Summer Time

I feel as though I am an ostrich pulling my head out of the sand, I have lost contact with folks this summer. Some days I just wonder what happened. The past few weeks in particular. Do not get me wrong the weeks have been lots of fun. We had guests of Fred stay with us for a night. Then our friends the Whites came and stayed with us a few days later. Above is a picture of Jessika being attacked in a loving embrace by Mick and Liam.
Then the same day they left my family came to visit for the 4th of July. Here is Ana with her cousins, Emma and Zoey as well as Aunt Chris. After the fam left we headed to Chicago to visit with Jeff's sister and a recent grad from Kenyon. As soon as we returned it became busy with summer conferences. It was wonderful to spend time with all these folks. I am blessed to have all these people in my life.

Ana is learning some new things. She enjoys pulling hair, sitting up, rolling from a sitting position, peek-a-boo, patty cake, and vocalizing, especially with the "ddd" sound.

Beantown

The last week of May beginning of June we got to visit with Jeff's family in Boston. It was great to be back in the city since we left exactly one year ago! Ana got to go to the ocean for the first time. Even though the water was freezing she enjoyed kicking her feet in the water. Check out her Red Sox outfit in that photo:) There is also a picture of Jeff, Ana, and I in Copley square with to tortoise and the hare. We had a great time visiting with folks, riding the "T", and being in the city. This was also Ana's first plane ride. She slept through most of it. Now we head back to the village for a summer working with the conferences. As a note no one who lives in Boston calls it "Beantown".

PA visit

Ana and I got to visit with my family for a week while Jeff took a class. It was lots of fun! Ana can now roll across a room. She also got her first tooth! At the top you can see Ana and cousin Zoey while we were at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. Then there is a picture of cousin Emma holding Ana with Aunt Chris there to supervise. In the side picture Ana is working on her sitting up skills. This only lasts for brief moments, but you can tell she is getting stronger. There is also a picture of some of my mom's family at the Memorial Day picnic.

Wonder

Ana is definitely reminding me of the joy in wonder. She will being crying and then suddenly stop to look at her hand. She will just open and close her hand for several minutes. Or she will look around the room with eyes wide open taking it all in. And then she might just start laughing or "talking" about what she sees. It is such a delight to see her trying to figure things out and just marveling at the world around her.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."-Albert Einstein

Here is Ana with her many stuffed animals.

New Skills

Ana rolled over! It was fun to see. Both Jeff and I got to be present. It took her several tries, but she did it! We cheered and she cried. It's those simple things that are so exciting!
Here are some
other pics too.