Two videos and newsy stuff

I haven't had time to blog much lately, but wanted to share two videos from this week, as well as a few updates on each of the kiddos.

 

Colton

 

Colton has had a lot of firsts this week.  He said ma-ma for the first time on Monday (great birthday present for me!), we brushed his two teeth for the first time, he ate baby puffs for the first time, tried his first bite of ice cream (didn't like it!!!), and he is now eating (and loving!) oatmeal, rice cereal, carrots, squash, peas, bananas, and applesauce.  He is a great eater, eating 2-3 solid meals a day!  Colton has had a DRAMATIC turnaround this past week in being able to have fun and play on his own.  I am not sure whether it is the fact that he is 6 months now or that his teeth are finally in, but he has been SO much less fussy.  I can actually set him down to play by himself for a few minutes and he will do so without crying.  He is soooo much happier than he has been the past 6 months of his life--I LOVE it!  It is seriously such a dramatic change, and I really hope it is here to stay!  Right now, he has a magic "giggle button"...if I sneeze, he automatically laughs!  It is so funny!  I did a lot of sneezing during his 6 month pictures....!  I love that he and Summer are starting to share laughs together and I can't wait for them to actually be able to play together.  He is starting to babble a lot more lately and he just learned how to blow bubbles last night.  While he doesn't associate "ma-ma" with me yet, I like to pretend he does when he babbles ma-ma-ma-ma ;).  It was really hard for me to catch him saying ma-ma on video because he would stop everytime I got out the camera...this is the best I could catch on camera!   Here is a video of him saying ma-ma :-).

 

 

Summer

 

I have been having so much fun with Summer lately.  I love talking with her and she makes me laugh so much!  I love hearing how she explains things in her own words....for example during bathtime one evening she noticed Colton's "fountain" when he went to the bathroom in the tub and she said, "Mama, Colton's bottom is squirting!"  I love seeing the associations she makes with words, for example when reading Snow White and naming the Dwarfs, when we got to "Doc" she said, "just like at Grandma's cabin"...(i.e. the "dock" at Grandma's cabin) or when she relates Bible characters to people she knows with the same name.  I love being able to ask her about her Sunday school class or her time with Daddy at Dad's Class and she can tell me what she did or who she played with.  I love snuggling with her and reading a library book, especially now that we can get the longer books with more of a story plot instead of just the board books.  I love how she really can help now with getting things for Colton and helping clean up.  I love her sweet little conscience, where she immediately tells me if she does something she shouldn't (such as sticking a sticker on the floor or coloring on the table or saying "no" to a teacher at Sunday School).  I love the little face she gets when she is suuuper crabby but I tell her to "be happy" and she (in mid-cry) will stop and pull herself together, saying "I will be happy"!  I love hearing her pray (and I am SURE God does too!)  This past week, after finishing reading through her Beginner's Bible for the 6th or 7th time we started a reading the Big Picture Story Bible during her morning Bible time.  I like how this one is set up because it helps kids connect the stories together into the "Big Picture" of the Bible.  It is fun to watch her understanding of God grow.  Here is her randition of what she learned during her Bible time.