showing off his head control and some other stuff

i know i am partial being he's my baby, but look how handsome he is!

hilina looking too grown up

saida stuck in the bumbo

lots of kisses for judah

lots of kisses for little j from Anna Thomas on Vimeo.

saturday was just perfect here so we decided to picnic with the aplins and their grandma moonpie in the park. the babies were quiet and the girls were happy to be in the grass so it was a beautiful afternoon. there was even a baRack obama rally in the park with a gigantic flag for the kids to run around under and on top of. they really loved it. judah, of course, slept. i swear he isn't always asleep, but he doesn't smile at the big camera, only my camera phone which i think is because he can see his reflection in it. i'll upload the pictures from my phone soon so you can see how smiley and giggly he is. but he did sleep through the night last night - from 7pm to 6am! i hope it wasn't just a fluke. he usually wakes up around 430 to eat and go back to sleep which is great, but it would be freaking awesome if he just let go of that. Lord knows he's big enough.
Also, we dug out Saida's walker/pushing thingymabob for hilina and she used it to walk across the living room and back!!!! so crazy to see how much she has learned in just a week! she's just cruising everywhere.

multi-tasking.



hilina, a giant flag, and wind do not mix

conquered.

susannah, putting the moves on judah AND playing hard to get at the same time. truly a feat for someone so young.

happy days

i've been calling judah "little j" and yes i know it's from gossip girl, the most scandalously horrible wonderful show that i love so so much. here again is my sweet little j.

molly and alana came over on monday bringing the holy gifts of doughnuts and great company. alana and her husband are adopting from ethiopia as well, and in the grueling paper chase stage. soon soon they will have their little babies to smooch.


sometimes i think you could take a picture of hilina's nostril and it would be stunning. she is simply so beautiful to me.

being a good big sister

someone got into the baby powder. it was everywhere but she was having so much fun i couldn't even get mad.

guess who's crawling?!?!?!?!!!

beach week II

sam and judah

what do you do when there are 40mph winds outside? you play with the rafts inside

fun in the hammock

hilina's first time in the ocean

jumping over waves

the girls with their new hero, aiden

uncle sammy

these two are inseparable

"and this guy was the first guy to ever record the song i played you last night!" "really poppop?"

aiden and ivy (also known as mini ben and amanda)

lounging

listening for the ocean

aiden takes the girls for a ride in the boat

"and that song i played you last night, that guy is from richmond." "really poppop? wow!"

saida's first cinnamon danish

goo goo gaga

nightly dance party

flock of seagulls

just pitiful

me and the liny bottoms

saida trying to steal gaga's shades

too many monkeys jumping on the bed!

beach week I

my sweet babies

mama's girl

i hate to keep belaboring this point, but last year at beach week we had NO kids. the picture on the right of us in blue? that was a year ago. do we look older? more sleep deprived? more responsible?

the whole family

guess who preferred sand to water?

ben keeps taking these birds eye view shots of me and judah, but i swear we're not always laying down

lesson on how to use a baby to conceal your muffin top

we joke about hilina being a daddy's girl but he just eats it up!

attack of the hungry seagulls

saida's first time putting her feet in the ocean! she loved it and eventually kept running into the water every time we set her down.

view from the porch