We have a Clapper!

Ben started clapping a few days ago and I managed to get it on video this morning!

Mohawk

I frequently put the boys' hair in mohawk after their bath.  Typically they roll around enough to where the mohawk is gone before they go to bed.  On this particular morning, Benji's mohawk was still standing.  So cute!

All Clean

One evening after bath time I decided to take some pictures of my clean boys!  These days it seems very rare to snap a picture when they are both clean (i.e. one or both of them is usually sporting some sort of food residue, runny nose, dirt, spit up, etc).  I must admit I have some super cute boys, especially when they are sparkly clean in their robes!

He wanted to be Elmo AND Cookie Monster! 

Skinny Dipper

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Luke has been wanting to run around in just his underwear lately.  One evening he made it outside with Gigi (in just his skivvies) and the next thing I knew he was in the pool!  His underwear started to sag when they got wet so I just let him take them off.  He is the cutest little skinny dipper ever! The best part of the whole thing was that he kept his Elmo water shoes on....too cute!  To protect his privacy, this is the only picture I can post :)

Happy Birthday America!

We spent this 4th of July at home enjoying time with each other.  While the baby was sleeping Andy, Luke and I went outside and swam in our family sized pool.  We had a great time spending the day together celebrating our freedom!

Roanoke Rocks

This year we headed out to Roanoke on the 3rd to watch some fireworks.  Our friends, the Reals, ended up meeting us out there and we also ran into our T-Cell friends too.  To keep the crowds entertained before the fireworks they had food, crafts for the kiddos, jump houses, a train ride, and live music! I was a little nervous about the boys staying up so late for fireworks, but they were troopers!  I was especially surprised that Benjamin couldn't seem to take his eyes off the show!!  It was a fun evening out with family and friends and we plan on heading out again next year. 

  

No Pants Cowboy!

Luke is such a funny kid.  Lately he has not been wanting to wear pants around the house.  As it is always hot during the Texas summers I figure pants are little something we can do without!  On this particular day he was running around pant-less and decided he needed to be a cowboy.  He managed to find his cowboy hat and cowboy boots and was suddenly transformed into one super cute pant-less cowboy!!  I love him!

7 Months Old!

Benji is seven months old and growing!!  He weighs in at 21.5 pounds on our home scale, which puts him in the 90th percentile for weight.  Up until this point Ben has always weighed in about a pound less than Luke was at the same age, but he is now comparable (Luke was 21.6 pounds at 7 months).  He is wearing 12-18 month sleepers and is in mostly 12 month clothes (he still has a few 6-9 month things holding on).

Benjamin still loves to eat and we can't seem to feed him fast enough.  He is eating oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast with a 4 ounce bottle and he eats a vegetable and a fruit for dinner.  In addition to that he gets 3 other 8 ounce bottles throughout the day.  He is really good at drinking water out of his sippy cup and loves to eat any and all snacks (mum-mums, yogurt melts, cheerios or anything else we let him try).

As for new things, we have teeth!!  He had his first 2 teeth break through 2 days before he turned 7 months!!  Also, a couple of weeks before the 7 month mark he started talking.  He has the sweetest little voice and has been saying da-da, ba-ba, and ma-ma.  I know all babies are sweet, but hearing him talke melts my heart.  He is the happiest little baby and really just goes with the flow.  He absolutely loves his brother and I really love to see his face light up when Luke is in the room.

Benji we love you!!

I love those baby blues!

So happy!

Check out those teeth!

The Boys' Photo Shoot

I recently bought an Amazon Local deal and decided to use it on Benjamin's 6 month pictures.  Since I had never had the boys pictures made together I thought it would be a great time to get some brother shots, too!  Turns out that trying to get 2 kids pictures made together on a Monday night at 7pm (bedtime is usually 7:30pm) was a horrible idea!  Benjamin cried at least 50% of the time and they would not cooperate when they were together.  Luke did everything we asked him to do, but I don't think he even tried to enjoy any minute of it.  By the time we were done Andy and I were exhausted!!  I figured I would be happy if she was able to get a least one good picture - total.  So you can imagine how excited I was when I got these pictures back!!  She did a great job!! 

If you need a photographer and want to check her out click here.

At the Beach House

While we weren't sight seeing or at the beach we spent our time hanging out at the beach house.  Luke really loved being Jake's right hand man.  Every time I went looking for Luke he was by Jake's side.  I really enjoy these family vacations and getting to spend time with my family.  I hope that Luke and Ben have fond memories of summer vacations with their cousins!

Our view of the ocean

Christina and Jack

 Ben and Jack

 Luke did everything Jake and Makayla did

 Gig and the grandkids

 Jacob and Ben

 All the kiddos: Jake, Jack, Luke, Makayla and Ben

Sweet boys!

 Gigi and her grandkids, take 2

 Makayla took this picture...pretty good for a 5 year old

 Roby, Ginger, Luke and Jake

 Jake and his shadow

 Love these kids!

 Cloud family departure