Another 4 wheel picture

This looks totally unsafe, but the entire ride lasted maybe 50 feet at a crawling pace with Patrick hanging on tightly to Daddy's shirt. Lucy doesn't seem to be as enthused as Patrick...

8 months old!

Time just flies -- Lucy was 8 months old last week. She is doing so many new things, I can hardly remember them all. She is starting to transition to the floor from sitting and trying to get her knees underneath her hips. Also with help, she can pull up to stand at the coffee table or Patrick's bed and bangs her hands. She loves being pulled in Patrick's red wagon and waves like she is royalty -- only crying when we pause too long. Lucy claps all the time, she is such a ham. She is eating more and more table food, loving diced fruit and graham crackers along with mac n cheese and red potatoes. She says da-da and ma-ma, and is in the process of cutting her first two bottom teeth. Her hair is getting thicker and longer, starting to curl and still keeping some of her red. We've been able to get some barrettes in and it looks so darn cute!

More John Deere

I just found these pictures of Brian and Patrick at the Posey County Tractor Show a couple of weekends back and just had to share them. Better late than never :) This picture is classic Patrick -- see how he is right by the hitch? That is how he classifies vehicles - the presence or absence of a hitch. What a funny guy. Lucy and I stayed home and the boys had a great time.

Apples, apples, and more apples!

We lost the top of our apple tree in that nasty wind last week. Actually, it was a good thing, because it allowed us to pick the apples that we never are able to get to. I believe the boys filled aroudn 25 gallons worth of buckets. Which is crazy, we will never eat that much. Patrick just loves to wander back there, pluck an apple off a lower branch, and dig in. Usually he eats a couple of bites and throws the rest "to the birds". Apparently our birds like any and all leftover food.

After baths..

After baths, Patrick decided he wanted to "hold baby girl". I snapped this photo before he decided she was "too heavy". They do pretty well in the bath together, as long as Patrick abides by the rule of "small splashes only".

Daddy's girl

This little girl has her Daddy wrapped so tight around her finger. But can you blame him?

Amazonia!

Today we visited the Mesker Park Zoo and experienced a sneak preview of the new $13 million dollar exhibit, Amazonia. The official opening is August 4th, so we felt pretty fortunate to beat the crowds and be one of the first to see the exhibit we have been waiting to visit for several months. It was so, well, AMAZING! Some of the new animals were the howler monkeys and a jaguar, along with several animals we didn't even recognize. They really did a nice job, it's top quality. The entrance has been moved and they have added new concessions and a gift shop. Patrick LOVES the zoo. We have a membership and it is the BEST $49 we have spent in entertainment -- we are there weekly when the weather allows. His favorites are the "big 'nake" and the "doats". We even fed the "doats" crackers today! Check out the slideshow for more awesome pictures!

John Deere

We borrowed a John Deere for Kids DVD from the library and, needless to say, we were so very sad to have to return it. Patrick really isn't interested in TV in the sense that he will sit and attend to a 30 min program, or even a 5 min program. But he watched the entire 40 min tractor DVD....multiple times. And so did Daddy. I hope I can get the theme song out of my head. He enjoyed it so much that we found it online and purchased it for him - what a fun surprise this will be next week!