8,9 and 10 Months

At 8 Months, Sebastian was full steam ahead with his crawling and was pulling himself up on everything he could find!

At nine months, Sebastian cut his two bottom teeth.  He started to cruise along the furniture and anything else he could hold on to.  One of his favorite foods is green beans.  He weighed in at 19 lbs. and 1 ounce at his nine month check-up (25 percentile) and was 28 inches long (45th percentile).  His head circumference was in the 25th percentile as well. 

At ten months Sebastian continues to cruise so well that I wouldn't be surprised if he started walking tomorrow although I have no idea when that will actually happen.  He stands by himself for long periods of time.  He can wave bye-bye and he tries to clap in a very uncoodinated but, energetic way - it is really cute to watch!  He "talks" to us all day long but, we still can't make out what he says.  He loves his big sisters very much and they love him too!  Can't believe he will be one year old in two short months!!!

Bianca's Spring Gymanstics Olympiad

We couldn't be prouder of Bianca at her first gymnastics Olympiad!  To say it was chaotic would be an understatement; there were gymnasts everywhere!  But, we were able to see some of what the girls do during their classes.  Pictures aren't the best...a lot of them didn't turn out due to motion.  The ones that we do have are super cute though and Bianca even hammed it up for few.

Always have to stretch first...

Back bridge with one leg up.

Balance beam!

Sit-ups...yes, they start them early here!

So proud to be up on the platform receiving her medal.  We love you, Bianca!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful Daddy we know!  We spent the day relaxing and the girls gave him the gifts that they had made especially for him PLUS plane tickets to go to LA to visit friends the following weekend.  Dinner was Daddy's choice - sushi!   

Sebastian at 7 Months and a Family Picnic

He is seven months old TODAY so I'm sure he will change a lot this month but, as of this second he is:

*Sitting up well on his own

*Starting to crawl.  Just today I watched him belly crawl to reach his paci.  It was a short distance but, I guess it counts.

*Practicing for the real deal of crawling by getting up on all fours and either rocking or trying to hop.  He wants so badly to figure out how to move forward like that.

*Eating lots of baby food as well as finger foods such as Cheerios, cut up fruit, baby puffs, etc.  He loves fruit but, he also seems to really love green vegetables.  I'll blame that on Mark.

*Just a few days ago he was at the doctor and he weighed 17 lbs. 10 ounces and was 26.5 inches long.  

*He is still the sweetest, smiliest baby ever and casts a love spell over anyone that looks at him with his amazing smile. 



Up next... crawling!!!



Preschool Graduation and Ellia's First Dance Recital

Bianca finished her last day of preschool this past Friday, June 7.  She is no longer a "preschooler" but, a rising Kindergartener.  Don't ask me how this happened.  I can still picture her the first time I met her. 

She really enjoyed the year she spent at Calvary, she made new friends and had many wonderful teachers and special classes.  Her favorite class was always science and she looked forward to it every Tuesday.  Her best friend was Emily but, she loved all of the kids in her class.  She constantly spoke about Octonauts with her friends and I think she was able to get most of her classmates to play Octonauts with her on the playground every day.  Her teachers got such a big kick out of the things that she said and the way that she spoke.  She had to have conversations with each of the teachers before she officially started her day.  Each time she was rewarded with Treasure Box for good behavior or memorizing her bible verse, she thought of her sister and asked her teacher if she could choose something for Ellia too.  She is generous and always happy for others.  I am so excited for her to start Kindergarten and all that it will provide for her but, I am a little sad that one of my babies is moving up to the big leagues...

Bianca and Emily devised a plan to wear their matching outfits on the day of graduation. 

Bianca and Ms. Candi, whom informed me that Bianca was her favorite!

Ellia also had a special end of the year party too.  The plan was to picnic outside and then have a sprinkler party.  The weather didn't completely cooperate so we had a picnic indoors and then went outside for the water fun once the weather improved. 

Ellia enjoyed her first year of preschool more than I thought she would.  Her teachers, Miss Nancy and Miss Kris, adored her and I couldn't have chosen better teachers for her 2-year-old class if I tried.  She loved to call Miss Kris "Silly Miss Kris" and her best friend was Josie.  She was very proud of the fact that she also had some special classes (science and Spanish) like her big sister.  Her teachers always told me how well-behaved she was in class and what a nice friend and helper she was with the other students.  They were impressed with the things she said.  For instance, when one of the little boys spit in class, Ellia informed her teachers that it was actually called "saliva".  When asked where she would fly if she were a butterfuly she said, "South America to pet kitties".  She also told Miss Nancy the states that we drove through to get to Mimi and Poppy's house in the correct order when we arrived home from Spring Break.  She must be a little sponge because I always worry about the fact that I don't spend as much time "educating" her as I did Bianca!  We are excited to see what PreK-3 will bring!!!

Wednesday continued to be a busy day for us since it was also the night of Ellia's first dance recital.  To say the performance was comical is an understatement. Most of the little girls kind of just looked around, did some jumps half-way through the routine, skipped around in a circle and ended where there teachers told them to stand.  It really was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.  I am so proud of Ellia for having the courage to go on stage with an auditorium full of people.  She was proud of herself too!



Mark says she pouted the whole time onstage.  Here she is in the center.

Bianca was so proud of her little sister!

Bianca's official last day of school as a preschooler...





Georgia Aquarium

Our second road trip since moving to Charlotte was to Georgia to visit the aquarium.  After learning that it was the world's largest aquarium, I knew we needed to go.  Bianca, my little marine biologist, was blown away by the whale sharks and beluga whales among other things.  The girls were able to touch so many sea creatures like sharks, rays, sea anemones, sea stars, sea urchins, etc.  After a full day at the aquarium, we took the kids on a horse-drawn carriage ride (even though I felt bad for the horse).  Add in some delicious meals which included a bison burger joint owned by Ted Turner and an authentic southern restaurant and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend.  The kids were so well behaved and Sebastian was a breeze to travel with.  Hope they keep this behavior up for our next trip!

Bianca and her new dolphin that she named "Pearl".

Our horse, "Tiny".

I love the look on the girls faces as we rode around the downtown area.