Jaden Lola...

She bounces...



She sits...

Happy Birthday Pappa!!!

We love you Pappa!!! We were singing and celebrating you from the start of our day! We love you!!!!

HONK!!!!!

Our day started of so special.
On our run this AM, not only did we see SEVEN hot air baloons in the sky at once, but...
The running path we were on winds beside some train tracks, and this morning we ran with the choo-choo train. Of course we had to stop and wave and watch. And to our delight, "Mr Conductor honked at me!!!" exclaimed Rylie. Yes it is true, she waved and the whistle blew. It was so exciting to say the least. (J-bop slept through the entire experience, of course! Ha!)

Pool School!!!!

Today was Rylie's first day of what we are calling, "Pool School!" She is fearless in the water which is great and dangerous at the same time. Here is the great news: The good Lord has sent us Meredith...our newest member of the Annex staff, who just moved here last week from Malibu, CA...and would you believe, is certified and has taught babies and toddlers for a few years, how to swim. WHAT A GIFT!!! Meredith is incredible and made it so much fun for Rylie. She knows all the tricks, like:

- Blowing "candles out underwater" to get Rylie to blow out of her mouth when diving down
- Putting on her princess crown and then gliding across the water on her belly like a flying princess...or "To infinity and beyond," like Buzz Light Year
- Playing "Red Light Green Light" with kicking on top of the water
- Scopping huge scoops of ice-cream in the pool to learn swim arms
You get the idea...she is so creative and good!!!!

The first lesson lasted for 25 minutes...and we plan on keeping this up for a few more days in a row. Hopefully we will learn enough so we can keep up the lessons in our free time as parents!

THANK YOU MEREDITH! We cannot believe your skill, training, heart and generosity! We feel so blessed by the Lord through you already. It is going to be a great year together!!!





Here is a shot as we were driving to the pool. So excited...

HOT

It has been hitting 100+ these day, which means if you are outside you are either in a pool or eating Popsicles! Rylie was BEGGING to go out yesterday in the heat of the day. When I told her it was too hot, she persisted, and said, "I can where my jacket, and I will be OK." (She does not quite get when we need our jackets, yet!) However, after her valiant effort to persuade me to go out the door, I told her we could go out if we brought Popsicles. She wanted to give them to our neighbors, too! So, out into the heat we went...one Popsicle in her mouth, and three others in her hands. "Come here boys," she exclaimed from our front porch. Needless to say, they came running over.



Sometimes it is just so fun to watch and listen to what they choose to talk about...



Done!

"The Bug"

Just a little clip of "The Bug" as we like to call her.

Cold Brownies

The girls and I bake A LOT. I have discovered why Rylie enjoys these projects so much...one word: BEATERS. Like any normal human she loves to lick the beaters! My favorite quote from her this week:

"I like cold brownies mom."
Translated, this means, she likes the brownie batter! That's my girl!





Jaden cannot wait for her turn to have a lick!

Jaden...a social bug

Here is a clip of Jaden and her buddy Kylie. Apparantly she likes talking to people her own size! Girls are social from the start!



I know I already posted Jaden eating...but is so much fun with her giggles and squeels I had to add this video from dinner tonight...

Small Group Pool Party!

It is hard to believe that when we started this Bible study group several years ago...there were no kids! Let the fun begin!

4th of July Food

Frozen Star Watermelon Popsicles



The Ever Popular Flag Cake! (posted for you Jane!)

Jaden eating!

We started Jaden on "solid" foods this week. She is taking to it bite by bite! We think this might be helping her sleep through the night! (Last night she slept from 6pm until 6:30am, with a quick feed at 11pm. PRAISE GOD!! We hope this is a new pattern!)






Avocados and Carrots...EVERYWHERE. So fun.

4th of July

We participated in a neighborhood 4th of July parade...dozens of kids on decorated bikes all following a fire truck. After the parade, there were games at the park. Rylie jumped in her first sack race! We love our neighborhood!!!





Here are our two neighbor families...who also have two year old girls! What a gift they are to us!








Here is Rylie and dad, first thing this AM, going out to put our flag on the house!