BBC

Here a couple of pictures that capture some great moments in our life. We also took family pictures Sunday morning so I will have more to post when we get those. Emilie did a great job!!! He got some sneak peaks of the session:) I hope this finds you all well!

BBC - baby butt crack

after a long swimming session

My Favorite Guys

In the four summers I have spent at Camp Rockmont, this has by far gone the fastest. Our jobs are almost the same but life is much different now. Past summers, a good portion of our jobs was out on the field leading wilderness trips. Now we spend more time directing and doing logistics rather than actual time out. When you are out in the woods, time moves much slower. It is this beautiful thing. That is why it would take all summer to build the kind of relationships we build on our 2 week adventures. The setting is quite optimal for growth.

We have had a great summer. Lately, Cap and I, and Bryce when he is here, have been going to the lake to get wet. Cap learned how to splash water with his hands last week. It is awesome! He will splash and splash, get water in his face, make this gasping noise, smile, and do it all over again. I have found he takes better afternoon naps after playing hard in the water. Sometimes, when he is fighting sleep we just go down to the water instead. I figure if he isn't going to sleep we might as well be wet and cooling ourselves off! I think next year will be even more fun with Cap in the lake.

Other little notes about the week. Cap has been making this hilarious noise. It is ridiculously high pitched and he is doing it all the time now. He tries to sing when I sing, or at least I think that is what he is doing. He will copy noises we make. Yesterday I was making noises through the breast pump funnel and he grabbed it and started to try and make noise through it too. He slept from 7:45 till 6:00 this morning and then played in his crib for 40 minutes talking to his animals and looking in his mirror. His eyes for some reason look bluer this week to me. Could be that he got a little sun and they are just popping out??? I wish I took more pictures, but my huge camera is just not something I want to add to the diaper backpack and lug around camp. Here are some pics off our front porch the other night.

I think he is a daddy's boy big time!

He misses Bryce like crazy when he is gone!

This is pretty much what he is up to these days.

Sticking everything in his mouth!

4 month pictures

Finally I am posting the 4 month pictures. It took Cap a few days to get back to himself after his 2 shots. We are all glad he is feeling better and back to his happy self again. Enjoy!

This one is just funny! He kept staring down the camera.

Cap is way to observant for picture taking.

Do you see my feet holding the blanket down?

He was all over the place!

This one is just because I love his shirt. Great dollar purchase!

Big Bertha's Kiddos

We have lived in North Carolina for the last 2 1/2 years. We were in Black Mountain for 8 months, then moved to Cedar Mountain for 5 months, and now we have been back in Black Mountain for the last 1 1/2. Moving out east was a temporary move for us. We love the west coast where the days are sunny and the heat is dry. I have slowly and internally up to this point began to come to peace that we are going to be living here indefinitely. It may seem like no big deal to most, but being at peace with the east is kind of a big deal for me. This is not to say we are living here forever. We are constantly listening for God's leading and direction in our lives. Bryce and I are God's movable possessions and we will go without knowing when He calls. Life with God is a beautiful and exciting adventure.

My new found peace with the east brought me to the realization that I needed to cut my hair. Dreads out here are ridiculously hot! It is so humid! There is a lot of care that goes into nice clean dreadlocks and keeping them dry is a big one. Pretty hard to do here. I was missing out on some summer fun because I couldn't get them wet unless the conditions were just perfect. Here are some pics of the beginning process. More to come later.

Water Time

Here are some pics while you are waiting on 4 month shots.

These are on our lake at camp.

4 months

I was looking over the past month and realized I forgot to post that Cap rolled over! It was probably 3 weeks ago and he actually only did it twice. Once for me, once for Bryce and then he has lost interest in it since then. I got so excited when he did it the first time I scared him! It was funny.

Well, four months. I must say, I am forgetting what tricks are new and what he has been doing for awhile. So they may just start blending.

- stands, not on his own

- makes all sorts of noise

- like to try to imitate our noises

- still loves the outdoors, it is the best soothing thing out there for him

- grabs his feet

- uses his hands

- extremely alert

- very expressive

- everyone says he is the happiest baby they have ever met

- starting to like the lake, likes it best when his feet can touch the bottom

- had his first dunk in water with his whole body, he didn't love it, but didn't cry

- first runny nose this past week

- is much better in his car seat now

- 16.5 lb

- 25 1/2 inches long

- 16.9 inches around his head

- roughly 75 percentile all the way around

- great kid!

I don't have pictures to add yet. He got his first shots yesterday. 2 of them right in the thigh. By the afternoon, he was running a fever and just crying and wimpering. Cap rarely cries so it has been a rough day in a half. He slept a ton yesterday and through the night, but even through the night I could hear him making the 'I don't feel very good' noises. It was quite sad. So when he gets feeling like himself, hopefully tomorrow, I will snap his 4 month pictures and post them up. Until then...

New Things

I have been writing this since last Friday!!! It is not even long it just shows that I have no time to finish it. So here it is..not really done.

Cap has been doing some new stuff lately. He is always adding to his repertoire, but the last few days have felt different to me. I love those days where our communication is just 'on'. We speak to each other without words, but so much is said each day. Friday was one of those fun days with him. He decided he wants to use his legs and stand up now. He is incredibly strong! Bryce had him in a booth yesterday with his back against the seat and he was standing without us. It is just crazy! He is working on sitting up by himself now and getting stronger as we give him opportunity to do so. He gets so tickled about standing. He is so happy!

We have also been having some great EC moments. Nothing is better than that. Am I stoked that we have to change and clean one less diaper...yes...however, there is so much more going on than that. It is again this form of communication where we are trying to understand each other more and more. If you could see Cap's excitement when he pees or poos outside of his diaper you too would be sold on this method too.

I guess lately I have been so amazed at this process of growing 'up' a human. We were amazed every week when Cap was inside of me all the new things that were growing and forming. How is body was preparing itself for life outside the womb. Now every week we get to be amazed how slowly he will become more independent. One day sooner than later, he will successfully put his bullet back in his mouth. On another day he will crawl around the room finding an object of his choice. One day he will put on his own shirt and his own socks. One day he might even want to rock on his own guitar! It is just crazy watching so closely someone grow like this. Figuring out depth perception. How to grab and let go of things. Using your legs for the first time. Turning over. It is incredible!