The Party House

July was our PARTY month!  It has been a crazy time, and I have to say I am quite exhausted.  We started off the month with Jack's bubble bash. I hosted July's coffee club at the house.  It is a great group of women pretty evenly divided in their political views. Each month, the women get together and the host picks a current event topic, sends out news articles from the liberal, conservative and a few other sources in between, and then the ladies spend the morning discussing the topic while their kids play.  Since the Supreme Court had just rendered a decision on the Affordable Care Act, that was topic of choice. The kids had a great time playing in the pool, and the Moms tried to save the world!

After the coffee club, Mimi and Papa (Michael's new name) came to visit again.  Jack LOVES his Papa. They have such a blast together.  Jack follows him around the house, and always wants to help him fix things.  Mimi and Jack play in the garden together, and pick lots of green beans and other fun veggies.  On this trip, Jack and Papa watched a lot of Daddy TV. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, Jack or Michael:)

Papa giving Jack a bath

Sophia at 15 weeks.  

Although Sophia loves to play, her least favorite exercise is tummy time.  She doesn't mind playing on her back but her belly is another story.  She was rolling super early (3 weeks) but then decided she hated being on her belly.  We are still working on it.

Sophie's side of the room is finally completed.  With the help of Lara, I finally got her fabric flowers up! The dolls and pictures used to be in my room when I was a little girl.

One recent accomplishment that makes me super happy is that the kids are sleeping in the same room all night long.  We are still working on nap time. Although Sophie is a great night time sleeper, she likes to party all day and doesn't nap well.  I figured baby steps...we will do night time first and then work towards combined naps.

Sophie in her sailor suit

Jack and Sophie playing in the chair.  

Sophie is starting to giggle a lot now.  She loves it when you help her kick her feet and pull her up.  She giggles so loud:)  Sophie is 15 weeks in this picture.

Godmother Elaine bought Sophie this little doll.  Oddly enough, when I handed it to her, I realized they were wearing matching outfits!!!

Sophie loves her doll!!!

Sophie is making razzy noises, and is starting to become very vocal.  She talks in her own language but let's you know when she is happy and mad

My big boy is really showing his independence.  Every day, there is a new word or phrase that pops up.  Apple juice has been a new favorite,  and he is pretty good at saying please and thank you. He also tells me to sit, mama, and then he leaves the room and comes back with toys for me and Sophie.  He is the little boss man:)

With the start of a new MOPS (mother of preschoolers) year, I have offered to help plan the ladies' nights.  To welcome the new moms to MOPS, I hosted a wine night on the river at the house.  I didn't take any pics: The evening was a lot of fun, and we got to hang with a lot of great newcomers.  Everyone brought a bottle $20 or less; we had cheese fondue, lots of good cheeses, and some decadent fudge brownies.

Teana, Ryan and the kids came to visit us.  Kennedy and Collins are really close in age to Jack and Sophia.  Kennedy and Jack are three months apart, and Sophia and Collins are five months apart.  This was the first time that the Kreger family got to meet our little lady.

Jack and Kennedy relaxing and enjoying some cheese sticks

He loves to say cheese when posing for pictures but the funny part is that half the time he looks away from the camera when he does so.

Kennedy is all grown up.  I feel like Jack and Kennedy were Collins and Sophia's age just yesterday.  They are growing up too fast.

Sophia is so excited to have a partner in crime.

Jack and Kennedy playing doctor

They took turn putting on the glasses.  Jack would take Kennedy's blood pressure and then show her the dial letting her know she has to take it easy:)

We tried out our new zoku ice pop machine.  Jack and Kennedy loved waking up and having fresh OJ popsicles for breakfast!

Collins is almost nine months. Sophia is 16 weeks.

Jack is still sleeping about 11 to 12 hrs per night and takes about a 2-3 hr nap during the day. He has been in a swim rescue class since mid-June.  We are making progress.  We mastered swimming to the wall and float.  Jack still loves playing with Herme but George has become more willing to play with Jack.  He lets Jack sit on his back, and ride him like a horse.  I think he realized he was missing out on a lot of attention.  

I am so blessed to have these two beautiful babies.  They make me take time to play each day.  Everyone tells me how fast they will grow up. Right now, I really do believe the kids are at the best ages but I thought that as we entered every new stage. 

Sophia @ 16 weeks.  Sophia is talking a lot of babby chat.  She is grabbing at everything.  When I eat dinner, many nights she sits on my lap because she wants to be part of the action.  She grabs at all of the bowls.  She actually grabbed a handful of green beans last night.  She is going to need to be patient because we aren't starting baby food until Daddy gets home 

One of our last visitors of the month was Margo!  It was so nice to see her, and for her to spend some time with the kids.  Margo and Jared are pregnant with their first baby, and we are so excited for them.  This was the first time since Sophia's birth that Margo saw her.

We had a great time with all of our visitors, and thank you all so much for coming to see us.  You have made us laugh and smile, and are keeping us occupied as we count down the days until Carl comes home.