Arrrrrrr, Matey!

This week we had VBS at our church. The theme was "Pirates of the Mystery," and we had a great time. Mom watched Mackenzie each night so that I could help out in the craft room, and Matt was one of the big stars of the week. He played First Mate Tidbit in all the dramas, and the kids just thought he was hilarious. Last night we dressed up Kenz as a little pirate. She was adorable, of course. Today Mackenzie, Mom and I are flying out to Colorado. Matt is driving out in a week to visit, and then we will drive back. We are so excited! But Grandma, if you are reading this, we are really sad that you aren't coming. Maybe we can still figure out a way for you to get out this week! Anyway, we can't wait to see everybody, just pray for our flight...

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Mackenzie Faith! We Love You!

The Other Baby

I think Greyson likes having a baby around the house. He especially seems to enjoy her leftover sweet potatoes.

The Girls This Week

Top: Kenzie giving mommy a BIG kiss.
Middle: Kenz reaching for her new favorite toy - the red block.
Bottom: Grandma is here!

Catching Bubbles

Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles!

Rollin' Around

Kenz is starting to figure out that she can actually get somewhere by rolling. Yesterday she rolled three or four times until she ran into the chair. I can also somewhat confidently say that she is sleeping through the night - at least for now! We moved her crib into her room about a week ago, which helped a lot. The first night we let her fuss for a while, since she didn't seem to be really serious about it. The next night she woke up and was only up for about 15 minutes. Ever since then, she will wake up for a few minutes in the middle of the night, but can put herself back to sleep. It is wonderful! She is still enjoying her new foods, which now include rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and, as of tonight, avacados (much to her grandpa's disdain), although she is still more excited about her sippy cup than she is about the food.

Books, Sweet Potatoes, and Other Exciting Things

Top: Mackenzie enjoying her new book.

Middle: I think she likes sweet potatoes! We got the camera all ready for her first bite, thinking she would make a funny face, but all we got was a big grin! This is her first "real" food, aside from cereal.

Bottom: She is getting so strong that now when she is on her tummy she lifts up her chest and also pushes up her legs. We are just waiting for her to do both at the same time!

Buddies

Mackenzie watching her "Praise Baby" video with her favorite toy, Greyson.

Kisses

Kenzie giving daddy a kiss.

Sitting Up

What a big girl!

Musical Baby

Mackenzie and Daddy love playing guitar together. She actually loves any kind of music, and especially likes it when people sing to her.

Sippy Cups and Sore Gums

Below are some pictures of Mackenzie with her new sippy cup. She amazed us because she has had a total of maybe 5 bottles in her entire life, but somehow she knew that the spout was supposed to go in her mouth (her grandma wasn't suprised since she has always known how brilliant she is). Now she enjoys playing with it/drinking from it, and gets very agitated if she drops it from the table, and fusses until someone gets it for her. Even better than the whole cup is the rubber spout, which pops out. She loves chewing on it, and so far is the best thing we've found for her to soothe her gums as the pediatrician has informed us that she has "several" teeth coming in.

Kenzie's New Sippy Cup

Chowing Down

We started Mackenzie on cereal a few days ago after several weeks of her grabbing anything and everything off the table that she could get her hands on. She seems to like it, but I think what she really likes is "helping" feed herself. We let her sit on the table in her bumbo seat while we are eating, and lately she has started copying us while we are chewing. It is the funniest thing to watch her - she stares at us while we take a bite, and then she moves her mouth up and down like she is eating, too.

Little Fish

We are back home after spending a week in Iowa at a camp where Matt was speaking. After the camp ended on Friday we went out to lunch with our good friends Bryce and Brenda, and then drove to Osage Beach where we stayed the night in a hotel. These are some pictures of Mackenzie swimming for the first time! She really seemed to enjoy the pool and copied Matt when he showed her how to hit the water and splash.
The other big news is that we signed a contract on our house in Illinois after agreeing on an offer last week. As long as everything goes as planned, we should have a closing date in the next few weeks!