A First Birthday

We celebrated Marjorie's first birthday with a party on Saturday, July 14th so that family could come and celebrate with us.  Brandon spent the day before bbqing all day even in the downpour of rain that came suddenly and we also rented a waterslide for the kids to play in.  The weather turned out to be as perfect as you can ask for in July in Texas.  Not too hot and it waited to rain until nighttime.  Everyone had a wonderful time visiting and watching the kids play in the water.  It was so good to have family and neighbors together to join in the festivities.  We were especially excited to see my sister Tory and her boyfriend Drew that flew in from Arizona for the occasion and also Brandon's cousin Brian and family who we love, but don't get to see very often.

Marjorie has been teething like crazy lately and was waking up a lot in the nights surrounding party day, so she was a tired girl.  Luckily, she napped right before the party began and then we hurried through playing, food, cake, and presents and put her down for her 2nd nap.  She was a trooper and enjoyed it even with a runny nose and some hurting gums.  She was excited to play in the water with the kids and look around at all the people.  She also loved her cake and lots of gifts.  She is discovering them more and more now that it is getting back to normal around here. 

She also decided to learn to climb the stairs this weekend too, so we are in for some fun now on the baby watching!

Happy First Birthday, Baby!

My baby girl, Marjorie Elizabeth turned 1 year old on Thursday, July 12th.  She is now 20.14 lbs, 29.25 inches!  That is 70% for weight and 50% for her length.  She is a growing girl!  In the past month she learned to crawl and is immediately starting to cruise and taking steps now.  She is a little giggle bug laughing at her sister and brother and our dog Duncan all the time and now loves to explore the house and find new things.  She is still a momma's girl and very attached especially when new people are around, but still loves to say "hi" to all she meets in the store! Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!  I can't believe it has been a year!

Marjorie walking behind her toy

Marjorie figured out how to walk behind her toy today and also took a few unassisted steps to me from her daddy! We didn't get those on camera though!  But she is definitely becoming more upwardly mobile!

Bringing in the Hay

Grandpa Koenning had trouble finding help to bring in his hay this year, so Brandon took the kids and spent the day Friday helping get it done.  There was a big chance of rain Saturday, so it needed to be done before then.  The kids loved helping and riding in Grandpa's pick-up truck.  They were truly "country" kids for the day.

Lillian swim lessons 2012 part 2

Lillian at swim lessons

Swim Lessons 2012

Another summer means another session of swimming lessons for the Koenning kids.  I grew up going and know it is important that they learn so they won't be scared of the water and will be safe around it.  The kids had a great time this year.  We didn't have any anxiety issues about me leaving like Andrew had last summer and they seemed to learn some techniques.  It was parent day today so I got to watch and take pictures.  Andrew was in the Advanced preschool class and they still did most of their swimming in the arms of their instructors, but he looked like he was doing well with his strokes and learning to go underwater.  Lillian was in Level 1 and it was neat seeing her and her classmates race in teams as part of their lesson to practice their strokes.  Here are a few pictures I took of them today.

We Went to the Beach

 We decided that with Lillian going into Kindergarten this fall, this was our last chance for a very long time to go on vacation in May before the rush of all the families going after school gets out.  So we rented a beach house in Gilchrist, TX for a long weekend right after the kids got out of preschool for the summer. (They had a 2 week break until summer preschool.)

The house was great and exactly what we needed.  It was beachfront so we didn't have to cross any streets with the kids and they could run back and forth if they needed to go up and go to the restroom while we were out too.  We could also go out while the kids napped.  Brandon's sister, Sherlene also came with us to help us with the kids.

We all enjoyed our time on the beach.  We swam, flew a kite, built sandcastles, and played in the water.  We also ate some yummy seafood at the local restaurant.  Before we left, we took the ferry over and spent most of the last day in Galveston and went to the Moody Gardens Aquarium.  We had taken the kids 2 years ago, but they were too little to remember it.  I really enjoy watching the seals and the penguins there.  Marjorie even laughed as the seals did flips in the water in front of us.  It was a quick trip, but lots of fun and a welcome break!