4th of July (really close to my birthday this year)

One of my least favorite holidays; however, we were pleased to host Jacci's sister Jessica, her husband Ryan, his boy Elroy, and her daughter Judy for an Independence Day BBQ. I never paid enough attention to figure out where the other two kids were staying but as far as Eleanor was concerned, having Elise and Erika available to play in the pool was enough. Here is Eleanor practicing her "float under the water for a really long time technique." All parents will know this is totally freaky the first 100 times you see it.
Eleanor has jumped into the pool's deep end from every possible angle. This approach is her favorite.

Here are the three girls hanging out in the pool. Elise (blond) is just a few weeks older than Eleanor. Erika (other) is just about 2 years old. They all played well together.

Independence Day in Hicksville, USA would not be complete without fireworks. As many of you know, 4th of July in Nampa is like being transported to Iraq for the evening. More about his holiday can be found here. If you can't remember the lengths to which I will go to shield my children from fireworks people, here's a refresher. Jessica and Ryan brought a small selection of fireworks and the girls enjoyed them immensely. Everyone loves holding sparklers (even I will admit sparklers are cool) and here are the cousins staring intently at the light.

Having family over for the day was very nice. Thanks to the Jessica and Ryan for bringing their family to our house and hanging out.

Finally. Sorry for the Delay

Here are the 5-month pictures of Alice. Jacci took these on her 5th monthaversary and I am just now able to post them. I could tell you about how Apple Computers blow but that would sully the general gaity of these monthly posts. As you can see Alice is smiling a lot now. She's still a little wobbly but she can roll over like crazy and she even crawls about 6 inches using the "inchworm" technique. At the last weigh-in Alice had gained 5 more ounces and we are feeling pretty good about her weight gain. Just before Jacci fled to San Jose we were feeding her at least 12 oz of formula every day along with everything Jacci could give her. So we expect big things come time for the next weigh in. I could not help but add Eleanor's 5-month picture to the post. Some things are different and some things are the same.

Eleanor had to be involved with the pictures and this is the best one. Alice, like most babies, loves to put her hands in her mouth. Eleanor's technique is a little more ambitious. You can see that Alice prefers the back of her hand while Eleanor opts for the fingers. My experience would lead me to believe Alice's technique is probably more sanitary with at least a slightly better taste.

Pictures and Updates Coming

I downloaded 5-month picture of Alice, pictures from the 4th and some miscellaneous pictures last night. I will post pics and updates this evening.

Jacci took the girls and fled to her sister's house in San Jose early this morning. I haven't heard from her since.

-Matt

First Solid Meal

We decided Alice should try some rice cereal after we had had such a great birthday meal of food. I think everyone there would have to say this was a total mission failure. Alice clearly didn't like the taste, texture, or both. We got some great video and some great pictures.
This is not the face of a contented child.

We didn't want to waste the food so we fed it to Eleanor, Katie, and Tim. They didn't like it either...but they ate it.

37!!!????!!!

I got to sleep in on my birthday so I took a picture of my lovely wife and I in bed. I think Alice is in bed with us somewhere but she wasn't invited to be in the picture. After everyone got up I went and got a massage. I've never had a massage before and it was pretty cool. I would have preferred Phoebe, but the woman who took care of me was very talented...
Then for a long time nothing happened. When I came home we had a BBQ and I got a giant creampuff cake. Here I am enjoying a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday". We didn't have any real birthday candles so my cake was decorated with a single candle that says "It's Fun to Be 1". This was the candle on Eleanor's first birthday cake and we are sure to use it in February when Alice turns 1.

Here I am with Eleanor and Katie.

"Don't make me kill you on my birthday!"

Story Time

I read stories to Eleanor most nights before bed. A couple nights ago I was able to read to both girls so that Jacci could take pictures of them in matching PJs. I don't get the idea of matching PJs but all the ladies like it.

Lately, we've been reading "Snow Angels" every night. It's the story of two kids who get out of school early on Christmas Eve, proceed to get stuck in a creek during a snow storm and are then saved by an angel taking the form of a winged snowman.

Eleanor is quite the looker. I don't know what's going on with the lip but the girl looks quite lovely in this picture. Her sister doesn't look bad either.

Eleanor's a Great Big Sister

Here are few shots of Eleanor helping Alice play with her animals. While Eleanor continues to drive her parents crazy at every opportunity she is still the world's best big sister. She's careful, quiet, and patient with Alice. And Alice always has a big smile for her big sister.
Alice really doesn't play so much as she tries to eat the horses. Alice basically tries to eat everything.

There was another weight check yesterday. Alice tipped the scales at 9-8. So she's gained another 5 oz in the last couple weeks. Alice is still a bean pole but she is gaining weight and we are pretty happy with that.