North Carolina Part I

The kids and I headed to North Carolina on June 15.  It was my first time flying with all THREE kids by myself.  I was a little nervous, but Jonas was able to walk with us through security and to the gate, and help with trips to the bathroom and such pre-flight.  The flight was just fine, except for a squirmy baby, but it was easy enough to just nurse him the majority of the flight.  The girls were SUPER excited.  

 Pre-flight reading

Seeing faces we hadn't seen in a while was an adjustment for only Jonas Henry.  It look him a bit of time to warm up.

Some faces were scarier than others....

But the girls picked up right where they left off

It was really nice just to get into the regular day to day stuff.  We love spending time at Nana and Papa's!!!!

 Shucking corn with Nana

 Nana and her runaway rosemary

 Picking up sticks with Papa after a storm

 Even trips to Sam's.  Proof they do love each other!

Getting in snuggles with Nana

Relaxing on the porch

And this was just the first few days!!!

Strawberry Time!

Right before our trip to North Carolina, the strawberries came into season.  We went picking with our good friends and neighbors and had a nice time.  The strawberries were delicious, and the jam is amazing.  Lilah is quite the strawberry smasher and really enjoyed helping me out with the canning.  

Not a single berry made it into Emma's bucket.  The child probably ate two pounds of berries by herself. 

Lilah and Keira

Lilah is also a serious picker, I had to remind her it was okay to eat a few (for taste testing purposes...)

My sweet helper

Jonas Henry in Pictures

I just can't get enough of Jonas Henry's sweet little boy face.  He's so expressive and makes me laugh.  Here are just a few pictures that I can't stop looking at from yesterday.

 He loves to suck his top lip...  

What a pout! 

Today he was working on getting to toys out of reach.  He got stuck in the first position, balanced on his toes.  Ouch!

He hates being on his belly, so I was surprised to see he has some arm strength!

Emma

I worked this past weekend.  On Saturday when I came home, I went upstairs to change clothes before hugging the kids.  Emma followed me upstairs and into my closet.  When she saw the pile of clothes on the floor, she said, "Ugh (clicked her tongue)... daddy."  I asked her what, and she gestured to the pile, "Look what he did!"  I love how he gets blamed for most everything.  Makes me laugh.  

Emma is also in full defiance mode.  Everything I ask her to do gets a "No, YOU do it!!!"  When she gets frustrated she likes to throw things, and if there is nothing to throw she starts swinging.  Last week on several occasions when there was nothing to hit, she would pull down her pants and panties and throw them instead, shouting "I'm NOT going to wear panties!"  I sure hope that phase passes quickly!  

Day at the Lake

Our good friends have access to Lake Whatcom, so we joined them for a day at the beach this week.  Our warm days are slowly increasing in number, finally.  On this Tuesday it was in the low 70s!  

Lilah and Emma with their buddies (Asher, Lilah, Gabe, Emma, and Keira).

Date Night!

The middle school down the street was putting on Once Upon a Mattress the other night for free!  It was too late for us all to go (it didn't start until 7pm - kids' bedtime), but Lilah and Jonas went for a date night.  Lilah wanted to dress up pretty for her daddy and especially wanted to wear her bracelets and ring.  Jonas picked her roses from the garden, too.  It was very sweet and Lilah really had a great time.  (We need to set the bar high for future dates!)

Special Day

Jonas Henry was baptized Memorial Day weekend.  He worn the same gown that Lilah and Emma both wore for their baptism, along with many of the other grandkids on Jonas' side.  It was very sweet and a very special day.  We tried to get a family photo but we were not successful.  I was able to snap a cute photo of the kids though.  Emma is tough to photograph, as she rarely stops moving, but after thirty pictures or so, I got a non-blurry one with them all looking!

Lilah is always willing to pose with brother.

Then brother was through taking pictures.  So sad!