7 Months Old!

Parker is 7 months old and has hit the "big time." He started crawling (all-out coordinated crawling) earlier this week, and then this morning, I found him standing in his crib waiting for me to get him! Two HUGE milestones, which mean that Thomas and I are going to spend some of this coming weekend childproofing the house! Cause this kid is gonna "paint the town."

Parker continues to grow and change. He's truly a happy, go-with-the-flow baby, as long as he's not hungry or hurting! Fortunately, the hurting part has diminished significantly since his first few months, and the hungry...well, that's an ongoing battle!

Parker is enamored with his big sister and thinks she's the funniest girl on the planet. He still has only two teeth but is starting to get the hang of gumming his teething biscuits. He doesn't discriminate: he's wild about toys and breakable objects :) He can hold his own bottle and can down a 7-ouncer faster than you can blink. The bath is --by far -- the highlight of his days, eliciting a huge cackle every night. He loves to swim in our neighborhood pool and LOVES being outside.

We love you little guy! Keep growing big and strong for us -- you're our precious, miracle boy!

Turner Tidbits...

Just a few random things I don't want to forget about Turner at this age...

- You love the "Magic Treehouse" chapter books -- it is so fun to hear you say things like, "I don't like ancient Greece, Daddy. Did you know the girls could not go to the Olympics?" Your vocabulary and capacity to learn amazes us daily.

- You know your right from your left! Seriously, this took me a lot of years to master (more than it probably should have!), but one day after gymnastics, you had it all figured out!

- Lately, all of your baby dolls have "high cholesterol." You overheard me talking about that, and now it's a typical diagnosis when you play doctor! What happened to good old-fashioned fevers and sore throats?!

- You talk about "hail damage" and putting a "new roof" on your dollhouse. Again, something you heard us talking about, but what three-year-old is worried about that???!

You continue to wow and delight us, little girl! Thanks for keeping us on our toes!

Happy 40th, Aunt Niki!

Who says that with two kids under 3-1/2, we can no longer be spontaneous? Not I! We decided -- at the VERY last minute -- on Friday, to head up to NC to help celebrate Aunt Niki's 40th birthday. 40 is such a big milestone!

I was very wary of taking the trip, after our tough times in Sumter, but the stars aligned and God was watching over us...and the drive and stay were good and uneventful. We definitely have some gypsy kids, who have traveled a few miles in their lifetimes!

It was a nice weekend, and we spent it enjoying nature. Thomas, Turner and I went on a hike Saturday morning and had fun spotting all different species of mushrooms and imagining the little dwarfs that must live under them. We made Turner walk all the way to the top of the mountain (a good little climb) before she could get in the backpack carrier. She was so proud to hike on her own, and we were glad to give Thomas' back a rest!

After naps (which we all took for the better part of two hours), Turner and I picked blackberries. They were not quite as plentiful this year as last, but nevertheless, we "filled up a bushel" (according to Turner) and were able to bring them back to Atlanta for blackberry cobbler tonight! Yum!

Turner had lots of fun playing with her OLD Aunt Niki, swinging, making wildflower crowns, telling stories and doing "Ring around the Rosy." And the highlight of the weekend, was Thomas showing off his credentials as he called and caught fireflies in a Mason jar to Turner's (and everyone's) delight. Guess his "Honors Biology of Fireflies" class at the University of Florida wasn't a joke after all! :)

God knew what he was doing when he created the mountains! What beautiful country and beautiful memories!

Special Friday

We had a special Friday morning with Mrs. Jean, Turner's beloved Bible teacher from school last year. What an amazing blessing she is to our family!

Mrs. Jean invited us to swim in her pool, and after quite a workout (for Turner!), we all had a nice lunch on her porch. I was telling Mrs. Jean about Turner's suggestion that we pray that time I was lost on the way to the zoo (see earlier post), and Turner piped up, "I did what you taught me to do, Mrs. Jean." Isn't that beautiful? Thank you for a wonderful morning, sweet Mrs. Jean!

You Say Tomato...

The other day, Turner said, "Rocks are not good for growing dragons, are they Mommy?" I could not figure out for the life of me what she was trying to say. I finally put it together: Dragons = Snapdragons (we have some by our mailbox, and our rocky soil is not ideal!)

Tonight, she asked if we could grow some of "the soap flower" in our yard. HUH??? After a few questions, I figured out that she meant "lavender." (Duh, Mom, the flowers that make smell-good soaps).

On Tuesday night, while Thomas was out of town traveling, our treadmill (which is in our room next to my side of the bed) spontaneously turned on at 12:30am. It scared me TO DEATH. I was telling Turner about it, and she said, "Oh, Mommy, I am so sorry about your mare." "My mare?" I asked. "Yes, Mommy, your scary mare." (That would be NIGHTmare!) :)

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be COWGIRLS...

Turner sporting her new pink cowgirl hat, a gift from her beloved Triplet Boys. They brought it all the way home from Colorado! The best part -- by far -- is that they have matching hats! Stick-'em-up!

Sweet Time in Sumter

We had a great visit to Sumter this past week and felt so blessed to be able to spend some time with our most dear and special Grandy! Turner had her telling stories of when she was a little girl, and Grandy delighted her with a beautiful Sleeping Beauty dress-up dress and heels!

It was also a joy to see Aunt Niki, Uncle Clete and -- of course -- Cousin Ryan. We had a ball with you guys! Thanks for being such gracious hosts of the "silly zoo." :)

Funny story from the week:

On Friday night, I made supper at Grandy's apartment. Turner was REALLY acting like a three-year old (think brushing her hair with a fork, sitting on Parker, etc.). So much so, that she had to have a time-out during supper. I was completely exasperated and frustrated with her behavior by the time we left to go back to Nicole's for bedtime. On the way home, I called Thomas to check in and "vent" about our evening. He asked to speak to Turner about it. Here is the conversation:

"Turner, Mommy told me you were misbehaving tonight and disobeying her. Is that true?"

"Yes, Daddy...I guess I left my manners in Atlanta." (said in the most coy little voice EVER).

So, we got back to Aunt Niki's, and Turner immediately jumped in Uncle Clete's lap, as sweet an angel as could ever be. I finally corralled her and got her to bed. When it was time for prayers, she said, "Dear God, please forgive me for all the things Mommy told Daddy I did tonight. Amen."

Are Thomas and I in trouble, OR WHAT????!!!!

Golf Cart Sightseeing Tour

We had a wonderful weekend. Our sweet neighbors loaned us their golf cart, and we had a ball exploring the many paths of Peachtree City! We have 90 miles of paths that connect the entire city, and there are lots of hidden playgrounds and lakes to enjoy along the way.


The highlight of the weekend was definitely taking the golf cart to get Slurpies at the local gas station. (Parker REALLY wanted his own but settled for a sip of ours)!

Bath Twins

I ran out of the bathroom the other night to get pjs (I know that this is not totally safe, so don't panic -- I do not make a habit of leaving my children unattended during bath time!). Anyway, when I returned, this is what I found!

I made Thomas run and get the camera, because it was a really funny sight! I am sad to report that Noah's ark did not fare so well and does have a few teeth marks in it!

A Real Peach!

Turner took this photo of me! :)

We are officially "Georgians" : We picked peaches today in the "Peach" state! It was so nice to get outside in the orchard and quite a challenge to search for the reddest ones. Turner was a great helper -- always trying to find the best, most ripe peaches for our bucket! Parker seemed to love being out in the country and taking it all in.

The reward tonight for our hard labor was making some delicious peach cobbler, complete with vanilla ice cream on top! YUM!

Zoo Time

We were meeting friends at the zoo this morning, and 75/85 North was a parking lot. Those who know me, know very well that I am terrible with directions and have no sense of direction...especially in the city. Anyway, I had one chance to get off the highway before we'd be stuck, and I took it. I had absolutely no idea which way to go to get to the zoo, and I was preparing Turner for the disappointment that I was quite certain lay ahead: no zoo today.

There was no where safe to stop, and I wasn't about to relive my Mother's Day adventure in the worst part of town. After I explained to Turner that I was lost and did not know how to find the zoo, she said, "Mom, all we have to do is pray and ask God to help us get there. He will." I shrugged to myself in the front seat, thinking it would take a lot more than a small miracle to get us to the zoo from where we were, but I agreed (doubting all the time) to say a prayer. She and I said one, asking God to lead us safely to the zoo. And would you believe it (yes, if you had any faith bigger than my mustard seed of a faith)...we got to the zoo without ONE wrong turn and FASTER than I've ever made it on the interstate! How cool is God?!? And my three year old?!!

We had an awesome morning, and Parker even rode on his first carousel! He loved it!

6 Months!

Parker is six months old and doing great. We feel like a light switch went off this month, and he is feeling so much better -- most likely a combination of sitting up, eating solids and increasing the Prevacid for his reflux. He's got his two bottom teeth, a stamp in his passport and is in full rocking position to crawl in the next few weeks!

We fall more and more in love each passing month, and we're ever thankful for our healthy little guy!

Viva Mexico

Parker eating his bolillo

Turner and Lucia doing art projects
My sweet Nino

My precious Nina

Big Buddies

Turner's Mexican pet!

We had the awesome privilege again this year to travel to San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico. People thought we were beyond crazy, but we packed up our suitcases (complete with booster highchair and pack and play) and two little ones and hit the tarmac. The kids did FANTASTIC, and we had a ball.

Some of the highlights of the trip were:

• Seeing and spending time with our special friend, Miss Erin.
• Parker getting his two bottom teeth and trying them out on some locally baked bread rolls, "bolillos,"which he loved!
• Turner making a new friend, Lucia. They enjoyed each other's company every afternoon, doing crafts and playing. It was an ideal situation for Turner, because she could order Lucia around, and Lucia could only smile and nod. :) (Sorry, Lucia!)
• Watching Turner give out her mission bags. It is hard to visit San Miguel and ignore the vast poverty everywhere, so each year, we do a "mission project." This was the first year that Turner was old enough to pick what she wanted to do and plan it. Her idea was to give the elderly and children lemonade and M&Ms. So, we bought lemonade juice boxes, M&Ms, granola bars, bananas, peanut butter crackers and Twix and filled gallon plastic bags. Turner also colored some cross ornaments to go in the bags. She LOVED giving them out -- we did a few each day. She often cited that as her "favorite thing" of the day.
• Enjoying the playground in Park Juarez, complete with all things outlawed in the US, due to more lax safety standards and less lawsuits.
• The ride to and from the airport with Martin, who taught us all about cooking and eating armadillos...which led to great bedtime tales of armadillos all week.
• Dancing to the mariachi bands and taking in the colors and sounds of the Jardin.
• Hearing Turner use her Spanish and seeing her in her local dress, complete with gold and silver glitzy flip flops and pink purse from the locals market!

Thanks, Gammy and Pops, for hosting us and for a wonderful opportunity for our children to see how others live and approach life. What a gift!