Summer 2010

Summer is now over, and school is beginning again. Here are pictures from our busy (and extremely hot!) summer.

Gabi's dance recital was in June this year. She loves performing on the big stage downtown! Gramma Jane and Grampa came to Little Rock to see Gabi dance.

Gabi is reading so well, it's hard to believe she hasn't even started Kindergarten. Here, she is reading Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, Too to Grampa.

For Daddy's birthday, I bought tickets to the Chris Tomlin and Toby Mac concert. We took Gabi with us, which she thought was a very special night out. My cousin Ryan came to visit us that weekend, so he join us, too.

A few weeks later, we invited Cousin Ryan to come back and help us hook up the dishwasher and garbage disposal as we finished our kitchen remodel. Then I took him downtown for a morning of fun, including running through the fountains.

We played hard that morning, and by lunchtime, Bella was exhausted, hungry, and begging for a nap. She did not want her picture taken, but I love this shot of her, anyway.

Of course, a kitchen remodel is a great source of giant boxes for play houses!

Our church sponsored a night at the local minor-league ballpark. That was Katarina's first baseball game! Here we are with Father Erik:

Gabi has numerous quiet-time activities to entertain herself while her little sisters nap in the afternoon. Here she is baking Playdoh cookies:

After watching Toy Story 3, Gabi hosted a tea party for Wuffel bear.

The girls and I took many trips to the swimming pool! Katarina usually napped in my arms in the water. Gabi took lessons and started swimming on her own. Bella likes to wear the water wings so she can "swim" in the big pool like a big girl.

This summer has been ridiculously hot, with highs reaching 106 to 109 on the hottest days, and heat indexes significantly above that. On such hot days, the indoor temperature in our house stayed in the upper 80s, even with the A/C running full time. With heat like this, we avoided too many non-pool outdoor activities. But as this picture on the carousel at the zoo shows, we did venture outside some.

Gabi participated in a soccer camp, and she seemed to enjoy it as long as she could sit on the sidelines to rest when she felt overheated.

The kids love playing at Lolo and Lola's house, as always. Here they are building monsters:

And, finally, here are some pictures of my growing baby! I have started putting her hair in a ponytail sometimes, which makes her look especially Asian.

Five-month-old Katarina giggles and squeals when we talk to her, and she grabs toys to put in her mouth or flap around. I love to listen to her coo, and she's even started babbling "Mama!" She is content to lie by herself with a few toys for short periods now. She rolls over from her back to her front, and she can even roll back sometimes. She is working on the balance necessary to sit up on her own.