18 months with videos

Zola is 18 months now. It is amazing how fast she has grown up. She has been a total delight for our family. Zola loves to give kisses and has just learned how to pucker. She is quick to say that she is sorry with a hug and kiss even if it was her that was hurt and Dennis that should be saying sorry.



She loves to dance and will stop any activity to dance if there is music. She has a job of throwing away her diaper after she is changed but just recently she has been resisting and throwing it on the floor. It doesn't take much of a mad or sad look before she gives you a hug and puts it in the garbage. She loves to put the dogs in their crates. She will chase them and yell at them while pointing at their crates. She will go back and forth between them and the crate all the while trying to convince them that they should. They never listen. But when she finds Buster already in the crate and she gets to close the door, she is happy as a tick. Sometimes she must be talking in her head because she does all of the hand motions and facial expressions but all that comes out of her mouth is a little ststs. It seems like you are watching a video on mute because it is so dynamic but silent. You can see a little bit of that in the beginning of this next video. It is hard to capture on tape.



She loves to do what mommy is doing. In these next videos she was washing the wallpaper glue off of the wall with me. She also loves to fold laundry, weed, and do dishes.





Zola loves a thrill. Her favorite is when you lift the swing up so high before letting go that it gives her a drop in her stomach. She will be asking for you to do it again before it even swings twice. She taps the swing on the bar in between her legs where I lift from to let me know what she wants. She is getting to know her body parts. She loves to point out eyes, ears, nose, mouth and belly button. She still loves shoes. She is a good eater. Her favorite thing to eat for breakfast is shredded wheat. She doesn't like sweet peppers yet. We will keep on trying since we eat them often. She has two favorite books that she asks for at least once every night- "chugga chugga choo choo" and "my first book of math"

words that she can say:
-please
-thank you
-help me
-up me
-milk
-swing
-mommy
-daddy
-dennis
-grandma
-grandpa
-buster
-bruno
-doggy
-shoes
-food

all about Dennis with some videos

Dennis is so fun to be around. He is a clever boy with a sense of humor. These days he has been playing non stop with his friend Braden. He looks forward to having more friends once school starts.





Some things he said:

D: Dad, if we had a cat we could bring it to the pool!
R: Why?
D: because it could swim in the kitty pool.
_

R: Why did heavenly father give us bodies?
D: So that our heads don't sit on our legs.

We sure love him.

our life

Here is a before picture of the raspberries.

Here is an after I weeded picture of the raspberries.

 We went to the cabin for the 4th of July. We had a great time. I only got these two shots of our trip. oops.

 Our backyard before we put up the fence...

 At grandma's house with James. They love each other.

 I love rhubarb! We packaged a bunch to freeze. We also love the fact that grandma can come and visit whenever she wants!

 Zola is undressing herself. Thankfully, this has not happened more than this once.

 Zola loves her swing.

The entire raspberry patch. We get so many raspberries. We will have to start freezing them. We eat at least a pint a day. 

 Daddy decided to improve my knot tying job and Zola wasn't happy. Dennis loves climbing trees. He can climb up the fireman pole at the playground with just his arms. He is one strong kid.

 Here is my garden. I weeded a ton and still have weeding to go. But it is coming along.

One of the flowers that I planted was a poppy. He died. :( 

camp

Dennis got to go to soccer camp and basketball camp. He loved it. It was so fun to see him play.

 Zola really enjoyed watching too.

 I love Dennis' new laugh. He scrunches his nose and covers his mouth.

Our new house!!!

Here are a few pictures of our house... We are taking down wallpaper and siding and making it our own. We love the layout, the space, and the ceiling. We love the neighborhood. I didn't actually think that I would love being in a small town at the end of a cul de sac but I honestly love it. My kids are happy and my dogs are happy.

We will take more pictures once everything is in place. We are loving our house. seriously. LOVE.

the last of our stay at Grandma's

playing with chalk on the sidewalk turned into faces full of chalk. I couldn't convince Zola that chalk wasn't eye makeup. 

 We found our belly button! ... and we love it!

Playing war with grandma. 

Zola loves watermelon! She had many pieces. She also loves grandma. 

 Dennis playing with Kevin before he moved to Texas. :( They sure had a good time playing together. We will miss them.

 spaghetti face! This girl knows how to eat!

Diva at the pool. Both of my kids LOVE the water.

 Here is her grumpy face...

 Playing mommy...

 ...and playing tea party.

Thank you mom and dad for letting us crash at your place. It was long and hard and we are really grateful for your support.

cabin trip June 13th ish

Zola loving her shoes. She tried on Grandpa's. I love her face here... it looks like she is getting older.

We had a huge cement truck come and pour a slab for our outdoor patio.

Dennis watched every step. 

Everyone LOVES the sauna. 

Zola wanted a bucket like mommy. She tried to use it to pour water on her head but it didn't work out too well. 

 Pouring water on their heads.

Dennis is getting so big! He wanted to enjoy the sauna like mommy too. 

 Zola went swimming in the really cold water. I left her sweater on to keep the mosquitoes away. She went right up to her neck.

 There was no keeping her out of the water. She never just sat on the dock because she wanted to be in the water.

We sure love the cabin.