Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Sadly to report, Alan has hit the big 3-0! Today (Monday) is his actual birthday; however, we celebrated the event on Saturday with a big blow-out. We went bowling where Alan wowed everyone by scoring 4 strikes in a row in his first 4 frames! Amazement abounded until Alan stopped bowling strikes and started throwing gutter balls like the rest of us. Most people have to warm up to score big...Alan should have stopped at the warm up! We then we back to the house and feasted on pizza, cake, and homemade jalapeños poppers harvested from our garden. We also played a game of who at the party knew Alan best. Not surprisingly, his parents won based on accuracy but everyone got points for creativity.

I'm glad to finally get a chance to update the blog today. Helen is feeling slightly under the weather and is taking a much needed long nap. She loved the party...mostly she loved looking at her friends Ansley and Bailey (aka the twins). In the pic, big girl Valerie is shown gathering up the little babies. Valerie truly loved playing mother hen to all of the little chicks.

Also, we have failed to congratulate Helen on reaching 6 months old...or rather, I would like to congratulate myself for making it this far :) At her 6 month check-up, she was almost 17 pounds (60%) and 28 inches long (97%). She is officially sitting up AND sleeping through the night 5 nights out of 7. She eats 2.5 jars of baby food a day. Her favorite activity is watching big sister, Dora. Yes, everyone, Dora is still receiving some attention. Not much, but some. Dora had been depressed for the past many months, but lately her happiness has rallied back. Dora learned that instead of waiting for our attention she has better success if she demands it.

I hear little Helen calling for me now! Enjoy the pics, and I promise to update more often :)

Kim