two new fangs, I mean teeth

Within the past week, two new teeth have pushed their way through the surface of Azariah's gums. It's not been an easy process: sleepless nights, lots of tears, ice cubes and wet washcloths, nursing to sleep, bitten fingers, tired mom, and new chewy toys. It is an accomplishment worth celebrating!!!

This past week we were also blessed to have Dad and Tamara in town for five nights. They sure enjoyed holding and playing with Azariah, and it was so fun to see the excitement they got from watching him. Joshua and I came home Saturday night, after getting together with a few couples from church, to a familiar site. Dad was standing up swaying with Azariah in his arms as they watched the rest of their movie.  Aaahhhhh, these are the days!!!

Hope to post more pictures!

Riding around in my automobile...with no particular place to go...

Yesterday, I caved in and bought a jogging stroller! I actually don't jog, however the wheels are bigger than a normal stroller and are made to endure longer distances, providing a comfier ride for our little one. I've been looking for the past few months on craigslist, nearly every day, but just hadn't found anything that was quite what we were looking for... and nothing really worth the price. 

Well, lots has happened since I last posted a week ago. Azariah is goofier that ever, learning new facial expressions, more vocabulary and to be more mobile. On Saturday, we were all hanging out in the living room when Azariah roller from his back to his front. It was quite surprising to him (to us all) and he grinned from ear to ear. He's been thinking mobility for weeks now! I'm also helping him learn how to sit up. He's gotten a lot more balanced in the past week, however, still needs someone close by to catch him when he falls. The poor guy actually just tipped over and waked his cheek bone on my computer before I could catch him. Aaaaaaahhh! I nearly cried myself. I just got done nursing him to sleep. A comfort that is irreplaceable! 

Sunday after church, Albert and Dasnia Riddle invited us over for lunch, which practically turned into dinner as well. They have five beautiful children, from ages 7 down to three months. We had an amazing time sharing about our lives and encouraging one another. We certainly have a lot to learn from them and hope to share many more lunches in the months to come. 

Here are some recent photos for ya'll to enjoy:) 

"Do not feed the Florida wildlife"

Description: 

• very large bird
• long neck
• long legs
• grey body, may be stained reddish
• red forehead
• size: 47 inches
• wingspan 79 inches
• not afraid of humans, when fed

And all that being said, you can imagine how our picnic at Moss Park went yesterday afternoon. Lake Hart is located just 5 miles from our home, so we ventured over to lounge on the beach and enjoy the cool day. As we pulled into the park, we noticed with amusement two large sandhill cranes enjoying the lunch being fed to them by some kids. We've enjoyed watching one of these birds who resides around the pond in front of our town house... Usually disturbed by the smallest sound and relocating to a safer side when I see him. 

So yesterday, we ventured into Moss Park with our lunch, and found a nice spot in the sand to lay our blanket down.  It was a bit cool, so we were fairly bundled up, and finally got settled onto our blanket, enjoying looking out onto the lake and watching jet skiers zoom by.  Finally I reached for the cooler and grabbed my sandwich out, and as I was turning back around FOUR RED EYES, red faced creatures stood about five feet away. Did I mention they are about four feet tall. Of course I did! I was off that blanket so fast, Joshua was shouting, "Put the sandwiches away, put the sandwiches away!!!" But the creatures were looming over the cooler, and I wasn't about to put the food away! We handed off Azariah, like a football, and Joshua grabbed his shoe (like he does when I make him squish spiders) and he waved that thing around. The two cranes hardly even blinked an eye, just slowly backed away. And there we were (like a person waving about trying to swat away a bug that no one else saw, but you swear it was there) looking like total foreign idiots, because of course everyone else is totally used to these birds. Anyways, no I didn't get any pictures, and hope that on our next trip things go differently. 

you know you're from Minnesota when....

it's 55 degrees, 15-25 mph winds and you're the only one on the beach.

Alright, so we've been here nearly two months and we haven't been to the beach yet. So Saturday, when there were absolutely no clouds in sight, I pretty much convinced Joshua to take us to the beach. It was supposed to reach 62 degrees by 3 pm, besides we'd been to the coast before when it was chilly, so we figured like last time we'd just dress warm and enjoy being out of the house.  

Wrong! The winds were more like 25 mph than 15, and sand was blowing up and down the coastline, and in our faces. We decided to set up our massive beach umbrella anyways and use it to block the wind. It only blew away once, however, the sand relentlessly blowing in our babies face got real irritating. It's different now, having a baby to consider. So after a half game of Farkle, we picked up and left. 

We plan to go again when there are zero mph winds.