Look Who's 7 Months Old!

Uh... I forgot to post pictures of when Brooks was 6 months, so here's one of those for you, too:

But as of yesterday, Big Man is SEVEN MONTHS OLD! 

He's getting cuter every day.

His favorite things include his big sisters, chewing on everything that gets even remotely close to his mouth, getting tickled, and Mommy. :)  He likes Daddy, too, but Daddy doesn't provide milk nearly as well...

Speaking of milk, Brooks has had an array of skin issues.  He's been to the dermatologist twice, but his skin just continues to be crazy.  So, in a HUGE labor of love, I will be giving up dairy for at least the next month, to see if it makes any difference.  If  you know me, this is going to be rough.  I'd say that roughly 98% of my diet is currently cheese (note: ever so slight exaggeration).  Pray for me, people.  Pray hard.

And to close this post, check out my newest attempts at photoediting.  Still very amateurish, but cool, huh? :)

Impromptu Pool Date!

 We had a spontaneous pool date with the cousins at the Seiferts' yesterday. 

Noelle claimed the boat early on...

... and spent, no joke, an hour lounging around.

Riley very timidly allowed herself to be placed here for roughly 30 seconds.  She'll get braver.  (Right?)

Brooks and Haley hung out because that's how they roll (ha! get it?!).

Thanks for letting us play, fambly!  We had a blast!

And I'm Off to the Races Again

 Thanks to James and Katie, we discovered a new fun thing to do with the kiddos: go to the races!

Yesterday, we headed to Arlington Racecourse to see the "horseys."  (How do you spell horseys? horsies?)

Well-well was up and down the stairs dozens of time.  Seriously, the girls has unlimited energy!  I don't know how those little legs kept going!

Riley loved watching the races.

And Noelle went down to see the horses displayed before each race.  Her favorite was Braid, who talked to her as he was walking past.

Our cool box!

Even Brooks enjoyed it! 

It's not free, but it's totally worth it for a special day!

Clubhouse

We made a new clubhouse from the monster shipment of diapers we got this weekend! 

It's complete with a windowsill, so you can put your apple pies (or apples) out to cool...

... or you can spy on suspicious neighbors...

... or just be as cute as can be. :)

Zoo #2

The whole family got to go back to Brookfield on Saturday, even Mike!  And to make it even better, Grandma and Papa and the whole Walton clan were there, too!

We started on the carousel.  Noelle and I were having a rockin' good time on the coyote, which, no joke, she looked at and said, "I want to go on the coyote!"  Really?  You know what a coyote is?!  (Okay, yes, I think it's actually a wolf, but still...)

Riley chose the flamingo, Ben the grasshopper (praying mantis?) and Hannah the panda.

Then we went to see the sea lions and seals.  

This rock was pretty fun to climb on.  Of course it was.  

Later on, we went to the children's area.  It was pretty neat, and not just because it was indoors and warm on this rainy Saturday.  The kids got to pet Patches...

 

...paint...

...and water flowers.

 

 

 

Brooks got to snuggle with Grandma.

 And the "big kids" got to relax.  This first pic is for Heather Pentecost, by the way. :)

Work it.

Riley is sporting this little number this morning.  I left her in her room to get dressed, and when she came out, Mike just happened to be home.  Isaid to him, "I didn't realize how, uh, tight that outfit is." 

He replied, "She's workin' it."  Riley looked at him and matter-of-factly stated, "Yes.  That's what Riley's do.  They work it."  This will, no doubt, be the best conversation I hear all day.

Yesterday, Noelle got her hands on a pair of Riley's new kicks and decided to take them for a turn.

We also found a new meaning for the phrase "tummy time."  The girls loved showing Daddy their "pretty" tummies (note the make-up brush) when he got home from work.

 And this guy?  He's awesome.  'Nuff said.