A Week of Firsts and a Third

This past week has been eventful in terms of milestones for Caleb and the babies.
Wren has been crawling (well, I guess it's more like an army crawl, but nevertheless, she's going places - and quickly!).  When that doesn't get her where she wants to be, she resorts to her old stand-by method of travel:  rolling!  I sometimes lovingly call her my little Roly Poly.

 While Judson has been doing his share of rolling and attempting to crawl, he would much rather focus his attention on his newly acquired skill of pulling up.  His favorite object upon which to pull himself up is their toy alphabet train (large enough for a toddler to ride on).  Unfortunately, it's not quite sturdy enough for pulling up, and more times than not (if Mommy's not around to help anchor it), it topples on him as he falls back.  He's a tough little guy with a good disposition and takes it all in stride though.  He continues to love his Jumparoo.  He can spend upwards of twenty minutes just bouncing up and down...especially when you play such songs as Jump Around and Jump (Van Halen or Kris Kross varieties).  We call him Jumpin' Juddy.

Caleb had his first trip to the dentist earlier this week.  For weeks prior to the appointment, we talked about what would happen and practiced what it would be like, but I really didn't know what to expect.  We are talking about a three year old here.  Would he keep his mouth open long enough?  Would he get nervous and cry and want to leave?  Or even worse, would he bite someone's hand?

 I am happy to report that his first dentist visit went swimmingly.  They were able to count and clean all twenty of his teeth.  He had so much fun that he's already looking forward to his next visit.  His reward of choice for such a great visit:  a piece of chewing gum (a dentist approved reward)!

 We also celebrated "Gotcha Day" yesterday.  That's the day that we first "got" Caleb - the day that we first held him in our arms - three years ago on July 15.

 To celebrate, just the three of us went to a park to play and to Chick-fil-a for dinner and to play some more.

 It's hard to believe that this sweet little guy has only been a part of our life for three years. Who would have thought that your life can change so much in such a short period of time because of one tiny person?  I wouldn't change anything about our journey because it led me to this handsome boy and the most amazing past three years.

An All American Fourth of July

We love going "up home" in the mountains (where my grandparents live).  It's picturesque.  It's quiet.  It's simple.  There's a creek and mountains that surround the property.  Papaw's bountiful garden always has a bumper crop to share.  And it's where family - you know, those people who love you unconditionally and without whom you couldn't imagine life - meets for a good time. 
This year we went up home to celebrate Papaw's 80th birthday and Independence Day. 

We enjoyed a cookout under the shady trees in the front yard.   This is the same spot where past generations of our family also enjoyed celebrations and cookouts. 

 And of course there were plenty of babies to go around!

As Papaw went to blow the candles out on his cake, we asked if he had any words of wisdom for living to be 80 years old.  His response:  "Just try to stay around and do it again next year."

After cake, it was time for a water balloon fight!

 I love this action shot:

 When the balloons won't break, you just squeeze them on top of Aunt Cindy's head.

Some of us used the babies as a shield from being attacked by the water balloons.

Since some of us were already wet, it was time to head down to the creek.

Of course we had to take our traditional Fourth of July picture with Caleb.

Here's the one from last year so you can compare and see how big he's getting!

On the actual Fourth of July, we just hung out at home, but we added some excitement by breaking out the baby pool and turning the sprinklers on.  Caleb refused to get into either (except for one run through the sprinklers), but the babies thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

 And just because they're so cute, here are some more recent pictures of the babies.  They're almost 9 months old already!