Look Out World: He's on the Move!!!

Dante has moves!!! And they are gettin' quicker!!! Pretty soon, he's going to be running full steam ahead, as I think he is like his daddy, and crawling just isn't quick enough! He is incredibly strong too! He is pulling himself up on all sorts of things (bassinets, people, couches, etc), jumps up and down while he is held until you feel as though your arms might fall off (though his arms and legs are still full of energy) and holds on tight while daddy lifts him off the floor while Dante holds on to James' thumbs with his own strong little hands(check out the video below)!

And through it all, there is is that wonderful, beautiful smile of his...and his laughter can melt your heart!

And now we will pause briefly for our Public Saftey Announcement, courtesy of Gramma Cindy:

Never let children under 3-4 years of age play with rubber balloons!...

You know, do as we say, not as we do!

And, now, back to the little man in action:

The Big Four-Oh

Um...I turned 40 last August and didn't get a necklace like this for my birthday!...Just sayin'!

Happy birthday, Tomo!

Dear Teagan

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Ava and Lori left WA for home today...a sad day for us, but Seattle didn't match the mood: it was utterly beautiful as we made a quick detour into the city on our way to the airport. The sun was shining, the water was sparkling, and the air was warm. It was a delightful last afternoon to Ava's summer trip!

You can see the Cascades in the distance~still with snow on their tops.

 We had lunch at one of my favorite Seattle Restaurants: The Pink Door

Look at that clear blue sky!!!

Even Mt Rainer obliged us by being "out" today

(not that the Mtn isn't always there, but it

is often shrouded in clouds and not visible...

a Washingtonian saying is that the "mountain is out"

when it is actually visible!

We'll miss you, Miss Ava, and can't wait til your next visit!!!!

Lip-Smackin' Good

Everyone say, "Frosting!"

Celebrating 12 Years of Joy

We were blessed this year to have Ava actually with us on her birthday day. In addition to lunch out when her Mimi arrived, we also had a little family get together a couple days later.

Mom and I were so happy to be able to host it~making the most of our new backyard...the kids played outside, we all ate dinner out there, and later that evening Van showed off his baseball skills going one-on-one against his dad!

Mimi Lori got to Dante for the first time.

 Later, Dante was able to crawl around in the grass for the first time. He has really started getting around~and quickly at that!

Ava spent some quality time with each of her cousins since she was leaving to go home to CA in just a couple days...

Balloons!!!

Dante kept trying to catch a balloon and they kept bouncing away~much to his chagrin!

Mom made carnitas for dinner~our house smelled incredible for 2 days as she slow cooked the pork!

Gifts

We gave Ava funky socks and a couple packs of gum for her gift~she was cute 'cuz she was excited about them...but more so when we told her to check the insidesof the socks, where she discovered a necklace, bracelet, earrings, and a ring. But it was cute that she would have been happy with socks and gum!

Tiff, Mike, and Teagan gave her two of her favorite things: clothes and a gift card!! What girl doesn't like that?!



Tom, Shelah, and Van special ordered her clothing and other items from the local baseball team, the Aquasox: she went to a game with them and later declared the Aquasox  to be in her top 5 favorite teams list!

Are we sensing a them here? Money, clothes, and jewelry!

But the best part was the card that Van made to go with the gift: Shelah said he labored over it for hours and he was so proud of it! He was almost jumping out of his skin with excitement when she got to their gift!

How cute was Van? And Teagan's reaction was so cute!

While we were doing gifts, Teagan went inside by herself~we later learned what she was doing. I had told her we would do cupcakes after dinner and after gifts. The gifts being nearly done, she took it upon herself to go inside to fetch the cupcakes, which were (fortunately) still in a container. Of course, being shorter than the counter the cupcakes were stacked on, did make her task difficult...she was doing ok til she got caught and got flustered and dropped everything!

No worries! The cupcakes survived and candles were lit, song sung, wishes made, and flames blown out:

Yummy Fun!!!



Ava, my love, you have grown into a lovely young woman and I am so very blessed to know you and have you in my life.

I love you!

~Auntie M