Lily

It's official: Lily is mobile. She scoots around on her tummy pretty much wherever she wants to go. She DESPERATELY wants to crawl--gets up on all fours (feet AND hands) and just rocks back and forth. Sometimes she even puts her head down and it looks like she's going to do a somersault!
Ollie isn't quite ready for Lily to be moving. That means he has to pick up the toys he doesn't want to be chewed up. But he does love to have her play with him. Those two just laugh at each other! It's so funny.
Here's a short clip of Lily starting to move:



And yes, she's playing with minced onion.

Don't call me for your wedding...

So, my friend Amanda persuaded me to take a cake decorating class this July. It happened to be half off normal price, and several of my good friends were taking it, so I decided it could be really fun. After missing the first night, I was really afraid I would be VERY behind.
I read through the manual and talked several times with the other girls who HAD gone, and finally had a good idea of what I was supposed to be doing and have ready for Monday's class. It sounded a little overwhelming though...see those roses on the cover? Yeah, supposedly I'd learn to make those!

I started with a simple cake, frosted it (using the buttercream frosting) and brought it, along with my bag o' supplies, to my first class.
That part went pretty well. Once I got there and tried making roses, I almost quit. First of all, we had to have 3 different consistencies of frosting (mine were all basically the same, I think), and then we started off with the roses! My waxed paper wouldn't even stay on my rose holder...but finally, after trying several times to change my consistency, it started to take shape better. Mine still ended up looking like globs of frosting, but you could definitely see a faint rose shape appearing.

Our project during class (after failing at the roses) was to decorate our cake using the star shapes. I decided, since it was Joel and I's anniversary, that I'd try to do something relating to that. Here's what I finished in class:
And yesterday, I finally got the rest done. I didn't leave much room for writing, so that doesn't look the best. I have learned so much though, in the one class I went to--I'm looking forward to trying more things! But please don't call me for a wedding, unless you'd like a plain cake with nothing but star shapes--those I can do! :-)


Oh, and yesterday I had so many tomatoes and green beans ready, that I decided to try to can them. I think it worked! The lids sealed, and it all looks fine...so hopefully we won't get sick eating them. But if we ever miss work or church unexpectedly...you may want to give us a call.

Dear Joel...

It's been 7 years since we vowed to love each other our entire lives. I was so excited and terrified at the same time.
I'd never met anyone like you. We sang in the car together, did homework together (aka, me writing your literature papers), spent so much time together. And sometimes I had a tough time figuring you out. Because you are who you are. All the time. (I don't always get that...I like to put on a 'face'.)

But you made me laugh, made me think, made me be honest with myself (especially when I didn't want to be.) You forgave easily. You laughed a lot. You loved people for who they were.
I'm so thankful God has given us 7 incredible years. I love you more than when we first got married. Thank you for graciously allowing me to make MANY mistakes as I learn how to love you first, not myself. You have helped me draw closer to the Lord in so many ways. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful, godly man to grow old with.

Our wedding verse:
"Delight yourselves in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

(Oh yeah, thanks for not letting me break up with you for a 3rd time. You were right.)

Further Evidence...

That we are INDEED raising a boy.

1. Everything is explained according to the sound it makes. And yes, there is a distinct difference in the sound Daddy's "loud" truck makes, and the sound his "work" truck makes. Just ask Ollie.

2. Ollie has two 'riding' toys. One is his "bike", the other is his "motorcycle". And you better not mix up which is which.

3. Sticks, no matter how 'stick-like' they look to me, are distinct weapons and tools. Ollie has specific sticks he's found that are: a shooter, a cutter, a sprayer, and a fishing pole.

4. He is very into driving. In fact, most of the time, Ollie offers to drive for us. We politely explain that 'we'll drive today'. Luckily, he can use a pedal with just about anything. Here is a picture of him playing Uno while standing on his "pedal" (an Uno card).

5. Each morning, FIRST THING, he wants to get dressed. Not just shirt and shorts, mind you--but shirt, shorts, socks, underwear, tennis shoes (his "cleats") and a baseball cap. Because he either has a "baseball game" or is "going to work with my Daddy". And he'll say, "Mommy, you come to my game and cheer for me."

All boy.

New Things

Two new things that Ollie is enjoying this summer are:

Eating corn on the cob
Playing Uno.

He's really picked up on this game well--and LOVES it! We play it at least a couple times a day. He'll sure fit in well now at our Smith family gatherings!!!

And for Lily? Well, now that she's 6 months old...
She is loving even more food...
And has started playing with (AKA eating) her doll. So cute!
Oh, and she got two teeth this past week! Still too small to see well, but they should be more visible soon!

Uff-da

This is how Ollie woke up this morning, and it hasn't gotten any better. Any diagnoses?

Precious Shoes

These adorable shoes are Lily's. She's finally in the last few weeks had feet big enough to wear them! I absolutely love them. But not because they're so cute.

My friend Jess, (Cora's mommy) gave them to Lily when she was born. I was so excited for them to fit Lily. They were special already, just because they were from the Macs.

But even more, Cora wore shoes like this. And every time I see them, I STILL think of sweet baby Cora.
It's hard to believe it's been 5 months (today) since she went to be with Jesus. We think and pray for you SO OFTEN Joel and Jess.

Thanks for the darling pair of shoes--our little daily reminder of Cora's life.

Siblings

I've been so excited to have Lily and Ollie actually interact with each other. Finally, in the last couple of weeks--they've started to. Lily will smile at Ollie and he'll just giggle.

He thinks it's SO funny when she takes his things and tries to chew on them. Even funnier when it's HIM she's chewing on!

The video below is of him 'playing' with her the other night, while Joel and I were outside working. It was so funny to watch!



Lily is becoming quite the talker. Here she is in her exersaucer, playing and talking.

Ohio

It's been over a week since we returned from our trip to Ohio--I suppose I should blog about it!

We spent a week up near Columbus where Joel's sister, Karla lives. It was a relaxing time to get away and enjoy cooler temperatures, the lake house they just built, and time with family.

Friday night, Dave and Karla took us out for a delicious Italian meal at "Brio" in Columbus. Thanks to some great connections, we ate for FREE!
Dave's RAW steak.

I know, really bad picture...but it was a DELICIOUS dessert!

Saturday morning I got to help Karla do a kid photo shoot. And by 'help', I mean, carry around her HUGE lens (that cost more than my car!), and help arrange kids. It was really fun, and amazing to see her in action! Check out these shots that I witnessed in person! :-)

After a couple days at her house, we drove an hour northwest of Columbus to their newly built lake house. Here are some pictures--it is SUPER cute!
Sara, Roanna and her 4 kids came and spent 3 days with us, too. We rode the boat, swam, tubed, and Joel even tried wake-boarding! Although Ollie was a bit clingy, he did 'chill out' a bit after a few days and played better with his cousins. There are 8 now!

The three boys: Ollie, Drew and Isaac (they're each 10 months apart)

Three of the girls: Lily, Brianna and Abi.Brooklynn's in the middle...And Clara, blowing bubbles.

We missed seeing Kris, Mitch and Paul and Roglenda--but we'll see them in Colorado in August!

And a few travel pics: we stayed in hotels both on the way up and back, just to break up the day a bit. It worked well.

(Ollie and Lily on our GIANT king bed)
And this picture shows Ollie sticking stickers all over his head. The cousins had Ipods, so Ollie put these on his ears and told us he was 'listening to music'.
It was a great trip. And it makes me look forward even more to our Colorado trip--mountains and cool air!