Kid and Family Updates

I realize it's been a few weeks since I've posted any updates about the family. This is because it's summer. I have no free time in summer. No matter how many times my loving children need something during the writing of this blog, I have committed to finishing it! (pictures will also be posted at the end) So here it goes:


As a family we've been having fun hanging out with our friends and trying to enjoy the summer! I'm on my church softball league and Neal is playing on a separate softball league, as well. We have to play on different days - so we can't be on the same team.
I'm back to running in races and am PLANNING on running in a half-marathon in November. I guess now that I've told everyone there's no backing down, is there? I'm off to the beach for a girl's weekend one week from today and I can't wait!! If you need to know where I am from the 11th to the 14th I'll be on a beach, sucking down margaritas, reading a book, listening to my iPod and attempting to SLEEP IN in the mornings! DO NOT DISTURB.
Neal has taken up biking and is really enjoying it. He bought a road bike last month and is up to 16 mile rides and this is no small feat when you consider how HILLY Knoxville is!! He's working his way up to a small triathlon. He is crazy! As for the children...

SHAWNA:

Shawna is now 7 months old!! Growing like crazy and changing every day. She can now crawl... albeit backwards and is much enjoying the new food adventure of 2nd stage foods. She has eaten things like Banana, Pineapple, Mango! Baby food has come a long way... baby. She has no trouble sitting by herself, but I still wouldn't trust her on a hard surface. She gets excited occasionally and PLOP - down she goes! TOOTH WATCH 2009 is still in affect. I don't see anything on the horizon, but she appears to be working incredibly hard on one... lots of chewing and drool. As far as babies go, this one is fairly quiet and laid back. A huge change from her sisters!! She babbles a lot, but in her own way... not the typical BABABA. Shawna prefers to blow raspberries and end it with "amma" or "abbbuh" Her hair is definitely red and is filling in nicely. She's Irish through and through!



GWYNETH:
Gwyneth is now on summer break and getting ready for track camp to start! Track Camp lets the kids try their hand at a lot of different track events. Lots of races! The little kids don't get to do things like the pole vault or the hurdles yet, but they do get to do things like the long jump. It's a blast! She's getting ready for her 7th birthday next month and wants to have it at Build-A-Bear... ya know... because we don't have enough stuffed animals! Gwyneth has also taken a liking to picking up, holding, playing with and even feeding Shawna. She's a great big sister!!

MALLORY:

Mallory is also on summer break and will be in the 4 year old class starting in August which means she's one stop shy of KINDERGARTEN. She is currently sporting a hacked up hairdo after she and Gwyneth decided to play hairdresser... with scissors. They were kid scissors, so the injury factor wasn't an issue, but it definitely shows in the quality of the cut. I cannot put her hair in a ponytail... only tiny pigtails, parted down the middle, with the lower half of her hair down. So it looks like she'll be getting her second haircut sooner than expected. This event also led to the girls FIRST grounding!! (there's one for the baby book!) Or as Gwynnie liked to call it, "their groundation."




Just a few of the pictures from our many early summer adventures. Keep an eye out for new blogs with Track pictures, Vacation Bible School updates, Tooth watch 2009 and more, but I probably won't post anything new until I'm back from my vacation!!! (yay!)