baby signs

Now that Aubri is 10 months old we figured we would introduce her to the same baby signs we taught the boys when they were little. For about the last 3 weeks we have been working on the "more" sign with her. We model it and help her tiny little hands make the sign. Much to our delight, two days ago she starting doing this sign on her own. What a joy it is to have this one word she can effectively communicate. We will continue to work on that sign and now it is time to move on to another...maybe "eat" will come next.

redbirds ride

Boys' Night Out

For Father's Day I got Rayden 3 tickets to the Memphis Redbirds game for last night. He took the boys to their first baseball game ever. It was perfect because they sell lawn tickets for five bucks and there is a kids play area if they get bored. I don't think they took in much baseball, but they played lots of games and rode some rides. Rayden said he had a blast and that the boys loved it. Nathan won two stuffed animals by playing games and Rayden was able to win Kaleb a snake so that he didn't go home empty handed. All in all, it was the perfect first baseball game.

the bravery continues...

After dinner we decided to all go for a swim together...man I love having a pool! The boys decided that it would be loads of fun to have their daddy throw them into the water. Squeals of delight were heard throughout the neighborhood! As I watched and took pictures I thought back to my own childhood...the hours and hours we spent in the pool....how exhausted my own daddy must have been from throwing us and doing Nestea Plunges and Shiskabobs...and then I thought about the time my dad threw my baby brother so high in the air that when he hit the water his floaties popped off. I was brought back to "real time" when that exact thing happened to my sweet little Nathan. Rayden swiftly rescued him and Nathan's only commentary was, "daddy, now do an even gianter one!" What courageous little men God has given me.

Photographing a princess

Does it get any sweeter than this???

Wacky Wednesday

I was looking through some old pictures on the computer (it's the curse of a digital camera...you have a million pictures but they are all stuck on the computer) when I found this little gem! It is from before I started blogging, but I couldn't resist adding it on here...something this cute is just begging to be seen! One of the last weeks of preschool this year they termed "Wacky Wednesday." As you can see...Kaleb was totally into it. He's such a little ham...wonder where he gets that from....his daddy, perhaps!?

Grand Opening!

This weekend was the grand opening of a new Toys R Us near our house. I don't know if we are gluttons for punishment or what, but we decided to check it out. It really wasn't that bad...crowded yes..but the boys loved all the extra stuff they had going on. They even had the sherrif's department there checking people's car seats to be sure they were installed properly. They made a few changes to our seats and that makes me feel even safer. There were two main highlights to the day...

1. The boys met firemen! They also got to "drive" a real firetruck. It was so sweet...each of the boys walked over to the table where the firemen were sitting and they said, "thanks for being firemen." They each got a pat on the head and a smile.

2. They got to meet Geoffry the Giraffe...ToysRUs mascot extroidinaire! (sp?) What a great time they had getting and giving hugs and high fives!

Summer Victories!

Huge strides were made today in the Hollis house. Well, I guess technically they were made in the backyard! Kaleb has been so brave all summer to jump in the pool from anywhere. He even backs up about 30 feet and gets a running start before flinging himself headlong into the water. Nathan, however, has been perfectly content to enter the water slowly...never getting his head wet...never jumping or being thrown...very mannerly. We have tried to encourage him to jump in..."Jesus will help you be brave!" I cheer from the sidelines. His response is a very emphatic, "I am NOT brave...I do NOT think this is a good idea for me." Today, something changed. The circumstances were the same as always...we slathered sunscreen all over ourselves and bounded out the door ready for a morning of soaking in the sun. About 20 minutes went by...then...my little man said, "Today, I am going to win the brave man trophy." I was unaware that there even was such a thing...but perhaps I need to go to the store and find one because Nathan surely deserves it. He walked to the edge...took a deep breath...and jumped right in! No one caught him, no one held his hand...he was an independent jumper! And, as you can see by the video...by the end and of the day he was a pro. He was jumping off the top...not an ounce of fear in his eyes. I am so proud! He certainly does win the brave man trophy today!

A day at the park

My good friend, Jenny, told us about a park near our house that has some "misters" that squirt water out to cool you down as you run and play. I was interested immediately because it is already creeping up toward 100 degrees here. We put the swimsuits on the kids and headed out. It was a lot of fun. The boys climbed....Rayden egged them on towards dangerous tasks...and I sat praying that I would not find myself in an ER later that afternoon. The boys are proving to be very adventuresome and also very tough. While sweet little Aubri crawls her way around the world exploring and laughing at all the things her brothers do.

It's been a big week!

What a week our little girl has had! It started with a visit to the doctor for her 9 month well-baby visit. Everything seemed to be on track. She weighs 20 pounds which puts her in the 75th percentile. Her length is in the 25th percentile. She is exactly where Kaleb was when he was her age. She looks just like his baby pictures...except she's in dresses and has an oh-so-cute girliness! She did have an ear infection, though, that I knew nothing about. How about that....no fever...no fussing...no nothing. How am I supposed to know if this little angel of mine needs a doctor. She's tough. The doctor asked if she had any teeth and I said no. The doctor then asked if she was crawling and I said no. But then I told her that I figured both these things would happened within the next few days. I figure that my kids hold out on these significant milestones until I "freak out" at the doctor. Then the next day they seem to perform these tasks as though they could do them all along...they just want to make me look like a fool at the doctor's office. Well, this situation was no different. Here we are just 6 days after the doctor's visit and Aubri has her two front bottom teeth and she can now crawl. As if that weren't enough she also decided to pull herself up all the way to standing. This is all happening to fast. Rayden had to move the crib down to its lowest level so she wouldn't topple out of it. Yes...there were tears involved...and they were all mine. This little lady has had quite a week. I am anxious to see what next week holds!

Cutie booty!

It's hot hot hot here in Memphis so we are spending most of our time in the pool. The boys go back and forth between the swingset and the pool for hours at a time. Their favorite thing to do is to get a running start and dive onto their swings and go back and forth on their bellies. After a few rounds, though, Nathan's suit starts to droop. It doesn't seem to slow him down any. He is bound and determined to keep up with big brother Kaleb. They are so precious!