Greetings from Minnesota!

We made it back from Minnesota safe and sound at the beginning of this week. My sister and I flew up to Minnesota on Saturday, August 23rd with all of the kiddos and then the guys flew up later that week. My step-dad, Tom, built a beautiful cabin on Pelican Lake about five years ago. We try to go every year to enjoy the nice weather, see my mom and Tom and have fun on the lake and neat little towns close by. It got down into the 40's one night, but would warm up each day into the high 70's. It was definitely hard to come back to the heat and humidity of H-town.

We went on boat rides, swam in the lake and hot tub, ate way too much, shopped, hiked, rode bikes on the Paul Bunyan trail, went to some neat restaurants, the guys kayaked and fished, and we relaxed after all the kids went to sleep! I have included a bunch of pictures below....

FYI, the two little girls are my nieces Camryn (12 months) and Loren (3 years)

9 Months

I can hardly believe that William is already 9 months old! We went to the pediatrician on Wednesday and William got a clean bill of health. He was 21 lbs. 7 oz. and 29 3/4 inches long. Which is 50th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in length.

He is very proficient at crawling and has started pulling up on the couch. He experiments with new noises constantly and loves to hear himself babble. He can say da-da really well and sometimes shortens it to just DA. His favorite games are throwing the ball and peekaboo.

Just like the rest of the family, William loves to eat! We have been trying all sorts of finger foods and so far he likes everything. He has five teeth, two on top and three on bottom. He still spits up constantly due to his GERD (baby reflux). Hopefully he will outgrow it soon.

He continues to be quite the people person and smiles on command. He also loves other children and was yelling out at a little girl his age in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office yesterday. He has the best little personality and is such a ham! We are truly blessed.

William Getting Ready to Go Swimming

Here are a few pictures Jonathan took of William getting ready to go swimming this weekend.

Jonathan's Right Leg

In case you were wondering what a leg with a titanium rod going through it looks like...here you go! Last Monday Jonathan had a day surgery at Memorial Hermann to have a screw taken out of his right leg. Here are the post op x-rays of what his right leg looks like now. If you look closely at the first picture you can see the shadow where the second screw closest to his knee was removed. His right leg took the brunt of the impact and was pretty much shattered in the middle. You can see now where all the bone has come back together.

By the way, the surgery went really well and Jonathan is feeling great. The screw that was taken out was causing him continuous pain and making his knee give out randomly throughout the day. We are truly blessed and thankful for all God has done for us!

William Pictures

8 Months

William was 8 months old on Sunday! We are experimenting with new foods, the picture above is an encounter with an avocado. He has two bottom teeth and just cut two top teeth. So far he likes to eat anything I give him.

He started full out crawling a few days ago and loves to try and touch the electronics and decorations under the T.V. He is learning the meaning of "no, no touching." He knows what it means, but sometimes he just can't help himself.

He also is in full babbling mode and experiments with new sounds all the time. He also loves to spit. He will take a full swig out of the sippy cup and spit everywhere. I have been covered in sweet potatoes and peas, so we are also working on "no, no spitting!"

My favorite trick he has is giving kisses. We just say, "kisses William" and he leans forward with an open mouth for a kiss. He is still a little ham and Mr. Smiley. He is such a joy and seems to be getting bigger by the minute.

I'm Back...

After I signed off in April I received a lot of backlash. I didn't realize people were really looking at the blog. This go around will probably be less detailed then before, but I will try to provide everyone with plenty of family pictures.

Here are a few from the summer...