New tricks!

Anna Kate has two new tricks that I caught on video yesterday afternoon. The first one you will see is her saying "hi" when someone says "hi" to her. Or maybe it's just baby excitement, but it's still cute! The second trick is giving five. We've been working on that for a while and she just started getting the hang of it this week! Enjoy!

Cousin videos!

Here are a couple videos of the little ones. The first is their very first few moments greeting each other. The second is of the babies swinging!

Cousins!

As I mentioned in my previous post, two of Anna Kate's cousins (Wesley and Cooper) came to visit so that they could be here for her dedication. It was so fun to get the babies together and watch them interact. I took over 100 pictures of the little ones, but here are some of my favorites!

Sweet swinging babies!

Such a big boy!

Mommies and our babies enjoying the fountain

The daddies wanted in on the photo shoot too!


Sunday afternoon, Sarah and I took the little ones to some antique shops downtown and found a courtyard with the sweetest bench and swing. We had to take some pictures!


Cooper taking care of his little cousin!


Sarah and Cooper

Patty and Anna Kate

Too sweet =)

And this is what the boys back home were doing while we were out! Wesley was sleeping too, but if any of you know Wesley, you know that if he's taking a good nap, you don't risk waking him up for a picture!

Here is an "action shot" of Wesley after he did wake up from nap...notice it's blurry...that's because he's fast. And I think the blanket was a superhero cape of some sort!


Thanks for coming, Sarah, Dustin, Wesley and Cooper! You're welcome here any time!

Anna Kate's dedication

Yesterday was a very special day in our family because we had Anna Kate's baby dedication at Malvern Hill Baptist Church. It was such a neat time where we were able to commit to raising her up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. We are also so thankful for a church family who has committed to supporting us in that huge task! In addition to our wonderful church family, many of our family members were able to come to be there for the service. Luke's parents and sister as well as my sister and her husband and two little boys were there to represent both sides of the family! Thank you so much for making the trip and to all those who couldn't be here, you were missed! Here are some pictures of our morning, and a video of a little bit of the dedication.

Organizing the nursery...

So, I have the hardest time cleaning/organizing/generally getting anything done in Anna Kate's room because I usually do all of my housework while she's sleeping...and I can't work in her room while she's sleeping. So her room is not usually the most neat room of the house, but today it just had to be done. So I set her in her crib (which had no sheets because I was washing them), and she didn't think that was very fun. But then I tossed in all the stuffed animals I could find and she thought it was hilarious! So...I had to take a break from working to take a cute picture! Enjoy!

A Day at the Zoo!

Anna Kate and I spent the morning at the Riverbanks Zoo with some good friends from church. We had a great time looking at all of the animals and enjoying a slightly less sweltering day than it has been lately! Anna Kate was so much more observant and excited about the animals than she was the last time we went, so that was really fun to watch. Here are some pictures of our day!

Both kids intently watching the flamingos

We fed the birds and boy did the little ones think that was fun!

Anna Kate loves tigers...real tigers, statues of tigers, Clemson Tigers...

Aren't they cute?

We had to take this picture because we took the exact same shot back when we went to the zoo at the end of March. Here's a link to that post: 1st trip to the zoo. It's hard to believe Anna Kate has changed so much in just a few months!

Anna Kate with the gorilla (6 months)

Anna Kate with the gorilla (2 months) - look at those skinny little legs!


I have never been so close to a giraffe before! He wasn't too pleased that I didn't have food for him either...

Speaking of food, Anna Kate needed a snack, so she enjoyed a chunk of a banana while strolling around the zoo...what a life!

I think it's safe to say that this was Anna Kate's favorite exhibit...she thought this monkey was hilarious!

The gorilla was pretty neat too! (Don't worry, there's a big piece of glass between the kids and the gorilla!)

We had a great day and are excited to go back sometime soon!

Do you see what I see?

I see a naughty little girl who is NOT sleeping during naptime! (Click on the pictures to make them bigger if you need to)