Altered object

My favorite hobby is scrapbooking. I love mixing and matching paper and embellishments. A very generous and wonderful friend turned 40 years old this week. I altered one of Natalies boxes and filled it with different stuff to help avoid the midlife crisis. :)

Sprinkler run

You can let the water chase you,

you can jump across the spray.

When you're running through the sprinkler,

there are lots of games to play.

You can stay there as the water comes,

or run every-which-way,

when you're running through the sprinkler

on a sunny summer day.

We have such good neighbors! Yesterday TD showed up to mow our lawn while Glenn was at work. Michael and Natalie was tempted to run through the sprinkler. It was a spur of the moment thing and they ended up getting soaking wet.

Little Melissa slept through the whole thing.

Sippy cup

Every girl needs a pink sippy cup! This one is brilliant and Melissa loves it!

Shopaholic

Summer sale! Oh yeah, baby! We went shopping for swim wear for our vacation. Boy, did we get some great bargains. And now the sun is shining outside. Maybe we get to try the new suits tomorrow. Natalie has written about our shopping spree on her blog.

Take me out to the ball game

The boys in our family are not very devoted to sports. Not like the average Norwegian anyway. Most Norwegians devote a lot of their time to soccer. In our family, I am the one who will fight for the remote control to watch a soccer game. Glenn and Michael have however a thing for American sports. They love both baseball and American football. Michael got his own glove this summer. It is just fake leather. So here is a hint for upcoming birthday gifts or the Christmas wish list. He needs a real leather glove. :)

Now if we only had some beef jerky, life would be sooooooo sweet!

7 month milestones

Another month older.

Teething! This little giraffe is a favorite to chew on.

Melissa started lying down on her tummy to relax and rest. She is so cute taking her little time outs. She will also fall asleep like this at night.

Other favorites at 7 months old:
So NOW she likes the pacifier. She likes to snatch the pacifier from either of us. Over and over again. And once she has got it, she won't let go. She likes hiding games. We like to hide her toys and see how long it takes for her to discover it and it is fun to watch her crawl to get it. This will keep her occupied for a long time. It seems she likes rough games, e.g. she likes to be held upside down.

Staycation

Our summer vacation has been a stay-cation. We had rain every day in July. The kids have been amazingly patient and kept themselves busy just chillaxin' at home. It was nice to have a couple of sleep over guests last week though. The girls went bananas with my scrapbook supplies and the boys robbed my kitchen cabinet for vinegar and baking soda for their experiments.

Glenn took all four kids to see Ice Age 3.

We also had our nephew come stay with us and Glenn took our kids and their three cousins to see Harry Potter at the movies.

Wedding season

This summer we have been to three weddings. Last Saturday I had promised to help out with the gift table. I did not know then that Glenn had to work. Well, Michael and Natalie did a great job helping me with Melissa. At a previous wedding Glenn was asked to give a talk during the wedding ceremony and I was very much involved in writing the speech. I love weddings! When Michael told me he wanted chocolate cake for his wedding cake, I went straight home to google some pictures of delicious cakes. Now he only needs to find a girl who agrees!

Someone to watch over me

Best buds! Melissa is blessed with the BEST big brother and sister. They do such a great job taking care of their little sister. There is no doubt that she already adores them.

I'm hungry.....

Melissa enjoys her cereal much more now and will even sometimes empty the plate. She gets three meals a day in addition to being nursed. She is superhappy if she gets the heel of a load of bread. And her favorite meal? Vanilla ice cream. :)