Happy 4th, and THIS is my life

We love a good three day weekend around here, and with our recent travels, we were really excited to be home and be together for the weekend!  So, we put on our red, white, and blue and we had ourselves a very Americana Weekend!

We loaded up our tiny people and headed out to pick blueberries!  Anna won the prize for most excited about our adventure!  (It was her first time, after all!)

Turns out that she loves being strapped to her Daddy’s back!

Although this picture doesn’t show it, the boys were genuinely excited to be there!

They loved finding the berries and picking them . . . although, William preferred to pick the berries that were not yet ripe.

Hudson did not seem to have any trouble finding the big, blue berries . . . although not ONE of the berries he picked made it home with us.  Rascal!

Can you guess whose hand this is going for the white berry?

Sister may have eaten a leaf or two while Daddy tried to guesstimate the number of pounds of berries we had in our buckets . . .

Good Job, William, RIPE BERRIES!

Another snack for Sister Suzie . . .

We had a great time picking berries, and we hope to go again before the season ends . . . but, we will go earlier in the morning when it is not hot and steamy!  And, upon reflecting on our trip, we decided that the boys mis-understood the purpose of berry picking.  Instead of picking-as-many-berries-as-possible-to-take-home, we think they thought it was a “see how many berries you can cram into your mouth in under an hour” contest.  Fun times!

We had a great birthday party for our sweet Nana on Sunday night, but I have no pictures to show for it.  Boo to that!  We love our Nana dearly and are oh-so grateful for her!  Happy Birthday to you, Nanny!  We love you!

Then, to celebrate Independence Day, we drove way out to the country to what we call “Uncle Tommy’s Farm.”  It was hot, but it felt like the 4th of July.  At the Farm, we celebrated Mrs. Bailey’s 80th Birthday!

These two were in heaven on this tractor!

Lots of fun visiting with folks!

Sister loved being with Uncle J.  He is just so much fun!

We enjoyed cooling off on the back porch before heading home.  This picture is just to prove that I was actually there.  Ha ha!

The Birthday lunch spread was on the trailor behind the tractor—I loved that!

And, I am obsessed with this red roof.  I just love it!  Thanks for having us, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Mary!

AND, THIS IS MY LIFE:

Sister has been a little sad lately, so it finally occurred to me to stick my finger in her mouth, and YES! SHE HAS A TOOTH COMING IN!  Her very first one!  While I was working hard to get this excellent picture of Sister’s teeny tiny tooth poking out of her gums . . .

I found her jaybird of a brother doing this . . . and he knows NOT to do this . . . especially without clothes on.

What I am going to do with these two?  Seriously!?

RASCALS!

Sister is 8 months old!

I cannot believe it, but my baby is 8 months old!  (she is actually a tad older, but still)  This last month has been so fun with little Anna because she is starting to really babble, understand more of what we say, and she loves to play!  She loves to clap her chubby hands to “Pat-a-Cake,” and she often wakes in the morning just clap-clap-clapping away!  She is learning to play “SO BIG!” and thinks she is quite funny when she does it, too!

AnnaBug is so expressive lately!  She loves to talk and squeal and giggle . . . she has said ma ma a few times, although da Da DA is her favorite thing to scream!  She’s recently said uh oh (only once or twice though) and she will shake her head no no no when we are telling her brothers NO—I’m glad to have her back me up with the discipline!

Her favorite thing to do is snuggle in bed with her brothers before bedtime (I really need to try to get a picture or two of this).  The other night, she was laying by William and I asked him to watch her while I ran to get something for her.  When I came back, he said “I keep her safe, Mommy.  I keep her safe.”  OH, my  heart!  She throws herself towards them and kicks her feet like crazy when they come into the room.  She loves being near her brothers!  The boys love to give Sissy kisses and hugs, and just this morning one of them asked to see “my baby.”  It is so dear to see how much they all love each other!

Little love has had some trouble with knowing when she is full lately, so we took her to the doctor to make sure all was well (and, it is).  She weighed in at 20lbs 12oz right around her 8 month bday.  She is getting big!  She now rides in her big girl car seat, which she loves because she has one brother beside her and another that she can stare at in the “way back” of the car;  and, as of last night, she is sitting in a booster at the table with the big boys, too.

Although some of her friends have started to scoot or crawl, Little Miss still sits up big and tall or she will lay and roll across the room, and that is just fine with us!  When I was away, I told Hatch that if Anna started to crawl, he should really gently knock her down.  I do not encourage mobility or independence in my home!  ha ha!

We took these pictures while Sister and I were waiting for brothers to finish up their lesson at swim school (which, by the way, may be one of the best things we’ve done all summer for them!)  Sister loves the pool too—she kicks her feet like a little froggy, and she loves to splash and squeal in the water.  It won’t be long before she can hold her own with these brothers of hers!

This picture just melts my heart—Oh, My LOVE!

Anna is sleeping well and continues to be extremely flexible with taking morning catnaps on the go—by the pool or on the beach in the stroller (have I mentioned how I love this dream baby of mine?)  She is doing well at night, too, and for that, we are all quite thankful!  She loves to eat and does a wonderful job using her chubby little fingers to pick up food and put things in her mouth.  She now officially eats lunch as well as breakfast and dinner, and she takes 3-4 bottles each day.  She tends to put everything she picks up in her mouth . . .

. . . but, not all things taste too yummy . . .

. . . she is persistent though . . .

While it doesn’t happen often, when Sister does cry, it is just pitiful!  Her tears pop out of her eyes and roll straight down the center of her cheeks—I have never seen anything like it—it looks like something from a cartoon.  Poor baby!  Her Daddy cannot stand it when she cries!  Not even for one second!

We love you, Anna Kathryn, and we are so glad you are ours!  (AND: NO CRAWLING!)