The Horse and the Bird

Blake has an unbelievable appetite. At 8 1/2 months old, he can throw down some serious food. I wish I had the pictures to back all of these up, but here goes.

The other night at my parents, he ate 2 Stage 2 baby foods- Sweet Potatoes and Peas. Then he had some milk. Then, he manage to eat 1 1/2 crescent rolls, small bits of chicken, avocado and an entire slice of mango salad.

The next night, Chris and I ventured to a new Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. I had fed Blake his 2 baby foods at the table, some Gerber puffs and little bits of motzerella cheese from our appetizer. I ordered spaghetti for myself, and as soon as he saw it on the table, it was clear that the boy had to have himself some "skettie" as Hunter calls it. He grabbed it by the fistful and ate like a champ!

"Mmmm!" - Notice the cool right arm off to the side- he ALWAYS sits like this and eats with his left hand. Hmm? Maybe he's going to be left-handed like his mama!

Last night, I made grilled chicken, salad, black-eyed peas and green beans. He ate his usual baby food and then managed to eat small bites of chicken, several green beans, the black-eyed-peas and avocado! Unreal! He doesn't even seem finished after that- I think he could keep on eating. The boy eats like a horse!

"What mom? I don't want to get a bath! I'm not finished!"

What's funny is that Hunter is now the opposite- he eats like a bird these days. He's always been a great eater, but at this stage, he's just not that interested.
The other night, I made pasta with brocolli and chicken and Hunter told me,
"Don't make this again mom." Well, alrighty then.

Blakey loves his Babs!!

Lake Weekend with the Jones Familia

A little over a week ago we had the chance to have the Jones family up to the lake. It was a great get-away and such a blessing to have Dana there with us.

The boys had a great time... as usual and were a mile a minute the whole time. Blake and Adam will no doubt be right behind them in no time!

We ordered pizza the first night and the three boys sat on the top step looking out at the water. So cute! It wasn't but 20 minutes later that they were in full swim mode out in the water!

This was the first time Hunter was brave enough to jump off the dock into the water. Obviously watching David and Ryan do it was motivation enough for him to try it. :) Oh, and I owe ya Chris for being such a great sport and dealing with standing in the muck at night in the lake. Heaven knows I couldn't have done it!

Saturday morning, we had a good breakfast and wasted no time getting in the water. The boys were thoroughly entertained jumping off the boat dock into the water, swimming to the ladder and doing it all over again.
Here they are on the giant tube.

Here's Ryan...

...and Hunter...

...and David...

...and Blake and me...

...and Summer and Adam.

The boys took a breather from the water and relaxed in the hammock for about 1 minute.

Then, they were off again! Blake just enjoyed being out with everyone and did not want to nap.

The boys topped the weekend off on Sunday morning with several catches. This is Hunter's first-ever catch! As you can see, Blake was thrilled too!

You asked, you shall receive!

This post has been a long time coming, so sorry for keeping you waiting!

Let's see, a post is really no fun if there aren't pictures, so here goes...

Hunter took 2 weeks worth of swimming lessons the last week of June and first week of July. It was honestly the most well-spent money. He learned so much from Ms. Ann and we are so grateful. I have tried in vain to work with him over the past couple of summers after a terrifying incident that really scarred him, but Ms. Ann knew just what to do and now we have a little fish. He is swimming back and forth from us to the steps and back. He will jump from the side, he will go down the slide and not panic about getting his face wet. It's amazing!!! He did have a little incident about a week ago in the baby pool when he hit his mouth against the side and knocked a front tooth back a bit. Needless to say, lots of blood, lots of tears and a pretty worried mom and dad. The dentist saw him first thing the next morning and said everything should be A-okay! Phew!

This is fairly belated, but Blake is sitting up good and strong. He loves the water, loves to splash and hates to get out of the bath. He cries when I take him out! I'm nothing if I don't teach my boys to love their baths!

Both boys in the tub! Isn't this a childhood rite of passage- having your picture taken with your siblings in the tub??

Well, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town and we got tickets to take Hunter. It was not quite the experience I had envisioned, but it was a fun time altogether. We had great seats believe it or not and spent 5 gazillion dollars on all the "stuff." He had to have a sword, 12 dollar cotton candy that came with this top hat and popcorn. Add our drinks and our dinner and we were spent in more ways than one by the time he decided it was time to go. He keeps talking about this man that sat a few rows in front of us that wore a clown head. He was a little traumatized to say the least.


Then we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly, Hills that is! Just kidding, it only LOOKS like we are the Beverly Hillbillies when we travel. We spent the 4th in Waco and had a great time visiting Mimi and Bapa and celebrating the weekend with them.




Last week we had a big group of friends over to play in the backyard and had a great time. :)


Such a cute picture and you can clearly see why I do laundry like it's nobody's business! He's a mess!!

Just for you Aunt Kristin since you inspired this post! Have a great rest of the week!! We love ya!