Buddies

Curled up on the couch in the morning watching "troes" (that would be how Brody says "shows")

Bathing Beauty

Ali is becoming such a chunk! I broke out the 9 month clothing yesterday because the 6 month clothing looked extremely resticting (poor thing). She gets a bath every other night because giving two kids seperate baths on the same night is extremely difficult by yourself. When it is her bathnight though, she becomes a lady of leisure. She LOVES the bath and stays in the tub for about 20 minutes (or until the water gets too cold!). I have to start her bath at 6:30 so she can be changed, fed, and in bed by 7:15. I thought that these new pictures were quite indicitive of her ever increasing rolls and creases. Of course I provided a washcloth to preserve her modesty.

"Super High Uncle"

I have no words for this video...It makes me extremely nervous. Everytime Uncle threw him "super high in the sky", Brody laughed and actually asked him to do it again (about 20 more times or so). I think I have a daredevil on my hands!

Tom's Birthday

The human trampoline
Grumpy Ali...a rare event

Caeden and Ali

Stare off

Jumping off Daddy's shoulders

We visited the Crone's for Tom's birthday. It was probably the last weekend the pool was going to be open this year so we had to take full advantage of it while we could. Of course, Brody was his usual self and swam around the pool like a little fish and Alison took a nap while we enjoyed some yummy food. We had a great time with everyone and it was a great end to a wonderful weekend!

Rescue Building

Brody has a new rescue unit that has a firehouse, police station, hospital, and helicopter pad all in one building. Needless to say, its his favorite toy. He even got up at 5:30 in the morning the day after we got it and ran downstairs to play with it!

Bedtime

Discussing the character traits of "Mater" the tow truck

Jon is not home three out of five nights (sometimes even more) for bedtime because of work and grad school so I have to get both kids fed, washed, and into bed by 7:15 or so. Sometimes its super hectic but nights like this make it very worth while. I left Ali in Brody's bed to get her bottle like I do every night and he lied next to her and started reading her a book. It was so cute and heart warming to see how much he loves his little sister. He makes sure that we all read together every night Daddy isn't home and gives kisses and hugs to Ali before we shut off the light. He is the BEST big brother!

Ali-15 Weeks

Ali is growing very fast and it was quite evident Friday. She started laughing over and over again when bouncing on my knee. It was music to my ears! Brody also thought it was very funny that she was laughing and he began to belly laugh making her laugh harder. She also has been able to hold her head up on her tummy for about 5 minutes at a time. She has even rolled over a few times! She is eating well and sleeping well, much better than Brody (who has been getting up earlier than Alison!). I feel like I have a new lease on life now that the two of them share a bedtime of around 7:15. Its amazing to have the whole evening all to ourselves!

Oh What a Night...

Dad is at grad school tonight, so that means single mom for the evening. My friend Kimmie was bringing her kids Chloe and Mason to the fair so we decided to join her, it was a beautiful evening after all...or so I thought. It all began with a balloon that Brody let go of twice and freaked out both times he lost it. By balloon #3, I got smart and tied it to the stroller. To distract the kids from the lost balloon, we walked to the animal section of the fair which served as an adequate distraction for all. Suddenly, Ali woke up and demanded to eat so we found a free table near the stables and I fed her while Chloe and Brody chased after each other. Everything was great until I realized that Brody was barrel rolling down a little hill where the cows got washed...GROSS! On that note, we packed everyone back up and ventured back into the food section of the fair. It was past dinner time and Brody needed to eat (and I did too!). We sat down after jumping on the moon bounce and ate some fries and chicken nuggets. I think the highlight was Brody riding in the stroller backwards while I leaned over it to feed Ali and Kimmie was carrying her wiggly son and helping Chloe to push the other stroller. I only have two pictures because we were so busy herding the kids. We did have a great time though, just a little dirty.

Maryland Photoshoot

Ali and Brody

Not happy...

Since we all had Maryland gear on, we thought we'd try to take some group pictures.

Maryland vs. Navy Football

Mission complete! Brody and Alison both experienced thier first college football game and tailgate (Brody has been to many other tailgates, but we were too scared to bring him into the game!). The kids were pretty well behaved and had a great time. We met up with Mr. and Mrs. Neuberger at their tailgate and ate some yummy food. After some adult beverages and throwing the football with Uncle, we all headed in with the Crones to enjoy the game. We had wonderful seats. Brody loved all the cheering and watching the game and Ali enjoyed a long nap (even with all of the noise). We had to leave at half-time because it was getting late and Brody was starting to melt down but we had a great day! Thanks Mikey for the awesome seats!

Swimming by Myself!

Brody has been doing very well swimming by himself with his vest on. He has been swimming back and forth between Jon and Tom with no help. He has also been going under the water and jumping in off the edge. I think we are going to be able start real swim lessons this winter!

Backyard Camping

Saturday night, Jon set up the tent so he and Brody could try camping. Mandy, Vin, and Ashley came over for dinner and Ashley and Brody loved playing in the tent! They really enjoyed sitting by the fire in the fold up chairs. Jon blew up the giant airmattress and put it in the tent, however it was so big, the door didn't shut and therefore, Brody couldn't be contained for sleeping. He kept getting in and out of the tent over and over again and wouldn't settle down. At 9:30, we finally gave in and put him in his room where he fell asleep in 1 minute. I think he really liked the idea of camping, but we need to figure out his sleeping arrangements better next time.