Community Fun

Although our little town doesn't offer much, we are blessed to have neighboring communities that have great [free] stuff for kids.  Besides the wading pool, libraries, and parks, we went to four other events in the past two weeks.

The Bubble Lady

This picture is deceiving.  She actually spent most of the show trying to climb out of the stroller.

Playing after the show

Jungle Terry

yes, that boy is holding an alligator

Micah did go up to touch the tortoise, but I couldn't convince him to touch this snake.

Member's Night at the Zoo
Ok, this event was not technically free since we paid for our membership earlier this year.  But we bought it with a Groupon, so it was still a bargain. :)  Usually the zoo closes at 5pm, but on this night it was open for members only from 5-9pm.  Since the zoo is halfway between our house and Scott's office, it worked out perfectly.  Micah was thrilled to show all the animals to Scott, and we had a lovely picnic dinner.   The skies were pretty gray, but it didn't rain hard until we were about 50 yards from the van.

The new train was finally open for business!

Touch-a-Truck



Micah is operating the boom.



Cell Phone

 Today Hannah picked up our back-up cell phone.  After the initial taste test, she put it up to her ear!  What!?  My nine-month-old doesn't wave, but she knows how to talk on the phone?!  As you, my friends and family, know, I talk on the phone as little as possible.  I don't know where she learned it!



"OMG!  What did he say??"



This one is a shot of the future: she's talking on the phone and ignoring me.



A Hannah Bonanza

Our little Hannah-banana had her nine-month well-visit to the doctor today.  She is now 17.4 pounds (25th percentile) and 28.75 inches (75th percentile).  So she's tall and skinny for her age?!  Where did those genes come from?!

She may be light for her age, but you can't tell from the way she eats. She'll eat anything you put in front of her (and most things that she finds on the floor).  I think her favorites are grilled chicken and blueberries.  She eats a lot, but she burns it off quickly.  She's a speedy crawler and is always busy.  

One morning this week she woke up particularly early because she just couldn't wait to start playing.  I took her downstairs and lay down to close my eyes for a few more minutes.  I heard a crinkling noise, so I looked up to see what she had gotten.  Here's what I found:

I'm still not entirely sure how she got in there!  She must have climbed in head-first, but you'd think I would have heard it!

I think she's a little bit of a tomboy.  She wrestles with Micah (and usually "wins"), loves to be tossed in the air or flipped upside down, and her toy of choice is often cars. 

Thankfully, she tires herself out and sleeps well.  I can usually count on two good naps during the day and at least ten hours at night.

 

She is such a crazy fun, happy baby.  We are loving the stage she's in now, but are also excited to see how she grows.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures that Jenn took.

Pool Day

We decided to take a chance on the "chances of thunderstorms" and go to the wading pool today.  I'm so glad we did!  We had great weather, and our friends were the only ones there.  It was Hannah's first chance to go "swimming", and she loved it!  She alternated between standing at the edge of the pool and cruising around in her float.  She went under a couple of times, but recovered quickly each time. [Some of the other moms arbitrarily decided that it was acceptable for your kid to go under three times before you would be considered a bad mom.  I just barely maintained my "good mom" status. :)]

They are all saying "cheese", yet no one is looking at the camera. :)

Working on Father's Day

Micah already knew that he has the best daddy ever.  Saturday's family work day only confirmed it in his mind.  Daddy, trucks, and dirt - it doesn't get much better.

Pics

Suite retreat was amazing. I'd like to give a special shout out to Sara W., Meghan, and my wonderful husband for taking care of the kids all day on Monday.  It was such a sweet, sweet time to just relax, eat, and talk with wonderful friends.  These pictures were all taken by Jenn (isn't she talented?), plus a few more that I'm saving for another blog post. :)

Micah with Anna Kate

Still Busy

The title of the last post was "busy".  I meant to write a sentence about being too busy to do a proper blog post...but even that didn't happen.
If you couldn't tell from the pictures, I took the kids to Indiana for the first half of the week.  Scott had a golf trip and a business trip back-to-back, and I didn't feel like being home with just the kids for that long.  Micah and Hannah did really well on the long drives, and we had a fabulous time.  Micah and Nana spent most of their time at parks, and Hannah and Abby were great playmates.

I have a post written in my head about Hannah, but I don't have time to put it together right now.  Suite retreat begins tomorrow afternoon, and I have lots to prepare!  I'll leave you with this picture, though.  Our little Hannah loves to eat.  Here's a picture of her dinner plate from last night.  She easily ate it all, plus a second helping of blueberries.  She's a cute little piggy. :)

sausage, mac and cheese, cantaloupe, and blueberries. yum!

Busy...

me, Hannah, Laurie, and Abby

Hannah and Nana

Laurie and the Abster

Micah and his trusty dump truck

Bathtime Crazies

Last night I gave both kids a bath before bedtime.  First, Hannah started putting her face in the water, over and over and over.  Sometimes it seemed like she was trying to blow bubbles, other times maybe she was trying to drink it.  Either way, it was funny and kind of weird.

Then it was Micah's turn for a bath, with Hannah supervising.  She seems to get his sense of humor a little more than I do, and she found his antics hilarious.

Lastly, after Daddy does bath time, he lets Micah go hide in his room while Daddy tidies up the bathroom.  I was so impressed by this hiding spot that I went back to the bathroom to get the camera before I "found" him.

(if you can't tell, he climbed in the bottom black bin and pulled the crate on top of himself)

Pancakes

We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning.  Hannah had almost a whole one; Micah had four. Yum yum!

To-Do List

 

Hannah's agenda each day goes something like this:

1. Find something to climb.

2. Use it to stand up.

3. Repeat.

4. Eat, sleep, and avoid diaper changes as needed.