TJ at 8, 9, 10 & 11 months!

As we approach TJ's first birthday (!) I wanted to post pictures of his growth over the past few months. He's a big boy! He's been in the 90th - 100th percentile in height and weight at all his baby well check ups.

He isn't walking yet, but we suspect that will come very soon. He's standing up, cruising along furniture, pushing walker toys and starting to show interest in stepping out on his own. I suspect it'll be another month or so before he walks on his own, but who knows! He works on his own timeline, which is great by us. :)

Here are some pictures!

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July festivities began last Wednesday when we met up with our friends, the Klemm family, on a trip to the Nationals Ballpark. Miller loves spending time with "Little Abby" (as not to confuse her with Aunt Abby!) and Griffin. And we, of course, love spending time with Kerri, Aaron and both their sweet kids.

It was a hot day, and while we were fortunate to get seats in the club section (part of which is air conditioned), that didn't keep our little guys from getting pretty sweaty! So we spent a good part of the game indoors, eating ice cream and watching through the window.

We were able to keep the kids awake and decently behaved long enough for the fireworks, which was definitely worth the wait. Here are some pictures:

The bottom right corner is from last summer!

 

Friday morning we packed up the kids and Winston and headed to the Eastern Shore to spend a couple of days with my dad and Marcine ("Pops & Ciney").

On the 4th we went to Chelsea's in-law's house for a bar-b-que. We had a great time, the boys played with their cousin Alaina and we enjoyed some great food. The wind that day was intense, making it difficult to spend much time outside and cancelling most of the fireworks plans for the evening. We still managed some outdoor time - but the water was definitely too rough for any boat rides though.

Chillin with cousin Alaina!

On Saturday though, the weather was PERFECT!! We spent the morning in Easton and then in St. Michael's (the boy's first trip there!). The afternoon was spent at the pool and then on a boat ride to the Jetty where we grabbed a couple drinks and the boys played in the sand box. It was a great day, and the boys slept hard that night!

Camp BaStone

A few weeks ago Renzi and LeeAnne hosted us, Mom, and the California Stones (Grant, Brooke & their two boys) at their lake house in Oklahoma. Actually, they arranged for each family to have their own house - all three right in a row - which gave everyone plenty of beds and extra space.

In total we had six boys, ages 10 months to 6 years old, though the 4 boys in the middle are all 2 and 3 years old. It was a little bit chaotic!! But it was also a lot of fun.

There was a lot of fishing, fire fly catching, boating, swimming, baseball playing and eating (always eating!!). Here are some pictures of the week, it was a wonderful trip and we are so grateful everyone could get together.

Boat time!

 

Just Hanging Out!

PJ Time with Uncle Diddy

Lighting the lanterns - there's a good story here, ask Ren or Dave :)

 

 

Breakfast with Nana!

 Lake Day!

Nana jumped right in!

Jackson photo bomb!

Family Pictures!

Tulsa Day!

Um, Mom, there's a shark coming

Feeding the stingrays

TJ's Baptism & Mother's Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend! We scheduled TJ's baptism for Mother's Day primarily because it was the first available baptism weekend at our church that we were both in town. But it turned out to be a very appropriate day for it, as my Mom was able to join us from Oklahoma. It also worked out well for my brother, Ren, who had meetings in DC the Thursday before already scheduled. The rest of the Oklahoma Stones - Lee Anne, Walker & Jackson (or as Miller calls them "Wee-Anne, My Walker and My Jackson) - flew in on Friday to join for the weekend as well.

Mom and I spent a wonderful afternoon together on Thursday, doing a little Mother's Day lunch and pampering. That evening we attended a Duke Women's get together in McLean where we saw several of my friends and met lots of really nice ladies across many classes.

Friday night, Dave's sister Abby and her friend James were incredibly brave and offered to babysit all the kids so we could go out to an adults dinner. The boys loved them and everyone had a great time. We're so fortunate to have them nearby!

Saturday the whole gang went to the zoo. It was such a fun time and great weather. We got to see elephants, monkeys, otters, seals, etc. But probably the most fun sightings were the new baby lion cubs who had just gone on exhibit the day before! We got to watch them wrestle and run around. Then, we got to see the new baby panda bear - Bao Bao - hanging out in a tree (Jackson is the one that spotted her!).

We then went for a swim at Ren & Lee's hotel.

Sunday was the baptism. TJ did great. He slept through most of the ceremony, just waking when the water was splashed on his head. But he didn't cry, he just looked up at the minister (John Yates).

Big brother Miller, on the other hand, caused a bit of a scene! He decided early in the program that he wanted to go down to see Pops (my dad). I finally let him go, then once he was off the stage (after loudly telling Pops that "Miller man can do it by myself!"), he changed his mind and started crying hysterically for me. Eventually they let him get back up on the stage and I held him the rest of the ceremony. Luckily, he was one cute kiddo in his seersucker blazer, so I think all was forgiven by the congregation.

There are pictures elsewhere of the whole group - my Dad and Marcine, her son Kevin, all the kids, etc. I'll try to track those down and add them soon.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend. We are so blessed!

Love,
Ginny