Parade

On Thursday we celebrated Newton's 118th Old Soldier's Reunion Parade. Our house is located on the parade route so each year we host a party in our front yard and enjoy this fun slice of small town life.

One of our friends had a tent put up in the morning in our yard (this is serious business...) and Ben was running around saying "Party time! Party time!" all afternoon. Once everyone arrived and the parade was underway Ben became very serious and was studying everything. Mark thinks that Ben thought the parade was for him. The joys of being the center of the universe.

Clara had fun being passed around, smiling as she bounced lap to lap. Mark was king of the grill and Leah just made sure everyone was having a good time and something cold to drink.

We are so thankful for our friends here in Newton and that our family is surrounded by love...and Miss Jeannie's sticky buns, those are worth a visit out to see us on their own!

Kids

We had a fun weekend with Annette, Stella and Will visiting from Nashville. It was managed chaos at our house with four little ones eating, running, playing and sleeping...and excellent birth control!

Annette and Leah have been friends for over a decade. From working in Colorado together the summer of 95, to a blissful and carefree summer in Santa Barbara after that, to marriage, careers and mommyhood, we have watched each other change and grow in so many ways. It is always special to spend time with someone who just knows you and loves you anyway.

Saturday night we were blessed with a midnight thunderstorm like none other, it was three hours of non-stop thunder, light and pouring rain. It felt like the thunder was directly over our house. Ben slept through the whole thing. Clara slept with us, more for Leah's comfort than anything else.

Daddy, Baby, Mommy, Ben

Ben is a little guy who seems to thrive on order and routine (we have NO idea where that came from...). Throughout the day he checks in with Leah on where everyone in the family is and what they are doing. It is always the same order- Daddy, Baby, Mommy, Ben. When Leah answers, "Mommy is with Ben" he smiles the best and biggest smile. Those are the moments that make the daily grind all worth it.

Ben is talking non-stop (we have NO idea where that came from either...). Currently, he is in love with playing Thomas the Train. Ben goes around the house saying, "Thomas, Thomas" over and over. There is one little problem, it sounds like he is saying "Dumb A**"! Our babysitter even scolded him and asked him where he learned to say that before she realized that he was just asking to play choo choo.

Clara had her four month check-up this week and for those grandparents and such out there who want to know these things, she weighed in at 13 1/2 pounds and was 24 1/2 inches long. Our poor baby girl had to get three big shots and it made her fussy for the rest of the day. It reminded us of how un-fussy she is normally. Leah loved having an excuse to sit and rock and sing her funny little songs. Mark always looks for any excuse to spoil her rotten. We call him a smitten kitten.

Clara is trying to talk with us, she coos and laughs. She loves to be in the midst of everything and part of the action. Ben was so kicked back when he was her age but this girl is ready to move.

We received a wonderful surprise from David and Judy in Santa Fe. They overnighted a loaf of the best sourdough bread...ever. Ben was wearing his Santa Fe t-shirt that same day with coyotes on the front and we had been practicing our coyote howls all day. That night he was so excited to eat a piece of "Coyote Toast."

Just a collection of ordinary moments that make for a pretty wonderful life.

Four Months

Our sweet baby girl is already four months old. We are so glad she decided to come over a month early...it's that much more time we get with her. Clara is rolling over, pushing up on her arms, smiling, laughing, cooing and watching the world around her with interest and delight. Her favorite object of observation is her big brother Ben. No surprise, Ben enjoys having the audience.

Paul, Cully, Matt and Abby came through from Ohio on their way to a beach vacation on the Outer Banks. It was fun to have the cousins together and Ben still asks about Abby and Matt daily. What's wild to think about is that Matt was close to Ben's age at our wedding back in '99. Abby was a sweet little flower girl without a front tooth back then and now she is taller than Leah!

We are completely ready for the hot and humid days of summer to end. The entire family is covered in bug bites. We have had some spectacular thunder/lighting storms in the evening that are quite dramatic. One comfort is knowing that a beautiful fall is inching ever closer.