pink or blue?

Here is a picture of Dennis when he was 6 months old. 

Pretty close to this picture of Zola at 7 months.

It's a good thing that Zola wears pink.

balloon party

When I asked Dennis what kind of party he wanted, he said a balloon party. And, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted he said a watermelon cake. So, I found a recipe for watermelon cake that tastes like watermelon! It even had real watermelon in it! It was too sweet for me but it was exactly what he wanted. 

We started with a game where they ran around with balloons attached to their ankle trying to pop each other's balloons.

They had a blast. Every balloon had a starburst inside.

Then we did a pinata that Dennis and I made (mostly me because Dennis didn't want to get his hands dirty). We were concerned that it wasn't going to be tough enough to break open. We were wrong. All the kids swung at it and not even a dent. So, I tried but only dented. Ryan had to hit it open and he broke the bat. I guess I know how to make really strong paper mache in only 1 day and 2 layers.

Some other games that we played were balloon rockets and we made yo-yo's. It was a fun time. Then we ate pizza and cake.

Dennis with his bestie Elloise. Good thing I had those balloons on top of the cake because it was too windy to light candles. I brought twice as many balloons but something happened to them between the car and the party. A special 4 year old was in charge of keeping them safe.

Then we opened presents!

It was a good time had by all and we ended exactly on time.

other birthday pics and vids

Dennis was so excited to have his birthday. Both Ryan and Dennis (mostly Ryan) couldn't wait to open presents so we did it in the morning. And, we were planning on going swimming in the afternoon but Dennis was too busy playing with all of his new toys that he kept saying, "after I finish this..." We never did finish playing. 

 Dennis got a new bike! He has to practice a lot in order to go without training wheels.

He was a happy boy.

all about z

Zola wore her booties that Nonnie made for her blessing day. They finally fit her! And they are sooo cute!

 ... and she is so cute!

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home...

 movin'.... backwards! It was so funny. She was stuck under the table for a long time with this huge smile. Eloise was over at our house and she was so concerned. "Um, Rita? Is Zola stuck?" "Um, Rita? Should we help Zola?" "Um, Rita?..." Yes, she is fine. She is learning how to move.

This post will contain videos so if you get this as an email you will need to go to my actual blog to see the videos. (i think at least)

I guess its been a while since I posted any videos of Zola because I now have quite a few to share.

I don't know when this video was taken but it sure is cute.


sept 6th- I was such a proud mama here. She surprised me and I caught the first time she pulled up on video! I guess this means that I have to move her crib down.


Sept 8th- She is starting to move backwards. She is trying to get her legs to work for her going forwards.



Aug 26th- This video was so funny. She would laugh at the dogs with this crazy sound. 


Gotta love this girl.

learning

The other day when I was cleaning the house, I heard Dennis saying exercise over and over. When I came in this is what he had written on his paper: XRS  And then he asked me what came next. He finished with this: XRSIS. Spelled out phonetically. I am a pretty proud mama. 

 He loves to create things at his craft table. Here is the masterpiece that he mailed to Nonnie and Kristen. You can see that he wrote their names on it. I love it that he wants to start writing.

 Life is really tough when you have to wake up to this smile every morning!

 I fulfilled one of my dreams... I took Dennis with me to the art museum and we set up our art stuff and drew. I saw a lady and her daughter doing this in France on my mission and I thought it was the coolest thing. So, we did it.

 Zola came along too.

 Everyday we have quiet time at our house. It helps us all keep sane. Dennis is allowed to read books or sit quietly on his bed. One day I found a huge pile of books. I doubt he read them.

dennis turned 4

Dennis had a day packed with all of his favorite things. We started off with donuts for breakfast.

 ... and ended it with cupcakes (frosted chocolate muffins) at night.

 Even Zola got to try some of the goodness.

happenings

Dennis, Zola and I met up with some friends (Stella &Trevor) at Eckert's apple farm to pick some delicious apples. Unfortunately, I was too focused on not carrying stuff that I locked my keys in the car. Yes, both sets - not that Ryan could have helped if he had one. So, Dennis went with his friends (and their mommies) to pick apples while I waited for the locksmith to drive out to the middle of nowhere and get me back into our car. It turned out ok. I didn't pay as much as I thought I would have to and I even tipped the guy.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos riding the trailer behind the tractor out to the trees. 

Dennis got to pick his own bag. 

 I think apple trees are so beautiful.

After we picked apples Dennis and Stella played together on their playground. 

eating free apples for lunch!

 Then Dennis decided that he wanted to pick more apples. I was ok with that since I didn't get to go. Good thing that we went out again because I noticed his picking tactics... picking off of the ground. After I checked his bag and yup we almost bought a whole bag of bad apples! haha. Good thing we fixed that and found 2 bags of good apples from the tree.

Ryan had a really busy rotation in August so the one day of church that he was able to come to he fell asleep with Zola in the hall. (this picture was taken by my friend)

 Zola sure loves her bath!

Instead of going out of town for Labor day weekend we decided to do some fun things in St. Louis that are on our bucket list before we move.  We went to the transportation museum.  It was really neat.

 yes, I was there too!

 We got to ride a train!

 Zola loved that part. The wind made her laugh and kick her legs.

A few of the cool cars that we saw

 first delivery truck.

 We spent a lot of time at the pool and the last day of swimming in the outdoor pool at the y was Labor day. Super fun. Dennis spends more time under the water than above. He even went down the lazy river by jumping up for a breath when he needed one.