our growing-up little girl

Sophie walked in our room the other morning and had put this little sweater on. We both commented on how old she looked and had to get some pictures. Plus we just think she's beautiful (:

Excuse the messy, unmade bed. It probably got made at some point after these pictures. Well, maybe.

And, showing off how she brushes her teeth all by herself these days (and actually does a pretty good job!)

playing at the park

It was nice this morning (for a little bit) so we headed to the park to play. All Sophie really wanted to do was swing, which is nice because Jackson loves swinging these days as well.

then the wind picked up which I seem to have captured in this picture (:

movie night

The other night we actually had nothing "planned" to do so we told Sophie it was movie night. I had rented her a new Dora movie and she was so excited to watch it. While she sat and watched it, Jackson was busy playing with Bailey and trying his hardest to get himself to move forward (he's only mastered scooting himself backwards).

this was Sophie during the movie...I don't think she hardly moved

trying to figure out this crawling business

taking a break

chilling with Bailey

Bailey is SO good with the kids...she's getting old though; I think they wear her out (:

other pictures from the weekend

Here are a random assortment of pictures from the rest of the weekend.  Be sure to scroll down (if you have time!) to see all the other updated posts.  There has been a lot to write about!

I had to work Monday morning so they did actually make it to the zoo (:

Other things that happened...

showing off her new staying in the line (mostly) coloring skills

being silly

baking

taking a break on the kitchen floor...

"now I'm a wedding girl"

...exactly what Sophie said after putting Becca's ring on.  Oh boy!

more celebrating!

The surprises didn't stop there...we then had people meeting us at Maxwells to help them celebrate. Brian knew (his idea) but Becca sure didn't.  It was fun to watch her get excited as people showed up.  

future brothers-in-law 

I love this picture...the kids were fantastic that night!

the usual greeting when people showed up  (:

After Maxwells, some people came over to our house where we had a fire and sheesha.  Did I forget to mention that we set a new record on this day for the coldest high on this date EVER?!  It was a bit chilly! 

There was still one surprise left for Saturday.  I had a made an appointment for her at the place where I had bought my wedding dress. I knew she wanted to buy one up here (no sales tax!) and I knew we were the ones she would want to be with (my mom, Janna, and I) so it seemed like it would be fun, even if it was just to try on dresses.  It was so fun. We had the BEST consultant there by far. And, of course, the second dress she tries on is perfect.  It was the right size, style, everything.  She was breathtaking in it and it was the perfect price.  So she was able to check one big thing off her list!   Here's a glimpse of the happy future bride...you couldn't wipe that smile off her face if you tried when she had this dress on.  

That night we had a triple date night while my mom watched the kids. It was a blast and had lots of laughs!

(FYI - Mike is NOT passed out...Janna just told him to move forward so she could see Robby, he just went a little extreme :)

engagement weekend

After a couple weeks of planning with my sister's boyfriend, Brian, my baby sister is now engaged!  It was such a fun night (and weekend!).  She had absolutely NO idea.  He wasn't supposed to be able to come up for the weekend, but he flew in Friday morning and then we drove around Como Park (one of my sister's favorite places of all time) until we found a spot he wanted to pop the question.  We lured her there by telling her there was a special event at the zoo, and I decided at the "last minute" to stop by this waterfall to take some 7 month pictures of Jackson.  She fell for it all.  As we're walking up to this waterfall, Brian is walking down the hill towards us.  I watched Becca the whole time and it was so fun to watch her process the whole thing.  She even said to us "I think that guy looks like Brian." It was too great.  

this is the moment of realization that Brian was actually walking towards her (this is right after she quickly handed off Sophie to my mom!)

watching from a distance

the big moment! (and, yes, I did have Brian's permission to take pictures!)

one of the many, many adorable hugging pictures

the "I"m engaged" dance with Sophie

talking to my dad on the phone...this seriously was the only moment of sunshine the entire day. It didn't last long but it was pretty meaningful to Becca as she felt it was one of closest friends ever, Dan, who died suddenly a few years ago, shining down on her...quite a moment

showing off the new bling!

and, of course, some pictures by the lake

all the ladies that helped...janna, me, becca, and our mom

7 months

Would someone please tell me where my baby went? I somehow now have this little boy who seems to think he wants to be on the move but hasn't quite figured it out yet.  It's been a busy month of getting a new tooth (still...it's taking FOREVER to finish coming in), growing lots of cute blond hair, and laughing and smiling 95% of the time.  He's sleeping like a champ these days and takes nice long naps during the day. He's just switched from 3 to 2 naps which is a little easier to schedule things around.  He still adores Sophie and watches everything she does!  And yes, this picture was taken today and he is wearing long sleeves (and another onesie underneath it), pants, socks, and shoes.  It was a bit chilly today.  We even set a new record for the lowest high...62 degrees. It is July, right?!

crazy man

this is how most of our mornings start...

friends

Last weekend while at the cabin, our friends from church who moved up north near the cabin, came over to hang out.  Their daughter, Rosemary, is a few months older than Sophie and it was so fun to watch them play together.  We're looking forward to more fun times with them when we are up north!