July 4th

We had the most fabulous 4th of July! First of all, the weather was unusually pleasant. Any day in July that's not above 90 degrees is worth celebrating, and it must of been a high of 80 degrees that day. We spent the morning visiting with family and playing around the house. That evening, we drove to Keatchi, La for their Bluegrass Band 4th of July celebration. It was the cutest little country gathering. Held in a pasture in the center of "town", they had homemade ice cream, live music and a firework show (we didn't stay late enough for that though). Everyone brought blankets or lawn chairs and sat around visiting and listening to music while all the children ran around. It was truly a country feel...and it's worth saying again, the weather was so nice! We were so glad that Travis and Anna and their boys joined us! Chelsey's mom and sister were there too (missed you Chels!). We can't wait for next year....crossing our fingers that we will have nice weather again and more importantly, that the Smiths will still be in Shreveport!

 This was at the very beginning. It was so crowded by the time we left.

 A nice fireman was eager to show the boys his truck and equipment

 Red, White and Blue

The following night Perry got to do some sparklers...

 Liking it!

 Loving it!

Father's Day

It's been so long, I can't really remember what we did for Father's Day. This is exactly why I need to stay on top of the blog! I know we didn't do anything extravagant...just loved on Daddy at lot!

Mills 20 months

Mills is starting to act much more like a big boy than a baby and it's just as fun watching him learn and grow as it was our first time around with Perry. Mills is still full of love and smiles...he really is,  I'm not just saying that. He gets so excited when I return from running errands, pick him up from church nursery, etc. I'm always just as happy to see him too. He also loves his "gaga" (aka daddy) and Perry. Perry can be a really sweet big brother or a really mean big brother....and for those mean moments, Mills has decided that hitting Perry is a nice release of frustration. It's kind of amusing right now, however, I'm sure it won't be in another 6 months. On to some positive things...Mills has learned to identify so many body parts. He loves being read to, especially books that practice animal sounds. His favorite things to play with are trucks/cars and blocks. He's working on speech and is usually willing to try to imitate words. He's been cutting 4 teeth (upper and lower canines) for the past month and these have been very painful for him. As a result, he's had his paci more often and seems to be growing more attached. Not what I wanted at this age, but oh well! He's also taking more of an interest in his lovey (probably because he sees big brother with his so much). Mills loves exploring outside and always finds a way to get dirty. One of my favorite things he does right now is say "ooooOOOOoooo" when he sees something appealing. He is so much fun and such a joy!

 Good job!

pushing a laundry basket around the house is fun

 He loves to drag the plunger around the house...guess that cabinet needs a lock!

 Colorful boy, inside and out

 Future engineer like Papou? Notice all the drool from those teeth.

 A post about Mills wouldn't be complete without some pictures of him doing what he does best--shirt halfway off, hands in his diaper. What is it with this child?