Julia's 7 month photos

From a few weeks ago...it's getting harder and harder to capture her, as she just wants to crawl away!  We've shifted to more solid foods--little chunks of our meals, cheerios, etc, and she loves feeding herself.  She can't do the pincher grasp, so she grabs a fist full and puts her whole hand into her mouth!  She's also learning to use the sippy cup.

 

 (yep, holding my camera lens cover)

 (and chewing on it...)

 

(Spoiler alert, she popped her first tooth a few days after these pictures...and a second one has popped since then!  How funny that all 3 babes have gotten their first tooth within a few weeks of 7 months old...)

Zoo day!

A few weeks ago I met up with two of my friends, Jenny and Kristy, and their children for a playdate at the zoo.  One of our first outings without Charlie--so much easier with just 2 when you're used to 3!  Sam had a fun time tagging along with Andrew and Keane (they're both almost 4).  Jenny took all the pictures.

The baby girls played for a bit at the playground--Julia is just 3 weeks older than Lily (and are also in class together at school, as I teach with Jenny this year)

 

 Sam in the treehouse!

The day concluded with the normal end-of-playdate-almost-meltdowns but we escaped just in time.  Hopefully we'll do it again soon!

First Day of School

Charlie's back at the International School of Indiana this year...and excited to start his pre-k year.  He's going full time this year (8-3 every day!).  I managed to capture a few pictures on our way out the door.

 

At the bell ringing ceremony...I didn't get a picture of him ringing the bell because for whatever reason, he decided not to ring it this year!  So he walked straight past the bell (and the school director) and into the school.  He was excited to see so many of his classmates from last year, and disappointed to hear that his friend Eva will not be returning from France.  His teacher, Mr Robby, and assistant, Madame Agnes, both seem great and we're really excited for this year!

Sam started at Children's Day In a few days later.  He was so excited to wear his backpack, and when I dropped him in his classroom ("Teddy Bears" this year-the class I taught last year), he ran off to help his teachers set up the room for the other students.  As of now he only goes once a week (Wednesdays, when I teach) but I'll likely sub a few times a month so he'll get to go a few extra days. 

I failed to get a picture of Julia on her first day of "school".  I teach her class this year, the Lambs, so it's not much different from home except all sorts of fun toys to climb on and put in her mouth!

State Fair 2013

Another  year at the State Fair.  Once again, we managed to go twice (and free both times, thanks to the Indianapolis Public Library summer reading program!).  The boys just can't get enough of what the fair has to offer, and the weather was perfect for it!

On a (crowded) Saturday morning, Scott and I took the kids.  First stop, after checking out the fish at the DNR building, was "Little Hands on the Farm"-a yearly favorite. 

 

After walking through the pioneer village, we checked out all the tractors, and took a few more pictures. 

 (Success?)

 (Clearly Julia is the heart of the family...the boys fought over who would hold her!)

After a quick stop at the FFA building to feed the goats and play a little miniature golf, we ventured over to the animal barns.  The kids loved the cows and had to pet almost every one we passed.  A quick lunch at the Dairy Barn (fried mozzarella and a chocolate shake, yum) and time to head home for naps.

The following Thursday we returned, and we had awesome weather and no crowds!  We took our time playing 18 holes of mini golf, playing with the toy tractors, checking out the fish again, and walking through the horse barns.  We also watched a few minutes of a sheep competition and a pig competition...interesting.

Until next year!