Photo Book

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Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

Is Summer Really Over?

Well, it's Labor Day, folks, and you know what that means! No more white pants or shoes (who follows that rule, anyway? Winter is all about white, right?), no more impromptu visits to the community pool (haha, who am I kidding? With these little ones, it's not like I ever went), no more vacations to the beach (um, we're going to the OBX next week), and no more big kids taking over the indoor playground at the mall (well, that part is true). As an unspoken rule, summer is over. Wait a minute, didn't we just get back from our NH vacation? That would make it July. I think I lost a month somewhere. Last I checked, Olivia was an 8-month-old who just sat where you put her and played contentedly. Collin was in the midst of potty training and running around bottomless. Now Olivia is 10 months old yesterday, and Collin is more or less toliet trained. Anyone seen where August went? I'm missing a month.

Thank God I wrote down some things in Olivia's calendar because August has been quite busy for her! My little baby girl is really growing up. I'll list the highlights. In the past month, Olivia...

- has three visible teeth on the bottom but five more coming in...all at once!
- 's hair has grown so much that I can fit it all into a full ponytail.
- can high-five, clap, wave, and stick out her tongue when asked.
- learned how to crawl, take a couple of steps holding someone's hands, and pull up on low furniture.
- gives her baby doll a bottle and tries to feed others with her spoon.
- identifies nose, teeth, mouth, and eyes on Mommy's face.
- places colored rings on a stick, plastic coins in her piggie, and takes things out of a box to put them back in.
- makes engine noises while pushing cars and trucks around on the floor.
- loves a game of ball back and forth ball with a partner; she's obsessed with balls, actually.
- has 6 words in her spoken vocabulary--> Daddy, cat, Mama, dog ('dag'), ball ('bah'), and baby ('ba-ba').
- not only sleeps 12+ hours through the night but also 4+ during the day...hmm, growth spurt?

Did I mention that all of this happened in just the past month? It was like she didn't do anything besides sit and read her books and point to things the month before and then BAM! Major milestones all around. The crawling has made our life much more interesting. A facebook status from last week pretty much sums it up: Ugh, and I thought keeping tabs on one baby was hard two years ago! If only I knew how easy it was compared to the life of "No touch, Olivia," "Get off that, Collin," "No mouth, Olivia; no touch, Olivia," "Collin, give that back to Olivia," "No mouth, Olivia," "Go clean that up, Collin," "No touch, Olivia," that I lead presently. Yup, fun times! In between all the policing, there are some pretty special moments, like watching my kids-with-a-plural-s make each other laugh, give each other kisses and hugs, and communicate in a way that only they understand. They really enjoy one another's company, even if it makes Collin mad when Olivia goes for his toys or irritates the crap out of Olivia when he won't let her play with hers.

Tomorrow, I'm sending Collin off to the same pre-preschool program he was in last year, only this year he is the oldest in the class instead of the youngest. Last year, he was just starting to talk in simple sentences, and now he'll engage in an entire conversation, complete with analysis and clarification. Last year, he was wearing diapers, and now he wears Thomas, Cars, and Toy Story underwear like only a big kid can. Last year, he needed help putting on his shoes, and now he can do it himself. Last year, Yawgie Doggie had just been replaced by Sammy Cat, who is now playing second fiddle to the Monkey Who Has No Name.

It's only September 5, but I already feel like this month is getting sucked into time's big machine like the sock you know went into the dryer but never came out. Beach next week, Big Apple Circus the weekend following our return, future JMU Dukes photoshoot and homecoming the weekend after that, and then it's October. Don't even get me started on how busy November will be with two birthdays, a baptism, and Thanksgiving.

Really, Labor Day?

Photo Book for ShaSha

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I don't know about you, but it's getting harder and harder to think of quality birthday gifts for anyone over the age of 25 and especially for family members of, let's say, a certain age. Mom's birthday is coming up in a few days, so rather than spend time wandering aimlessly around the mall or ordering something online that will either get lost in a drawer or returned, I decided to make a photo book on Shutterfly (sorry, Snapfish, you were too slow for me!) featuring some of the highlights of the summer. You wanted a brag book, Mom, so here you go! Brag away. :)