6 years of Ethan

Ethie turned 6 on July 22 and we celebrated him all weekend!  He is getting so grown-up and still as lively and fun as always.  He can be super sweet and tender (especially with Lilah), and always friendly, feisty, and fearlessly independent.  He loves learning and reading and playing with friends.  We love our E!!!

Thursday, Mom and Scotty came down and brought presents and an icecream pie, which he loved! 

Scott's awesome art

Haha, this is a wierd picture

Then Friday we had a combined party with his friend, Sebastian.  We had a pool/bug party with lots of boys and lots of fun!

Decorating their bug jars

Ready for the bug hunt!






 

The boys and their dirt cake



 It was so much fun!

And then Saturday we met Dad and Jeanette for one last birthday hurrah.  Happy birthday, Ethie!!!

Tiny walker

Lilah is a pretty chill little baby.  She is usually content to just be held and hang out with us.

So we were pretty shocked when she just decided to walk one day!  She took her first steps on July 7 (10 1/2 months) and she looked so tiny and cute toddling around!  She plops down on her bum and gets right back up and she's getting better every day!  

Oh, and I cut her bangs for the first time that day.  It was traumatic for me but she always looks cute!

And she loves her babies lately--so cute!!!

Sparklers

Thank goodness we went to see fireworks in Carrollton because it totally stormed yesterday and fireworks were cancelled.  Luckily, we got to swim a little at our friends' fun pool party before we had to run inside. 

And yay for sparklers!!!

(I obviously need a better camera, but you get the idea)

We heart small towns

So yesterday was the actual 4th of July.  We've been to the Carrollton parade several years and James said they always went to the Rockdale parade when he was growing up.  He said almost everyone got to be in the parade, including him for various reasons (cub scouts, marching band... mmmmm)!  Ethie always got lots of candy in Carrollton and liked seeing the horses and high school bands, etc.

We decided to get up early and go to the Marietta parade this year, expecting it to be even more amazing.  It was super crowded and hot, which we expected, but the parade was incredibly long because of all the stinking show cars and beauty queens.  There was only one little band and no candy or prizes.  I don't know if it's because Marietta is bigger or if that's just how parades are now, but it was kind of sad.  We left before it finished.

However, we do enjoy being together :)

 

 

Firecracka

Saturday we (except James, who was working hard) got to go celebrate the 4th of July in Carrollton with Dad, Jeanette, and Scotty!  We got to see their house, which is unpacked and decorated and lovely!  We had dinner at Moe's and saw the fireworks in Villa Rica.  Ethie was struggling a bit to be happy (and Lilah slept through them), but we had a nice time!  

This is his fireworks face.

 

100!

Yes, this is my 100th post.  Woohoo!  I love having a place to put all these pictures I take and not worry about forgetting what they were. 

For example, I just took these lovely pictures of myself...



Scotty said this one looks like a Lindsay Lohan mugshot.



And the story is that I fought off a scary guy with a crowbar trying to steal my kids. 

(Ok, I was trying to get a coke down from on top of the fridge and it fell on my eye.) 

Yay for blogging (and black eyes)!

W-A-T-E-R

We have lived in the pool this summer.  I think we are seriously there every day.  It feels so good since it is so hot right now.  Ethie has gotten really good at swimming and loves jumping in.  And Lilah loves it too (these are happy faces, promise)!

We belong in the zoo

Friday, our sweet friends, the Luces, took us with them to the Atlanta zoo and we had a blast!  Ethie loved playing with his friends and running around to see all the animals.  He said his favorite animals were the gorillas, the lion, and the birds.

Lilah loved chilling and looking all around (she has gotten too big for me to carry around in the carrier :(

and I loved being with my kiddos!