Elizabeth came in for a session today and she has changed so much since I saw her at her first birthday session! She’s grown up so much, she’s a toddler rather than a baby. And that means opinionated! She wanted to stick with mom and play with blocks, not let some mean person flash lights at her all day. But she did sit still for a bit and I got some shots of both sides – serious and smiling. She’s got beautiful hair and she’s such a sweet little girl, just a little shy.

We went to the D-Backs game yesterday, a comedy of errors that ended 12-8 in favor of the Angels. But of course the game isn’t really about baseball…it’s about buying cotton candy, and yelling goofy cheers and watching the jumbotron to see if anyone you know is on there. It was kids’ Sunday, so that meant freebies for the little ones (nightlights), kids on the field during the National Anthem, and kids running the bases at the end.

Our section had a LOT of kids in it, so they came up and asked if anyone wanted to be on TV for the “musclecam.” Adam and his friend went down to the spot where they were filming and indeed they DID get to be on the jumbotron – or at least Adam’s legs and shirt got to be on it.

After the game we went for a run around the bases. Here’s Adam coming in to home plate.

This cute little set of identical twins is now 8 months old – and so sweet. They are the perfect age right now – sitting up but not able to run off and get into mischief! They were so pleasant and fun to work with, and so many smiles! The sweetest part was when they both looked at each other and tried to grab the other one’s hat.

Lizzy will be turning 1 year old on Friday and she’s so full of energy! She can walk pretty well and didn’t want to stay still much. I’m sure she gets into all sorts of trouble at home – she’s got that mischievous look that makes you just know that she’s planning something fun and maybe a little naughty.

While in CA we got to visit with my nieces. The youngest one just graduated from kindergarten. We shared her special day as she read “Green Eggs and Ham” with her class and then had cupcakes and punch.

We recently visited grandma and grandpa in California, and the timing was perfect for cherry-picking season. We went up to Leona Valley and visited Big John’s orchard. They have lots of cherry trees filled with ripe fruit, and they also have lavender. We bought 10 pounds of cherries, and every last one got eaten over the course of the week.

We had the carpet cleaners come over early this morning – 6:30 am, way too early for some but perfect for our house full of early-birds. They did a great job, so if you’re looking for someone to clean your carpet give them a call – Patrick’s carpet cleaning.

Anyway…with the carpet being wet for a few hours, we decided to take off while it dried. We went to see UP (which was ok, too scary for little kids and a bit sad for older kids, and not really worth the extra $$ to see it in 3D) and then played in the water fountains. We watched the water show and then had fun getting wet. The kids enjoyed cooling off and I enjoyed not having to be so vigilant – no danger of drowning in a water fountain!

We spent our Memorial Day riding the light rail into downtown Phoenix to watch the D-backs play against the Padres. Things were going well until the 9th inning, when the Padres came back from a 7-2 lead to tie. In the 10th, they scored another couple of runs and the D-Backs lost the game 9-7. We did all the baseball stuff – 7th inning stretch, peanuts, etc. The kids had a great time even though they didn’t quite understand all the rules.

I visited Adelaide at her house yesterday. She’s sitting up now and she’s growing quite a bit of hair – her hair has a mind of its own, though. It’s so soft and fine, and such a pretty color.

She was not really into smiling much, but she was happier when her furry friend came in for a while. He’s so big compared to her, but such a gentle and sweet dog. He didn’t mind at all that she used him as a backrest!

I’m sure little Ava is going to be absolutely gorgeous – I can’t wait to meet her! She’s due July 6, maybe she’ll be a little firecracker baby.

Dad has a lot to “think” about, hence the thinker pose.