slow down kid!

We joke that Noah is an advanced baby because he's been doing everything earlier than the girls did and earlier than the "average" baby. He's been ahead of the curve on size and weight, rolling over, crawling, and getting teeth. So here's my super baby at a week short of 6 months old, pulling up to stand in his crib. Time to lower the mattress!

last day with grandparents

My parents were with us for about a week, then went to visit my grandparents for about a week, then came back for a few days before heading home. On the last day we went to a park by our house before taking them to the airport.
Grandma may or may not have been climbing all over the playground and sliding down the slides just like a little kid. Here's my evidence, you be the judge:
Madilyn climbed on some rocks and the boy in the background told her she couldn't because she had a dumb face. I thought HE had a dumb face, rude kid!
Everyone took turns pushing Noah.
It was fun but also a little sad knowing we were just killing time before going to the airport. We sure loved having them here and look forward to anyone else coming to visit us!

teeth trouble

Look at Madilyn's beautiful even teeth:
She always likes to chew on things (usually her nails, but sometimes her hair, toys, or anything else around her). She had been chewing on a rubber exercise band that Abby found in my room. Abby realized Madilyn had it, wanted it back, and yanked it away from her. It must have been wrapped around her two bottom front teeth, because this is what her beautiful smile looks like now:
It amazes me some of the things she'll put in her mouth to chew on because she won't even consider putting most FOODS into her mouth, she's so picky. Anyway, I had just been on her case about chewing on something else so when her teeth were ripped out of her mouth she initially tried not to show me. She opened her mouth just enough for me to see lots of blood, then I saw a tooth on the couch next to her. It took a long time to find the other one.
I wasn't super worried, aside from all the blood, because they are just baby teeth, but I called the dentist anyway. They had taken x-rays just a week or two before and confirmed that the permanent teeth were on their way up anyway, so it was no big deal (even though her teeth hadn't even been loose).
Here's innocent little Abby. You wouldn't think such a sweet little thing could rip out her sister's teeth, but you'd be wrong!
In happier, slightly related news, Noah's same two bottom teeth poked through on the same day! I hope to get some pictures shortly.

to the rescue

I'm a Den Mother for the Cub Scouts in our ward. We asked the local fire department to do some fire education for Pack Meeting and lucked out by getting the fanciest truck on the force and the tactical response team. These are the guys and the truck that rescue people from all kinds of emergencies. They showed us all the cool things on their truck and talked about the training they had and some of their experiences helping people in trouble.
Madilyn tried to lift up the "Jaws of Life" they use to cut people out of mangled cars or collapsing buildings. It was a bit too heavy for her :)
All the kids got to climb into the truck to see inside the cab.The grill on the front had this cool flag that is a custom design.
When they drove away they turned on their lights and sirens. Madilyn said that was her favorite part! Very fun and impressive!

visiting

My parents came to visit because we couldn't go out to Utah this year. I took very few pictures while they were here, so I downloaded some that my mom took (all hers have the date stamp on them).
Here are the girls before church on Sunday.
Waiting for the bus with Grandpa Monday morning.
Grandma even got a picture of Madilyn in her seat on the bus.Noah woke up ready to play after the girls went to bed Monday night and Grandma was determined to take some great shots of him scooting around (by the time my parents left he was crawling!). Here are a few of the few dozen she took:

delicious!

I've always been a big fan of anything with Oreos, so when I stumbled on this Cookies and Cream cupcake I had to try them. I found the recipe here but hers look a lot better than mine. They're super yummy, have cream cheese frosting, and half an Oreo on the bottom; what more could you want!

solids

I wasn't too anxious to start Noah on solid foods, but figured I should give it a try since he's nearly 5 months old (dr recommended doing it between 4-6 months). I thought I'd just see if he liked it/seemed ready, and he sure is! After the first few bites he tried to grab my hand to get the spoon in quicker.
I always have lots of help in doing new things with Noah. Madilyn got to pour the rice cereal into the bowl.
Trying to figure out what I'm sticking in his mouth.
Abby watching after Noah successfully pulled the spoon out of my hand.
The girls thought it was hilarious how much he liked it. Much more of the cereal stayed in his mouth than came out so I guess it was a feeding success!

first day of school

Madilyn started her first day of public education with her spirits high, and her socks higher (that's the way she likes them...and don't mind the bruise on her forehead, she fell into the corner of the window sill two days earlier...at least it was the first day of school and not picture day)!
She has been SO excited for school, it seemed like it would never come. I'm pretty sure we've been counting down for nearly a year.
Madilyn made us go out to the bus stop super early, but we were still a little worried that we missed it because no other kids were out waiting. Turns out we were just so early no one else had come out yet.
She could hardly wait for the bus to stop completely before running up the stairs. I'm pretty sure she's been the first one on the bus each day since.
I have to admit I've been really nervous about how Madilyn would handle school. Although she's getting better, she's prone to random tantrums and bursts of energy that may not fit too well in a classroom setting. After her first day she reported that it was great. In further questioning she admitted that she cried "for one hundred minutes" because "they" wouldn't let her color something, but other than that everything went smoothly. A week later she's still loving it and hasn't had any more problems. She was even chosen to be the teacher's "Hoppy Helper" (apparently her teacher loves frogs) for the week and has done a great job. It's been such a relief that she's doing well!! We miss her in the mornings, but it's so fun to see her loving school!

neck pillow

We bought the girls neck pillows to sleep with while traveling in the car. Abby likes hers so much that she sleeps with it every night. Silly.

noah is rolling over!

Here he is at exactly 4 months and one week old, rolling from his back to his front. The videos aren't too exciting and you're not obligated to watch them (or you can scroll to the end for the action), but in the first one he has a little trouble so I thought it was funny.

Like a pro!

By the way, that's a size 9 month onesie he's wearing. Any ideas on how to get him to grow a little more slowly??

squinting into the sun

Unfortunately our vacation had to end. Here we are, sitting on the steps of the beach house before loading into the car for the long drive home.
The kids did amazingly well both there and back. We brought lots of coloring and sticker books, toys, and books on tape
We also brought movies and DVD players, but Abby gets carsick watching movies and they did so well entertaining themselves that we didn't use them (total driving time each way was 13-15 hours!).
I sat by Noah most of the way home. Ever since this trip he can't stand to get in his car seat, although he calms down once he's in.
Eric drove almost the entire time, only switching when I asked for a change.
All in all it was a great trip. We love Ocean City!!

don't be crabby, you're at the beach!

On our last full day at Ocean City, Eric took the girls to the beach early in the morning. They were one of the first people there.
They had fun building castles in the sand.
And knocking them down.
Did I mention I love an empty beach? Apparently Madilyn does too. She ran, spinning in circles, up and down the beach.
Abby loved making X's to pretend there was buried treasure.
And writing her name.

best day ever

After the hot morning we had on the boardwalk we welcomed a little rain storm to cool things down. Nearly everyone left the beaches, so we headed there to enjoy them all for ourselves. It was plenty warm, but not hot, and there was plenty of space for the girls to run around without having to stay too close to us. I loved it! We didn't wear swimsuits, but that didn't stop the girls from getting wet and sandy.
Noah absolutely hated the beach the first time we took him because he was hot, sandy, sticky and tired. This time it was cool enough that he didn't mind...and Laura was kind enough to come along and entertain him while I took a bunch of pictures. This is the last shot I got before the battery on the camera died.