A week of Firsts

Atalie had her first experience this week in the exersaucer. Since she is a big fan of standing while you hold her fingers, I assumed she'd enjoy the exersaucer.

Flowers are so funny.

Trying to figure out what that crazy looking thing is.

I think it was a hit.

She has rug burn where?

It was picture day in the Disharoon household. I am now a huge fan of Picture Innovations, the studio we decided to make an appearance on this particular day. I was taking the girls to get photos done: Atalie's first professional pictures, and Charis's 2 year photos. The photos turned out great. We managed to sneak a few smiles out of Charis and keep her still for a millisecond so the photographer could catch those quick grins. Atalie, mellow as usual, smiled took it all in. Charis's friend Ava showed up and the girls played for a few minutes while we waited for our pictures.

After receiving our pictures, sighing in relief that the chaos was over, we got ready to say goodbye to friends and head out the door. Charis chose that particular moment to run after her friend, trip on her shoe, and go skidding on her face along the carpet. What did she use to catch herself, to brace for the fall? Her face. Where were her hands? By her side. Having hands did her no good at this particular moment. She gets her coordination from her mother.

And as a good mother would, I ran to her and scooped her up. Then I hear my mother say, "Oh poor baby!" That quickly turned into "Ooh. You should get a picture of that."

So I did.

At the time the people in the studio probably thought Can you believe that? Her child is bleeding and she's taking her picture! What can I say? The paparazzi in me took over. Now we have a memory of her first (and hopefully last) facial wound for the scrapbooks.

The nice people at the studio gave her some ice. But the ice never made it to her nose.

Ah, memories.

5 months!

Sweet little baby fingers...love 'em!

Time is just slipping by. Atalie is now 5 months old. Weighing in somewhere around 17.5-18 pounds and growing all the time. She loves to stand, enjoys being held, talks up a storm in the swing, and is generally just an easy-going baby. She even likes tummy time.

It also amazes me how fast and intense the bond between Charis and Atalie happened. It is not unusual for both of them to wake up at the same time, even though it is impossible for them to hear each other when they are in their rooms. When Charis cries, Atalie starts to cry. When Atalie cries, Charis gets worried and pats her leg, saying, "It's okay Attie-bean. Don't cry." Then she'll promptly run to her room, grab a stuffed animal and give it to Atalie. She's even shared her most prized possessions: the animals she sleeps with.

I love the look on Charis's face. She really delighted in sharing her friends with Atalie.

Charis shared and Atalie devoured. :) And she didn't even mind the drool.

Drainage

Since our neighbor is the world's most fanatical power washer, we often time have an issue with water in our backyard. Seriously...our side of the fence is turning green because of how much he runs his sprinkler, power washes his house, deck, shed, dog, wife...

He is either outside power washing or cooking on the grill. Grilling out only slightly outnumbers the obscene number of times he washes his property.
So, Brian's mission this summer has been to improve drainage in our backyard. It's been a long project because of Brian's work schedule, but he's almost done! On one of the less humid days, all of us played outside while Brian worked in the yard.

This picture cracks me up. Just had to add it.

Laying on her blanket, staring at the trees. She loved being outside.

A little fun in the Cozy Coupe. I love the second picture because she looks like she's going so fast, but in reality she's not even moving.

Yes, this is the river that flows from our backyard when our neighbor, Captain Power Washer, decides to do his daily chores. Yay! It works! Good job, husband!

Charis is 2!

Charis turned 2 this past weekend! I can't believe my baby is 2. She woke up Saturday morning to a house full of balloons, streamers, and a Happy Birthday banner. For breakfast, a Toaster Streudel with 2 candles! Then we went to Bean's (grandma's) house to decorate and get everything ready. The guests starting arriving at 4:30. It was chaotic with that many people, checking on both kids, refilling food, and trying to feed both kiddos. But it was fun! Here's some pics from the party!