Hangin' Out with the Kids

One of our favorite evening family activities is to play in mommy's and daddy's bed. Here are some pictures of the kids from last night.

Sarah copying her little bro.

Sarah up close

Andrew up close

Oops, somebody's all played out...

I think I like this side of the bed.

She was supposed to be "holding" the baby.... He didn't think he needed to be "held."

"self portrait"

Six Months and New Pictures

It's hard to believe, but our baby boy just hit the 1/2 way point on the way to completing his first year of life. We've seen a marked difference with each month, but more so in the past one or two months. Unless Andrew is really tired or hungry, he is a very happy little guy. Smiles come easily and frequently. We do call him Mr. Sensitive, though, because he cries at the slightest bump or jostle.

At Andrew's 6 month check-up he weighed 18.5 lbs. and was 26 3/4th inches long. He now weighs what Sarah did at 14-15 months - which I realize is a result of a few different factors. Still funny to think how big he is and how small she was. It may not be too much longer before Andrew passes Sarah in weight. Drew started eating solids this month and by the second jar he was eating like a pro. We are up to eating baby food 2 meals a day and taking between 6-8oz of formula mixed with rice cereal.


Developmentally, Andrew is doing all kinds of things. He rolls all over the floor of whatever room he is in, he rolls all over his crib...well...he just rolls everywhere. We have to wrestle him to get his clothes on or to get him in the car seat. He prefers to sleep on his stomach. He is grabbing everything now - hair, jewelry, toys, etc. Now when I take the kids walking in the double jogger he torments his sister by grabbing her clothes and hair. Lucky for him, Sarah is a pretty patient gal.

Despite the fact that Andrew's shirts and hands are always covered by slobber and he chomps on anything in sight, the doctor thinks he isn't quite ready to cut teeth.

Sarah just attended her second wedding reception in two weeks. We've discovered that she is quite the dancer. On both occasions she went out on the dance floor all by herself and made friends with the bridesmaids. She pretty much just runs full force from one end of the floor to the other, occasionally stopping to bounce to the music. We also discovered that Sarah has some moves that border on break dancing - dropping to the floor in the straddle splits. I'm sure our house seems so boring now. I'm guessing a disco ball might make a good Christmas gift for her?

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Sarah and Luke had a great time at the pumpkin patch on Saturday. This is (in my opinion) the best time of the year. If only we would have had beautiful fall temps. It was ridiculously hot!

The Rev. is in the House

This weekend our family celebrated two very special occasions. As you saw in the previous post, we had our son Andrew baptized Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon our family celebrated Michael’s ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church. The first four years of our marriage Michael was a seminary student. Upon gradation with a Masters of Divinity (M. Div.) degree from ORU, Michael decided to pursue ordination in the Presbyterian Church. Since ORU is not a Presbyterian seminary, he spent the next two years completing independent study courses to meet the requirements of our denomination. During these years Michael was a Dorm Director and Student Activities Director at ORU, then later the Director of Youth Ministries at our church, First Presbyterian Church. This past spring he received and accepted the call to be a minister at First Church. So, yesterday it all became “official.” In so many ways this service was like a wedding with all the pomp, formality, and significance. Promises and vows were made and charges were given. Michael’s official title at our church is Associate Pastor of Next Generation Ministries. History was made at our church (which is over 130 years old), as we not only celebrated one, but two ordinations. Michael’s partner in crime, err ministry, Vince was also ordained. Vince and his family of 6 just returned to Tulsa after three years at Princeton Theological Seminary. Vince will be the executive director of a Christian camp that is connected to our church.

Festivities for the weekend began Friday afternoon when Michael’s sister DeAnn and her four children arrived. Saturday brought his parents, brother John, sister Danielle and her two children to town. Michael comes from a huge family, so this was only a small representative of the larger clan. My parents are already in town. Extended family from my side came on Sunday to help us celebrate.

It was a great day for our family! Above is one picture from the service. I hope to share more in the future. Currently, we are just trying to recover from all the celebrating!

Our Prayer for Andrew's Baptism

"Almighty God, author of life, You crafted Andrew and You called him by name, long before we ever knew he would make his way into the world and right straight into our family through the miracle of adoption. We give you thanks for our family and for this covenant community that promises to nurture Andrew. May he one day speak of your great faithfulness–even as you’ve enabled us to do the same…and may he grow to love and to follow Jesus all the days of his life, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen."

(Andrew, held by Dr. Miller, is ready to be baptized.)

We had a small wardrobe malfunction on the way to church. Before taking the kids into church, I decided to go ahead and change Andrew's smelly diaper in the back of the van. As I begin to undress him I discover that he had a major blow-out and no amount of scrubbing with baby wipes was going to solve our little problem. That is why Andrew is only half dressed in this picture for his big day. I was so thankful for our pastor's wise words to the congregation and to me: "What we really wear on our baptismal day are the garments of mercy and grace and the promises of Jesus Christ." Amen!

A few fun pictures from our weekend...

"Say Dalton, how many ounces of formula you drinking these days?"

Andrew telling Papa Homan secrets about us.

Cutest little amphibian around!

Michael at a football game with his nephews.