9 months.

9 months in.  9 months out.  Wow... My baby boy is officially 9 months old.  He is a crawling, eating, and laughing machine.  He has 2 teeth, and it's looking like he's getting 2 more.  He loves to splash in the pool or bath tub... seriously, like crazy!  He is never upset other than being tired or hungry.  He has gone more than 7 hours without eating the last 2 nights... hoping for a 3rd night in a row!  He is trying to pull himself up on furniture.  I can't believe it.  My baby boy... my squishy little teeny tiny baby boy is 9 months old.  I am madly in love with that little chunk.  He is wonderful... so wonderful.

The kids have had a blast these past couple of days while my Mom has been visiting.  Leah loves her Grandma.  We set up a mini water park for the kids on the deck... they played for a couple hours today already.  It was so cute.  Leah would slide down the slide and land into the pool... she was going crazy.

Leah is so in love with our kittens, Bailey and Penny.  The kittens are well adjusted now, and love the dogs.  Our outdoor only kitties have turned into indoor/outdoor... I had a feeling that might happen.. hehe.  They are very sweet.

Cavan and I actually went on a real date last night.  I have to say, it was the best date I have ever been on.  We double dated with our great friends, Bill and Jen.  We all had so much fun.  We went to the new Wonderworks.  It was crazy... I conquered my fear and did the ropes course, which was actually my favorite part of the night.   It was fun reconnecting with Cavan without the kids... we laughed so hard and really had so much fun.  I love my husband!

Chalk

We have been enjoying this summer so far.  This is my first southern summer without being pregnant or having a newborn... and it feels GREAT!  Brayden is crawling like a champ, Leah is learning tons of new things every day, and I am trying to keep up with all the madness.  haha.

Leah had a fever and was sick for a couple of days.  I have never had to deal with her being so sick before, and it really taught me a lot.  I needed to realize I am loved by an all mighty God who will heal anything.  A fever to Him is nothing... I sure learned a lot, and I am actually thankful for the opportunity to learn it. 

Leah was feeling better last night, so we went outside to draw on our sidewalk with chalk.  We made circles, doggies, flowers, and even a butterfly.  Leah was running back to me after finding one of her baby dolls in the garage.  She was running so fast she didn't realize the hose was in the way.  She fell scraping her knee, she had me kiss it after she kissed it.  She then started looking for her doll.  Ut Oh!  Baby doll was face first on our chalk doggie.  Leah cried at first as baby's face was blue... but then she laughed, because it was pretty funny.

Clean Pups.

I made it a goal tonight to wash the dogs.  Once Brayden was sleeping we headed outside.  Leah had a blast.  She was the hose holder... I don't think she stopped laughing the entire time.  It was pretty cute.  The dogs never really enjoy their baths, but they tolerate them. 

After their scrub down, I let them play tug for a little bit so they could dry off.. boy, did they had fun!

Park

We went to the park this morning.  Both kids still have a bit of the cold bug, but we needed to get out of the house.  Cavan went with us, and since Brayden didn't have to be in the carrier so I could watch Leah, he got to swing!  He loved it!!!  He's such a sweetie.  Enjoy the pictures!

Oh!  By the way.. He only woke up once last night... he went to bed at 6, woke up at 12:30, went back to sleep after nursing, and woke up at 6:30... it was AMAZING!  And!  He's crawling!  He has officially taken 6 crawls... then he gives up and army crawls.. but I would say 6 counts as crawling!

So much.

I hate going a week without posting.  There is so much to catch up on.  Leah caught a little sniffle a few days ago, then Brayden caught it, then I caught it... It's not terrible, but it sure is annoying.  Brayden had a hard time sleeping the first night so I stayed awake almost the entire night to rock him in the chair while he slept upright so he could breathe better.  I am still tired from that night.  Leah is back to her normal self, but since I was the last one to catch it, I am a little more miserable than they are... which makes taking care of two frisky kids a challenge.

Cavan's office is really starting to look more like an office and less like a shed.  It's really nice.  I am so excited he can finally work from home!  Our yard is amazing, and we're loving everything about it!!!

Speaking of our yard... we have had quite a few snakes slither their way up in our grass.  Last year we found 3 copperheads.  Just last week we saw a huge black snake which looked like a cottonmouth.  I know the Lord will protect us, but we were told by 4 people to get an outdoor cat.  We batted that suggestion back and forth, but never really came up with a solution.  We are laying moth balls around the perimeter, we have the fence tightly against the ground... and now.. well now, we have two little kitties.  Ugh, I know.. what was I thinking?  Adding to my already hectic day??  Actually, they will live outdoors, which is why we got 2 of them.  We have the entire thing (hopefully) all figured out.  They're pretty cute too!  I was looking on Craigslist today (love that site), and saw these really cute kittens very close to where we live.. so I called Cavan, and he said to get them.  They are super cute... well, I'll let you be the judge.

Velcro.

Leah has been sticking to me like velcro... or maybe even super glue.  She didn't like me leaving, not even one bit... and now I am paying for it.  She is super clingy, whiny, and wont let me out of her sight.  She constantly has to be touching me.  It makes me feel so bad for leaving her home.

We went to swimming lessons Wednesday.  Leah was so excited to wear her bathing suit.  She was even more excited that Aubrey was going too!  She was eager to get into the water, and actually pulled me into the deeper part of the water.  She was having fun!  The instructor started singing a song, and we were familiarizing the kids with the water.  Once we had to face them toward us, instead of holding them against us, Leah freaked out.  She wanted the water, but she didn't feel secure.  I didn't force it, and tried to get her to calm down by playing with a ball.  She thought it was ok, but wanted out.  I wrapped her in her towel, and sat on the bench next to the pool.. the instructor insisted I make Leah get back into the pool.  She said she'll only fuss for a minute, then she'll have fun.  Obviously this lady hadn't met Leah before... I kept politely refusing.  The lady kept pushing, so finally I told her I didn't feel comfortable pushing her into something she was afraid of, and walked away.  I know if I pushed too hard, Leah would take a very long time before she would even consider going into a pool again.  I know my kid - thank you very much.

Leah, Brayden, and I met Aubrey and Casandra at gymnastics on Thursday.  The girls had a blast, like usual. There were so many kids this week though.  I had to change Brayden's diaper while there, and Leah was just walking around having a good time.  All the kids started going into the other side of the gym, and she was following them.  I tried as hard as I could to call her name so she could hear me, she didn't and kept going.  Once she realized I wasn't there she panicked.  I felt so bad!  Poor thing.  She really doesn't want me out of her sight.  We played around a bit after that, and ended up leaving early.  I packed a lunch and she ate the entire thing on the way home.  She sure worked up an appetite.

Brayden is doing wonderful!  He is almost 17lbs and has 2 teeth now!  He is so very close to crawling.  He army crawls everywhere.  He sure likes getting into everything too.  He's not a big eater (other than num nums), but that's ok with me.

Our back yard just got fenced in.  We have been waiting for this for a long time.  It feels so nice to have it done!  I will have to post pictures of the yard soon.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

   

Tootsie Toes

Leah starts swim lessons tomorrow with Aubrey.  She said she wanted red toes, so we sat down and carefully painted her toes.  She was so happy.  Then, she said Delko really needed his nails painted too.  So, again I really carefully painted his toes.  hehe.

Look who has a big girl bed!! (more pictures to follow once her room is complete.)