AHHH! Relief! Ford's first tooth made its appearance on Monday morning. It's the bottom right one...the other bottom one is about to come in, too.

This picture makes me laugh, but here's the proof!

New bunk beds! We drove to Columbus, Georgia today and picked up some bunk beds I found on craigslist.com for a steal. Charlotte is SO excited...She's pretending to be a pirate climbing the mast in this picture! James isn't quite ready to leave the crib yet, but he'll take the bottom bunk in a few months.

Ford is rolling over now, and here is trying to make a getaway... The other two are making their best "say cheese!" faces.

Eventually, the bunk beds will be for the boys and Charlotte will have her own big girl room.

We have backyard neighbors with a great salt-water pool that they have given us free use of this summer. Their one son is grown and our back shared fence even has a connecting gate! We can just cut through any time to enjoy their pool. On Thursday, Sy's day off, I was able to take just Charlotte swimming while the boys napped and Sy mowed the lawn. It was fun to watch how much she's grown in the water this year and play "Ariel" with her :) She did a great job jumping in, swimming with her face under the water, and doing cannonballs off the diving board. With the weather in the 100's the past 2 weeks, and the heat index usually over 105-110, we couldn't stay out long. But it is such a treat to have a pool like this to use!

Teething is NO fun!!!!

Ford is about to get his bottom front two teeth and isn't even 5 months old yet! But I shouldn't be surprised.... James had all 4 on top and all 4 on the bottom by seven months old!

In honor of Ford's first food-tasting, I thought it would be fun to post Charlotte and James's, too. It is neat that my Mom (who is now with the Lord) fed Charlotte her first bites at 5 months.

With moving and other things happening in our lives, I was a neglectful mommy and didn't actually give James his first food until he was 7 months old! (and if you're wondering what the yellow stuff is, it's egg yolk...check out the Weston Price link on the left!)

They do sure grow up fast. Even though the days are often LONG, the years seem to go by too FAST! I love seeing and comparing the features of each of the kids. I can't imagine Charlotte or James without crazy curly hair, but when they were this age I had no idea what their hair would look like. I wonder what amazing locks will sprout from Ford's head over the next few months...

Ford had his 4-month doctor's appointment today and is growing along well. Right at 16 pounds, he was in the top 25% for weight and top 10% for height. We got the green light for solids and here are some pictures Charlotte took of his first taste of "real food." I think you can tell in the second one especially that he liked it! :)

Our traveling man...
On the way to Virginia, Ford was a trooper. Those big eyes and smile kept me company in the back seat while Charlotte and James slept, ate snacks, and watched movies.

The Bumbo! We borrowed this new (to us!) baby-sitter-upper that is supposed to work for babies 3 months and up. Ford can sit fine in it and it seems to support him better than the boppy pillow. It also helps him feel like he's in on what his brother and sister are doing, too. I think he's going to crawl and walk sooner than the other two because he just can't wait to catch up!

My birthday roses are SO beautiful that I had to share pictures of them now that they have opened up!

Happy 27th birthday to Mary!

Sy let me sleep in this morning, then he and the kids greeted me with breakfast and Charlotte made me a fabulous card. This was her first year actually writing, "Happy Birthday," instead of the usual scribbles that she was sure said "Happy Birthday!" Then Sy told me he had talked to a friend who would come babysit so we could go out to dinner. The beautiful roses in the picture Charlotte helped him pick out and delivered this evening. Then we went to eat a wonderful dinner at La Jolla. Montgomery isn't exactly known for its culinary fare, but we'd heard a lot about this restaurant. I had the filet and Sy had elk chops...don't think he'll pass up a steak for elk chops again! But really, the food was delicious and it was so nice to go somewhere with no high chairs and no kid's menu!

I'm so grateful for my sweet husband and for the family God has blessed me with, let alone 27 years of life.

We just returned from travels up "north" in Virginia and I'll be sure to get some pictures of our visits with friends and family up soon!

Trying to stay cool in the backyard sprinkler!

Charlotte and James discovered that the oven mits make great lobster claws after a visit to the grocery store this week. The meat manager came out as we were looking at the tank by the seafood counter and fished one of the lobsters out for them to see up close. Charlotte wanted him to take the rubber bands off the claws, but I think we're glad he didn't comply! James was wary of the little creature, but enjoyed mimicking him with the oven mits. Charlotte is making her best "lobster face" in this one:

Ford is changing everyday! Here is one of him now 3 months old. He's a tummy sleeper and has found his thumb...we think it's genetic! Sy and I were thumb-suckers and so are his big sis and bro :)

It's a Backyard Nursery Rhyme Concert!

Solo artist: Charlotte Nease

Featuring hits: "Goosey, Goosey Gander," "Humpty Dumpty," "Jack & Jill," & "Three Little Kittens"

Copy and paste this link to your browser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVR7gf9hZzU

We were hoping to go blueberry picking this week but because of the drought, the farmer we called said there will be no picking unless we get lots of rain, fast! The weather is getting to be more "seasonable" down here = hot, humid, and yucky in general. So here are some pictures of the fun time we had last month strawberry picking with our friend Katie. It was breezy and sunny and beautiful... James ate more than he picked, but isn't that the fun of it?!

We had Vacation Bible School this week at church. "Make a Splash With Jesus" was the theme, and the mascot for the week was J.P. the Penguin...One of the boys in the youth group dressed up as the Penguin and Charlotte's highlight each day was to give him a "high 5!" James, on the other hand was a little wary of J.P. He generally stays close to my side these days in new places which is a big change from Charlotte!

This was Charlotte's first year in a real class and she loved the music and crafts the best. I worked in the crafts room and enjoyed that as a break from the classroom teacher role. Charlotte was in the last group that came through each day and it was fun to see her and help her with her crafts.

This shot is of her today after the end-of-the-week picnic. Her sweet teachers gave them each sand buckets, shovels, bubbles, and these very cool sunglasses!

I finally got some good video of Ford laughing last week! This encompasses his personality :) It's about 3 minutes of video, but it will start getting really cute after a minute has passed, so hang on til then!

Here is the link (copy and paste it to your browser):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la-7CFECyzA

In honor of Ford's baptism, I wanted to post this hymn based on his namesake's writings. May Ford long for that fair sweet morn when he will see his bride-groom's face!

The Sands of Time Are Sinking
by Anne Cousin, 1857
based upon Samuel Rutherford, 1600-1661

"They will see his face." Revelation 22:4

The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks,
the summer morn I've sighed for, the fair sweet morn awakes;
dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day-spring is at hand,
and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.

The King there in his beauty without a veil is seen;
it were a well-spent journey though sev'n deaths lay between;
the Lamb with his fair army doth on Mount Zion stand,
and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.

O Christ, he is the fountain, the deep sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I've tasted more deep I'll drink above;
there to an ocean fulness his mercy doth expand,
and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.

The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bride-groom's face,
I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace;
not at the crown he gifteth, but on his pierced hand;
the Lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel's land.

Ford's baptism this weekend was wonderful! Sy administered the sacrament to his son and that was such a special gift. We also celebrated James's second birthday--Praise the Lord for his bountiful blessings to us in our sons and daughter!

The picture on the left is me holding Ford, and the one below is Kathy holding Sy!
Click on any of the pictures to view them larger in a new window.

We had James's picture taken Thursday before his b.d. The blue sailor outfit and the Curious George were Sy's! I put a picture of Sy, just a little older than James, sitting on the hearth so you can see that Sy DID have blonde curls when he was younger, too. :)

Rutherford Kendrick Nease has arrived!

March 13, 2007
11:55 a.m.
10 lbs. 6 oz.
22 inches