Jakob Daniel and Everleigh Grace Hall

This has quickly become one of my favorite toys, and I can see why Jakob used to love it Apparently he still loves it

This is a big one!  Everleigh took her first steps without holding on to anything today around noon.  Jakob and I had gone out to the store to get a few items for a BBQ tonight, and when we came back, Dan immediately called us into the family room.  Everleigh proudly and confidently took about 5-6 steps, then got too distracted by Jakob to do any more.  But I think she'll be repeating the feat again immediately, because she's been so close for so long.  Woo hoo! Nifty factoid:  Everleigh is 12 days past her first birthday today.  Jakob took his first steps on May 9, 2013...10 days past his first birthday.  Our kiddos are in sync!

These are probably almost 2 months old by now, because I'm even more behind on transferring pictures off my phone than I am with the camera.  Anyway, we met up with the Gilmans at the Ben & Jerry's factory store in Waterbury after a quick stop at the train station to see the train come in.  Everleigh had her first taste of ice cream and loved it! I'm so excited to see the train I was impressed too Playtime! I love sliding Thanks for the snacks, Carrie and Cecily I'm not scared of the ghosts of flavors past Getting ready for a first taste of ice cream (starting off right with the good stuff!) Life changing moment Check out my fancy cone! Graham and I have almost as much ice cream in our tummies as we do on our faces

With all the time she's seen Jakob playing at his train table, it's no wonder Everleigh loves to play with the trains.  She particularly likes jamming as many trains through the tunnel as possible. I've been working on the railroad How many trains fit in this tiny space? Look at my derailment! Yay for train tables!

Better late than never.  Our baby doll is getting so big, and she looked absolutely adorable in the new Zutano romper Dan got her! Are you finally going to get around to taking my 12 month pictures? If we're going to do this, you need to look as sharp as I do, Mr. Bear I like being 12 months, especially when it means I get to wear new clothes I'm ready for the hot weather in these threads Ruffles in the back?  Yes please!

Back at English Ave., Jakob and Everleigh spent a lot of time our last morning in Hamilton entertaining their baby cousin with their crazy antics.  We tried getting a picture where all the kids were looking, but the best I could do were pictures where all three were physically present. No on Everleigh Now no on Jakob Now none of them.  Oh well, they're still cute. Grandma and Grandpa Hall got Jakob a neat new light-up toy GIMME!

I'm helping Aunt Heather get the corn ready for dinner  We are very useful! Nice job getting all the corn silks off, Aunt Heather!

Hi Mackenzie!  You're too little to play with me now, but very soon we'll be out making mischief together Aunt Heather is chaperoning I love Mackenzie!

Grandpa is showing me all of his vehicles, as I like to call them. Time to deliver Mackenzie's present Here's a book we made for Baby Cousin! Daddy and I are playing some tether ball I'm hardcore!  You sure do have lots of nice Duplos, Grandpa More squishy face!

The kids were both really well behaved on our ride to Hamilton, even though neither napped much and it's a long haul.  But once they got to Travis and Jaimie's house, they were ready to get out of the car and burn off some energy.  Their house is basically shaped like a square with a console in the center, and the kids loved motoring around in circles. Hmm, some of these toys look familiar... You're never too big to enjoy the play mat Mirror, mirror on the wall We're exploring all of the rooms Playing with the bed is more fun than actually going to be They call this my "squishy face" smile at daycare I'm bursting with happiness and I don't care who knows it!

Sorry about the lapse in posts, but working fulltime is really cutting into my ability to blog with regularity.  Hopefully I'll get some posting done soon! I need to update this to say that I'm really, really enjoying my job.  I'm still trying to make it up the steep learning curve, but I'm thoroughly enjoying myself, and even in the insanely busy moments, it's making me happy.  I also feel like I'm happier at home, that my time in the office is making me appreciate my time with the kids more.  It's definitely busier than ever around here (and messier, ever so much messier), but we're figuring things out slowly but surely.

We spent the weekend in New York, which is why I'm behind on Everleigh's 12 month photos.  Hopefully I can take them tomorrow morning so they're only a day or so late.  But being late on the pictures was well worth it, because we had an amazing time.  Everleigh and I finally got to meet Mackenzie, who was even more gorgeous in person.  She gave us some fabulous smiles and seemed to enjoy watching Jakob and Everleigh run around and screech.  Heather and Mark were up from Texas, and it was the first time we've seen them in over a year.  Actually, we saw Heather just two days before Everleigh was born, so we were very excited for her and Mark to meet Everleigh. We celebrated Everleigh's birthday on Sunday (since today was a travel day for us), and it was a blast.  Heather made delicious chocolate cupcakes, and Molly found a perfect pink strawberry frosting for them.  We borrowed Mackenzie's swing and set up on the front porch for a feast of BBQ chicken and corn,