July 2012

Sorry for the lack of photos! We have been busy moving to our new house and getting settled in. Thank you so much to all the family who helped us-- from my mother-in-law, Reba, who helped us with the initial unpacking and setting up, to my mom who helped us pack and move out of my aunt's house, and my dad and others for helping us move furniture in and clean the house, etc. Moving with a two week old baby was HARD, but thankfully you all made it possible. We are so happy to be in our own home now!

Bethany is 5 weeks old today and we are both doing very well. I'm not sure what she weighs right now, but I'm guessing around 7lbs since at her 3 week appointment she was 6lbs 4oz and I can tell she has put on some good weight and grown quite a bit since then. She doesn't sleep very well at night due to some tummy troubles and her cry sounds more like a banshee's wail, a pterodactyl's cry, or something generally generally found in a horror film. I need to get it on video or no one who hasn't heard it will ever believe that our cute little bug could make such a terrible noise-- it's not feminine in the slightest and it's hard not to laugh when you hear it. Unless, of course, it happens to be 2am and you've been listening to it continuously since 10pm.

Anyway, here are the photos you've been waiting for. Enjoy!

These first few pictures are when we were at Bev's house. We were so grateful that the Jones' let us stay with them. Thank you so much!

Sleeping beauty. Most of her pictures are similar to this one since she is usually either sleeping or screaming and the screaming pictures are not as fun.

Please don't draw on the sheets, Emmett!

Being a sweet big brother and offering to read to his baby sister.

"Bethany's awake!"

Kisses.

Emmett got sick while we were at Bev's. The upside of it was that Mom let him hang out in her bed and watch four episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in a row. That would make any two year old feel better. :)

Siblings. I love the way Bethany is looking at Emmett here. :)

Little darling.

We were so busy during the week that Reba was in town that I forgot to take pictures until right before she left. It kills me that I didn't take more! She was absolutely amazing in helping us make sense of our mess of boxes and clutter when we moved in. We couldn't have made the move into our new house without her. Side note: Please ignore the ugly red and black mottled backdrop. New paint for that wall is high on the priority list for when I've got the rest of my strength back.!

Grandma and Grandpa Gasser came to visit after the Thornock family reunion. They helped clean the house and took turns soothing a fussy baby girl and entertaining Emmett. We sure appreciated their help also!

Emmett sure misses having Grandpa Gasser around to read to him and take him to the park!

Little peanut cuddling with her Grandpa.

My sister, Debbie, and her family came to visit all the way from Florida! We were so excited to see them, and Kyra was also a big helper taking care of Bethany. I think Debbie and I must look an awful lot alike too, because every time Emmett sees our family picture from last fall, he points to label the people in it and says, "Daddy, Emmett, Aunt Debbie!"

The first night the Snows were here we had a cookout in the back yard. It was the first time we have used our fire pit and so much fun! Casey and I are in heaven to have a real backyard that we can do such fun "family" things in. It feels great!

Poor Grant was just getting over a flu bug when they arrived and was a little bit grumpy that first night. I felt so sorry for the poor guy! I was glad when he started to feel better and got to play more with Emmett as partners in crime. Hopefully they can continue to get to know each other and become good buddies. Next time we've got to find a way to get Brandon out here too and let all three of the boys spend time together!

Emmett loves eating watermelon. Can you tell?

Enjoying his very first roasted marshmallow. I think it was a hit!

Bethany was fairly impartial to the fun going on around her.

Bethany with her handsome daddy.

Grandma and Grandpa Gasser took all the grandkids swimming at their condo's pool. Everyone had such a good time!

Emmett thought it was especially funny to run along the edge of the pool and scare everyone... until he got into trouble.

Getting splashed.

Emmett loved to go to the playground at the elementary school down the street with Grandpa.

He's a pretty big boy to go down the slide all by himself. He talks about the park, the slide, and Grandpa Gasser all the time.