{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday/Thursday

I'm a day late....but I had the post ready to go yesterday. Somebody, not mentioning any names (Mellany!) had some trouble getting to sleep last night.....this makes night #2....this momma is hoping that #3 doesn't exist! :-) 

I think she likes the new car seat!

She watched our neighbor across the street mow his front yard for a good 15 minutes!

She's pulling up now...and very proud of herself for doing so!

The last visit with Uncle Brad and Daniel...Mellany is helping with their paperwork....

....and watching video's with them on YouTube...

Daxton turns 1!

Our sweet nephew Daxton, turned 1 on July 19. We were able to travel to KC for his birthday party the weekend after and it was so much fun! We got to see all 3 sets of our parents (as well as some extended family) and spend some time (little time) relaxing. Mellany did great again and we are always thankful that she is able to stick to her routine while traveling. It makes for happy parents and baby! I made sure to take lots of pictures this time and I'm so glad I did....I got some great ones! 

Johnny and Daxton resting before the big party!

Daxton and Mellany in their seats ready to go to the party. They did have a couple conversations in the 15 minute drive, but they were pretty quiet for the most part.

Happy babies!

Mellany and Nana having some food...

"Whatcha eatin' Nana?!"

Hard to see in this shot but Daxton opening his gifts

CAKE TIME!

Visiting with baby Nick

Red & Blue = Purple :-)

hmmm...."I think I'll take these balloons"

"That's my toy you're playing with..."

Parties are SO fun!

Dinner at Grandpa Jones' house with Great Grandma

...Great Grandpa...

...Teresa & Liz.... (as well as Grandpa Jones and TJ)

Sunday morning with Nana (& Sophie the Giraffe)....

...Grammy....

....Aunt Amy, Uncle Derek & Daxton....Daxton's tunnel that he got for his birthday was so fun! Mellany LOVED it!

I just LOVE these 2 shots.....Definitely one for a frame...(Daxton 12 months, Mellany 9 months)

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY MR. DAXTON! UNCLE JOHNNY, AUNT RACHELE AND MELLANY LOVE YOU! 

{Friday Funny}

A little fun with "da-da" during bath time. He had her rolling....I didn't make it with the camera in time to catch when she was laughing really hard, but she's still laughing pretty good at him. He said that she had coughed {a fake one mind you} so he coughed back at her and she found it hilarious! 

Happy Friday! 

Swim Lessons!

In early June we decided to enroll Mellany in swim lessons through the Kearney Parks & Recreation. After talking about the idea with momma friends, we thought it would be a great idea. Our main goal was to get Mellany acquainted with water and hopefully learn a few basic skills. I was in for a real surprise. She did fantastic! We both figured that there would be moments where Mellany would be quite "moody". But she LOVED it and never showed any signs of not wanting to be there. She did let me know when she didn't want or like to do something, but for the majority of the time, she surpassed all expectations I had set and seemed to really like the water. 

A few things she is pretty good at: 

1. Kicking- She loves to watch her feet move in the water and on top of the water. She will kick sitting on the edge of the pool, she will kick while I move her, she just loves to kick. 
2. "Swimming" after a ball- One of the exercises we did was to throw a ball and the child had to swim after it by moving their arms {which she isn't that great at} and kicking their feet. The parent guided the child and moved them if they did those things. And I'm not kidding, once I threw that ball, Mellany's legs were going 90 miles and hour! Her arms were a different story, she kept those close to her torso for the most part until she reached the ball. 
3. Dunking- This is one that I was SHOCKED to realize. But Mellany, really doesn't mind going under water. I thought for sure she would scream and once I put her under the lesson was over....but that wasn't the case at all. I would put her under and bring her right back up, she would cough a little and maybe even let out a whine or two but then she was moving on. 
4. Floating on her belly- She loves to be guided around on her belly. She will kick her feet and stare into the water or at other people. The belly is much better than her back, she is really not a fan of floating on her back for some reason. 
5. Splashing- Once she gets the hang of it, she really likes to splash. She will get this huge grin on her face when she realizes what is going on. 
6. Swimming with a noodle- Though she is more amazed with the noodle, she is really good at sitting on it and letting me guide her around. 
7. {She doesn't do this well, but it really interests her} Blowing bubbles- We blew bubbles just about every day and I'm pretty sure Mellany could watch someone blow bubbles for hours. She would even mimick it with her mouth, but as soon as I would put her down to the water to do it herself, she sucked water right in. So, we'll definitely be working on this. 

As of right now, we intend to enroll her in lessons every year. Next year is Johnny's turn to take her and he is pretty pumped after watching us one evening. To us, it is very important for her to get used to water and for her to not be afraid of it as well as learn some skills (skills that her momma never had). 

Waiting for everyone to get in the water

The class

"Hi Dad"

Floating on her belly

Swimming with the noodle

Belly floats again

Thought I would add a quick video that Johnny took. It's nothing special, but cute nonetheless. It does show her love of the noodle (including its taste) and watching other people. :-) (Note: I had no idea Johnny was taping lol)