8 months, 8 days old

Alaina rolls over, though not much. She can sit unassisted. No teeth. No crawling. Eats and loves all sorts of solids (so different from her sister). Likes tummy kisses, baths, Lizzie, banging spoons on the table, and when I pretend to drop her.

She rolls her wrists when she gets excited. She reaches for us (I love this) and is exhibiting signs of stranger anxiety (I do not love this).

Lainey has become VERY LOUD. The first six months she was very mellow and very quiet. Then, she started babbling "mamamama," "dadadada," and "babababa." She doesn't babble as much now. Now she just yells. Loudly.

Laines still likes playing with her feet, plastic bottles, paper, and kirkland wipes cases. She also wants to put everything in her mouth. Alaina can grab little baby treats, but doesn't try to put them in her mouth (but you know if she picked up a penny or a marble she'd eat it immediately).

Great Wolf Lodge

We spent Monday and Tuesday at Great Wolf Lodge with our friends, the Pomeroys. It was VERY FUN. Totally worth the money (if you go on a weekday during the school year when it is more affordable). I highly recommend it.Below is a shot of the HUGE indoor waterpark. I loved that I didn't have to worry about sunscreen for Alaina, that the slides were fun for grown-ups, and that there was an endless supply of clean, dry towels.

Liz had a lot of fun. She wasn't big on the slides (especially after I traumatized her by forcing her onto a group ride), but she really liked the wave pool.

Alaina had fun splashing around with everyone. She also napped a lot.

Drew was a trooper. He went in the water (slowly) and even on all the slides. I'm so glad he was able to participate despite his injury.

-----------------------------The submerged cast------------------------------

We took turns taking care of the kids so we could go on slides adults-only or on our own (I went on tons). It was just one of the benefits of going with another family. Another benefit was group meals. One morning we (Sharon) even made breakfast sandwiches for us by cooking eggs and bacon in the microwave.

The second day Drew and Alaina napped together a lot. Cute.

There were a bazillion ways to spend additional money at Great Wolf: airbrush tattoos, spas for grownups and kids, MagiQuest, Croc embellishments, and a video arcade. Kids could also make stuffed animals, jewelry, lotion or decorate t-shirts & flipflops, among other things. We did none of these extra things. We did, however, do the free craft at the kid's club (rainbow wands).

While in Williamsburg we met up with some friends (Dyckmans and Snows) for dinner at Pierce's PITT Bar-B-Que. It was recommended by many people and it was delicious. We liked the food so much that we ate there twice. We also went to Sno-To-Go for Stuffed Snoballs (icecream and sno cone slush). Yum.Sarah got a shot of Liz, Taryn, and Ethan--three of the original four babysitting co-op kids. I can't believe how big they've gotten.

Okay, so this is a video of me attempting the "Flow Rider." As soon as Andrew saw it he said, "I want to see you try that. I want to film you." Later he laughingly said, "That was awesome! I so hoped you'd turf it and you did!" He also let me know that if I did not post it myself, he would. So, here it is:

Williamsburg

We spent Monday morning in Colonial Williamsburg. I have so many memories tied up in this place. I first visited with my parents and my brother, Scott, when I was just 10 years old. I went again as a newlywed (one month) with Andrew and his internship program.

Finally, we went with my parents for my graduation dinner when I finished grad school. That was also the weekend I told my parents about my second pregnancy. Needless to say, I thought of all these times when I was there early this week. I especially thought of Jacob and how excited and hopeful we were this time roughly two years ago.

America's Next Top Model

As I left for the Family History Center tonight I jokingly told Andrew, "Don't watch America's Next Top Model without me." (Not surprisingly, he is NOT into that show.)

Liz overheard and got upset and said not to watch it WITHOUT her because she likes it.

Yes, I let her watch parts of two episodes with me and her favorite contestant is "the one with big eyes." Andrew was displeased.

So, as I was walking out the door this evening I could hear Drew explaining to Lizzie that even though she likes that the girls in the show are pretty and wear fancy clothes, she cannot watch it because it promotes "a distorted image of women" and so on. Sorry Drew.

Our 4 Day Weekend Ends

Our four day weekend has ended. So sad. Drew's back to work and I'm trying to get our house put back together. But, it was fun while it lasted. Here's how we started our fun weekend at the Air and Space museum (had to take advantage of handicap parking while we can):Speaking of handicap parking, it was so great to show up to Stake Conference 10 minutes late and still get a spot in the church parking lot!

Liz signed some poster that's going up to space in the fall.

Yeah, she's happy.

Swimsuits

So, tonight I went and bought a couple swimsuits at the outlet mall. I was feeling pretty good about my purchases until I went to H&M and saw the cutest black sequined bikini. How I miss those days. . . .

Friday!

I am SO glad it is the weekend (well, almost is at least).

Before Drew and I had kids I'd feel guilty if we slept in. "It's 11 a.m. and we are not out of bed! We've wasted the whole morning! We could have done so many things!" Crazy, I know.

Then, we had Liz and I missed those lazy, sleep-in-Saturdays. Then, she got old enough for us to just turn on some cartoons for her and go back to bed which was almost as nice as not waking up in the first place.

Then, we had Alaina. Now we have to wake up to feed and diaper, but we still try to stay in bed as long as possible. We just let the girls (and their toys) join us.

The following are from Saturday and Sunday mornings and Sunday afternoons. I'm really looking forward to more of this in the next couple days. . . .

On an unrelated note: This morning we heard super-enthusiastic Lizzie exclaim from her room that her new lamp was, "so cool I almost cried."