9 months

Aaron turned 9 months old on Thursday! It was a busy month, what with Daddy being gone in Minnesota for awhile and then us going on our trip to Maryland. With the weather finally getting warm (too warm for some of us...), Aaron spent a lot of time outside and his favorite activity is still watching his big brothers. He's usually quite content to sit on a blanket and watch Daniel and Matthew and their crazy outside antics. He's been learning to stand on his own and you can tell that he really just wants to let go and walk. Thankfully for us, he's not quite there yet!

 Uh-oh...look who knows how to climb stairs.

 New favorite place? The bathtub! Aaron loves taking big boy baths.

 Our little guy is finally big enough to ride safely in the front seat of the stroller.

 Watching those brothers...

 ...and yelling at them.

 On the way home from Maryland. Aaron slept for about an hour of the 8 hours spent in the air. At least Mommy got a little nap, too.

 Aaron loves his new quilt from Grandma!

 "If only I could get in that pool!"

Silly boy.

East Coast 2012

We got back late last night from a whirlwind trip to Maryland to visit Auntie Karen and Uncle Jesse and cousins Grady, Colin and Adam. The trip was filled with good times, but as usual was way too short. Airplane rides were not the greatest, but we made it there and back safely and that's all you can really ask for, right? Thank you Karen and Jesse for having us crazy West Coasters over--we had a blast!

 Colin, Grady and Daniel play in a fountain. It was super hot over there and this was the coolest spot outside. 

 Happy day! Baby Adam is baptized!

 The bigger boys sitting outside the church. Look how handsome they are!

 There's a picture of mommy when she was little with an expression just like this. We'll have to dig it out.

 Almost all of us after the baptism. Aaron was sleeping inside.

 Sisters. :)

 After the baptism, clothes were changed and the party turned into Colin's second birthday party!

 Love those cupcakes!

 We can't seem to get any pictures of everyone looking at the camera.

 Birthday boy!

 The next day we took a trip up to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Here is daddy/Uncle Chris with the bigger boys in the mouth of a shark!

 Watching Mommy watch the dolphins.

 Matthew loved the dolphins.

 Crazy stinging jellies.

 Bath time for the the littles...

 then for the number 2s...

 and the biggest boys.

Bedtime for the kids, relaxing time for the adults.

Captivated

There's always an audience on lawn mowing day. [Daniel is watching from the play house outside.]

Rub-a-dub-dub

Cool treat for a hot day

Matthew loves ice cream.

Daddy's home!

I tried to post every day....then things got busy and boring so there wasn't much to say. The big news is that Daddy's home! He wasn't due back until tomorrow (Tuesday) but some of his post-class plans fell through so he came back early--thank goodness! The kiddos and I were starting to wear on each others' nerves. Many thanks to everyone who offered help while Chris was gone. It meant a lot to me, and really helped to make the time go faster. :)

 The boys back together again. We took quite a few pictures, this one was the best. :/

Our completed calendar! Look how busy we were!

Peek-a-boo

Aaron loves a good game of peek-a-boo. He also loves cameras.

Four-Year-Old Photography

I mentioned the other day that Daniel was having fun playing photographer. Last Saturday, he got to take the camera out again with his Aunt Bea, though he must have been having so much fun with her that he didn't take many pictures. Going through his pictures was so much fun. It is amazing to see the world through his eyes. And, I think some of his photos are pretty artistic. Here are some of my favorites:

 Daniel spins around while taking pictures.

 Our superstruct crane.

 Aaron follows Daniel around like a puppy.

 Aaron finds some books. Books are more fun than brothers sometimes.

 Close up of the crane driver.

 Moving outside, the gate.

 We call this one "shovel."

 Backyards.

 Inside the play structure.

Sunny day.

 Decorative detail.

 Sky over our roof.

 Sunlight and shadows.

 One of my personal favorites, Daniel documents a trip down the slide.

 Self portrait.

 Water in a bucket.

 Near-parallel lines.

 Great picture of Aunt Bea.

 On the way to Bea's house, Daniel takes note of the golden rule.

 Driving.

 Another favorite, Daniel brought me flowers from Bea's yard. Awww...