Winkin'

From the start, Audrey has been a huge fan of swinging.  It is her favorite item at any playground, and she loves trying out all the swings at the park, even if it's just for a few seconds on each. :)  Last summer, she would let us know by requesting to go "winkin'" when we arrived at a park.  To help instill that same love in Kate, we purchased a swing more appropriate for her size to go on our play  set.  Audrey was instrumental in the installation, and then the fun was able to commence!  It will be great to be able to have both girls swinging at the same time.  From the look on Kate's face, she is going to be a fan of winkin', too.

Hey, Dad!

Aren't we the perfect two reasons why marrying Mom eight years ago was the best choice you ever made?  Or maybe it's her delicious cooking....

Also, go Pirate Softball!  Kate is wearing a shirt that was made for Audrey to cheer on her big "sister" Cassidy.  Unfortunately, Cassidy has changed numbers since 2012, so we had to do a little masking tape work.

Kate: Six Months

Happy 1/2 year, Kate!  These months have gone so quickly.  Kate continues to be such a smiley, happy, talkative girl.  Her laughter is contagious, especially when she does deep belly laughs.  Her favorite subject of laughter is definitely her older sister!

Kate developed into a strong sitter this month. She can sit unassisted for a big chunk of time.  She can lean forward, grab something, and then sit back again.  It's amazing how flexible little ones are, even with big bellies and thighs!  She is also the queen of rolling over.  She rolls and rolls and ends up in a completely different spot than she started.  Crawling doesn't seem to be too far away, as she rocks on her hands and knees.

Our adventures with food are slowly getting better.  She's tried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and peas.  Her favorite seems to be the carrots so far.  She is definitely eating more and spitting out less.  We still get some funny faces now and then.

Our biggest triumph this month was her napping!  She now takes two good naps a day, and one nap has been coinciding with Audrey's, which is much appreciated.  She has been napping for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at a time.  Yeah, Kate!

We love you, Kate!  Thanks for all the laughter and smiles.

Kate didn't like her big sister butting in on the photo shoot!

Audrey at six months!

A Fun Movie

The quality of this movie is not great because the camera was placed on a stool, instead of being held.  However, you can still hear Kate's beautiful laugh and Audrey singing in her adorable voice.  Enjoy!

Swimming Lessons

On this cool and cloudy June evening, Audrey started her first swimming lessons.  Besides shivering the entire time, she did a great job!  She put her head in to blow bubbles, floated on her tummy and back, and even went down a frog slide.  Hopefully the next five lessons are slightly warmer than 70 degrees for my sake! :)

Audrey brought her baby and purse with her.  The purse had a bottle in it, in case the baby needed it.  She's got wonderful mothering skills already!

We had smiles on our faces before we left.  We didn't know how cold we would be!

Food!

Kate took another big step this week when she tried her first solid food.  We tried sweet potatoes, and the experience wasn't too scarring for her.  We actually think she kept more food in her mouth than Audrey did on her first try!  It is probably because Kate had a little cheerleader cheering her on the entire time.  Even when she was hesitating about the taste and texture, sweet Kate would still manage to get a smile on her face.  Tonight went even better, so we're on the right track!  We'll experiment with veggies for a couple weeks, and then we'll try fruits.  I'm sure we'll have another great eater on our hands.

Maybe it will be okay!

Here's Audrey!

Summer Fun

Summer has almost started in our household.  I still have a couple more days of meetings to put in, but we are already getting a taste of a more relaxed pace.  Yeah!  One of the perks of teaching and living in a small town is that we make wonderful connections with families.  One such connection earned Audrey a new playhouse for our backyard.  It came a little dirty, so it was the perfect opportunity to put on a swimsuit and use the spray nozzle for the hose!  Audrey ran the hose like a professional and was even able to "accidentally" spray her dad a few times.  Once the gnats in our backyard thin out, Audrey will be excited to play in her new, clean house!

Kate and I were able to hang out in the shade on the deck.  She tried on my hat and thought she looked awfully cute!