floating creativity facts

We are finally feeling like we are in a groove. I am starting to enjoy being an at home mom and Dennis is getting used to having me around. We do lots of fun stuff. One day I took Dennis and his bestie, Eloise to the botanical gardens. It ended up being quite the experience and workout when I lost my phone and I trecked us all back to the gardens in search for it. Luckily, it was found. 

 besties in the climatron

 They have this really cool exhibit where you learn about chinese culture. We had so much fun.

 Dennis is quite the artist. Here he painted shells and a picture. The shells are lined up along the side of the table. I LOVE kid paint and how easy it is to clean up. Thank you crayola.

 It was time for Dennis to cut off his surfer do. I loved the long wavy hair but it was getting to be too hard to keep up. So, we are going to start over. But for fun, as I was cutting it, I took pics to see what he would look like with a mullet. yuck. Mullets looked way better on my brother in the 80's.

 And here he is with his fresh hair cut. He sure is a handsome boy. He is growing up so fast. He looks so much different than just 6 months ago.

 I think that Dennis makes the coolest things. I was cleaning off his craft table and I found this gem. He traced his hand and then cut it out (there are cuts in between every finger) and then he taped it to the piece of paper. When I told him how cool I thought it was he told me that it was a piano and you could play it by pushing on the fingers. pretty cute.

 Here is a package for Jude. It has his name written on it.

 Here is one for Eloise. It has her name on it and Dennis' name on it.

 This one just has Dennis with some extra o's.

BIG NEWS: Yesterday we went to the pool and as I was holding Zola in the shallow end... barely paying attention to Dennis, I looked up and there he was floating on his back!!!! He did it about 7 times. He floats really well. I was so excited! I think everyone in the park knew about it because I was yelling pretty loud.

FACTS: We went to the zoo yesterday as well and found out some very interesting facts. Did you know that a Giraffe can see a person move 1 mile away! That is so far! and there was a gazelle of some sort in the same field as the giraffe and it can go its whole life without drinking! I was blown away. Once again- everyone around me also found out because I was so shocked I couldn't keep it in. Yes, I am the obnoxious parent that my kids are going to be so embarrassed to be around. haha.

shocked

I am totally shocked that Dennis' marble run has lasted this long. The gears and motors still work and we have all the pieces... even the maps of example runs to make. This one is from the map. 

 I am also totally shocked that Zola and I were up 3 times during the night last night. She was cutting her second tooth. It seemed that nothing was working to help ease the pain and I couldn't find a pacifier anywhere... so I was the pacifier last night. She normally sleeps through the night without any problems.

 She seems way happier than me this morning. ugh.

 ... way happier...

 She will chew on anything she can find these days and my fingers no longer like it- this morning it was a pole that got drenched.

Zola had her 6 month check up at 6.5 months and here are her stats:

height- 26.5" (56%)
weight-15 lb 9.5 oz (31%)
Head- 17.52" (90%)

Yes, she has a big head. We are totally thrilled with her stats... it looks like maybe she took after the Kannas' with her growth since the Funks typically grow really slow and are barely on the charts.

Besides the fact that I didn't get any sleep last night, She is so much fun. She never took a pacifier when she was a baby but she has liked them lately because they feel really good to chew on. It is also nice that she can hold it and put it in her own mouth as long as she can reach it. She has little desire to roll or scoot yet. She is figuring out how to maneuver a little with her walker. She likes to kick her leg when nursing. She has really shown a preference for her mommy especially when she doesn't feel good. She starts to whine if I walk away and she wants to be held. She gets excited when daddy comes home. When she hears his voice her eyes get big and she looks for him. She always has big grins for him. My mom always said that girls like little things and I can already tell that this is the case with Zola. Her favorite thing to play with/ chew on is my necklace that has teeny pendants on it. She uses her fingers to pick up each little piece. She doesn't like loud noises or being startled. She is still very sensitive and will cry if something might have hurt or startled her... but not ever for very long... and its more of a whine than a cry. Boy do I love this girl.

these days...

We were on our way to music makers and Dennis grabbed himself a snack! Tomatoes floating in a bag of water. Love it. 

 When Dennis gets to do his hair... it turns out like this.

 McFly?

 Zola is sitting up so well these days!

 I just think this kid is so handsome! (and a little silly)

Here is his latest creation/invention. He has made a "thing that blows your hair." It is a leash that attaches the antennae of the radio to a kitchen spoon that is also hooked to his airplane fan. If you push the button the propeller goes around and is a fan.

 Zola loves to sit.

 Here is Zola reading with her daddy.

cutting teeth.

Zola was pretty fussy on Sunday and for good reason! Her first tooth popped through! She has been drooling like crazy and always biting on something for weeks now. Yay for Zola she did it! It is her bottom left center tooth. You can kind of see it in this picture. 

And just so that you know I wasn't torturing her in the previous picture, this is what she looked like right after I took out the brush. 

 Here is Dennis with his crazy hair. cggggdhf6r8u6ew7w3764895r99r58r4578w48w78u73. He has a big bump on his fore head that happened while he was crossing a pillow bridge from the couch to the coffee table. The pillow did not support his weight and his head crashed into the table. Some lessons are hard to learn.

We also figured out how to make those milk mustaches on the advertisements. You just have to drink an orange julius. We love those... "put something great inside you and feel great!"

back in the lou

 Aug 3rd-

 Aug 4th- Zola tried rice cereal for the first time! She sure liked it.

 Aug 6th- We planted some watermelon seeds this year because it turned out last year and Grandma gave Dennis some new seeds to try. He planted them one day and months later this is what we have! Probably our most proud item this year.

 We also planted cantaloupe even though we didn't have any room for it. The rabbits loved the sweet tasting plants so they all died... or so we thought. This beauty showed up in our cucumbers.

 It smells good.

 Dennis loves to sew. I give him a needle and a piece of fabric and he makes a ball of fabric... every time. He is really good at not pricking himself. It only took once or twice and then he learned.
                                     

 Can you believe it!!! Our cantaloupe was so delicious- One of the best I have ever had.

 ...and our watermelon was ripe!!! yipee. It was also delicious.

Aug 10th- We went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day. High of 85. Zola dazzled everyone with her smile.

 After wanting to ride the train his whole life, Dennis finally got to ride it!

 We love our zoo.

 Zola got to try peas. And, she loved them. She still doesn't quite know what to do with her tongue and she sometimes gags on them because of the consistency... but she likes them.

It is so good to be back in the swing of things. Weird to think I would already be back at work for a week. I am so glad that I am not.