RIP Sunshine "Sunny" Banta

On July 18, 2012 we lost a family member and dear companion, our dog Sunny.  Sunny had been sick for about a week and although she appeared to get a little better midway through the week, she ultimately became really lethargic and ill and we had to put her down. She lived a long and full life, only half of that time with us.  We adopted her 6 years ago from a local animal league and within hours, it felt like we knew her forever.
It was such a tough decision and we miss her dearly.  Our house feels very strange without her, and our routines are changing as we adjust to life without her. One of the hardest things is knowing that Adeline won't remember her.

Here are some of the last photos taken of her:

We love you, Sunny, and we miss you! RIP.

Guess who's walking?!?

On her due date, July 9th, Adeline started taking steps on her own!  I have yet to get a good video of her doing it, but here are some pictures of her in action!

We are so proud of her.  We had a followup appointment at the Developmental Assessment Clinic last week, and she amazed all of the therapist, the nurse, and the doctor with her skills.  She caught up on height and weight several months ago, but now she has exceeded even her actual age in gross motor, fine motor, and speaking skills.

She is 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height (she certainly doesnt get this from me!).  She also tested equivalent to a 20-month-old in fine motor skills, a 15-month-old in speaking and communication skills, and a 14-month-old in gross motor skills. She officially graduated from Developmental Clinic, an entire year ahead of schedule!

She amazes us more and more every day.  One quick story that I want to remember was when they were testing her fine motor skills.  They demonstrated a task of stacking 4 small blocks.  During the demonstration, they stacked the blocks while counting, "One, two, three, four".  They knocked down the tower and placed one block, asking Adeline to complete the task.  She placed a second block on top of the first, while saying "Two!".  We were all totally shocked!! The therapist asked if she could count already, and my only reply was ".... I guess so!"

Chelsea and Cooper also came to visit a couple weekends ago. We were so busy chasing two babies that we didnt really take any pictures, but here are a couple pictures of them causing trouble in the kitchen

The Beach

At the end of June, we spent about a week in Oak Island, NC with Rob's family.  His parents rented a big, beautiful house for us to stay in.  It had plenty of room for everyone and everything, including all of the baby toys and supplies!  We had just a short walk to the beach and had an absolute blast.

The weather was great except one breezy day.  We went into town for lunch that day and played in the baby pool:

Adeline's favorite thing to do in the bathtub or pool is drink the water...

We decided we'd better come back inside when Cooper and Adeline's lips turned blue!!

Having fun with Poppa

Fun with Ya-ya

So BIG!

Bear with us... some attempts to get a good family photo...

Adeline wasnt so sure about the beach the first day, but by the second day, she warmed up and LOVED it!  She ate lots of sand while we were there and didnt seem to mind!

I love these pictures of Cooper and Adeline playing.

I just know they will be great friends!

If she wasnt eating sand or splashing in the waves, Adeline was standing on the chair and shaking the backrest.  The girl could have done this all day.

Cooper enjoying his snacks

I'd love to know what they are saying to each other here:

In the afternoons, Adeline and Cooper rinsed off in the pool.  They even took a few baths in there!

Rob enjoyed the pool too!

Feeding time!

After the babies ate their dinner and fell asleep, we enjoyed delicious dinners on the screened porch

Thanks for a wonderful week at the beach! Can't wait to do it again next year!



Father's Day Weekend

We had such a great Father's Day Weekend. We got a few projects done around the house, went to the pool, and had delicious meals.  We spent the weekend together doing all the things we love to do.

Adeline made a card for Rob at Miss Chris'.

(and these huge hydrangeas are from our yard!)

We tackled a few projects, including this table.  Here's the "before" picture...

And here's after!

We also organized the garage... which I know doesnt sound very fun to most people, but we loved it!

Daddy's girl:

Rob, you are the best husband and father! Thanks for all you do for our family.  We love you!

Girls Weekend

The second weekend in June, Logan and Alli came to visit (Katie sadly couldnt make it at the last minute due to work... we missed her!)  Alli was brave enough to drive up from Charlotte with her 10-week-old Caroline, and Logan drove down from DC.

We spend most of the weekend chatting, drinking wine, and eating.  We did manage to get to the pool, but otherwise just spent some quality time together!

Here are some shots of the adorable Caroline:

Adeline was pretty fascinated by her.  I can't wait until they are older and they can play together!

Adeline got to try out her new pool float from my Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, and their families.

Thanks so much for making the trip to Richmond, Logan, Alli, and Caroline! Miss yall already.