Lions, tigers and Mighty Mike!

Anna and John had their first zoo and aquarium visits in July. We took the babies to the zoo on the Fourth of July and met our friend Ryan and his mommy and daddy. It was a very hot day, so we went right when it opened and only stayed for a little while.

We were all really impressed with the Newport Aquarium, and Anna and John were excited to share this experience with their Pittsburgh cousins and family. The babies enjoyed looking at all the colorful fish and the big attraction was the giant 800 pound alligator named Mighty Mike! Most of all it was fun having our family over to our house to play! We love when family comes to visit :)

All the cousins!

The debut of the BOB stroller!



Tired out from the zoo!

Cooling off by the manitees!

9 Months

Anna and John turned 9 months on June 17th. They've become more mobile than ever this month. I like to call them my little rug bugs because they scuttle all around the rug crawling in all directions. Anna is such a fast crawler, it's quite impressive. John joined his sister crawling on all fours at the end of the month, on the 29th.

Along with crawling, Anna pulled up to standing (6-25) and cruises along the couch and anything else within her reach, including her brother's head! She's becoming more confident and bold everyday, yet she's very careful when she goes from standing to sitting. Some days Anna thinks she can stand all by herself, but she's not quite there yet.  Anna brought back "the raspberries" this month. This makes John laugh and then he joins in too.  Anna also discovered her full ability to scream, in delight or frustration, especially if her brother takes her toy! We have definitely seen stronger emotions from her this month.  Her dad nicknamed her "Annatude!" Her giggles and fun loving personality make us smile and keep us on our toes!

John pulls up to his knees, plants one foot on the ground and tries to stand, but he's not sure how to get from kneeling to standing. He really wants to do all the things Anna does and watches her every move.  It's so endearing to sit back and just watch the way John looks at Anna. He cracks up when she does something funny and always wants the toys she has and follows her lead. This could get him into trouble in the future!  John remains pretty laid back, but holds his toys close to him when his sister crawls nearby.  He is easy to share his big, open mouthed smile and has the most unique little giggle that always makes us smile. John even grew some more hair this month! We predict that John will be our sensitive little guy, and I think a momma's boy too :)

This month brought some other firsts as well. The babies went swimming at Aunt Jenny's neighborhood pool and also splashed around in Melody's pool during our Pittsburgh visit. They loved hanging out in their floaties and playing with toys in the water. They also went on their first swing at Nana and Pop's house. John had so much fun he fell asleep. That boy falls asleep whenenver there is any kind of motion!  The babies are also enjoying their finger foods. Their favorite is Cheerios! Anna loves cottage cheese, shredded cheese, diced peaches, and turkey. John is not as eager as his sister to eat these new foods.  Next month is sure to hold more firsts and accomplishments!! It is so much fun watching Anna and John discover their new world :)

Big girl

Pooltime with the cousins!

Baby Cousins!



 

An extra special visit with Meme!

We took a very special trip this week down the PA turnpike to see my grandmother, Meme. It was the first time she got to meet many of her great grandchildren. Meme had only met Amelia a few years ago. We went to visit her where she lives at Country Meadows and had to reserve the party room because there were so many of us!! It's safe to say, we pretty much took over and caused quite a stir. Aunt Kris and Zoe joined the visit. It was so great to see Meme and have her meet Anna and John for the very first time. We enjoyed catching up, having some snacks, taking a walk outside, and watching Meem hit the balloon. We learned that Meem is a champ at trivia and working the computer :)

We spent the evening at Aunt Kris and Uncle Hooper's house where many people enjoyed hard crabs from Baltimore, a special treat for all the Pittsburgh folks :) The older kids had a blast riding around the neighborhood in Uncle Hooper's ATV. Anna and John will have to wait a little while before getting on that ride. It really was a special visit getting to spend time with family that we don't get to see a lot anymore. Hopefully our next visit with each other will be sooner rather than later!

The Whole Gang- Almost! (Jenny, Abby, Amy, Anna, Meme, Zoe, Amelia, Don, Ethan, Mom, John, and Aunt Kris- dad was the photographer!)

Mom and Meme catching up

Anna loved talking to Meme and touching her sweater.

Cousin Amelia saying cheese! She was the only one ready for this pic.

John hanging out with Aunt Kris and Nana. He was getting a little heavy so Aunt Kris had to sit down:)

Go Meem! She was a champ hitting the balloon.

ATV rides with Uncle Hooper. The babies were a little too young for this wild ride, but Ethan, Amelia and Zoe had a blast.