Baby news

No, the baby still has not come, we haven't forgotten to tell any one. If you have been watching the baby ticker on the side, it is now counting up, *sigh* to remind me how late this baby is I guess. I have an appointment in a little bit, so every one cross your fingers for news a baby joining us soon.

First Day of School

Another year of school is under way. Samantha started first grade Monday and couldn't be more excited. Once again, Samantha is excited about every thing that has to do with school, besides getting up in the mornings.


Here's Samantha sitting at her desk waiting for school to start, (well, waiting for all the parents to clear out so class can start). I can tell she is nervous and excited all at once. She had a very good first day of school. Every day has been a good day. She comes home so excited and can't wait to tell us what she did that day.




Samantha after her first day of school.

Swimming

Friday we went to a swimming birthday party. All the kids got to go swimming. This is the girls in the "big kid" pool. They had a blast. It didn't take long till they were sliding down on their tummies, then "swimming" around to the stairs. It was a great day for swimming. It was hot enough that they didn't freeze, and cool enough that I was comfortable to be outside watching them.
This was JJ's first time in a swimming pool. I wasn't sure how or if he would enjoy it, but thought that he might since he really enjoys bath time. It took him a little time for him to get used to wet shorts on his legs, but once he got passed that, he was a little fish. He likes to sit up, then lay down and splash, then sit up, then lay down again. He also had fun chasing the balls around the pool.

All by Myself

JJ is growing up so fast. It seems he is always pushing himself to reach farther and higher, and always trying to reach something. Most of the time when I am done feeding him, I set his bowl of food on the table while I get a wash cloth to clean him up, then put it in the sink. I for got to do that the other day, and while I was in the other room, JJ realized that he could reach his breakfast. This is the sight that met me when I came back in the kitchen to check on him. He was already covered, so what else could I do? I started taking pictures.






JJ seemed to really enjoy the mess he was making, or he was just trying to get the cereal in his mouth. It was interesting to watch him. He would reach into the cereal with his right hand, but then but then feed himself with his left.

Walking

JJ has been pulling himself up and scaling furniture for a while now. We have been trying to get him to let go and walk, but you can't rush a baby. A couple weeks ago he started taking steps on his own. Just two. He knew that he could do two, so that is all he would do. Then he added a third step. Same thing, he knew he could do three, and that was all he would do. He would take his three steps, give you a big grin and dive for you. Over the last couple days he has moved up to about a dozen or so steps. It depends on how excited he gets. Some times it seems he realizes what he is doing and gets so excited about how many steps he's taking, his feet start to move to fast. It's fun to catch him walking when he doesn't know he's doing it. It's almost like you can see the thought process, that he is here and wants to get there, so he just lets go and starts walking. It is so much fun to watch these little kids grow and learn, except teething, that is no fun. I can't believe that within a couple weeks, we will be starting all over again, so soon.

Books

One of JJ's new favorite pass times is pulling books off the shelf. He's been doing this for a couple weeks now. It is a funny sight to watch as JJ searches for just the right book. He grabs hold of a book and pulls it down. But because of his height and how he stands at the book case, just about every book seems to bonk him right on the forehead. Part of what makes it so funny is that when he knows that I am watching, he turns and looks at me with a look that almost seems to say "What just happened?" He doesn't cry, it rarely knocks him over, he just gets this look like he can't believe it happened, again, and keeps pulling more books down.









JJ continues to pull books down until he finds just the right book, and this seems to be JJ's favorite book right now. When it hits the ground, he stops pulling books off the shelf. Hopefully you can see why he likes it so much. It has five little dogs on the front made out of fabric that he likes to tug at.