Playtime

I look forward to the times when the boys crawl away to play on their own. It happens nearly everyday in the morning. It doesn't last very long, but I definitely relish these moments for many reasons. I love that they're growing and playing more independently; I love having a few moments without them climbing on me (although those moments are good too); But most of all, I love seeing them healthy and happy.

(Andrew spotted me and the camera)

I love that he's laughing and playing by himself!

Andrew's Got Skill

Sorry it's sideways...

Look Who's Standing

It only lasts about 5-10 seconds at a time, but it's long enough to get a picture. Only 12 days until his first birthday...

Family Fun Weekend

On Saturday PPG (Dave's work) and our church had their family fun days. We weren't sure if the boys would be able to do both, but they did and seemed to have a great time. We went to PPG's first, held at the Lake Charles Civic Center. They had food, music, and blow-up games. James loved the blow-up slides, but it was hard work carrying him to the top of those things! Both boys loved the grilled chicken! It was so great to be able to feed them both while we were out and not have to run home in between fun days for their lunches.

After lunch we headed out to Moss Lake where a family from church has a boathouse. The boys did a great job playing and nobody ended up in the lake (except our car keys, which were rescued). James even took his first boat ride. He really enjoyed it, but it was a long ride so he decided to take a nap for part of it. Unfortunately, I forgot our camera so I only have a couple of pics that others took.

Always hamming it up for the camera!

We're in the lower left. You might recognize the little boy next to Dave from James' birthday party pictures. Waylon calls us the baby family :)

Happy Labor Day!

Dave and I took advantage of the beautiful day and took the boys to Kemah, Texas. There's a boardwalk there with shops, games, and rides. We mostly just walked around and enjoyed the weather. James loved the people and boat watching. Andrew just enjoyed the ride.

watching the train :)

catfish and ducks

Andrew is 11 Months

Andrew celebrated his 11 month birthday on Sunday with his first tropical storm. TS Lee brought us some much needed rain. It was mostly just wind and rain around here with SE Louisiana getting the worst of it. Since it rained all day, we celebrated by staying dry. At 11 months Andrew:

• has 6 teeth. 3 on top and 3 on bottom. It feels like he's been cutting teeth since his 1o month birthday.


• is playing well by himself for longer periods of time...nearly 10 minutes before he'll come searching for mommy or daddy.


• has taught me that he will always be a difficult napper!


• puts everything in his mouth.


• prefers canned veggies over fresh ones (crazy) and won't eat fruit except for bananas.


• loves his baby food and only wants to feed himself grains (cheerios, bread, puffs, etc.) and yogurt bites. Everything else ends up smashed or on the floor.

Showing off his new teeth. Still loves opening doors...
And getting into things.

"Reading" a book and thinking about standing.

He has a sore on his finger from chewing on it soooo much.

Squatting with the vanilla wafers.

He loves to push toys around...

And tackle them!

Back Home in LA (that's Louisiana)

We've been home for a week now and are back in the swing of things. On Saturday we took down the second crib that James refuses to sleep in to make room for the new toy from Aunt Denise and Uncle Chris. James has been having lots of fun with it and Andrew loves the balls!
James can't quite reach the top yet so he starts the balls partway down the ramp.

And these are just a few pics of the boys playing before bedtime that night.

...And reading books.

On Sunday James got to watch a race on TV. I think Dave and I are going to have to learn about something new...

Backyard Fun in StL

On the way back to Louisiana, we stopped over for one more day/night in St Louis. James decided he wanted to play outside (he was beating on the sliding glass doors to go out) so we all headed out for a bit after dinner. It was fun. James is definitely an outdoors boy. Both boys loved chasing Lucy and kicking the soccer ball.

Lucy chasing Dave and James.

Uncle Chris and Uncle Scott (Lucy's Dad) were in on the action too.

Everyone loves Uncle Dave :)
Lucy was showing us how she is going to smile for her preschool pictures.

Dave was trying to touch the rim.

James found his efforts hilarious!

Lucy thought it was funny too!

She then showed Uncle Dave how easy it is!

James showed off a little too :)

Brunch in WL

When we lived in Indiana, we attended a great church in West Lafayette and were part of a wonderful small group made up of "young" couples. Very few of us had kids, only 2 to speak of. We were able to get together with most of that group when we were in town. The 2 kids have become 9 with more on the way and we didn't all feel so "young" anymore :) Our get together was noisy, but great. I've included some pictures of all of those babies that we are blessed with.

Desmond and Andrew...only 3 months apart.

Tate is a window into my future with Andrew.
Aubrey and Ella are beautiful and such great sisters!

Ella was one of the few willing to give me a big smile for the camera.

James enjoyed the swing set!

And so did his Daddy!

Miriam is Desmond's big sister and we have referred to her as James' girlfriend since before they were born :)

Andrew has a sore on that finger from all the teething he did on vacation.

Adult(?!) Game night

When you live far away from family, you rely on pictures to see their smiling faces. Over the last couple of years, I have realized that 99.9% of my pictures are of my nieces and nephews with nary an adult in sight. I love all the photos of the kids, but I decided to do a better job of getting some "adult" photos on this trip. I broke out the camera on a game night and had a good time capturing some memories...even though I annoyed all of my subjects! (I thought the zoom made the photos more comical...)

Dad giving Abby a hard time, which rarely happens.

Julie keeping her cards close. The boys in our family are known to have rubber neck syndrome.
Abby's cards were so bad it was funny.

Smiles are contagious.

Snacks at game time is a must. I think Chad is storing up for a long winter.

This is the look of impatience.

I told you those boys can't keep their eyes on their own cards!

Abby was getting a little annoyed with the flash.

Hmmm....something's amiss.

Dope!

Playing serious and trying to rid himself of his non-factor status.