Rather than catch up....

Rather than try to catch up on all the things that have happened lately, I'm just going to start new. They are 9 1/2 months now and looking back the time has really flown by. Bella took her first steps, to Daddy of course, on Tuesday night, June 17. She took about 3 then sat down and then a little later took 3 more and went down on her hands and knees to crawl the rest. She walks while only holding on to us with one hand now so her balance is getting exponentially better. Since then she has taken several steps and gets so excited at her accomplishments! Emma loves watching her walk and I'm sure she will be following suit soon.


The walker has been given two new roles in their entertainment vault as well. We didn't know it but Bella is a NASCAR fan and loves to go around and around the kitchen. Are we safe and protective parents or what??

And it also has become an HOV walker. Of course it was only meant to be a one-person walker but the inventor of this toy didn't know our girls. Emma won't drive with Bella on back but she has no problem hitching a ride of her own.

Emma has gotten so good at playing peek-a-boo. She can't pass up seeing a blanket without putting it over her head and laughing hysterically. Her hair is finally laying down, which is oddly disappointing to me. I thought it was cute when it was all crazy but that phase has passed. On the upside, I can get bows in her hair and they actually stay for a while before she notices them.


Fathers Day was spent picnic-ing on the James River with the girls. They love being outside and love being with daddy, so it was a great day overall. Then we went to the new Jamestown museum which was pretty impressive. The boat replicas were there for you to board and tour as well as several artifacts. They even had "real" indian girls outside making beaded necklaces and showing visitors the indian lifestyle. It was pretty cool- definitely recommended to anyone who comes to visit this summer.

Laundry Day

The girls are always helping out around the house....

Appropriate Shirts

Aunt Michelle brought these shirts to the girls. They were so appropriate & I think Bella wore hers well while Emma held her head high in spite of hers!!

Tulip Time

Well we are back from Michigan and our Tulip Time activities! It was a lot of fun- the girls had a great time visiting with their Aunt Michelle & G-mama & G-daddy! They were dressed up in their dutch costumes and looked so adorable. They even had little wooden shoes with their names on them.

Tulip Time was very interesting- the dancers were so cool to watch. They are all high school students and volunteer to do this every year. They have to purchase their own outfits and shoes so they are pretty serious about it. There aren't too many boy dancers so you will notice in the video that there are girls dressed up in the boys clothes to make it even. And each outfit represents the different class of citizen you are. If you have a lace bonnet & apron you are one of the richer kids but if you have the multi colored clown-type outfits you are one of the poorer kids. And with the boys, if you have brown pants you are more of a "worker bee" but if you have the gold pocket watch chain and black pants, etc. you are a higher-class citizen. All very technical! :)

And for other news- Emma is now eating solids and she crawls like a regular baby now on all fours. I think the carpet at Grandma & Grandpa's house helped that issue. She is REALLY slow when she crawls but I'm sure that will change soon.

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

Well, all its done the past 2 days now is rain! So needless to say we are stuck indoors looking for entertainment. The girls are handling it better than I am though. And who doesn't like sleeping in the rain... who doesn't sleep better in the rain... with the pitter patter on the roof.... and the dripping outside the window.... I'll let you take one guess!!! Actually I guess that should be 2 guesses!! You got it- MY DAUGHTERS!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago Emma started to babble "Da da da" at lunch one day while we were at lunch with daddy. And then the following week Bella started babbling it as well. Of course they say Da-da first!! Well, I think they actually know what they are saying. They no longer babble it aimlessly throughout the day- they only say it when he is around now. And this morning- guess what Emma said as Bella attacked her for her pacifier??? MAMA!!!! YAY!!!!! Finally I am starting to get a little recognition around here! :)


Do you notice anything different about Emma in this picture? Doesn't she look happy? Can you tell what is different about our chunky monkey???

Her hair is laying down!!! Granted, its wet from taking a bath and the second it dried it went back to its usual craziness but I thought I would get a picture of what she would look like if she hadn't inherited my wild hair.

And the video below is of Emma playing with one of her toys. She goes around the play table and masters each toy individually until she can make it play music over and over again. Then she goes on to the next side of the table to learn the next thing. I was so proud of her- I thought it was so cool that she figured out how to do this and she usually even waits until it stops spinning to do it again. We have such smart babies!!

Virginia Living Museum

Shanna and I took the girls to the Virginia Living Museum on Wednesday. It was a really good museum with a lot of animals inside and outside! The first fish tank was a Chesapeake Bay tank and after seeing what is in the bay I will never get in that water again!!! Those fish were HUMONGALOID and didn't look very nice! The only cute thing in that tank was the sea turtle. This picture is blurry but still cute.

And this was my favorite animal at the museum....

He was so cute & desperately looking for a way out of his cage.

New Car Seats

We got the girls new car seats and they are much happier in the car now. Bella can finally see out the window and Emma isn't squished into her seat anymore. Now all we need to do is hook up the portable DVD player and we are ready for our road trip!