Happy Birthday, America!

We had an awesome 4th of July including many wonderful testimonies born of the great country that we live in and the wonderful freedoms that we share. I am so blessed to live in this great nation and am so thankful for the men and women (including my little brother) who have fought and will continue to fight to preserve the liberties that we hold dear. We had a very non-traditional dinner of chicken fajitas, and went out to watch the Plano fireworks for the first time since we moved here. The show was really great, and our viewing location was awesome! Here are some pictures of our 4th.

The girls in their red, white, and blue before church


Juliette turned 8 months old that day


Ellie gives a shout-out to Uncle Tay-Tay


All-American girl


Waiting for the fireworks




Mommy and her girls


Proud to be American!


Daddy and daughter


The finale

Family Photo Shoot - June 12, 2010

Wonderful Day

Today is such a happy day. My wonderful, beautiful, talented, fabulous (I could go on) sister turns 25 today!!! That is so amazing. She is my very best friend and I am so lucky to have her as my sister. I am so proud that she is in Sweden serving a mission for our church.

Rich, the girls, and I love you Suz! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Here is your birthday message from Ellie:

Also, Rich and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today. Yes, I got married on my sister's 18th birthday. I know...I'm terrible. But hey, we put candles on top of the wedding cake and sang to her. She forgave me...I think. Today is also my half birthday and Flag Day. Like I said, it's a wonderful day!

Now to Rich (and anyone else who wants to read my mush): I am so blessed to have such a hard-working, handsome, and wonderful husband and father as my eternal companion. I am so glad I married my best friend. Thank you for the best 7 years of my life. I look forward to spending all the years to come and eternity with you. I love you so much!

Here's some highlights of Year 7:

U2 Concert in October

Birth of Juliette in November

That crazy Dallas snowfall in February

Disney World in April

Hope you all have a wonderful day, too!

Butt-Scootin' Boogie

Jules is CRAWLING! She actually did her first scoot-crawling on June 4th, the day she turned 7 months old. She is practicing and getting better every day. We are so proud of our little Julesie.

And here are a couple of recent cute shots of both Eliza and Juliette just for kicks.

What's up, Mom?

I love to laugh!

Self-portrait

I can wear eye shadow, too!
(And is it just me, or do you notice the flux capacitor on her face, too?)

Thanks for my skirt, Nana Nguyen!
(Again, flux capacitor ... fluxing.)

Jules is 6 Months!

I can hardly believe it. Time keeps flying by and my newborn is a big baby girl now. She is a pro at sitting, rolling, and lifting her head all the way while on her tummy, and I noticed last week that she cut her bottom front teeth! We just started her on solid foods and she loves her rice and oatmeal cereals. She loves to smile and babble and is toying with the idea of crawling. She is such a joy to have as a member of our family.

6 Month Stats
Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces - 48%
Length: 26 1/4 inches - 72%
Head Circumference: 42 centimeters - 39%

Teeth!

Jules' first cereal - YUM!

My wonderful cousin, Julianne, came out and took 6 month pics of Juliette. Here are a few of my favorites.

Ellie Counts to 11 / Itsy-Bitsy Spider

I'm not sure if our daughter is a genius or not for being able to count to 11 at 27 months old, but even if she has average 2-year-old intelligence, she is above-average cute!

Did I mention she sings, too? I meant to post this video a while ago (she's actually way better at the song now), but I didn't think I would be able to recreate the classic ending.

Easter Dresses in the Bluebonnets

I finally got around to taking the girls out for their annual Easter dress pictures in the bluebonnets today. I never thought about how difficult it would be to get a baby and a toddler to smile at exactly the same time...but I gave it my best shot. Here are my favorites.