Lowered the Crib Yesterday

Almost overnight out little man is mobile. He is crawling everywhere, pulling up and almost cruising. I walked in his room yesterday morning to find him just hanging out along the crib rail and of course I imagined him pummeling headfirst over the side. Grant lowered the crib to the lowest setting yesterday afternoon. Jack Ranger is also clapping and I think I saw a few waves today. We think he may also be teething because he is fussy and drooling which is not like him at all.

BFF Avery Gray

Shauna and Avery came over on Wednesday night and we played and had dinner together. Mary helped fix dinner and we had bacon-wrapped cheddar jalapenos, chicken fajitas, mac and cheese and tamales with white cheddar cheso. It was delicious! After dinner we went out back and the girls wore their birthday suits and went swimming for more than an hour. This gave Shauna and I a chance to sit on the back porch and catch up. It was a relaxing time with our friends and I am so thankful to have such wonderful neighbors to share life with. I didn't get the kids to bed until 10pm because we were too busy having fun.

Mother's Day

We had lunch on Mother's Day at Mimi's house. It was wonderful and we were joined by the Rodicks, Bigelows and Walshes. Courtney Bigelow had her camera and she took some great pictures of the kids. The Bigelow kids - Camryn, Hannah and Seth - are SO wonderful and sweet with our kids. We love spending time with them. This past Saturday Cadence and I went to their dance recital at Lake Highlands High School and Cadence sat still during the whole thing and she loved seeing them dance. She also loved sitting on Greg's lap and she kept going back and forth between my lap and Greg's.

Jack Ranger: Seven Months

Our sweet Jack Ranger turned 7 months on May 18, 2011. He is still the happiest, most laid-back baby!
- He is sitting like a champ and even takes baths now with his sister.
- He is starting to crawl, but this is really based on how badly he wants a toy within his line of sight. If you leave your cell phone near him, he will make a beeline for it.
- He loves avacado, sweet potatoes and peas. He is a healthy eater and doesn't seem too picky yet.
- He loves sleeping and you can just put him in his bed and he cuddles up with his doggie and blankets and goes right to sleep. He doesn't want to be rocked or even cuddled all that much. When it is time to sleep he just wants his bed!
- He isn't babbling much, but he enyoys playing a little game with me where he makes a sound and I repeat it back.
- He thinks his sister is hilarious. She will make faces and play games with him and he giggles like crazy.

He is such a special joy in our family and I can't even imagine our lives without him.

Giggle Giggle Quack

This afternoon Grant, Cadence, Jack Ranger and I went on a fun family outing to see Giggle Giggle Quack at the Dallas Children's Theater. It was a great show and both Cadence and Jack Ranger enjoyed it. Cadence sat perfectly still the entire time and then as we were walking out she said "I am sad it is over." She really loves live performances. I had a good time snuggling with my babies in the dark and watching the performance. Cadie was excited to meet the duck character after the show. Grant and I had actually met the actress, Molly, last weekend while we sat with her at another show and she was so nice.

Dad and Jack Ranger hanging out at intermission.

Last Day of School

Friday was Cadie's last day of school at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church. She has been going Wednesday and Friday's from 9:15am-2:15pm. Her teachers were Miss Debbie and Miss Birdie and they said she has been a "lovely sweet girl." I didn't orginally plan to put her into school, but I ended up feeling like she would enjoy the time to learn, play and have some different scenery.

Overall, she did really well in school and it worked out for us as a family for Cadie with Jack Ranger making his appearance as it gave me a bit more time to rest while on maternity leave. She did have a few small issues with hitting and even had to sit by herself at lunch one day because her teachers said she would not stop spitting at the other children. We did have a talk with her about kindness and obedience, but I am sure she was just being silly. She knew all the names of the kids in her class and mentioned Perri, Jackson, Margaret and Collier the most.

She is enrolled to attend next year on Tuesday and Thursday. This is her getting ready to leave for her last day. She loves this outfit and calls it her princess dress.

Jack Ranger had a fun time jumping while Cadie was away at school. I had a hard time capturing a picture that wasn't blurry because he was bouncing so fast. It was hilarious.

Back to the Dallas Zoo

This is the second year we have been zoo members and we LOVE going to the zoo. We went for the first time this season on Saturday with our great friends, the Riley's, and we had the best time. We met at the zoo at 3, stayed until it closed at 5, came back to our house and cooked out and went swimming until about 8pm. All that with 5 kids and there were ZERO fights or melt-downs - and that includes the kids and the adults. Eli and Jack Ranger loved checking out the animals, their siblings and each other.

Jacob, Ella Bray and Cadence play so well together. They had so much fun at the zoo and then played for hours in the pool together.

Jacob and Ella Bray had a good time being "eaten" by the alligator but Cadence was not interested in getting in his mouth.

Zebra Toes

At the tender age of 2 years and 7 months Cadence has just surpassed me on the hip scale. Not that she had too far to go to surpass me. Anyway, she and Mary have too much fun and I came home the other day to find Mary and Cadence with matching zebra toes. I don't even know how Mary did it but it is adorable.

We had family pictures last week and Cadence was sitting on the bathroom counter in her little white terry-cloth robe (thanks Aunt B!) and I was blow drying her hair and Mary was painting her toes. Little miss pampered! She did look beautiful for her photos though.

Kids' Caricatures

These are the funny caricatures that the kids got done for free at the Easter carnival in my parents' neighborhood in Overland Park, Kansas. We could only get Cadence to sit still by bribing her with a cookie and I laughed with the cookie showed up in her picture. I love how Eileen (the artist) captured Cadie's side glance. Jack Ranger had just woken up from a nap in the car and he had his usual big happy grin.