Alex the race car driver

Emily, Sydney & Lilia

Playing down by the lake

My happy little guy...eating a rock!

Our back yard

Morning glory is taking over the fence and it looks so beautiful. I have big tall sun flowers in the corner ready to bloom soon.

Here comes trouble!

Alex 9 months old

Lilia and our neighbor's dog Jack looking out the front window.

Kentucky vacation day 2

We spent the afternoon on the boat and had a blast. Despite Lilia's face, she had a great time.

1...2...3...JUMP!

We had a blast jumping off the back of the boat into the water over and over.

Lilia had here own way of "jumping" in. She would sit on the back and grab our hands while we were waiting in the water for her. Then she would ever so cautiously jump in.

I was so impressed with her that she even went in at all. If you remember our beach trip, Lilia is scarred from seeing a 3 ft shark caught by a fisherman 2 years back and wouldn't even go near the ocean a few weeks ago. She thought nothing of the lake, which made for a fun time!

The jumper

Sydney was fearless. She would climb up the ladder and onto the deck. Whenever she was ready and without warning she would jump right in the lake. Going under didn't phase her. It was great!

The boat

Kentucky vacation day 1

So we arrived to Kentucky in amazing timing and enjoyed the day relaxing around the house, taking naps and later going to the pool at the marina.

We joined staff with Kyle & Emily so we've known them for over 7 years. It's been really neat to see how God keeps us linked close together with having kids around the same age and having a similar heart for reaching East Asia. They have been there for 3 years and have just committed to another 3. It was great to get some sweet time with them at Kyle's parent's lake house.

Driving

Kyle's parents had this awesome power wheels for Sydney and so the girls would take turn driving around the drive way.

Alex & Stephen (5 months apart)

Relaxing on the porch of the lake house

Stephen Driggers (14 months), Sydney (3 1/2) & Lilia enjoying some swimming

Kyle grilling

We ate so gourmet there. We had marinated chicken that was so moist. Grilled squash, zucchini & onions and grilled asparagus. Yum yum!

We made it!

So we are currently in Kentucky taking a few days vacation with our good friends Kyle & Emily Driggers & their 2 kids. We are staying in a beautiful lake house right on the water.

To get here we drove through the night because that is the only way to go so far with Alex in the car seat. The trip was to take 14 hours all together. We left a 5 pm on Sunday night and pulled into the drive way at 7am EST, 6am CST. It was ONLY God that we made it in exactly 14 hours and that the trip went so well.

Alex did great. Lilia did great too. Dave and I shared the driving; he certainly did more than me. It was good teamwork though. We only stopped for gas and potty breaks and to switch drivers.

At one point it was 3 am and I just had taken the wheel. We were all awake and happy. Lilia was laughing at Alex in the back seat. Just perfect!

THe happy couple: Pete & Julie Vasser

The minister performing the ceremony

Husband & Wife

At the top of the falls

Niagara, The American Side

Niagara Falls, The American Side & The Horse Shoe

The Maiden of the Mist goes right into the Horse Shoe where you see all the white mist. It was so much fun!

Headed North

Tomorrow morning, around 5am Dave and I will depart for Niagara Falls, NY for his sister Julie's wedding. It's a very informal and small event where they'll get married on the boat. We've never been and we're excited to go as a couple. A road trip w/out kids will be awesome! Plus we get to see some place spectacular without the interruptions that small children bring.

Don't worry though, we're driving to Kentucky with them for 3 days to visit best friends. So they'll get their opportunity for a road trip on Sunday. Actually, b/c Alex is so fussy we are driving the 14 hour thrip through the night.

I'll keep ya posted...good night!

Um...hilarious

Parenting 101

Never leave food within a child's reach and walk away.

As you can see I got up for a minute and when I came back Alex had gotten into the hummus. First of all, he loves hummus. He had both hands in it and was eating off of his fists. We took the container away and let him finish his snack. Lilia and I were cracking up at him as he would put his face to his tray to get every last drop.

I love these moments!

It was roasted red pepper hummus, as you can tell by his face!

Hiking at Ridley Creek

This morning we went for a family hike. It went really well. Lilia complained a lot in the beginning that she was tired, but once we got on the trail and off the path she did great. Alex was so quiet, which is unusual. I guess he was taking it all in. We hiked for about an hour, we were really surprised we all lasted that long. We'll have to do it again soon!

Taking a break

Lilia's quote of the day - for Shu Shu

"Hey, we're gonna go for a hike tomorrow." -Katie

"We might even see deer." -Dave

"I'm scared of deer." -Lilia

"Don't worry, they're herbivores." -Dave

"Yeah they eat leaves and berries." -Katie

"Can we feed the deer?" "Maybe we can even ride on them!" -Lilia

Lilia's Quote of the Day

We were in bed reading "If you Give A Pig A Party."
I asked her who we should invite to Alex's birthday party in a few months.
She replied, "Only little tiny babies." She pinched her index finger and thumb when referring to tiny.
"Like who?" I asked.
"Like um....um...Miles." (Miles is Leo's little brother; our neighbor. Miles is only 4 months old.)

Moments later..."Maybe Alex will invite me to his party and I can have cake!"

9 months

Alex is 9 months old today. He is crawling like a champ and he pulls himself up in his crib. He weighs 19 lb 8 oz and is 30 in long. At least according to my estimations. Only 3 more months of buying formula!!!!!!

Another adventure

We headed over to Clark Park as a family after Dave was done work. The kids love that place and Lilia always makes friends. Well tonight a man came over with 2 horses and was giving kids rides for $5. There is a stable at 65th & Woodland. The owner of the horses teaches these 2 boys how to ride, handle and take care of the horses. It was pretty cool.

Lilia was completely scared at first, but they her and Dave rode on Shadow, the brown horse. She LOVED it so much. "Maybe next time I can ride shadow again." -Lilia

So Shu Shu Matt, you've gotta get Lilia on a horse soon!

4th of July Parade. Lilia's favorite was that they threw candy to her.

The Fractured Prune

It was the 2nd to last day on vacation in Bethany Beach, DE when my dad discovered one of the best donut places in the world. It's called the Fractured Prune. You buy the donuts fresh...as in they make them while you wait. They are unbelievable. They are comparable to Brown's in Ocean City, NJ.

Changes

Life is really interesting. What is most interesting to me right now is how much my perspective has changed. When Dave and I were first married (4 1/2 years before kids) the thought of a Friday or Saturday night spent at home was boring and a bit depressing. (Especially if you know my husband; meaning he's highly extroverted.) Once you have kids (not kid, but kids) your perspective changes drastically. You're stuck in anyway because of bedtime. Yeah, you can push them sometimes, but some of the sometimes are NOT worth it. So a night at home laying in bed reading a book sounds so wonderfully relaxing to you because it's the opposite feeling of your day; chaotic, loud and living in the urgent.
That's how I've changed. It so crazy to me because when Dave and I first started dating I wasn't into reading at all. My enjoyment of books has slowly evolved over the years. Thanks for how you rub off on me Dave!

Once lost, but now found

I FOUND OUR CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We thought we lost it on the way home from vacation. Luckily I took the pictures off each day to put them on the computer. We even set aside money to buy a new one.

Tonight Lilia asked me to look for her Ariel doll's dress top. She was playing with it last on the couch so I moved cushions aside and tada...the camera!!! I couldn't believe it! OOdalollly!

Hanging with the neighbors

We had to park on 50th tonight b/c they still haven't paved Chestnut. Anyway...we came home and the neighbor girls were out front of their house playing double dutch. The back of our house faces the side of theirs and they love Lilia. They were showing Lilia how to jump rope. Then one of the girls, who is 11 picked up Lilia and jumped with Lilia in her arms. Lilia loved it!

Dave got in there and was jumping rope too. It was great. Lilia then ran into the house and grabbed her jump rope that we bought her in Chinatown and ran back to jump rope with the girls. It so adorable! I love this for Lilia.

4th of July

It was an incredibly uneventful holiday weekend. For better & for worse. Today however, we headed out to Broomall to watch a parade with Dave's family. Lilia loved. They threw candy, which was her favorite part. She loved the music too. She kept saying, "Mom let's dance."

We lost our camera so I couldn't take pictures. I'll have to wait for them to be emailed.

P.S. This morning we went into Alex's room only to find him standing up in his crib! Somebody's growing up! Dave lowered it as soon as he could.

Playing in the sand

He would fearlessly walk right down to the water.

Watching the waves crash

Poor little Alex

You may have noticed that he hasn't been in many pictures from the last 2 days. He's been running a fever and he's cutting his top teeth. Last night we took him over to an urgent care place because the fever was going on 72 hours and he started refusing bottles.

It turns out that he has a middle ear infection. The doctor said it's caused by teething. Poor little Alex!

Friends!

Lilia made a friends with sisters yesterday. Mia is 3 and Madeline is 5.

Marching

Madeline led the march around the chairs and back to the blanket where she commanded Lilia and Mia to take a nap. Then they'd do it all over again.

Dad had to sit in time out for too many donuts.