Happy Fourth of July! We spent the first part of the weekend at Joe's parent's house (aka, the farm) and while it was a hike to get up there, we had such a nice visit. We did the usual - pack the kids in the car at bedtime and drive through the night. Which made for some very well adjusted babies and some ridiculously exhausted parents.
The kids absolutely loved being at their Nana Jayne and Grandpa Colonel's house. They have eight acres in the middle of nowhere, across from one of the Great Lakes. So the babies got to dunk their toes in some (very frigid) lake water, pull fruit off of trees in the orchard, and play in the shade. Joe's parents put up some swings in the tree branches on their property and the kids got a kick out of swinging and watching the wind blow the leaves.
{ Ryan ripping all of the peaches (and leaves) off of Nana's tree }
{ Puff taking a break from the swimming pool. Tough life. }
{ Ryan giving himself a massage while being fed. He gives himself a full rub down with every bottle. I think that means he loves to eat? }
They also got to spend some time hanging out with their Great Nana, which was a special treat. She got a kick out of how much the babies moved and "talked" and they enjoyed screaming, giggling and rolling for her all day long.
We headed back to civilization on Sunday night, again at bedtime, and my mom came up for the holiday. We had grand plans of a community fair and a petting zoo and going to the playground. But the kids had other ideas and spent the day taking long naps (no complaints here) and so we hung out at the house and barbecued instead.
{ 25 weeks old }
{ her bloomers reminded me of Wonder Woman. I wish I would have gotten her some gold slap bracelets for this outfit! }
Puff decided to break out some new skills and milestones, just in time for her six monthday (which is next week). I'm very proud of her. In addition to sitting, she's also finally realized that she knows how to roll belly to back and back to belly. Combine the two, and you have a baby that can get places...fast. Add to this list of skills a baby that does a mean downward dog and plank, and I think we're close to having a mover on our hands.
It's funny to compare her and Ryan, since she seems to hit all of her major milestones early (rolling, sitting unassisted, eating from a spoon, drinking from a cup, standing and holding her own weight, etc.) while he just likes to lay on his mat and play with the butterflies. That makes him sound a bit like Lenny in Of Mice and Men. I promise, he's not slow. Just doing things at his own pace.
My mom watched the kids on Tuesday while I got caught up on laundry and went to the gym. Then Joe came home from work and we went to the farmer's market and stocked up on some more fruits and veggies. Mom stayed on baby duty while we cranked out peas, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, peaches, plums, sweet potatoes, apples and pears. The babies should be set for awhile.
They are happily eating and trying new flavors and I adore this phase in their lives. Joe even taught Ryan a little trick...
which is super fun when you are trying to spoon feed him purees. Nice job husband.
Edited: I guess he's not that slow to hit milestones after all. Not to be outdone by his sister, Ryan surprised me today. In addition to cutting TWO teeth (the bottom, middle ones) he sat up on his own. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go fall over and die now.
