Daniel- 8 months

Daniel LOVES his jumper. I have several kids who hated it but not Daniel. He could jump for hours it seems. On this particular day I think I left him in it a little too long! :-)

Daniel recently began eating food. So far he has had sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, applesauce and peaches. He likes everything except the peas... just like his mom.

I was beginning to wonder if Daniel would every have any teeth. Yesterday I saw the first bottom tooth beginning to come through.

Daniel - 6 months

Photo Update

The beach provided a great backdrop for pictures of the children. I'll try to post a new picture of Daniel soon.

We Are Home

We've been back in Tennessee for a couple of months now. The boxes have been unpacked, school began, vacation was enjoyed and life is beginning to return to normal. Or at least as normal as life can be with a house full of 8 kids! :-)

We spent our vacation on Topsail Island. It is off the North Carolina coast. Brian and I are both NC natives and tend to spend our vacation time on the less-crowded, family-friendly beaches you can find there. I asked Brian if we could get an ocean-front house this year (as we had outgrown the condos we usually stay in). I must say I think it was our favorite beach vacation ever (despite some problems with our van). Having the beach right out our front door was amazing. I had a complete ocean view from my seat at the dining table. We all enjoyed sitting on the deck in the mornings watching the gulls, pelicans and searching for porpoises.

I was afraid the kids would miss having a pool, but they really enjoyed the ocean this year. They spent many hours picking up shells, taking walks, riding the waves and playing in the sand. We also watched lots of tennis (the U.S. Open), played games, worked puzzles, read books and just enjoyed uninterrupted family time.

Taking a Break

Well it's moving week once again. Time to pack the boxes, unplug the computer, load the van, clean the house and move our family and belongings back to TN. Lord willing, we will begin our 16 hour drive next Monday (July 20th). We plan on making stops in Baton Rouge and Birmingham before arriving in Kingsport on the evening of the 22nd. We are looking forward to the end result but not the process of getting there. Pray that all will go well with the move and our travels.

Since we are moving (again) and will be starting school shortly after getting settled, I am taking a break from my blog for awhile. If you haven't done so already, visit my friend Kimberly at Raising Olives or one of these Top 100 Homeschool Blogs. Hopefully I'll post again in late August.

Three Months Old

Daniel turned 3 months last week. He can smile, laugh and coo. He is even sleeping 11 hours at night. (Yes, I feel like a new woman!) He found his thumb. I love watching him suck his thumb. He doesn't know what to do with the rest of his fingers, so he puts them across his nose. So sweet!

Happy Birthday Will!

Our energetic, full of laughter, baseball playing, Hardy Boy reading, animal loving son turned six on June 30th. Will played t-ball for the Tampa Bay Rays this spring, so we celebrated his birthday with a Rays theme.

He chose the often requested cheeseburger meal and a chocolate cake with Blue Bell caramel turtle fudge ice cream. (Blue Bell is a locally made ice cream we enjoy very much. We are excited to know it is now available in TN!)

He received a Better Batter Baseball and a knights and castle felt set from his grandparents. Brian and I gave him a set of Star Wars books, an I Spy book, an UT t-shirt (that would be the University of Tennessee, not Texas) and some more animals for his collection. Once again his siblings enjoyed making gifts. One sister made a secret message decoder while another made stickers for various professional and college sports teams.

(Sorry my pictures don't fit with the text. My computer has stopped cooperating. I don't know why they won't move where I want them to go. I'm giving up for now.)