NYC trip

Last week I took the kids to NYC to visit my parents. This was Andrew's first trip to the Big Apple and he was pretty indifferent to it all! Amelia was able to enjoy some aspects of NY for the first time, though, including the Statue of Liberty (seen from the Staten Island Ferry), the Central Park Carousel, and an off-Broadway show (the Gazillion Bubble Show...exactly what it sounds like). She also had fun playing on the playground outside Nana and Pops' apartment building, riding on the bus and subway, and visiting American Girl Place (an early birthday present). Andrew celebrated his 7-month birthday in NY! He is well on his way to crawling; it'll happen any day now. He can also sit himself up from laying down, so it's time to lower the crib mattress. He is a very curious boy and so much fun! Below are some pictures from our trip.

Amelia and Pops ride the carousel

Andrew's first subway ride

7 months old...with the Statue of Liberty in the background (very small, over Nana's shoulder)

We enjoyed a tea party on Nana and Pops' patio with tea and kolaches that Amelia helped make.

Amelia loved the tea party!

Back to School

Amelia's first day of Pre-KThis week Amelia moved up into the Pre-Kindergarten class at her school. I feel old. I can't believe she's already in Pre-K! She is very excited about her new class and teacher. She knows Ms. Vicky (she's seen her around school before) and almost all the kids in her class were also in her Preschool class at some point, so it's nice that there's not a ton of new stuff all at once. Anyway, the classroom activities are all much more school-prep-oriented than last year's, so it'll be fun to watch her learn. We are almost positive that we won't put her in kindergarten next year (she'll turn 5 on Nov. 15, 2009 and to enroll in kindergarten here, you have to be 5 by Dec. 1, so we could start her next year if we wanted), but it's still hard to believe the school years are already upon us. Those of you out there: what's your opinion on the age deadline? What do you see as the pros and cons of starting her in kindergarten next year or waiting a year? I've heard several people's opinions both ways, but I'm always interested to hear people's reasons. Thanks!

Six months

Andrew had his half-birthday yesterday! He is growing up so fast and doing new things every day. He is now able to sit on his own and really wants to crawl, although thankfully he can't yet! He is also very adept at grabbing things, so we have to make sure and put everything out of his reach. I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs now (his 6-month checkup is next week) but I got on the scale with him last week and he was 19 pounds. Wow. Here is a funny series of his 6-month pictures.

Amelia continues to be quite the artist and have a flair for the dramatic. This week she decided that she didn't want Fletcher in her room, so she made a "no Fletchers allowed" sign for her door. Here it is:

Amelia was a little disappointed when I told her that Fletcher can't read, so it wouldn't be very effective, but oh well. At least she tried!! She cracks us up all the time. You might have noticed that she made her Fletcher anatomically correct by including a "bottom." I explained to her after she drew it that we probably shouldn't draw "bottoms" anymore! Ha! Gotta love an almost-4-year-old's mind!

How quickly things change...

The last time I posted, I wrote that Andrew gets frustrated that he can't figure out how to get from his back to his tummy. Well, literally the next day he got it. Now the little guy is rolling all over the place! He's already gotten his head (almost) under the couch and his hand out the door (Amelia opened it). Let the trouble begin...and goodbye, freedom! :-(

Catch-up

The first week in July was spent visiting family and friends in Arkansas. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed seeing everyone! Here are a few pictures from our visit. My Granddad with me and the kidsGrandma and Grandpa with A&AAndrew and (8 days older) cousin Brylee
All five Jobe Grandkids

Amelia was such a trouper in the car! She and her puppy headphones watched "The Incredibles" and "Cinderella" about a million times.

Lately Amelia has been really into playing with her dolls. Here are a couple of illustrations:
Andrew's latest update is that he is rolling over from his back to stomach regularly, but then can't figure out how to get back onto his back and gets really mad. His other new thing is that he's now eating solid food. He wasn't too sure about rice cereal but now that we've added applesauce, he's quite happy.

This year is flying by. I can't believe it's already practically halfway over!

Relief!

We are relieved to report that Bryan is now (again) officially employed at a new company. He's doing the same thing, just for a different place and for more money (yea!). He'll still work from home, which we love, and also get an extra week of vacation, so we feel like this job is a great blessing, especially in light of the fear that we could not have one at all. Thanks for your prayers...they definitely worked!

A brand-new Amelia funny.

Tonight Mom and Amelia were singing songs (Jesus Loves Me, etc.) and Amelia said, "let's sing the diaper one!" Mom and I were both puzzled, so I asked her if she could sing it for me. She said, "yeah, Jesus diaper all the children, all the children of the world!"