Our Little Vacuum Cleaner

Our little Sophia turned 9 months old this week. How the time flies! She is having so much fun trying to keep up with everyone. She is very independent now. She loves to explore the house. We no longer need to vacuum or sweep the floor because she takes care of it for us! Just kidding--we sweep a couple of times a day, but she still manages to find something to put into her mouth.

Sophie has also started "singing." Her favorite songs are Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam and The Wheels on the Bus. She even likes to dance along when she sings--it elicits more of a reaction from her adoring fans. Jabbering is also a favorite pasttime. She can say her own little versions of "Da-Da," "Ra-Ra" (Rachel), "bbbbbb" (bottle.) The last couple of days she has learned to shake her head "No!"

Here's a picture of one of her favorite places to play--under her bouncy chair!

Finally, Sophia is trying to learn to stand up with the help of furniture. As a result, she has little bruises all over her forehead from falling into chairs and walls. Her latest bruise coordinates with her purple pants she's wearing today.

We're all happy that stranger anxiety and separation anxiety haven't set in, yet. Steve and I were even able to go out to dinner and to see Ocean's 13 last night while Sophia and the other kids stayed home with our friend, Barb Davis. Thanks Barb!

Ben's Birthday!

Today is Ben's 9th birthday. Happy Birthday Ben!

Since it is Sunday, we celebrated his birthday yesterday. It started off with breakfast in bed:

French toast, of course. Breakfast in bed is a funny tradition at our house, since the kids always wake up before the parents. So it involves sending the birthday kid back to bed while we make breakfast. But they love it, so we keep the tradition. All meals served on birthdays are done on the "red dishes."

Ben's birthday party was a skating party at Auburn Skate Connection. It was loud, noisy, and hot, but we didn't have to plan anything so it was great. Ben and his friends had a great time:

Tammy made Ben's cake. She went for a simple design that would appeal to a bunch of 9-year olds: Cake with candy on top.

It looks like Ben is having a great birthday weekend. We love having Ben in our family, there's nothing better in the whole world than a happy Ben.

Steven's year-end concert

Steven finished his first year of band this week, with a concert on Monday night. This was their second concert, they had one earlier in the year. It was a pleasure to see how much they've improved! Wow!

Steven plays the trombone, and his teacher decided to feature the trombone section with a special number. All 6 of them came to the front of the stage and played this song:


After Steven's 5th grade class performed, we stayed for the 6th and 7th grade bands. We're looking forward to next year when the band practices together every day.

Afterwards, we went to Ben & Jerry's (or, as Ben says, Me and Jerry's) for ice cream.
Great job, Steven. You did a great job this year!