Seaner is 1!

Last week we went to Duck, North Carolina for our big vacation of the summer/year. It was a perfect time to go as it was the only week Uncle Tyler and Jordan had off all summer long but it was also a packed full week of birthdays and anniversaries for our family. Monday was my birthday, Wednesday was our 9th anniversary and Friday was the Big Day otherwise known as Sean's first birthday. We celebrated with a Duck Donut, glazed with sprinkles for the big man who is allergic to most things. I'm not suer the donut was completely dairy or egg free but it seemed better than a cake with icing that surely would have been full of both. He loved the donut, I will try and post pictures or video later. Duck Donuts are possibly the best donuts ever. Ever. And I love donuts so that is saying a lot. We went 3 times during our vacation. And we only found them on Wednesday. I ate 10 powdered donuts. Yes, they were that good. But back to Sean. We spent the day mostly lounging by the pool or splashing on the shoreline. In the afternoon we went to a restaurant that was overly priced and not so tasty, I won't name them. Afterwards we went to Jockey's Ridge, the coolest place to watch the sun set ever. I've been going there for 17 years and yet I never outgrow that large pile of sand. Here we carried out the rest of our day rolling in the sand and trying to get that perfect picture of our family. We came home with buckets of sand in our hair, pants and shoes, but no perfect picture. Here is an OK one of only three of us.

I know Sean will never recall this first birthday but it was very monumental for me. Remembering that big day last summer when he finally arrived. The joy and sheer happiness. All the perfect days since. All the trying days since. And the perfect and trying days to hopefully come our way. It also marked my year goal of breastfeeding. It's time to wean. And gain 25 lbs. Our at least cut back on the powdered sugar donuts.

Now we are home, unpacked and moving on to the next thing. Seaner's first birthday party. We are having a party this Saturday. It's soccer ball themed and I've been searching for the perfect, OK more like doable, dairy free cake and icing recipes all week. At least he doesn't know what Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake tastes like.

Bailey 20 months old

Today I imported all of the pictures and videos off of my small Nikon camera that I bought last year to take to Arizona but that I hardly ever use. I have however been using it more recently to take to the pool. Anyways, I imported the pictures and found that some of the pictures and video were from last fall, including this video of Bailey taken 10 months ago. I don't remember her ever being that small and cherub cheeked so it's nice to have this as proof.

What we've been at all month long.

It's been nice and hot here lately so we've been doing the pool, either at Hill City or at a friend's house, several times a week. Sean, as well as his big brother and sister, can't get enough of the water.

Morning's mischief makers

Time sure flies by when you're having fun and I reckon mostly what we do is having fun.

Bailey and Cooper continue to amaze me with their vocabularies and speech. Cooper is big on adjectives and it's always "a big one truck" or a "a yellow one bus", it just dawned on me that I guess there's a little bit of math going on there too. Bailey is full of phrases both cute and otherwise, "I don't think so" being a favorite of hers. She is very happy being the sole sister as she told me yesterday she would like two more brothers for a total of four, but not five. Sisters, she'll have none of those, please. Their conversations regularly have me in stitches. But their recall is amazing at this age to the point that I was shocked last night when I told Bailey she could come to Walmart with me. "I want to ride in the car" she said, referring to the carts with steering wheels. When I informed her that Walmart didn't have car carts she retorted, "Oh, so we go to Kroger because Kroger has cars." Her logic was so plain and simple she won me over. We went to Kroger where fortunately for me, milk was on sale. Unfortunately, for her all the car carts, in demand as they are, were currently taken. Little girl, bless her exhausted little heart, wasn't too happy about that.

Cooper, our daring bounce house jumper, trampoline tackling, roller coaster rider, would have nothing to do with Sunday's loud firework display. He actually asked to go to bed, for Cooper that was a first. Bailey held her own (and was thus held by everyone around at least once) until past 10:30, also a first around here. She got flashy Fourth of July jewelry as well, so it was a pretty good day for her.

Then there is Sean. A far more calm and easy going baby then I recall either of the twins being, and for this we are more than thankful. His sweet disposition makes his new found allergies even more disheartening. We have confirmed that he is allergic to eggs, milk and soy. The eggs being the biggest allergen has probably caused most if not all of his eczema that has ailed him for months now. In just a little over a week his skin is looking better with just the eradication of eggs from both of our diets. I have continued to eat some dairy but his skin and tummy seem to be handling that just fine. I have bought a few egg and dairy free products for us to try and have started to make his own baby food. It is only a little more work and I find that it gives me more control over what he eats, and we all know how much I love to garner control. However, I will say that homemade baby food smells and tastes much better than the Beech Nut and Gerber varieties. The other day Sean got only a smidgen of the banana puree I made for him because Bailey and Cooper swooped in like vultures and ate up all the banana puree before Sean could decided whether or not he liked it. This morning we have just blanched peaches for his breakfast, we will see if they are successful.

Sean is crawling everywhere, standing alone on occasion and walking with assistance. I have spoken with him and let him know that I see no reason for him to walk before his first birthday. He has kindly told me, mostly with his eyes, that there are several reasons to begin walking asap. Namely, to get away from Cooper's grasp quickly, and to reach the red ball, or the Tonka truck, or the stairs. We will let you know when steps are taken.

The parents are still running, not as much as before but we do have several races coming up ahead including our first adventure race in two weeks. We are busy playing and teaching the twins as well as working, cleaning, and having fun as time allows. We aren't nearly as interesting as our children though, so back to them.

It has been hot here, maybe not as hot as El Azizia, but pretty hot nonetheless for us four seasoners. So we've been frequenting the pool, the 'city pool' as Bailey calls it. A month ago Bailey and Cooper were frightened of the water, not several sessions later and with the added comfort of Puddle Jumpers they are little fish. Cooper can float by himself in waters deeper than him and will jump in the pool by himself. Bailey, who is almost always a little more timid, loves to jump in the water if you catch her before she goes under. She also likes it if you 'swim' her across the middle size pool. Today, the burning temperatures may send us in the city pools direction.

But first we must get on with the peaches.

Nine months old already!!

I know, I know. I haven't posted in like two months. We're busy people, Ok? Sean's surgery went well. He recovered with little side effects if any. Today he is nine months old. That's right, 9 months already. He is crawling, sitting and pulling up on the side of furniture and his crib. He says 'Da-da' and 'ma=ma' and 'ba-da-ba-la-doo-da', but mostly it's 'da-da'. Todd thinks he will be walking in no time but I am Ok if he waits a few more months. He is one cute little bugger and we're so glad he's a part of our family.

I will try and post some more photos soon. We went to Washington, D.C. this past weekend and got some great outdoor pics of the kids I want to share.