Let Freedom Ring

Being the patriot that I am, I naturally love Independence Day. Belle and I decorated the house days beforehand and even made a 4th of July tree this year with red, white and blue lights. As luck had it, the holiday fell on a weekend so we enjoyed multiple days of festive activities.


We celebrated with a delicious BBQ with our awesome friends, the Haleys, and played basketball, made sidewalk chalk pictures, ate yummy food and had way too much fun. (Notice the quality of the pictures...it pays to be tight with a photographer!)


The next morning Jelly couldn't wait to ride her scooter she had carefully decorated in a patriotic parade at the church. We ate breakfast, visited with friends, watched all the kids in their parade and had fun playing water balloon games.

With Ben's birthday coming up just a few days after and him being scheduled to be in NYC for business that week, we took the opportunity to celebrate him as well. Isabelle took him to Target to pick out a gift and they came home with a Wii. He also enjoyed some new summer clothes and several calls and texts from friends and family.

Living in San Antonio and being surrounded (seriously, neighbors on both sides) by the many bases of the U.S. Military we are even more grateful than ever for the freedoms that we enjoy and those who risk their lives daily to protect us! God bless the U.S.A!

Grow Baby Grow!

Little Livi the Brave (her superhero name) is nearly 5 months old already and no matter what we try and do to her, she just won't stop growing! She continues to master new skills everyday and loves being awake and upright...just like big sister! She rolls over CONSTANTLY and would probably be able to sleep, eat, get her diaper changed, bathe, etc, all much easier if she would JUST LIE STILL! Instead of lie on her back, she rolls to her tummy as soon as she hits the ground and pushes up until her arms are as stretched as they can be! She cannot wait to sit up by herself and I predict that she is less than a month away from succeeding. She loves to be in the jumper and has figured out how to get a pretty good work out bouncing up and down while I shower. Olivia has also started to grab anything she can get her little hands on and of course put it directly into her mouth, therefore we were now in need of fun mouth friendly objects. Isabelle was very excited when I finally let her get out the toy bin that had been in storage since she was a wee lady, filled with all sorts of toys for babies to explore and chew.
The most exciting thing Livi has recently embarked on is eating solid foods! After her 4 month well check and only weighing in at 12lbs, her doctor encouraged us to start with some rice cereal in the evenings and then move on to the other grains and so on. Can you imagine how excited Belle was to feed Livi her first "real" food? I quickly took Isabelle to HEB and let her pick out some rubber spoons and a sippie cup special for her little sister and then the feast began. Olivia knew just what to do and opened her mouth wide for her first bite. She never really made a silly face and has eaten a bowl of cereal for dinner every night since. She also immediately grasped the sippie cup concept and enjoys a few drops of water every day now too which is nice since it is so terribly hot outside this summer.

Olivia continues to be endless entertainment for Isabelle and shares in her sister's sometimes violent affection. Belle literally cannot contain her excitement when Livi does something new and is so proud of her little accomplishments. She often tells her little sister just how lucky she is to have such a wonderful big sister...and I think she is right!

A Fish Tale!

Summer in San Antonio is red hot! To stay cool, we spend most days of the week at the swimming pool. Isabelle has always been pretty comfortable in the water but has never been able to swim without some floatation help...until now!

With the addition of baby sister in the family, I felt more pressure this year to get Isabelle swimming on her own since my attention would now be divided. We had heard wonderful things about Mrs. Joni's swim class and we were thrilled when we enrolled in her first summer session set of classes with Isabelle's favorite friend, Audrey. Isabelle had lessons 4 days a week for a couple of weeks and even though she was tortured with an ear infection halfway through, she got braver and stronger with each class.

Now, we have created a 'swim monster.' She no longer is even willing to wear any floaties while we are at the pool swimming with our friends and since most days it is just she and I and Olivia, it has been even more of a challenge to keep my eye on both girls. Thankfully, Ben has rushed home whenever possible to meet us for a little swim time and it is at these moments that our little fish really gets to cruise.

Isabelle is very proud to swim under water, dive to get things on the bottom, float on her back and jump in the deep end by herself! Of course Olivia has had her share of pool time too and loves to sit in the water and watch all of the kids play! She wonders how they can get their arms and legs to move like they do!

Thank goodness for swimming pools! It's the only way to enjoy this Texas heat!