First cereal

Another milestone for C! On Wednesday, 9/9, I finally bought him a box of Gerber cereal, and he tried it that night. He did fine eating it. I mixed it really thin for the first feeding, so it was messy, but I think he swallowed at least some of it. I was hoping that cereal would be the key to get him to sleep through the night...but no such luck so far. Maybe he's just waking up out of habit now rather than because he's hungry...maybe a good night's sleep is just around the corner?

I think he still looks so tiny in the high chair. Too tiny to be ready to eat "real" food. :(



Of course Alexee has a renewed interest in the high chair now-ha!

Labor Day Weekend

*New Labor Day album HERE.*

We got back this afternoon from a fun holiday weekend at my parents' house. The kids played outside all day long and never got bored!

Dad & Rhett built a deer feeder Saturday afternoon. Last time we were there they went to get a hollow log, but it wasn't what they had in mind. This time, however, Granddad had just the right thing. He saved it until Rhett could come up to help him. They worked hard and had corn in it by evening, and the deer found it very quickly.

The finished product. Dad said it reminded him a little bit of the Flintstones' car. :)

Mo, Alexee & Crosby went for a stroll while Granddad and Rhett worked on the feeder.

Sunday afternoon we went to the river. I think Rhett would move in at the cabin if we'd let him--he loves it there (I do, too). He didn't catch a fish this time, but they got some practice. Maybe next trip. I thought he looked so cute carrying all the gear.

Mo & Crosby watched from the porch for a while before joining us down by the water.

One happy Mom!

Alexee playing in the back yard

New album here.

Peek-a-boo pictures

I thought these were sweet pictures of Alexee. I snapped them on the front steps last week when we were waiting for her friend, Maylee, to arrive. This little pink dress she's wearing has been one of my favorite outfits of the summer--it's plain but soft and comfortable.

She was hiding behind the wall and I'd say, "DON'T peek or I'll tell Daddy!"...and of course she'd peek and laugh every time.

I dressed Crosby up in a sweater and hat yesterday-ha! It's not that cold yet, but I'm afraid this won't fit by the time winter gets here! This sweater and hat set was mine when I was a baby--if I remember correctly, I think my Grandmother gave it to my Mom before I was born.
And then I made his picture just wearing his OBU Future Tiger t-shirt. I think it's cute that Ouachita sends t-shirts to alumni's babies! All three of our kids have one. I should go back and look for the pictures of R & A in their t-shirts for comparison.

A visit from Kelly & Harper

We were very excited to get to meet Harper for the first time on Tuesday! Kelly was in town for an event, and we were so happy she had time to stop by for a quick visit. Harper is so cute and sweet, of course! She is very active--she rolled all over the rug!

Harper, Crosby & Alexee playing in the floor:

Harper was very interested in Crosby...but I'm not sure he was quite as interested in getting to know her--ha! We laughed about this--Kelly said maybe she was checking to see if he had any teeth yet (which he doesn't, so she probably wasn't impressed).

This was the best I could do for a picture of them together--maybe I can get a happy one next time!

Rachel's sugar cookie recipe

Mom made these last time I was home, and I ate more of them than I want to tell. I copied the recipe and have made them twice since then. (I do a half-batch because it makes a LOT.) Rachel passed away, but she was my parents' sweet sweet neighbor. She was always fun to stop and talk to. She had a beautiful garden every summer and would share great things from it. At Christmas time she'd bake lots of delicious goodies to share. These cookies were one of those holiday treats!

Rachel's Sugar Cookies

--Mix together:

1 cup butter

1 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

--Add:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

Drop onto cookie sheet (I used ungreased sheets and it worked fine). Mash with a sugared glass and bake at 375.

Once you start eating them, it's hard to stop!

Happy Birthday, Lane!

Today is Lane's 36th birthday--Happy Birthday to you, Lane!

Yesterday L's parents came up to visit. After church we went to Panera Bread for lunch then Grammy & Bobba kept the kids while Lane and I went out for a little while. We didn't have any set plans for the afternoon, so somehow we ended up at the Clinton Presidential Library. It's been open for about five years now, and we've been saying we should go so we finally made it there. It's very nice and interesting.

Here's another picture of the building where Lane and I met (mentioned in post yesterday).

Fountains in front of the library.

Lane--one day away from being 36...and his younger wife. :)
We had a fun day together!
Poor Crosby had one of his rare fussy days yesterday. He had a tummy ache and just didn't feel well at all. He was worn out when we got home. Here he is taking a little nap on Grammy's shoulder.
We then celebrated with birthday cake. Lane requested chocolate with cream cheese icing. Rhett and Alexee arranged a few candles, and sang Happy Birthday to him.
Lane/Daddy: Hope you have a great day! We love you so much!

Children's museum and more

Lane didn't have to work this weekend, so it has been great having time with him. Yesterday we left the house early and took the kids to get donuts for breakfast. From there, we went to a local children's museum. We'd never been there before--it was really neat! I think Rhett & Alexee enjoyed it, and Crosby was content in the stroller.

Here's Lane working on the puzzle map of Arkansas:

Rhett & Alexee sitting beside the finished map:

This was the entrance to the play area for children age 6 and under. They liked the sleeping dragon who could open his eyes. Alexee was scared of him at first, but then decided he was fun.

Inside the play area they had lots of cool things--like a ship to climb on and slide from:
and a lighthouse to climb up in with horns to sound at the top:
Outside was an old tractor to climb on. I like this picture of Alexee wrapping her arm around her brother (or was she trying to wrestle him away from the steering wheel so she could have a turn?).
I took this from the car window as we were going to find a parking place. This building (behind the parking deck) is significant because that's where Lane and I met! We were both working for a public accounting firm on the 19th floor. That seems like such a long time ago (fall 1999)...and now we're driving by it to take our three kids to the museum!
After the museum, we went to the Old State House, which is very interesting.
Then we walked a short distance to a hotel to see the ducks in the lobby and ride the cool glass elevators!