Some more summer pictures

Here are a few more pictures from our summer so far:

Elijah loved playing t-ball this year

batter up!

Elijah's best friend from school was also on his t-ball team - so fun!

just chillin'

A favorite past time - he reads around 50 library books a week, chapter books and "fact" books

This was my favorite reading chair as a kid, too - Elijah likes to sprawl across it just like I did!

Molly is busy "reading," too.  She has suddenly become much more interested in looking at books on her own - she used to usually wait for someone to read to her.

The big kids love picnics on the deck!

Happy Birthday, Finn!

Finn turned one on Sunday!  What a big year.  He is such a sweet, smiley baby, and we are so thankful to have him.  He eats like a bottomless pit and has turned into a pretty good sleeper now, hooray!  He is still doing his one-arm, one-toe variation of the army crawl, but he is a fast little booger.

He has started pulling up and cruising now, so he is into everything.  He is so tall!  It took him a while to practice and get strong enough to pull all that weight up - and it was a big surprise when he finally did it!  I was in the kitchen when I heard Elijah yelling frantically, "Mom!  Mom, come quick!  We've got a real problem here!"  I raced into the powder room to find Finn standing up, chewing on the toilet seat and grinning at me!  Elijah was horrified.  I was horrified, and laughing at the same time.  Nothing is safe now!

Standing tall!  The ottoman is just perfect for cruising.

Loving his table toy!

Too much fun to be still!

Today we had a birthday party at Patrick's parents' house for Finn and Aunt Lorrie and Uncle Bill.  It was a fun day, and extra fun that Nana got to be there, too!  We chose Goodnight Moon as the theme for Finn's cake and decorations.  Yesterday, Maiah came and spent the whole afternoon helping me make and decorate the cake.  She was such a big help!

Surprised, and hoping to grab the candle.

Goodnight Moon cake

My baking assistant, Maiah, with her first fondant cake!

Finn's birth

Tomorrow we will be celebrating one year with Finn!

One year ago, when we were getting ready for bed, I started feeling faint contractions.  I knew that with both Molly and Elijah, I was already quite dilated when I started to feel contractions, so I paid attention right away.  When I timed them, the contractions were only 2-3 minutes apart, so we called the doctor.  We went to the hospital about midnight, and spent the rest of the night alternately walking the halls and watching the monitor.  My first two labors started slow, but went REALLY fast at the end, so we were all prepared for things to speed up at any time.  Finn decided to take his time, however.  Later in the afternoon, I got an epidural (my first - I was so scared!) and took a short, much-needed nap.  Finn finally made his appearance at 5:09 pm.  We were so excited to meet him!  He took to nursing right away, and we enjoyed spending some quiet time together.  It was a wonderful day.

Finn Patrick, 7 lbs 12 oz and 19 1/4", July 22nd

It was a very, very hot week.  During the first night it finally dropped below 100 degrees around 2 am.  The monitors around the halls of the hospital reported the temperature outside all night.  We were glad to be inside in the air conditioning!

Adventure Aquarium

We met Aunt Diane and the girls at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ yesterday.  It was such a fun day!  My animal-loving kids, especially ocean-loving Elijah, were thrilled to see (and touch!) all the creatures.  It was beautiful, and we loved spending the day with Diane and Rylee and Brynn. 

we got to watch while they fed the hippos

Elijah at the huge shark tank - a happy boy

so cool

trying to touch a ray

happy baby at lunch time

all 5 cousins ("Look Ma, I'm a big kid, too!")

touching sea stars

Playing in the fountain was such a fun way to end the day!

Elijah's shark party!

Elijah turned six today!  We had a fun party to celebrate on Saturday.  Elijah chose sharks/oceans for the theme and we had a great time getting ready.  The kids helped make some decorations:

Everything turned out great, and we had a fun day celebrating.  

It's your birthday, Chum!

The birthday boy!  Finn was wearing his matching shirt, but we didn't a picture of them together.

Elijah's best friend, Isaac, and his brother Levi

All the kids loved playing in the pool, but Molly was in there ALL DAY

They also had a great time with the sprinkler.

Shark cupcakes!

Elijah, Molly and Evan got their shark tattoos on their foreheads!

Elijah and Molly proudly wore their shark tattoos to church the next day.

They became slightly famous at church.