August 25, 2013

Tommy is getting used to baby cereal.  He sometimes looks like he's not sure about the bite he just took but then he swallows it happily, and babbles and coos for more.  He gets so excited that he laughs, kicks, and spits.  Mommy is excited because since we started a regular schedule of cereal, Tommy is sleeping 8-9 hours straight.  Bring on the solid foods, this boy loves them.

 When he's not chewing on rice cereal, he's chewing on Mommy's chin.  His favorite things to teethe on are Mommy's thumb joint and Mommy's chin. 

 Annie is still loving gymnastics.  That's her blur of a hot pink bum in the picture above.  She is not a fan of the balance beam, but she loves the bars and tumbling.

 We brought a picnic up to campus this week to watch Daddy play soccer on his lunch break.  We also did a couple of laps around the track.  Our girls are super fast.

 We got a new puzzle this week.  Annie is starting to take an interest in puzzles so it is fun to do them together as a family....while Tommy cries in the background.

 

 The lots directly across from our house have been purchased and construction started this week.  There are huge dirt and rock piles left after digging out the basement.  It is the newest place for the kids to play.  They love sliding down the piles and searching for special rocks and treasure.

 Lily will be taking a break from gymnastics this fall.  We think her little plate will be full enough with school, dance class and piano lessons.  Mommy wanted to capture one last "ta-da!" before Lily's class ended last week.

 On August 21 we celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary.  Jeremy got new cleats for soccer and I got new running shoes - plus these beautiful flowers.  We didn't have a chance to get away since Tommy is still so small and dependent on Mommy.  So next year we hope to squeeze in a short trip - just the two of us to celebrate 15 years of life and love!

 Picnic with Claire

 Sibling snuggles

 The garden is still giving us lots of food.  Lily volunteered to pick all the green beans for me last week.  Annie (and Cinderella) helped me blanch and freeze another few pounds of zucchini.  And of course we're still adding zucchini to everything we make to try and use it up.

Can you believe these are pictures of the same baby?  Tommy has lost all his thick dark newborn hair.  He has new peach fuzz growing in and it looks blonde/light brown!  Mommy is a little sad.  I was hoping to have at least one child that looks like he belongs to me.  But I think the Hall genes are winning out.  It will be fun to see what color his hair decides to be.

The things they say......The girls said two cute things recently that I wanted to write down.  Last week Lily was invited to play at a friend's house.  I explained to her that Annie was not invited to come along.  Lily became very sad and told me, "But Annie has to come because she's my sister and her heart is in my heart and we are going to love each other forever so we have to play together all the time." Last Sunday we were watching a bible story for children about Esther.  At one point in the movie Esther says, "If I perish, I perish."  Annie could tell that was a serious statement and became very worried about Esther and what it means to perish.  I tried to explain that perish means to die.  I don't think she understood me because all through the rest of the movie Annie kept asking, "Did Esther perish yet? When is she going to perish?" I think she asked me about 10 times. Silly kids! 

Summer Vacation!

We took a wonderful nine day vacation to Washington - with stops in Boise on the way up and the way back.  We have so many pictures that it was hard to sort through them and decide what to post.  So I didn't decide.  I asked everyone in the family to tell me their top four highlights from the trip.  Here are the answers I got:

LILY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

 Flying kites on the beach

 Coloring on the chalkboards in the cottage

 Going to the restaurant where we can throw peanuts on the floor and eat hot rolls with honey butter (Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse)

 Buying corn on the farm with the sheep and cows near Grammy and Grampy's house

DADDY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

 Swimming with the kids

 Flying kites on the beach

 Playing shuffleboard

 Exploring the beach at lowtide

ANNIE'S HIGHLIGHTS:

 Digging for "Pirate Treasure" on the beach and finding a large jeweled ring

 Exploring on the beach and finding sand dollars

 Taking a nap with Papa

 Making S'mores and "Going on a Bear Hunt" with Papa

TOMMY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

 Lots of loves from Puna

 Eating jerky and watching American Ninja with Brady

 Crying - this was his absolute favorite thing to do on this trip

 Going swimming with Puna

MOMMY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

 Showing our kids the ocean for the first time.

 A short reign as the Great Dalmuti

 Exploring the charming town on a walk with Jeremy

Visiting the graves of my grandmother and great-grandparents

Our cottage on the coast was absolutely wonderful.  It looked like Pottery Barn and Pier 1 Imports did a catalog shoot inside it.  Papa's enthusiasm for all the ocean animals was contagious.  The girls loved exploring the beach and  learning about ocean life.  Thank you for a wonderful experience Puna and Papa!  The girls have been talking about the beach ever since we got home.

And of course our short stops in Boise were a treat too. They made me feel really homesick for our family, life, and friends in Meridian. Grammy and Grampy have a beautiful park in their neighborhood and we played there twice.  Plus we stopped at the Berry Ranch to buy fresh corn and visit the animals - strange horned sheep, turkeys and chickens, and cows.  The staff there gave us free slices of watermelon.  Thank you Grammy and Grampy for feeding and housing all of us!

 I love how Annie is charging into the water spray!

It was a great vacation.  What a blessing to have so much time together as a family.  We are so thankful for all our grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles who love us!