Zoo Trip

Me and the kids went to the zoo with Jaime, John and Christian.  Fun times!

Our best effort at group photo.

Emma is such a little helper...she loves pushing James in the stroller.

At the end of the afternoon, the others had to head home but I let Emma put her feet in the splash pad.  This picture was at the beginning.  She would put her finger in and then run away squealing.  After a few minutes, she got a couple of sprinkles of water on her dress.  She was upset and didn't know how she would ever get it to dry.  I told her it was no big deal and that it was just water...it'll dry eventually.

She apparently warmed up to the idea because two minutes later, she was more than okay with a little water and soon ended up drenched! 

I went ahead and fed James and let her play for a long time.  It was tough to get her to finally come out of there.  I ended up just taking her clothes off once we got to the car and put a blanket over her for the drive home.

We were all worn out by the end of that day!

Fire Station

Emma's friend, Blake, turned four and we celebrated with him at the fire station.

All of the kids with the fire fighters.

James didn't want to be left out...he was right in the middle of everything.

Blurry but she's still cute.

I went to take a picture of Emma and James sitting in the grass and several other friends couldn't resist a photo op...they all jumped in.

After the fire station, we walked over to the park where Blake blew out his candles and they all ate cake.

Swinging after cake.

Blake has a big sister and Emma became fast friends with her...she ended up pushing Emma on the tire swing until it was time to leave.

Happy Birthday, Blake!!

And Now He's Mobile

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there.  A special one to my own Dad - he is the best role model a girl could ask for.  He taught me the difference between right and wrong as well as between a Phillips head and a flat head screwdriver.  He taught me all the basics from what constitutes a good hand shake to making sure I always make a mental note of where I am parked so I never lose my car.  Most of all he has always made me feel loved and I know he is proud of me.  He made me realize what qualities I needed to look for in the father of my own children. And although they could not be more different, they have more in common than they realize.  Thank you to my Dad and Josh for being terrific fathers! 

James gave Josh a great Father's Day present today.  He CRAWLED!  James must have been waiting until the very moment that I posted that he wasn't crawling yet and how I was in no hurry for it to happen.  Less than twelve hours after I posted yesterday, he crawled.  This has trouble written all over it... 

Emma drew Josh a ton of pictures and made him a card.  At school, they did a questionnaire for the kids to fill out about their fathers.  I want to post it so we can look back and remember it.  Here are her responses:

My daddy's name is:  Joshua.

He is 15 years old.

He makes money at work.

His favorite drink is diet coke.

His favorite food is hot stuff.

He likes to watch tv with me for fun.

I love when we watch tv and snuggle up together.

My daddy's favorite sport is baseball.

My daddy makes me laugh when he tickles me.

I love my daddy because he gets everything ready for me.

9 Months

How is it possible that this sweet baby boy is already 9 months old?

He went for his 9 month checkup on June 7.  Here are his stats:

Weight:  20 lbs 14 oz (75th percentile)

Length:  28.5 in (75th percentile)

Head: 17 7/8 in (75th percentile)

At 9 months old James' favorite thing to do is watch Emma do absolutely anything.  He thinks his big sister hung the moon!  She can still make him cackle like nobody else can.  They both beam when they see each other in the mornings.  I think it is so sweet.

His favorite thing to eat is ANYTHING.  This boy can seriously eat!  He will eat until you stop feeding him.  He is drinking four 8 oz bottles a day and eating solid food 3 times a day.

He has seven teeth and has been working on number eight for what seems to be weeks now.  He will chew and drool on anything he comes into contact with.

He isn't crawling yet but he wants to.  I think part of the reason he isn't crawling yet is because Emma brings everything to him.  He doesn't have a real reason to be mobile yet.  I'm not in a hurry for the mobility because he is a handful even when he stays in one place!

He goes to bed around 8:00 at night and bless his heart, he still sleeps all night long.  He wakes up around 7:45 in the morning.  He typically takes two naps a day (each 1.5 hours) but we really just let him fall asleep whenever he seems tired.  If we are in the car for more than 15 minutes, he will fall asleep.  However, he despises being put into his car seat.  He kicks, screams, and cries.  Once I finally wrangle him in and buckle him, he is fine.

When Emma was a baby, we thought she was the happiest baby ever.  Although she was happy and very well tempered, James has her beat.  He is all smiles (unless it is past his meal time).  That smile melts me and I'm pretty sure he knows it!

Sweet Faces

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Posing on Saturday morning.

Playing with Christian.

Sweet Emma on our way to school.

Growing up too fast.

Look at that face!

Purple day at school.

These two love each other.

My happy people!

Very Berry

Emma is growing strawberries and her first one finally ripened!  And to her delight, she was wearing her strawberry shirt that day...it's the little things in life that make her so happy.

She is also branching out in what foods she will try.  Here she is trying and liking peaches.

And Then There Was Pizza

We threw a party at our house for my coworkers and their families.  We decided to make grilled pizza that we learned how to make during our visit to Napa Valley several years ago.  

I made the dough the night before so it would have time to rise.  Here's how I did it:

Mix together 2 cups of warm water, 1 teaspoon of dry yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Make sure that the yeast and sugar are dissolved and let rest for 10 minutes.

With a dough hook and the mixer on low, add 1 tablespoon of salt and 6 tablespoons of olive oil.

Measure 1 1/4 pounds of bread flour and slowly add the flour to the mixer on low.

Add only enough flour until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl.  The dough will be wet and sticky to the touch.

Knead for 10 minutes at high speed and then remove from bowl and knead by hand until dough is smooth.

Put in greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled.

The next morning - DOUBLED!

Punch down and divide into 8 portions and roll into tight balls.  Allow to rise for another half an hour before using.

Flatten and stretch dough into rounds.

Lay the dough rounds over an oiled grill.  It will puff slightly and stiffen.  I don't have a picture of this stage because I was rolling out all of the dough while Josh grilled them.  Pretend you see a picture of this!

Normally, once one side of the dough is puffed, you use tongs to turn it over and top the done side with cheese and toppings.  As soon as the bottom is done and the cheese is melted, pull the pizza off and serve. 

Since we had so many people and this wasn't very realistic, Josh grilled all of the dough.  Afterward, we let everybody pick their own toppings and finish them off in the oven.

Finished product - Deliciousness.

During the party, Emma put olives on each finger and thought it was great fun.  She loves black olives!!

Digging in

Cindy's cobbler

Tony's cannolis

Great night!  Can't wait to do it again!