Firehouse Fun

On Thursday we met at the Sullivan Fire Department for a tour. The kids loved it!  Afterwards, we were going to go to Jayme's house, but she and Braylon were both sick! :( So everyone came over and we had a great time eating, playing, and chatting. 

We had a great time playing and eating afterwards! 

Effingham Pool Party

Jayme, Kristin, and I took the kids to the park and pool in Effingham and it was a blast! 

Naturally, Harp was pool ready (below), but she lounged in our shady umbrella spot, just to the left of the above pic. We took turns sitting with her, but she slept the whole time. Thanks, Rach, for the adorable suit! 

At the park, Beckett (of course) loved the Dino slide:

Beck and Braylon drive the fire truck:

All three took time to stop and smell the roses. (And chase a butterfly):

We walked across the park to the pool. He looks so big here!:

Happy, happy, happy!

Harp loved it, too! She just needs someone to feed her some grapes.

Down the frog slide!  This was one of his favorites! 

Climbing up the pirate ship - this was his other favorite!

Woo-hoo!

So cute!

We were there for almost an hour, and we had so much fun! 

3 Months Old!

I cannot believe how quickly the past three months have gone! Harper is the sweetest baby, so content and easy-going. She lets us know when he is hungry and she doesn't love going to sleep on her own from about 6:30 - 8:30 at night. She is smiling and cooing regularly and LOVES to be talked to. When you talk to her, she kicks her legs and waves her arms in excitement, makes eye contact, and smiles. It is so sweet! She still sleeps a lot during the day, somewhere around 8:30 in the morning, off-and-on until about 11, when she eats and then dozes back off. She is alert from about 12-2 and then takes a long afternoon nap.

I love her so so much and feel so lucky to have her!

Here's what Baby Center has to say about three months: 

Your baby has been able to recognize you since he or she was just a few days old, but now it's becoming obvious. About half of babies this age begin to exhibit recognition of their parents.
Your baby will probably continue to smile at strangers, especially when they look your baby straight in the eye and coo or talk to him or her. But your baby is starting to sort out who's who in his or her life, and will definitely prefer you, your partner, and perhaps a few others.
Your baby may quiet down and make eye contact with you or search for you in a room, moving his or her arms in excitement or smiling when you've been found. Your baby may even find your scent calming and comforting.
Early language development
Research shows that babies whose parents speak to them extensively have significantly higher IQs and bigger vocabularies when they get older, so interaction is especially important right now. Set a solid foundation by exposing your baby to a variety of words.
Talk about your surroundings when you take your baby for a walk, and point to and identify objects as you roam the grocery store aisles. Your baby can't repeat these words yet, of course, but he or she is storing all the information in a rapidly developing memory.

Scovill with Mee Maw

We met Mee Maw at Scovill Zoo yesterday for a fun morning! First we played at the playground, and Beckett loved that some of the slides had water on them from the previous night's storms. 

 Then we headed in to see the animals. It was a beautiful day and a great visit!

Alligator Alley (Harper was not impressed. ):

What's in there?

The tortoises were very active and eating their salads. 

Checking out some birds and monkeys:

The pea hen had her babies with her! (Beckett wanted to hold them. )

We even took a train ride while Mee Maw spent a few minutes cooing with Harpy. 

Monkeys!

Hanging with the Coati...

...and the flamingos:

Mee Maw and Beckett went into the petting zoo to visit with the goats. 

Then Janis treated us to a delicious lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Beckett was on his last leg. :) 

We love spending time with Mee Maw! It was a great morning. 

Nelson Park Adventure

This is the park where Shonn and I got married. 

We had so much fun with Mee Maw and Papa Kracht on Tuesday. First we went to feed the ducks at Lake Decatur. Wow - those are some brave ducks and geese. They wanted to eat right from our hands, which was fun and exciting for Beckett. I wasn't too thrilled about the geese and their hissing. Yowza. They have long dinosaur tongues in their mouths! Beckett wasn't afraid at all! 

Sissy loved the ducks, too. ;)

Then we were of to play on the playground and explore the rock gardens. 

The rock gardens were gorgeous!

Beckett wanted to find a bee. Haha! Then he wanted to find a tiger. See how he's looking in the bush? 

Hot day!

Next we went miniature golfing at Paul's Puttin Place. It was Beckett's first time, and when we explained he had to get the ball in the hole, he looked at us like, okayyyy...well, that's easy... And he picked up the ball and put it in the hole. Hahahahaha!

Sissy thought it was funny, too!

Papa and mee maw helped him,

And soon he was a pro. ;)

We had a great day!