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!

Mr. Ticklish

Parker giggling with Mommy and Sissy!

Float This One...

Turner's theory on where money comes from:

"You find it because someone drops it. Or, you ask God for it, and He gives it to you. Or, you ask someone for it, and they give it to you."

In our family, "Mommy gives Daddy money, and if Mommy needs money, Daddy gives Mommy money."

Cool. Glad Daddy has such an awesome place to hang out every day. Just for fun.

Flash Forward...

I had one of those "flash forward" (oh-my-goodness) moments today. Turner had called the triplets next door and asked them to come over to play. I was fixing dinner, watching them out of the window and periodically checking in with them. On one trip outside to see how things were going, this (above) is what I found!

Start praying for us and for all the poor boys in her life NOW!!! They -- and WE -- need it!

Finally, Mom!

So, the big news in our house is that Parker is FINALLY eating solids! And he can sit up, so he's joined us at the big table! Turner is thrilled with this development and has been sharing the news with anyone who will half-listen. She helps me make all of her brother's food and likes to feed him, too.

Parker is getting the hang of the spoon and seems to really enjoy his new world of tastes. So far, he's had bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots. I am also aligning his meals with ours, which is so nice!

Daddy - Daughter Date!

Thomas and Turner had a Daddy-Daughter date on Saturday night to see Cinderella! She wore her most beautiful dress and had a most wonderful time with her prince. She said the step sisters and step mother were "really, really scary," and her favorite part was Cinderella's wedding!