friends....

A fun night out with dear friends. It was a beautiful evening and we spent it outside on the patio at JCT listening to an amazing musician Amy Gerhartz. I only wish we could do it more often! ;)

Speaking of friends, Kylie and Jake are the best of buds. When he decided to try and do push-ups......

.....Kylie gave it a shot too! Looks like she feels the same way I do about push-ups!

I'm so happy they have each other. Even if I know they will spend most of their adult lives complaining about our parenting skills..... hee-hee!

Milestones - the KBear

I have wanted to write a post about Kylie for a while now, but time definitely gets away from me. She is becoming such a young lady, with her own style and her own opinions (strong ones). I am amazed at how far she's come with her vocabulary and communication skills in just a few months. Although she has been a bit difficult lately (total melt down because she wanted syrup NEXT TO her waffle NOT ON TOP OF IT), I really enjoy spending time with her - especially one-on-one, which is rare. It's funny to think that Jeff and I used to "pawn off" Kylie on the other in order to get things done - and now we both would rather take the K-Bear to run errands because she's fun, well behaved (usually) and we don't have to carry her!! :)

Kylie's most-often-used phrase is "Can you come play with me?". I must hear this at least 10-20 times a day. After I play with her for a while and then continue doing other stuff, the phrase turns into: "Can you come play with me because you didn't play with me for a long time?" If only I could insert the exact inflection - so cute!

Here she is "working" in Mommy's chair.

Around the time when Jake was born, Kylie started a most annoying habit of waking up (no, that's not the annoying part) and screaming "MOMMY - IT'S MORNING TIME" from her room. She would never leave her bed - but continue screaming until you came. Let me remind you that mommy was severely sleep deprived for many months and would do ANYTHING to not wake the sleeping Jake. How fast can I get to her room from a dead sleep in my bed??? PRETTY DARN FAST! Gradually Kylie started coming out of her bed after her naps, and then she started doing the same in the morning. For a while she would come into our room and lay on the floor (like the picture below) until Mommy and Daddy woke up (which, of course, was whenever Jake woke up). Now she will usually get dressed by herself and bring her doll (Cinderella) in our room to play next to the bed for 5-10 minutes before officially asking Mommy "Is it morning time yet?".

Kylie loves to draw on her easel (from Nana) and she recently started drawing people (and monsters) but they all look the same usually. A face with legs. This is a picture of Kylie.

This was a great family portrait. Daddy is the biggest AND he got a body (and a hat by request), Mommy is green, Kylie is pink and Jake is just a head (appropriate I guess). When I asked what the band across Daddy's waist was (assuming a belt??), Kylie said quite simply, "It's his pee-pee." OMG - HYSTERICAL!!! Today she told me it was a belt. Not as funny.

Kylie's biggest milestone of the summer has been learning to swim. She took 6 lessons with Miss Michelle and swims like a fish without swimmies or a float. We had our first trip with the Richardson's out to Lake Lanier and Kylie was a bit skeptical - but ended up loving it!

The romance continues - Kylie & Kyle.

We also got the priveledge of visiting the Pryor's lake house for a couple days last week. Kylie calls Olivia and Zach her "special friends" and she refers to the Lake House as "her other home". We had an awesome time on the boat, swimming with the fish, feeding the ducks and playing on the beautiful island paradise (below).

I can't believe summer is almost over but I'm excited for school to start. We did the meet and greet for Kylie's Colt Class today and her new teachers seem REALLY nice. Tonight at bedtime she said her favorite part of the day was going to school. Let's hope that is long term trend!

Milestones - the Jakester

Well, he's 6 months (plus) and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I have already completely weaned him in the last three weeks and he doesn't seem to mind at all. The landmark decision was made during our trip to California (nursing on the plane is a real drag) AND due to the fact that he now has TWO bottom teeth that he likes to use (if you know what I mean).

He sits up by himself (since about 5 1/2 months) and he is eating all sorts of solids (baby food of course.) Jake adores Kylie and laughs at everything she does. He has a great schedule; sleeps 7pm-7am, naps 9am-10:30 and 1-2:30. We have a nice stretch in the late afternoon - but sometimes he wants to go to bed at 6pm which makes it hard to do any dinner outings.

Of course, I have all kinds of mommy worries (Jeff thinks I'm nuts). Like, his eyes are very hooded and I really hope he will grow out of it - but what if he doesn't? He also gets this strange red area under his eyes after he drinks his bottles sometimes - allergy??? Who knows? It's always something right? Did I mention that he's HUGE? We haven't had his official appointment yet - but a couple weeks ago he weighed in at 19 lbs and 10 oz. The infant car seat only lasts up to 22 lbs and 29 inches - so we'll see how long we get to use that!

Our *brief* 6 month photo session:

Love this one - you can see his two little teeth!

Just look at the size of that belly!!

This was right before he almost tumbled off the ottoman and onto his head, mommy screaming at Daddy for almost killing the baby -- and Jake was laughing!

And of course, a hat by Loomis Loops!

You know me, had to do a comparison shot.....

Trip to California

Get ready for lots of pictures! We had a great trip. I must say, Kylie and Jake are very resilient (although I'm not sure how resilient mommy is). Jeff was in meetings Tues/Wed/Thurs (including dinners) and Friday morning. But I got to visit with three of my dear friends (who I miss so much) and they hung out with me while my children slept - or at least that's what it seemed like most of the time.

First up - the plane. We had Jake as an "infant in arms" and he was LITERALLY in arms - although he looks more like a small toddler to me. He did not want to sleep while being held but we perservered.....

My friend Noel got us a 2-bedroom suite at the Residence Inn. So we had a full kitchen, free breakfast and plenty of space (you know, for all the sleeping!). Even Jake and Kylie approved of the digs....

Meet the babysitter we found in California - she was even available at 5am (aka 8am Atlanta time).

This is our other babysitter (aka Noel). We were roommates for a long time - now she's married to a great guy and hoping for kids soon. :) She babysat Jake while we took Kylie to DISNEYLAND!

Kylie's first exposure to video games. She was pretty good too! Jake was watching intently.

Ahhhh Disneyland. It was very nostalgic for me - since I have been there so many times and had never imagined myself there with my own kids. It was crowded and pretty hot (by California standards) but we had SO much fun! It started a bit slow since our first ride (Peter Pan) broke down right when we got to the front. Kylie was annoyed because she didn't know why were standing in the line anyway - total buzz kill.

BUT, we ventured to Toon Town and waited in another LONG line to meet Mickey Mouse. When the door opened, we were first in the group and she ran into the room, right up to the GIANT mouse and hugged him, and then posed for pictures. The smile on her face was sooooo huge when we left there - I almost cried!

Yes, we rode "It's a Small World"....

The tea cups at 10pm

Although Kylie didn't like the fireworks (too loud), she got happier and happier the later we stayed. I didn't want to leave, but Daddy was tired, boo-hoo.

Kylie insisted that we go back to the Princess Store and get "the stuff she wanted". A pair of princess gloves that she wore for the next 3 days, and still wants to sleep with! Oh, and special kudos to my friend Andrea for the awesome Mickey shirt!

The trip wouldn't be complete without visiting the beach right? Not sure if Jake would agree.

We also drove to San Diego to visit one of Jeff's good friends Scott. He and his wife Kathy just had their second baby - but they still cooked us dinner AND let us use their washing machine! Howz that for hospitality!

Here's a little retro shot (2003) for some perspective. They've come a long way from a baked potato and sponge bob, huh?

I'm sure Daddy would love to add his two cents here...... :)