Ricardo & Kylie

Our little baby is rapidly approaching toddler-hood and it is so fun to see him grow and progress! BUT I also don't want him to grow at the same time. Being a mother is so conflicting! Russell is a lot of fun and constantly entertains us. He is SO wiggly and is crawling everywhere now at lightning speed. He also loves to stand up via the couch or the coffee table and strengthen his leg muscles. I'm sure I will blink and he will be walking.  He is curious about everything. He loves opening every drawer and cabinet in the house, makes a beeline to the bathroom if you take your eye off him for a second (not sure why), and is starting to want to play with his trucks and trains, which is so cute. He is very social and friendly, loves seeing other kids his age, though at the same time has recently developed some stranger anxiety and has been extra clingy. This is mostly just endearing, though I long ago lost hope in really getting much cooking, cleaning, laundry done while he's...

Merry Christmas!! I've been slacking on our blog and I thought no one had noticed, but my mom complained while were visiting her in Florida that it's been awhile since I updated, so this is for her-and anyone else who cares. Russell is quickly approaching 8 months (WHAT?) and is so great. The word that's popping into my head to describe him is delightful. He has always been a happy baby but as he gets older he has become more silly and smiley and fun to be around. The other day Ricardo took him shopping while I slept off the night shift and when he saw me when they came home he started hyperventilating with joy and waving his arms. I love those kinds of moments and I feel very lucky that they happen often! In other news, he said "Mama" today and is army crawling all over the house and very close to legitimate crawling at this point. I always put him down on a blanket but he seems to prefer sliding around on the wood floor-maybe it helps him get places fast...

Some of my favorites from our family photo shoot a few weeks ago. Thanks Sarah!

Wow, another month has flown by, I can't believe it! Russell is almost 4 months old. People aren't lying when they say it goes by fast! We had a great and fun-filled August and are now back to real life. Ricardo's in school, I'm working, and all of our visitors have gone home. Here's what we did in August! Our good friend Stuart came to visit us because he had a work conference here in Philly. We went to one of our favorite local parks and did some hiking and the boys did some swimming. Russell and I opted out because the water is freezing! I miss my bathtub Florida water.         Russell grew bigger and bigger!   We had a lot of family come in town for Russell's blessing at church. Our house was packed! Luckily we moved at the beginning of the month and have a lot more space now. We went to Amish country with both of our families and had a great time both days. Here we are with Ricardo's parents. Here's the whole group...