More Pictures

Crazy hair after bath
Cousin Anna and Sophie
Joshua likes Papaw's fish
Muck and Sophie

I am including a few more vacation pictures for your viewing enjoyment! We really had a great time! We are adjusting to being back home, trying to get Sophie back on track with sleeping and Joshua back on track with FUSSING. He has become a whiney-booger the past few days. My mom's friend Rita would say I am getting my just desserts and that I was quite a whiner myself! Oops!

We're baaaack!

Joshua w/ cousin Bronwen and Sophia at the Greensboro Science Center
Sophie takes a dip in Otter Creek, Va.


We arrived back in Dayton about 7 pm tonight after a wonderful vacation! We had a great time with my folks in Va., a super fun visit with Ellie & fam, and we got to see new baby Iris on the way home! It was sooo fun! Sophia also learned to CRAWL at my parent's which was exciting! She is now officially EVERYWHERE!!

I'm pooped so I'll just post a couple pics but more will soon follow!

Congratulations Matt & Kelly!

I am super-geeky-happy that my friends Matt & Kelly Cooke became parents yesterday! Iris Claire Cooke was born at 2:37 pm and weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and is 21 inches long!! Matt & Kelly are thrilled and all are doing great. Because Kelly is an overachiever, she had the baby on her due date and did not have any drugs! She's like my own personal super hero. We're hoping to stop by Athens to see the little wonder baby on our way home from Virginia to see my folks. We are leaving tomorrow night, staying the night in Charleston, W.Va., and hoping to be at my parent's by noon Monday. I seriously cannot wait!!!!!! Toward the end of the week, we are going to take a side trip to Greensboro, NC see Bobby's cousin Ellie, & her family, Dan, Bronwen, & Piper, who we have never met! They haven't met our kids either so we are all excited.

All right, mucho packing to do, gotta go!

Oh, if you haven't voted for my story yet, please click here to to so before Monday at noon! Thanks!

Vote for ME!

Hi all!
For those of you who don't know, I write a blog about MOTHERHOOD with my cousin Emily. You can find it at http://momminitup.com! Well, anyhoo, one of my posts is entered in a contest at another blog called PediaScribe. So from NOON TODAY until NOON MONDAY, July 23, you can go to www.pediascribe.com and vote for MY STORY!! It's called "When Motherhood Meets HAZMAT" by Jenny at Mommin' It Up. SO....I'd apreciate it!! Thanks!
And please tell any of your friends who wouldn't mind doing so also....

I know, he's a genius!

Joshua has taken an interest in learning to write his numbers. Bobby was working with him on it last night and he was ever so proud of this "10" that he wrote all by himself! He's backed off on the wanting to read thing, so I'm glad he's still pursuing some sort of learning! He can make 10, 11, and 7 really well. I am sure Papaw and Uncle Charles will be very proud!

Supermodel Sophie

Today Sophie became a professional model. I suppose it was just destiny for such a beautiful little girl! Ha ha! Here's what really happened: I joined the Evenflo Moms Research Group, so I could get paid for testing baby products. (Evenflo is headquartered here in the Dayton area.) Well, they sent an email asking any group members who were interested to send pictures of their babies to be considered for a photo shoot for the Evenflo Snugli (baby carrier). I sent So's pic in and she was chosen! Today we went to the photo shoot. We were there about 1.5 hrs and she spent 30-40 minutes in a Snugli strapped to a fake "Mommy" (a model who looked about 22 and was about a size 2. I dare say she hasn't had any kids! Sophie's weight about snapped her in half.) There was also a fake daddy to gaze adoringly at her. (He also looked nothing like her real daddy!) Sophie did GREAT! She was very cheerful and gave some great smiles and angelic looks. Everyone fawned over her of course. She is now extremely conceited. She is going to expect a personal hairstylist every day now! I don't know what I'm going to do to keep her humble. :) For her work, she was paid $50. Woohoo! A pretty good hourly rate if you ask me. I think as her agent I should get 20%. Ha! Who knows if So will model again. I guess she can do any gig where they don't want to put bronzer or eyeliner on her. As long as it's in the Dayton area. So, the opportunities will be limited. It was fun though! I am going to keep testing Evenflo products, because I get paid $75 for two hours, and I don't have to be in any pictures!

Splish Splash!

Joshua & Sophia took their first bath together after we got back from the Lake on Sunday. It was a blast! They both really enjoyed it as you can tell. We are glad to be home although we did have much family fun! Sophie is allllllll messed up schedule-wise. She prefers to take her naps Lake-style, under a tree on a blanket! She won't nap now without being nursed or rocked to sleep, and has been waking up multiple times at night. So I am pooped. She is really close to crawling though and gets around really well scooting!

Last night we had a par-tay for our friend Chelle from church and her new baby boy Nathan! It was so fun! We cooked out even though we had to dodge some storms to do so.

Well we have a busy day ahead so I must get going!

Just Pictures!

Sophia & Isabel Hartenstein

Here are some of the pictures from our adventures at Kiser Lake with the Rapson family. I've included the names of those in the photos (if they aren't obvious!) Most of them are of our nieces & nephews enjoying cousin time. I'll have more pics soon, I just ran out of steam tonight!

Squeaky Clean

Here's Joshua in the dentist's chair after his first dental cleaning. They gave him the sunglasses to wear so the light they use to see in his mouth wouldn't hurt his eyes. He was a little nervous but did SO great! He greatly exceeded my expectations and I was very proud. And now his little toofers are all clean. This picture was taken on Thursday the 5th. Immediately afterward we left to go to Kiser Lake to be with the Rapson family at the cabin. We've been there ever since but Sophie and I are sleeping at home and commuting the 45 minutes back & forth each day. Joshua is sleeping in a tent with Bobby and loving being with his cousins. I'll post some pictures in a few days, right now Bobby has the camera with him at the lake. Speaking of which, Sophie and I better get dressed and ready to join the family there!

Visits from Friends

Yesterday we had a visit from one of my college friends, Matt Deroo and his lovely wife Sally, who I really enjoyed getting to know! Above is a picture of them with Joshua. Matt & Sally are on their "farewell tour" as they get ready to go back to China to teach English at the end of the month. They had both been there for several years but were in the States for a year after they got married. We had a great time and they were very gracious to let Joshua entertain them with his dancing and computer games.

Tonight one of Bobby's best friends (ok he's my friend too!) Adam is visiting us from Boulder, Colorado, where he moved in February. We are really looking forward to seeing him, and tomorrow he & Bobby are going to celebrate the 4th by going to see the "Transformers Movie". NERD ALERT!!!

I have included a picture of Sophie's looong hair. Her bangs are getting so long! I think I am just going to let them grow out, which is why I've had bows in it all the time. (Also because the bows are sooo cute!)