It's been an extremely slow week at our house and we didn't do much and therefore there aren't but a couple of pictures.




Samantha did, however get her first haircut this week. Our friend Lorrie agreed to trim it up for us. We just had her trim off all the bad parts and designate her true bangs. Samantha did so well and hardly moved an inch the entire time.

And Samantha has entered the "why" stage. She seems to ask that question a lot lately and we have to come up with some decent, understandable answers for her.

Blake just continues to play and talk. I thought that this week he was really talking a lot and we really enjoy hearing it.


It seems Blake has really fallen in love with one of his carseat toys, a blue elephant. He grabs for it when he gets into his seat and we'll often take it off the bar and just put it in his lap for him. One time Travis didn't give it to him right away and he started to fuss until he got it.


We got out the highchair for Blake this week, just another option for him to play with. He does like to play with his toys on the tray but isn't so fond of sitting straight up yet.



Maybe we'll do better at pictures this week. We hope to have a family day and maybe a play date or two.

We had another pretty busy week last week. It seems we had something going on every day of the week but it was all fun and we managed to get through it.

Blake is continuing to grow and grow. I pulled out his 3-6 month clothes last week and got them all washed up. He must be long because his little feet are already at the end of some of those pajamas! He is really enjoying some of his hand toys now and reaches for them when we put them in front of him.

It is fun to get him to giggle. Travis is really good at this. He is somewhat ticklish and so you can get him to laugh a bit that way. He also loves songs like "If You're Happy and You Know It..." "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and "I'm a Little Tea Pot." Samantha loves singing along with us.

Wednesday we joined our mom's group downtown at Coolidge Park for the fountain and

carousel. Samantha didn't really like the fountain but loved the carousel which I don't have pictures of. She also really enjoyed climbing on the animals.

Thursday was "family day." We went to Pump It Up. Samantha had a great time. In fact, we were there for almost four hours! We played, had lunch, and then played again. At first she was a bit timid and wanted us to come with her. At the end she was climbing and sliding all by herself. She is still talking about it!

Sabbath we went and fed the ducks and geese. There were a couple of really cute babies there... And now for pictures of Blake...

We let Blake ride in the stroller without his carseat for the first time this week...

Yippee, Travis is done with classes. We are so very thankful and looking forward to the few coming weeks when we can focus on spending time together as a family. We have a few special outings planned that we're looking forward to. I think Samantha will be thrilled with our choices.

Blake is learning to do more and more things. Just on Friday he found his feet! I love this stage where they start to play with their toes and feet. Being that he has just found them he hasn’t played with them a lot yet.

Our little guy has gotten into this habit of waking up at 6:30+- every morning. It’s entirely too early for me. He does, however go back to bed around 8:00 and it gives me an opportunity to get ready and spend a bit of time either picking up the house or spending time with Samantha.

As we commented last week, Blake is getting closer and closer to rolling over. This week he did it a couple of times but almost by accident. He can get on his side quite often and we know that rolling is just right around the corner.

I think Blake is starting to grow a little bit of hair. You can really notice his little fuzz right after his bath and its dry-it kind of sticks up like a crew cut.

Samantha’s new words for this week were: Disappear. While we were changing her diaper we were playing and she said that her bellybutton disappear.

She has also accomplished saying her full name. We are continuing to practice that one though.

We bought Samantha a little cheap pool but she loves it. The first day, of course, was the best but I don’t think it’s lost its appeal. It seems it’s almost full of toys that she’s drug in from her sandbox.

Samantha’s Sabbath School is so cool. This quarter they are learning about the jungle and being missionaries. While on their exploration they get to ride elephants or lions. They get to also get to swing with the monkeys. How fun is that? If we ever move away she is going to miss her special Sabbath School so much. It’s a true highlight of the week.

We want to say a gigantic thanks to Tracy and Cheryl. They threw a surprise party for Travis as a celebration of completing his classes. We are so thankful for friends who are about us, our kids and what’s going on in our lives. Tracy and Cheryl go above the beyond in so many ways and would give you the shirt off of their back if you needed it.

Playing with a book...


Getting that tummy time...


On his side...


Sabbath...


Our sunflowers are really growing...
That's my girl--sucking on the chocolate syrup bottle...
Samantha loves our landlord-Mr. Warren and his wife, Miss Sara. They spoil her something fierce. When she sees Mr. Warren outside she always thinks that she needs to go outside to see him and his dog, Annie.


Sabbath School...

Playing in the pool...

3 Month Pictures

Here are Blake's 3 Month pictures we had taken...

Sometimes I'm just so proud of Samantha. She has started to say "excuse me" and "I'm sorry." It just pleases me to start really working on her manners.

At our church they have little bags that help keep the children occupied. Inside each of them is a small New Testament. Samantha thinks that this is a hymnal so when we sing opening and closing songs she will standin the aisle with her "hymnal" and sing til her little heart is content.

And her cute saying for the week...Last night Samantha had two different pieces of cheese. I told her she could have one of them and said promptly replied, "I'm starving." I assured she was not starving.

Blake has been so much fun this week. I've really enjoyed spending time with him. We got our "Jumparoo" back and he is really loving spending time in it (see video below).

Our little guy (often referred to as Blakester by Dad and Samantha) is doing really well on tummy time. He holds his neck up quite well for several minutes and is getting closer and closer to rolling over.

We celebrated the 4th of July on the 3rd as most places celebrate down here. Our friends Scott, Christy and Kathryn invited us to their local celebration. It was a very relaxing evening. We had a picnic and then the kids went in a little kiddie parade. Samantha jumped and slid on a blow-up toy and then she saw a violin in the orchestra which she enjoyed. I'd say the evening was a hit.


Samantha has learned to take the step-stool in the bathroom. There she can wash her hands--I bet they are the cleanest in the county...

She's started to push around her stroller more and often carry her "diaper bag."...
Just chillin'...

This is how Blake prefers to sleep, all swaddled up tight...
Celebrating the 4th...

Here is a video of Blake in the "Jumparoo"