at work at her desk.  Ah, the halcyon days of youth, when you need crayons to complete your school work.

Summer Days with the Grandmas

Summer's almost over, and we've been trying to fit in as much Grandma time as possible before school starts.

We've been playing with toys . . .

. . . reading books . . .

. . . playing yard games . . .

. . . swimming . . .

. . . building cool towers . . . 

. . . rolling marbles down ramps . . .

. . . and smiling a whole lot.  :)

Modern Baby

You know you're a twenty-first century baby if . . .

. . . your books have buttons that make noises . . . 

. . . and your primary motivation for learning to crawl is so you can reach a cell phone.

"Got it!  Time to text the good news to all my friends."

Cupcakes and a Tuffet

We celebrated my grandparents' birthdays this evening.

They are sweet, good people, and I'm so grateful for the wonderful influence they've been in my life.

My kids enjoy big family gatherings because they get to play with their second cousins. Or is it first cousins once removed?  I can never remember.

Daniel also went fishing (he didn't catch much) . . . 

. . . and Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet playing Uncle Rob's tablet.

Neighborly Swim Party

Our neighbors went swimming today . . .

. . . and the big kids watched with such longing in their eyes . . . 

. . . that our friends invited them to join them.  We're so lucky to have friendly neighbors.

Bubbles and Sand

The kids and I visited the park today.

I blew some bubbles for Anna, which she loved.

It's important to clean the sand off your wings before takeoff. 

 What's more fun than yoga or sand painting?  Yoga AND sand painting!

Yum

Anna's learning that it's fun to try new foods . . . 

. . . like apples, . . . 

. . . chocolate-covered blueberries (or at least their packaging), . . .

. . . and puzzle pieces.  Mmmm . . .