Turtle!

Jensen & Bailey were so excited about the turtle in our backyard!

Hangin with J & K

Just a normal day at the Gerda house this summer! Lots of fun with Jensen & Keaton!! Jensen's face cracks me up in some of these pics:)

The best big brother!

Jensen is so sweet to his little sister!

Playing peek a boo with Keaton

Little Miss Keaton is not a giggler. She flashes many big smiles and lets out a funny little exhale of excitement, but doesn't really have one of these deep belly giggles. However, there was one day Jensen was playing peek a boo with her and she just started giggling! Unfortunately, I didn't catch the giggling on video, but she was still having a great time playing with Jensen and just being happy playing on the couch!

Keaton is 7 months old!

Here we are again! Another month has quickly gone by and our little girl is growing up! She's now sitting up great on her own, playing with toys while sitting on the floor and enjoying watching her big brother run around the house like a maniac:) She still doesn't have much of a giggle and shows her excitement through a little exhale of air. It's funny!

She loves to eat most of the time - She's now eating a variety of fruits and veggies. She's settled into a great schedule and has become quite an easy baby to put down to sleep. She goes to bed around 7:30pm, wakes around 7:30am and takes two 1 1/2-2 hour naps each day. And she's really good at playing in her crib for a long time after she wakes up.

As I say every month, how is she possibly this old???

Summer visit with the Barfields!

Our summer has been so busy and we haven't been able to get together with the Barfields nearly as much as we'd like. We had a fun night getting the kids together and visiting with Uncle P (Phil) while he was in town. Couldn't miss out on this photo opportunity!

But what was more fun was getting a little video clip of the adults trying to make the kids smile for the picture!!

She loves the bottle!

Keaton is in love with the bottle! It's definitely her preference and she'll go crazy if/when she sees a bottle. She's getting to the point she can hold it up herself.

Jensen eating watermelon

Keaton Loves Prunes!

Can you tell she enjoyed her prunes today???

"Brew da tunnnel!"

Our cute little duckling!

This was the most perfect summer day! Since I moved to Atlanta almost 9 years ago, I can't say I remember too many summer days when the temperature was in the 80's. But today was gorgeous, just a perfect day! We spent some time at the pool this afternoon and then hung out in the backyard for dinner. Here's some cute pics of the kids!

First Big Road Trip With Family of 5!

Keaton's first 4th of July - photo opp with Uncle Sam!

We knew we were brave when we decided to drive to Denver last summer. We confirmed we're crazy when we packed up both kids and the dog and drove to NY in ONE day! Yep, 14 1/2 hours of driving with a 2 yr old, 6 month old and a dog!! There were points throughout the trip where we all thought we were going to lose our minds!

Joe did most of the driving so I could climb back and forth from the front to the back. I actually spent most of the time tucked between the two car seats in the back seat. Jensen wasn't nearly as interested in DVDs as he'd been in the past. He wanted to talk, read books, play with cars, etc. Keaton did really well! She got upset when she was hungry or tired. Otherwise, she did a good job of being happy!

We discovered that McDonald's playlands are a must for us when traveling right now. It worked out great so Jensen could get out some energy and I could sit and feed Keaton while Joe was outside walking Bailey. On our return trip, we got on and off quite a few exits looking for a playland. Both travel days were long, but we'd get back in the car today and do it all over again!

Now that we're back, we need a vacation from our vacation! We were BUSY the entire time!! And we're busy now trying to catch up and enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

The pictures tell the story of our trip!

Jensen ran in his first kids fun! He got 3rd place in his age group! He was so excited after finishing the 2 year old race, he lined up for the 3, 4, 5 and 6 year old races!! What better way to dress for a race on the 4th than in head-to-toe red and blue???

Lakewood 10K

Keaton loved the swing at the lake!

Jensen & Keaton playing with Mason (he's just 3 weeks older than Keaton)

A beautiful afternoon at Chautauqua!

Jensen usually manages to have a good time :)

This was so cute - Keaton had just woken up from her nap and Jensen was exceptionally happy to see her! He squealed and shivered with excitement!

Great Gram, Nana & Keaton - at Chautauqua

Jensen's first ice cream cone - at Chautauqua

Keaton sitting in my highchair from when I was a baby! Can you tell it's from 1978-79???

Pooltime at Moonbrook

Riding the boats at Midway

Jensen got to ride the "HOURSIE!"

The original Midway slide is no longer there, but it was fun to go down the big slide with Jensen! "Ahhweeee!"

Keaton loved Midway too!

Of course, we couldn't go to Midway without riding the cars!

We enjoyed a Wednesday night dinner at Onyahsa! And the Wed meal is still chicken & biscuits! What fun to go back and walk around! I enjoyed getting to show Joe around since he's heard all the stories and songs from camp! And exciting to show the kids where they'll someday be campers:) These pics were taken at the point (site of Candlelight!).

Quite a few boat rides

Jensen's first tubing experience!

"Daddy, you crack me up!"

Keaton and Great Gram, who celebrated her 94th birthday!!

To all the July birthdays, Happy Durday!