One year of Scarlet.

Somehow a year has come and gone since the arrival of Scarlet Catherine. She amazes us every day with her sweet personality, penchant for adventure, adoration of her brother, and her loving nature. Her independence and sense of humor grow every day. We love every inch of her.

My how you've grown.

A look back...

Your first day. (July 30, 2013)

August.

September.

October.

November.

December.

January.

February.

March.

April.

May.

June.

July.

We love you so.

Monkey Faces and Spaghetti Fun

It's possible we're raising a little comedienne that will rival her big brother. Whether it's smacking herself on the side of the head, playing peek-a-boo, or imitating faces, Scarlet loves to give, and get, a good laugh.

Her latest goof is making a monkey face, which comes complete with an "ooh, ooh, ooh" sound. I'm sure you can "hear" it when you see the pictures.

And for variety...added a finger.

And since we've introduced what this little darling looks like when she eats spaghetti, here's a couple more. Emerson laughed when she started pulling at her hair bow, so that's what she continued to do. Because if someone is laughing, it must be good stuff...

The life of a fish.

Scarlet is less than a week away from her first birthday. And Emerson Rex will be 5 years old one week after that. In addition to our normal day-to-day stuff, we've woven in gobs of fun this summer. And what's summer without loads of pool time. Emerson has always been a "water baby." The jury is still out on Scarlet, but she leans that way too. Thank goodness these kids are fish. While they got their looks from their Dad, there's no doubting they got my "fins."

One of 7.2 million cannonballs this summer.

Learning strokes, and breathing to the side. I nearly fell over with pride on this one.

The close-up of this cracks me up. His face indicates he wasn't supposed to be going yet. As does the rest of the kids still standing on the side of the pool.

Kick-board work.

Break from the pool...Friday afternoon arts and crafts. Picasso got paint on the table, too.

More pool time. Snack break.

"Lah, dee, dah..."

This girl adores her big brother.

Exhausted after swim lessons and a neighborhood party.

All that swimming caught up to him. This was urgent care early one Sunday morning. Diagnosis: swimmer's ear. And that mark on his left eye? Goggles injury. It's tough work being a fish.

Emersonisms - July Edition

Emerson is getting better at entertaining himself for a few minutes after we all get in the door. This allows Jason and I to change, start dinner, and unpack bags. Recently, he had a fierce game of Candy Land going on. Against himself. I was just a few feet away in the kitchen when I heard him say...

EMERSON: "Aw man, I got the Benjamin! I have to go back to the Benjamin!"

I played a lot as a kid, and have played dozens of rounds with Emerson in the last couple years. I don't remember there being a Benjamin in Candy Land.

ME: "Em, what's the Benjamin?"
EMERSON: "You know. The Benjamin."
ME: "Show me the card."

Sure enough, he showed me the card that he fully believed to be the Benjamin. With the gingerbread man on it. I get it. Gingerbread. Benjamin. Benjamin. Gingerbread. Too cute.
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Random Friday afternoon crafting...
ME: "Em, try to NOT get paint on the table, please."
EMERSON: "All artists get paint on the table."
ME: "Well, try anyway."
EMERSON: "There's nothing I can do about it. I'm an artist."
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This is one that occurred while I was out of town for work, and loved reading via text from Jason...
EM: "Daddy, do you know who the king of the world is?"
JASON: :Who?"
EM: "God."
JASON: "Good job, Emerson. You're absolutely right."
EM: "Do you know who is the king of God?"
JASON...expecting perhaps, Jesus...
EM: "It's probably Santa."

Celebrating America

It's hard not to get over scheduled this first week in July with all the cookouts, parades, fireworks, etc. We love to do it all, so we tend to! We can sleep next week!

Emerson and Berlynn...catching fireflies, climbing trees, and being goofy. This is as America as it comes.

Love all these kiddos. And love that they love each other!

The girls, taking turns lounging in Berlynn's chair.

Our very wet boat outing for Buckeye Lake fireworks. When you're on a boat, expect to get wet!

Morning parade time. (And a pic of Scarlet sneaking into Emerson's toys, while he slept in.)

God bless it.