Give them the $10,000!

Welcome to our world.

Dave and I were trying to get a video of Anna Ruth "talking" to Dave.  She loves to goo goo at him and squeal and coo.  In the process of trying to get a cute video, Joshua excused himself to the bathroom.  Pay close attention to the 40-45 second mark and you will hear evidence of his toileting.  Then to top off the video Anna Ruth fountains milk on Dave's arm.

 

America's Funniest Home Videos here we come!

there is another new video below

Kung Foo Fighting

When Joshua was a baby Dave would make him ninja fight, see this post for a video.

Anna Ruth recently started her ninja fighting training, except she has a human target.

 

 

a little of this...

 Joshua loves to draw and color.  He has been bringing home pictures from school that he is quite proud of. 

"This is an elephant that I colored for dad's office."

"Mama, I know you are scared of mouses but I thought you might not be scared of a colored mouse since it isn't real.  I colored you this mouse for you to hang in your office."

Do you think it is time for a haircut?

Don't worry, he's getting one tomorrow!

Good night from Starkville!

3 months old

Anna Ruth is 3 months old!

 

She is a big girl.  She appears to be twice the size of the other kids in her class (even those who are several months older than her).

Anna Ruth loves to sleep (Praise the Lord!).  She sleeps well at night only waking once and takes lots of naps during the day.  Her teacher at school says, "She is such an easy baby to have in my class because all she does is sleep and laugh and smile."

Anna Ruth is smiling a laughing a lot, especially at Dave and Joshua.

She loves to suck her thumb and rarely cries (again Praise the Lord!).

Joshua is adjusting to being a big brother like a pro.  I must admit that I didn't think he would do as well as he has.  He loves his sister and has been a huge help around the house.  He and Dave spent time together working on the AT AT Walker model Joshua got for a big brother present.  He was proud to have finished it.

Joshua started "Ms. Sara's class" last week.  He is loving being back with some friends who were in a different class last year and is over the moon excited about playing soccer this fall. 

Joshua continues to make us laugh all the time.  For example: The other day Anna Ruth was wearing only her bloomers because she had spit up on her shirt.  The conversation went like this:

Joshua: "Anna Ruth looks like she lives in Hawaii."

Amelia: "What do you mean?"
J: "She doesn't have a shirt on.  People in Hawaii only wear pants.  They don't wear none shirts."

A: "Where did you hear that?"
J: "Nowhere Mama, I just know things like that."

 

I can't believe that it has already been 3 months since Anna Ruth was born.  I think that Dave and I have adjusted well to having 2 kiddos in the house.  Going from 1 to 2 kids feels like there are 5 more people in our house at times but we often divide and conquer and are able to get stuff done.

We are blessed beyond measure!

Happy Baby

 Anna Ruth is such a happy baby!

She is pictured in this and the next photo covered in burp clothes. 
This is our standard method of keeping clothes spit up free for a few minutes.



babies in tutus are funny

Anna Ruth has mastered the art of thumb sucking.  When she doesn't get her paci in time she can be heard slurping on her thumb.

 

Happy baby + Boy Wonder = Super Fun

Vacay at the Camp

Again this year the Gladney family vacationed at Camp Dawson.  And it again proved great place for the kids to run and yell and play and swim. 

Anna Ruth sort of enjoyed being out at the pool.

"This is a really big bath tub!"

water babies

Little Surfer Girl



mandatory popsicle snack break

water guns are a must

"My future is so bright I have to wear shades!"

movie star baby

Synchronized diving with Aunt B

"Watch my karate kick jump. Hi-ya!"

Vacation at the Camp wouldn't be nearly as fun without the cousins.



pajama movie night

You know it is time to go home when they make you wear your bloomers on your head.

Super Hero and Cousins

The kids and I (Amelia) spent a week in Jackson so that Joshua could attend Super Hero Camp.  By all accounts it was as awesome as it sounds.  Joshua is currently refusing to have his picture taken so this is the only hero picture we got of him.  The other reality is that Joshua and Abigail never sat still enough for a picture while we were there...they played hard and fast!

Joshua loved camp.  His leader was "the real Batman."  They ran obstacle courses everyday and "did lots of things that I can't remember or don't want to tell you" according to Joshua.

 

While Joshua was at camp Anna Ruth and I got to hang out with everyone else.

 

She took a nap with Coach.

Played with Lottie

Loved on Luke

Enjoyed time with the little cousins while Joshua and Abigail were gone (Abigail went to Princess Camp).

Rode the famous Allie Elephant with Joshua

 

 We had a great time!



2 months

"This head is so heavy I just can't hold it up."

"Who is this strange person in my bed?"

  

"Now that I have my paci nothing can upset me!"

2 month check-up:
Anna Ruth is 13 pounds (4.5 pound weight gain in 6 weeks) and 22 3/4 inches tall (2 inch gain in 6 weeks).  That is 94% and 68% respectively.
Everything looks good!

Anna Ruth is sleeping 6-8 hours at night!
She smiled for the first time on 6/30/13 at Joshua and laughed on purpose at Nana on 7/17/13.

week in photos

We tried all week to get a picture of Anna Ruth smiling, this is as close as we got.

Sibling Snuggle Time
(I think Anna Ruth looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid in this picture)

Only 51 days until kickoff
(but who's counting?)

 

Aunt B came to visit last weekend.  She and Joshua played with glow sticks and glow glasses in the bathroom (the darkest room in the house).
Cousin Tanner aka Joshua's favorite human jungle gym also came and spent a day with us.  The best way to sum up that day is that Joshua slept really good that night and I imagine Tanner did too.

Hello, My Name Is...

Joshua loves Anna Ruth.  He talks to her and kisses her all the time. 

It is only fitting then that she smiled for the first time while he was talking to her Sunday.  

I have been trying to keep track of all the names he has for her:

Rutha

Anna Baby

Girl

Eyes Open (reserved only for the special occasion of Anna Ruth being awake)

Grunts

Baby Grunts

Little Rascal

Little Lamb

Sister

Missy

Princess

Ladybug

Peanut

Stinker

Sleepy

Cute

 

And with cheeks like this, I think Cute is a good name for her.

In other news: Joshua completed the Toddler Splash Class Swimming Lessons last week.  He was awarded a certificate and medal.  The instructors suggested that Joshua repeat the splash class as "he is the tensest child I have ever worked with.  He will not relax."  I talk to Joshua about why he was so tense, especially when they were teaching him to float on his back.  He responded, "I don't want my ears to go under and fill me up with water."  Dave and I assured him that he would not fill up with water but he worked really hard to master floating on his back with his head completely above the water line.