Faces

Here's a few recent pictures I have of Mead that show her beautiful face. I think all of them are taken compliments of Laine.

Botanical Gardens

Almost every evening Laine asks, "Mommy, what do we get to do tomorrow?" And then I get the same question in the morning, "Mommy, what do we get to do today?" Laine loves activity, and St. Louis is a great place to find plenty to do.

Today she suggested going to the botanical gardens, and I agreed with her - a beautiful fall day, no plans, enjoying the outdoors - what's not to love?


Laine has been a bit camera shy lately - or maybe she's been too busy to stop for the camera. Either way, I haven't gotten many good pictures of her in the past few weeks. Today was still a bit of a challenge, but I got some on the fly.


And of course the girls didn't want to sit for one together. Here's the best I came up with!

Twirling ribbons, digging in the sand, climbing, sliding, playing, snacking, walking - all in all it was a great morning.

Worn out

Three days a week Mead and I have the morning to ourselves to do whatever we want. Laine is in school and the baby is in my belly. It is this way for a total of about two months. So I've tried to take Mead places to enjoy herself to her heart's content before we are homebound again with a new nap schedule.

Last week I took Mead to the Magic House for a special early opening. She had a wonderful time calling the shots without having to follow big sister around. We also got free breakfast, which she promptly dumped all over the front of her shirt! Needless to say, by the time we got home at 11:30 she was wiped out. A few winks on the couch and she was ready to go again though. I've enjoyed our special mornings together!

Final days of summer

We got the baby pool out this weekend, maybe for the last time this year. The girls loved it, as usual, even though the water was a little cooler than they were used to.

Hard to believe fall is about to begin, but this summer has been so hot we're ready for a break in the weather.


So glad we can enjoy the simple things in the comfort of our own backyard!

35 weeks

This Sunday marks 5 weeks from my due date. I went to the doctor today and everything looked good. The baby's head is down and I'm measuring on track. I've been having more intense Braxton Hicks recently, so I asked the doctor about that. He said that I probably just need to drink more fluids. He gently reminded me, "Since you carried both your girls to full term it is highly unlikely that this baby will come early." Ooh, I needed to hear that! I'm starting to feel ready, but I need to be patient and not get too ahead of the calendar.

Books, books, books!

It's official... Mead is obsessed with books. I think it's the first word that comes out of her mouth in the morning and the last word she says at night.

I discovered her in the playroom the other day in total book bliss! Here's to many happy hours of reading with you, Mead.

Homemade cornhole game

Last year we attended a "family fun night" at the church and made the boards and beanbags for cornhole game. Then it sat in our garage for a long time needing to be painted and finished. Well, Penny became inspired a few weeks ago and completed the project. He did an awesome job!

He hand drew and painted the Cardinals logos on each board. Then he painted the blue background and sealed it with a clear topcoat. They really turned out nice, and it's been fun to play in our yard and with friends already. In fact, Penny brought it with him this week on the Fellows retreat, so they got to break it in too.


Daddy gave Laine a lesson on how to play. She gets to scoot up until her arms get stronger!

Meanwhile Mead got bored and came inside for a break. This is what I found her doing when I came in to check on her - just chillin' with a snack!

Sunday afternoon fun

The weather has finally turned comfortable again. This Sunday after church the girls and I decided to enjoy the day and play outside for a while.

Laine rode her tricycle up and down the driveway while Mead followed behind her. Then Mead took a turn but wasn't very successful. The trike become more of a place to rest.

Laine took this picture. Not bad, huh?

Playground fun

Tonight we had a Fellows picnic - the first time the Fellows all gathered together, along with others from the church involved in the program: host families, mentors, board members, etc.

The girls and I arrived a few minutes early to play on the playground while Penny was finishing setting up. I managed to snap a few shots before the evening got too busy.

Mead loves the slide these days, static electricity and all!

And Laine could swing all afternoon.

A self-photo. More on the Fellows to come...

Budding photographer

Despite the fact that all these pictures are of Mead, this post is actually about Laine. You see, Laine took these pictures.

She has recently shown interest in using our camera, and she's gotten several decent shots. We've also had plenty of silly shots of our TV, couch, the back of Mead's head, etc. but, all in all, she's done a good job with the camera.


I did crop these pictures a little bit, but she did all the original work. Maybe if I come across a cheap digital camera one day I'll let her have more access to using it.