A Little Bit of July

In addition to baby food, Olivia has now begun drinking from a cup. She loves to hold it and rub it along her gums. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but I'm sure they will be coming in the next couple of months.
Owen has been building things like crazy. He has legos and these "pop-ems". He was very proud of this tower. He ran to find us after he finished building it.
Last Saturday, Owen began reading this book to Olivia. It was one of his favorites for the week, with the title of "Trash Trucks." It really was quite an annoying book, but every few pages it would just have the words, "Trash Trucks, Trash Trucks, Trash Trucks!" So, "trash" is now one of Owen's favorite words. He also loves to read any book with a truck in it, and as you can probably imagine, trash trucks are his favorite.

The two puppies are two of Owen's new favorite toys. He has had both puppies since he was a baby, but just recently has started playing with them and he has to have them by his side during story time at night. We have affectionately started calling the blue one, "Little Guy". The puppies like to sit in Olivia's swing and in her high chair. Sometimes they even get a drink of milk from Owen's cup.

It has been fun watching Owen use his imagination and start pretending to do things. He has a little horse figurine that he builds a house for every day, and today he put his blanket on him and said he was taking a "nat" (nap). He also pretends the horse is eating and drinking.

Another cool thing that Owen does is act out stories. For example, when I read that "dolphins jump in the waves", he gets off my lap, jumps around the living room and waves at the same time! Tonight I read a story that said, "My eyes are for seeing and crying" and he pretended to cry. He can also show you what a happy, mad, and sad face are!
We went swimming at a friend's pool, but all O wanted to do was mow. Shhh...don't tell him, but someone gave us a mower to give to him for his birthday! I can't wait to see his expression when he sees it!
Olivia loved the water, even when Owen splashed her! She didn't last long in her float, because in typical Olivia fashion, she preferred to be held! Look at those arm rolls and that dimple. Is she not the cutest girl?! :)

Not much else going on here...I am trying to decide what kind of cake to make for O's birthday and I'm tutoring 2x a week. Justin just photographed some friends and they turned out great! If you live in the Nashville area, and need some family or senior pics done, please go to his website: abeautifulmess.com. There is more info there. We will be in MI (Albion) in August, and if anyone at home needs some pictures done, give us a call!