Blaire v. Wilder, Round 1

So, Wilder is 10 years old. He's been through infants TWICE before. He knows how they work.

Still, he has been getting closer and closer to Blaire.....just as she's becoming more mobile. And "grabbier". I think he's been testing out his reflexes or something. And they aren't good...

Wednesday I was doing something in another room, Blaire was playing on a blanket in the den floor. She begins screaming - her "hurt" cry...not the bored one. I ran in there. My girl is flat on her back, one hand FULL (I mean cotton ball full) of Wilder's hair. Her other hand full of WILDER'S TAIL. He had scratched her on the arm and she still wouldn't let go of the tail.

The scratch was tiny. Wilder seems to be catching on and keeping his distance - for now.

Justin and Collin had better watch out. At 7.5 months, the girl isn't afraid of animals with claws. They need to think twice before messing with her!!

Cindy Lou Who revisited

Collin woke from his Tuesday nap with a verrrrrry interesting hairdo....one that seemed strangely familiar. I realized I had, indeed, seen him look this way before.....here are the comparison photos -


Post nap, November 2004:


This week:


He has grown up so much!
K

Milestones!!!

Lots of little changes around here! Drum roll.....

Justin on Friday -

Justin today -

The second tooth held on for dear life over the weekend. I now understand why my parents were always after my loose teeth. I practically had to sit on my hands so I didn't yank that dangling tooth from his mouth. Today at VBS, it came out in the snack. What was he eating? PUDDING. Does that tell you how loose the tooth was?! It's so exciting!! He's really proud of himself.

Blaire is mobile. In a 12 hour period last week she figured out how to roll across the room and consistently go from sitting to all fours to get things. Life is about to get pretty interesting around here! AND she has slept for a 12 hour stretch! Only once so far, but we have our fingers crossed for repeat performances soon. She is regularly using her new mobility tricks to reach her favorite snack.......paper. That girl.....

And Collin has had an exciting day. The little brother finally came into his own. As he is now three, he can attend summer camps. He started his first day of VBS today. He was stunned that he got a t-shirt and his own class. He's so used to going with me to drop Justin off at activities. He loved every minute! I think he is going to pass out cold when he realizes he gets to go to zoo school!

K

ahhhh.. the beach!

We had a wonderful week in Florida. A very relaxing week...just what we needed. We only went out to eat one night. We just stayed on the beach, napped, Carleton grew his beard out and I got to see some knots unfurl from his shoulders. Life is so busy around here that we really look forward to downtime with NOTHING to do!!

On the way out, we spent a night in Houston. Darrell cooked steaks and we were able to have a very peaceful adult dinner! Justin and Sara always disappear as soon as we hit town, and now Collin and Owen have started doing the same thing. So the adults were left alone with miss B (who was just playing with her feet on the floor next to us) to enjoy our dinner. We hit the road at 6am Sunday to make the rest of the drive to Seagrove.

We always stop in Pass Christian when we drive to FL, and this was our first stop post Katrina. Most of the town is gone, but there are still a few of the old homes being repaired. And we let the kids play on the beach for a second. Blaire's first sight of the beach!

Seagrove was perfect. Collin dug for hours every day, Justin battled the waves and Blaire splashed in the tide pools. They met some kids from Alabama and enjoyed their company. We all enjoyed watching Beckett. He's a really cute kiddo. Collin ran a fever the first day we were there, but that was it. Unfortunately, it looks like whatever he had passed on to Beckett and he got a harder hit. He ended up with an ear infection by Saturday.

This time next year it is going to be so fun to watch Beckett and Blaire tearing around together! The kids enjoyed seeing Papa, Layne & Gene, Kate & A as well. Justin really liked playing soccer in the surf with Drew. I'm surprised Carleton and Justin aren't pickled, as much time as they spent in the water!

D & A spent the last night at the beach house with us, as they were en route to Disney. Have to say that when, at 6am, we headed for DFW and they headed for Orlando, we were feeling more than a bit jealous! The kids were great for the 13 hour drive home. We did it straight through. They are road warriors, our bunch. Blaire was upgraded to a big (rear facing) carseat for the trip and was quite happy.

It was a great trip. There is something so wonderful to me about having all of our kids in the car, headed for some adventure. I just love it!

More pics: