Backyard fun

Genevieve is reacting to Tristan more and more these days. She smiles really big whenever he talks or sings to her and that makes him smile really big too. He's currently trying to teach her to clap and play with the soccer ball and I thought these pictures captured this perfectly. Who knows what she's actually thinking, but most of the time she has a look on her face of "I don't know what you're saying, but you sure are funny!"

After some swim time (notice the swimsuit and coordinating bow? Also notice the clump of hair that always sticks straight up?), we typically run around the yard and have outside time for the rest of the day. The weather is getting so enjoyable in the evenings! A couple of nights ago we even went back outside after bathtime and watched for planes for a while. Tristan was determined to see a plane flying in the sky and sure enough, we saw the blinking lights of about 3 planes in about 30 minutes time.

We were able to capture a picture with Genevieve holding up her own bottle. She doesn't get many chances to practice this skill since most of the time she nurses, but once in a while Daddy gets to have some special time rocking and feeding her.

Vintage pj's and other stuff

Tristan is wearing some "vintage" pajamas from the 70's. Uncle Adam wore these and I think it's neat that now Tristan gets to wear them. I've also included a couple of random pictures taken before bedtime, as I was cleaning the kitchen and the kids were keeping me company.

Tristan likes to help us do everything now. Even if you just want to take 5 seconds to get a drink of water, he wants to pull a chair over to the counter and help. We try to include him as much as possible by letting him pour, stir, crush crackers for pork chops with the rolling pin, etc. We get to practice our numbers by having him push the buttons on the microwave, which he loves to do. Items in the kitchen make noise too. In the same way cows go moo and pigs go oink oink, the oven says "hot, hot." James got the perfect dessert for Tristan to help make, Cherry Dump Cake, and it was definitely yummy when the boys were done making it!

4 months old!

Genevieve is 4 months old (as of September 1st)! To celebrate, she got a new toy, an exersaucer. With her increasing neck strength, she does very well in it. She's getting so big! She's now 25 inches long and weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces, which translates to tall with average weight. Her 4 month shots gave her a fever for a day and made her fussy for a couple additional days but I think she's recovered nicely. She's reaching out and grabbing things now and is more aware of her surroundings. Another milestone (of sorts) is that I can now put pigtails in her hair! We're undecided about whether or not she should have bangs, but we'll have to make that decision soon since her hair already gets in her eyes. Regardless of the bang issue, since we can make pigtails now, I need to find two matching baby bows for extreme cuteness... Most babies don't have that much hair so you typically only get one bow per color/style, so finding a 2-pack could be a bit troublesome. Genevieve is also a master drooler, so she requires a little bib during most of the day.

Our first shoes are still a bit big, but they look great with our outfit! Thanks, Diane!

Mmm. Spit up.



Well, trying to eat it is almost like playing with it, right?

Fun with mud and jet skis

We spent some time with the LaBrecque side of the family over Labor Day weekend. We went down to Canyon Lake and took the jet ski with us. Everyone had fun taking turns riding around the lake. We even got Grandma to take a ride. The other big attraction was mud! The lake is low right now so a large area that is typically under water is currently providing a mud pit. I also think this is the first time we've looked for shells with Tristan and we even found one with the creature still inside!

She's Rolling Over!

Sunday night when we got back from Houston, Genevieve started trying to roll over. She could get her feet and legs over, but her torso and head wouldn't make the turn so she was spending quite a bit of time in a twisted position. She kept practicing though and on Wednesday, August 20th she officially rolled all the way over and was able to pick herself up enough to position both elbows under her! Typically she then quickly finds one of her hands and starts going to town on it, as if she's rewarding herself for a job well done by seemingly devouring the hand and all five digits. Now that we've reached this exciting milestone, I can no longer leave her somewhere to play for very long. I have to come check on her several times during the load-the-dryer, re-load the washer process because she'll rollover and then get really mad that she's stuck on her tummy. I roll her back over to her back and she immediately rolls over to her tummy and starts to get mad again. All of my little 5 minutes or less jobs have now turned into longer affairs now that she's (somewhat) mobile. I know it's only going to get worse in terms of my productivity as she becomes more mobile. But, good job baby! Yay for rolling over!