I love my aunties!

Thanksgiving with the cousins.

Thanksgiving gifts from Grandma-Nana and Poppa!

Mama's Little Helper or Troublemaker in the Making?

Feeding herself!!!

Lovebug lovin some trick or treating.

Trick or Treat!

This was Zawadi's first Halloween, so even though we knew she wouldn't remember any of it, we wanted to make it special. We knew right away that she would be a ladybug - I have been calling her my little lovebug since day one :-) Turns out Gina had the same idea and Zawadi and Jada were ladybug twins! On Friday both girls wore their costumes to Daycare and the kids all took pictures and read Halloween stories. Then on Sunday we met up with Christine and Sam and the kids and Gina and Jada. Shirley came with us and we took the kids trick-or-treating around Christine's neighborhood. Zawadi did great walking up to the houses and had no problem taking candy from strangers. Her favorite was a box of nerds because she could shake it, but she soon figured out she could eat through the cardboard to the candy and the nerds had to go away. We had a lot of fun and can't wait for next Halloween when Zawadi can say "trick-or-treat" all by herself.

State fair.

Hungry Hungry Hippo!

This girl will eat anything you give her and is always asking for my meals! She is turning down baby food more and more, but we have not found any adult food that she doesn't like. She loves vegetable, thank goodness! I spend lots of time boiling carrots and mashing up broccoli for her dinner. Her bottom two teeth are about halfway in, with no signs of anymore. I never thought I'd say I was wishing for more teeth to come in, but it would be nice for her to be able to chew all of the foods she tries to eat, like this apple. :-)

Merry Go Round.

My baby and me on our special day.

Water, water, everywhere.

This has seemed like an especially hot summer so we are constantly looking for ways to keep cool. Leah told us about this great park less than 10 minutes from our house so one afternoon we had a playdate with them. Needless to say they both had a great time, screaming and splashing in the water. Zawadi loves water and alternated between eating rocks and yelling with joy at the streams of water splashing in her face. Zawadi was a little bit of a bully, grabbing whatever toy Abby had in her hand at the time, but they figured things out and Abby did a great job sharing. We are trying to pretend that the Nickoloffs aren't leaving us in just a few short weeks and hope to cram in lots more dates before that day.

Picnic at the Eno.

We were so excited to discover that within five minutes of our new house there is the amazing West Point on the Eno. We took our dinner there one night and were amazed by all it has to offer. There are walking and hiking trails, picnic areas, and kayak and canoe rentals all surrounded by beautiful scenery and amazing historic buildings. We had a great time enjoying the view and exploring the trails. We came across many spiders and frogs and even saw a deer. Luckily (for Clyde especially) we didn't see any of the snakes the sign warned us about. We defintely plan on spending lots of time here as a family and are so thankful for all that Durham has to offer.

I can't believe it.

Zawadi has been using furniture to stand up and then letting go and balancing. We were all very impressed with this, being that she just turned 7 months. Well yesterday she decided to impress us even further by standing up in the middle of the floor all by herself. She did it once, and then again, and again, and again, and is very proud of her new skill.

New buddy!

This weekend Zawadi and I went to a baby shower for my friend Kiana. We had a great time meeting new people and catching up with Kiana. Zawadi also made a new friend, Jaslene, and had a great time playing with her. The two girls were so funny together, butting heads and swapping pacifiers. Jaslene is almost a year old and we got to watch her take her very first steps! Seeing the girls play made me feel a little bit better about daycare in a few weeks, and watching Zawadi crawl after the older boys playing catch made me feel certain she will make friends with anyone she meets.

Puffs!

Zawadi has become a huge fan of solid foods within the last month and definitely knows the sign for "eat." She gobbles down any fresh fruit or baby fruit, Cheerios, cheese, ice cream, you name it. Here she is reaching for her puffs. Strawberry are her favorite and she will go to great lengths to get her hands on them. :-)

Musical genuis or nutcase?

Splish splash!

Packing

Zawadi has been anything but helpful as we pack the apartment up. Between tipping boxes over, climbing into them, and unpacking already packed ones, she has been extremely counterproductive. But she is so darn cute doing it all you can't even be mad at her. :-)

Standin tall.

Today I went in to see if Zawadi had fallen asleep and was shocked to find her not only awake, but standing in her crib playing. We knew this day was coming soon, we just didn't know how soon! I watched her for quite a while before she noticed me and gave me a huge, cheesy grin. She was clearly proud of her new skill and she mastered it throughout the day. It is time to lower the mattress and remove the bumper before we have an escape artist on our hands. The month of July has been full of milestones for her - mastering sitting up, 'crawling' at top speed throughout the apartment, and finally enjoying (and wolfing down) solid food. There is never a dull day and at this rate we will have a walking baby in just a few months.

Ice cream date.

We met Gina, Alan, and Jada for ice cream one afternoon. Jada slept through the first part of the date so she didn't get to eat any cream, but she did wake up in time for me to snap a few quick pics of the two beautiful ladies. We are so grateful to have this family in our lives and we look forward to the girls growing up as close friends.

Shop til you drop.

We stopped at Lowe's one afternoon to look at ceiling fans and fences and Zawadi got impatient sitting in her car seat. I took her out and sat her in the cart and she LOVED it. It was her first time sitting up in the cart like a big girl and I went crazy taking pictures to document it. It's amazing how fast time is flying and how every day she does something new or hits another milestone.

Play date!

Gina and Jada came over for a play date and the girls were too cute. Jada was amazed by Zawadi and kept reaching out to touch her. Zawadi loved having another baby around and was all smiles as she pulled and pushed Jada around. Jada got her back later by stealing her bottle, lol. They played together for a while but of course we couldn't get them to nap on the same schedule. Later in the afternoon we took them to the pool for the first time and both really enjoyed the water. Or at least drinking it. Jada was sucking on her hands to get the water and Zawadi was leaning over her raft drinking the water like a dog. It was a great afternoon and we will have to have lots more playdates this summer.

Chicks and rabbits and rats, oh my!

Zawadi is clearly taking after me with her love for animals. Melissa Smart is a teacher across the hall from me and we stopped in one afternoon to visit all of the creatures in just teach her the meaning of the word gentle!

A special visit.

Clyde's mom and dad just recently visited and they were very excited to spend some Granny and Grandpa time with Zawadi. It was her first time meeting her Grandpa and she was comfortable with him right away. Clyde's mom babysat for us for the week and developed a special bond with Zawadi. We are so excited that we will get to see them again in September!

Swinging fool!

Clyde and I took Zawadi to the park and she LOVED the swing. She did a great job of sitting up and holding on, and even looked like she was pumping her legs a few times. She smiled and laughed the whole time. She loves being outdoors and we hope this continues as she gets older.

4 months going on.....driver's license?

Zawadi is so grown up she is even driving! We were waiting for Clyde one afternoon and we were bored so I brought her up front to play with me. We had such a good time reading magazinges, listenting to music, and playing peek-a-boo in the mirror. It's amazing how engaged she is with everything around her.

Cereal!

We decided to try giving Zawadi some rice cereal and it went great! First we let her play with it and explore with the spoon on her own. She kept holding it out to me, but after one smell of the formula mixed in, I told her no thanks, she could eat it all, lol. Once we finally put her bib on and fed her she did a really good job of swallowing most of the cereal rather than spitting it back out. We are excited for her to hit these milestones, but it is crazy how fast she is growing. I now understand what parents mean about blinking your eyes and your children are going off to college. Time is flying! We can't believe she is already 4 months old.

New little family

We get so busy taking pictures of Zawadi doing adorable things that we forget to take any family photos, lol. Clyde's aunt was here from Kenya to visit for a week with her daughter so we had a big cookout at Shirley's and finally took a few pictures. Zawadi looks so much like Clyde in this picture!

Exercise time.

I decided to take up jogging again......I was much less successful than I had hoped, but it was a start. Zawadi and I put on our sneakers and headed to the trail several different days over Spring Break. She looked much cuter than I did, and was much less winded when we were done. I hope to keep it up and eventually get back to where I was. I am taking it slow so I don't get discouraged, although Zawadi's smiling face is a great motivator.