This weekend, all 3 of the men (big and small) were in the wedding of some friends, Chris and Jessica Wilson. Brian Officiated and the boys were both Ring Bearers. It was a beautiful wedding at Camp Loughridge and the reception, at Southern Hills Country Club, was like none I've ever experienced. The food was delicious and we all had so much fun dancing and visiting with friends we don't get to see often enough. It was fun to get all dressed up and figure out which fork was for salad and which was for dessert! The boys were both smitten with their own reflection! I warned them not to accept any marriage proposals...thankfully the warning wasn't necessary. However, Cole had several older ladies (50 and over) asking him to dance. He bashfully turned them down. While we were all out having a ball, Hope was at home with our new favorite baby sitter, being loved on and well taken care of!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with my parents and sister. Who knows, maybe I'll find the time to post about that tomorrow!

The Parties

We had the pleasure of celebrating Hope's birthday twice. First in Joplin with Brian's family over Thanksgiving weekend. Then at home with my dad whose birthday is the day after Hope's.

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream in Joplin.

A little photo shoot before the party at home.

Just a little icing.

Maybe I'll just lick the top instead of using my fingers.

I'm starting to feel sick.

Uh Oh, I got a little bit of cupcake on the table.

BATH TIME.

We're back...

A year ago today, our little Hope graced us with her presence.

And now she's already ONE!

We love you sweet angel.

Dear Santa

Last week while Hope was taking a "mommy-I-don't -feel-good-marathon-nap" I was catching up in blog land. I stumbled upon this post. Let me first tell you that I loath mopping! It's become a well know fact in our hope that shortly after mom mops, someone in going to spill something very sticky. For those of you not interested in reading the above post -which you should because it's funny and much more well written than mine-it's all about the love between a woman and her robot vacuum cleaner. Which brings me to my mention of Santa in the title of this post. I want Santa to bring me this for Christmas. I can just imagine all the extra time I'll have to read books to the kids, ask my hubby about his day and knit hats for the homeless...maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But it sure would be nice to wake up each morning to a freshly mopped kitchen!

My little mess-makers at the Tulsa Zoo.

August means...

My Birthday!

Cole made me this awesome Birthday card out of Legos. It says "MOM" if you can't tell.

A visit to the QT Park and the Aquarium with Brian's cousin, Lisa, and her family. Our kids had so much fun with Connor, Trevor and Aubrey. That evening we got a a couple of babysitters for the 7 kids and went to the showing of Jeffie Was Here at the Tulsa United Film Festival. That was a first for Brian and me. Lots of fun and great people watching!

This Friday, we all went up to Hoover Elementary to meet the kids teachers. It was so much fun to walk the halls and finally know people. When we got back to the house, Shurabe tripped while climbing out of the van. She is now the recipient of 4 stitches. She did so well...lots of screaming and crying but she laid very still while they were doing the stitches. At one point, she screamed, "I'm so hungry!" After leaving the Urgent Care we went straight to Panda Express and got that girl some Orange Chicken!

Happy 4th

This was Shurabe and Hope's first 4th of July. It was almost a year ago that we traveled to Ethiopia to get our little girl. Shurabe is so excited about America. She points out every "America flag" she sees as we drive around town. On Saturday we got out her American flag dress to iron in preparation for Sunday. She knew that Hope was wearing her "America dress" too so she asked if I had America clothes to wear too. I told her I didn't but I thought Nana might. She immediately called Nana and asked her about her America clothes (I had to do a little interpreting before Nana figured out what she was talking about).

Hope had no idea what the 4th of July was all about but she sure did look cute!

Cole and Levi were really excited because we got to go out to "Uncle" John Burgett's ranch. They got to shoot the potato gun, ride in a boat, ride a 4-wheeler and do a little fishing! What a day!

Yum, Yuck and Yeah!

A few weeks ago, I was busy in the kitchen and was summoned to the living room. Shurabe said, "You have to take a picture of this. It's too cute!" (all with her sweet little african accent) She was right, so I hurried to get the camera before the cute moment passed.

Our sweet Hopey (as we affectionately call her) turned 6 months old on Sunday. I find myself enjoying her more than I ever thought possible. The knowledge that she will be my last baby is a big encouragement to savor every moment. The whole family was excited to watch her experience her first bites of rice cereal (except Cole... I'm not sure where he was but later that evening he was shocked to hear that Hope had eaten cereal). She really liked it and even succeeded at grabbing the spoon a time or two.

Cole was the celebrity at out house yesterday! Levi's sign says it best... "Cole haves his therd tooth out!" (interpretation : Cole has his 3rd tooth out) It was a really big deal because this is the first tooth for him to lose on his own (the first two were pulled by the dentist).

Late Sunday night (long after he should have been asleep) Cole came running into the living room to show us that his tooth was pointing forward at a 45 degree angle. Brian's brother and his family came down from Springfield for Memorial Day. We had a great time at the QT park and The Riverwalk. Every time I looked at Cole, he had his loose tooth sticking out over his lower lip. (see picture below)

Nana and Papa came over for dinner that evening and Nana had the tooth out before the enchiladas were out of the oven. I'd been telling Cole all day that his Nana was famous for her tooth-pulling skills. She didn't disappoint!

Tomorrow is the boys' last day of school. Yippee!! Get ready for some swimming pictures!