Going Hiking

This past weekend we decided to go on a family hike down to the North Chickamauga creek. We had a great time. Jesse and Bailey enjoyed hopping rocks through the water while Harper and I did a little sunbathing:) We wore the kids out as you can see.

Eating Oatmeal

I finally decided to give Harper some baby oatmeal. As you can see in the picture, she hated it. She also hates bananas and pears which is really strange because they are so sweet. We might have to put the solids away for now and try again later.

Like sister, like brother

It seems like everything we do with Harper, tossing her in the air, blowing raspberries on her belly, Bailey wants done to him. I had to draw the line when he said he wanted some of mommy's milk, too:) Here are a few pictures of Bailey in Harper's things. If he asks, I try to let him do it, although I was a little concerned about the Johnny Jump up breaking.

Groundhog Day

This is one of the friendly groundhogs that lives in our backyard. I say friendly because they have yet to eat from our garden of squash, okra, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas and herbs, all Jesse's doing:). The other day I did see him eating from the mulberry tree, so I quickly harvested enough mulberries to make a pie (I had to supplement with some blueberries).

Sweet, Sweet, Happy Harper

Harper is 5 months old and such a joy! She is so happy and smiley all the time. On the rare occasion that I have to wake her up midway through a nap, she rolls over and gives me the biggest smile as if we had just been reunited from a long trip apart. The video is of her squealing on the changing table today. Right before I got the camera out she was giggling a lot and I thought, "oh, this is it, I'll finally be able to capture her deep belly laugh on camera." Not so. She still gives me this confusing look when I bring out the camera. So here she is testing out her vocal cords. I love how she looks so surprised that she can make such sounds.

Check out my FunPix!

We asked Bailey to bring us some clothes to put on him and he came back with these pads. He was attempting to put them on himself but we gave him a little help.

Bailey Singing

Bailey sings a lot around the house these days but he's still a bit camera shy about it. I had just about given up on getting him to sing for the camera when I decided to bribe him with a cookie. It worked! He got a Double-Stuffed Oreo-no trans fats, just lots of sugar:) Enjoy

Ode to "Teddy"

If you've met Bailey, you've met Teddy. In fact, the first thing Bailey does when he meets someone is introduce them to Teddy. So it seems fitting that I should introduce everyone to Teddy. My sister Casey gave Teddy to Bailey on his first Christmas, he was only 2 months old! Teddy has been well loved ever since. He's been on many adventures during his short two and half years: riding on horses, dirt bikes, boats, trains, four-wheelers, tractors, bobcats, backhoes, cars and trucks! Along with all of Teddy's adventures he's had some close calls too: he's been left at peoples' houses, left at the grocery store (on Daddy's watch:), fallen in the mud, fallen in the pool, stepped on, and as a result of all of these events he's had many baths! However, the single most tragic event that has befallen Teddy would have to be when the neighbor's dog snatched him out of our yard and dragged him into the woods. Jesse chased the dog through the woods for a good 15 minutes. All the while I'm trying to keep Bailey calm and remain calm myself. Teddy returned with a minor wound on his nose which Bitsy, jesse's mom, sewed up. It will be a sad day when we have to say good-bye to Teddy for good. "Teddy, we love you and we hope you stay around for a long, long, long time!"

Froggy Boots

If you've seen Bailey lately, you've seen his froggy boots. My mom bought him his first pair long before they ever fit him. When he first tried them on he screamed and cried. This past winter he took to wearing them as the weather was cold and the possibility of snow gave reason to wear galoshes. And wear them he did. Everyday! At first, I thought, "Oh it's just a phase." I objected when his Daddy agreed to let him wear them to church on Sundays, outside when it wasn't raining or snowing, to weddings and on Easter sunday. I finally gave in when I realized they were becoming his trademark. Eventually, Bailey was wearing them everyday and he is now on his second pair as you can see in the picture above. My mom claims that the store carries them in sizes up to adults....we won't let Bailey in on that secret.

Family

Some recent pictures from my trip to Atlanta for my dad's family reunion. He has 10 brothers and sisters and I have 20 first cousins. This was the first time in about 10 years that all of my dad's siblings have been together. Only 10 of the cousins were there. It was fun getting to see everyone, but as always, it's to hard to catch up with everyone because it's so chaotic.

Happy Harper

Harper is such a happy baby. She is just now starting to give us the deep belly laugh. I usually don't capture it on video b/c I'm so intent on listening to her. This clip of her and Jesse is the tail end of several minutes of her laughing. I think she has the sweetest laugh ever!

Tickle Time!

Maturing and Night Fears, Oh my!

Bailey is getting so big, so fast. Every day he says something that just blows Jesse and me away. He's putting sentences together, singing nursery rhymes and the alphabet. However, he is a little shy about his singing. Mostly, we only hear him if we're in another room. I can't get him to sing anything on video. So, I'm finally convinced that night fears have set in. For the past month or so, Bailey wakes up every night and gets in bed with us. Sometimes he wakes up crying hard and other times he crawls in our bed and we don't realize it until we wake up in the morning. Last night, he woke up crying hard. This morning, I asked him if he remembered waking up crying last night and he said, "yes." Then I asked him why he was crying and he said, "Bay got a burn, Mama cooking, Bay touched the bread." I later found out that he had told Jesse the same story a few days ago. It's crazy that he's old enough to have dreams.

They Change So Fast

Harper is making some big changes these days. This morning I found her at the opposite end of her crib. Two nights ago she rolled over onto her back. This afternoon she and I had a laughing fit for a good 10 minutes. She would laugh, then I would laugh, then we'd make each other laugh. It was so sweet and cute, I wish someone could have been there to video tape it. I was able to catch a video of her and Jesse laughing together last night. She is so much more awake and lively during the days. I'm excited about getting to spend more time with her but also a little disappointed that she's not sleeping as much during the day. Gone are the days when she would be awake for an hour then sleep for two.
This is where I put her to sleep last night. She's a little confused b/c I put her back in her crib so I could take these pics.This is where I found her this morning. Again, she's a little confused.

Bailey can count to 10 really fast! Although, I've yet to capture it on video.

Bailey in April

Bailey is hard to capture these days. Since I got my new camera he hides every time I try to take pictures of him. When I get some good ones I'll be sure to share them.

Harper in April

I must say I am very proud of myself for figuring out how to create and add this slideshow to my blog. It took me two days and a few help menus but here it is! I'm still working on Bailey's.

I am so excited about my new camera! I saved my birthday money to invest in a nice digital camera to capture my children at their best:) It also records video. Now I can take good quality videos of Bailey four-wheeling, among his other many talents:)

Bailey Goes Muddin'

One of Bailey's favorite things to do is "ride fo wee-wee in the BIG water."

Bailey

Harper

Harper at 3months!