Lilly kite flying with her Dada!
Up close

MJ enjoying the sunshine!

Kids and kites!

Kids, adults, and kites!

Kite Fest and us!

We got the chance to go to the kite festival on Atlantic Beach, and it was a blast! Since the beach is open for driving, it was nice to be able to get up close with the kiddos! Lilly has recently taken to wanting to fly kites and since my Mom saves everything, she had kites from nearly 20 years ago that we got at the very same kite festival! Lilly is really good about flying the kite, we were not really concerned about being around the bigger kites. That was until Lilly let go of her kite and her string got caught around the string of the BIG sting ray kite. Lucky for us, we were able to get it untangled pretty easily. MJ enjoying being in the sunshine, watching the people and of course....eating some sand!

Bedtime dance party...she really gets into it....notice the closed eyes!
Face painting....oh, face painting!

Lilly in the pumpkin patch!

MJ in the pumpkin patch!

Finally both kids together!

Halloween is upon us!

We have been staying busy, and with that comes lots of photos! Lilly has taken to not napping anymore which means an earlier bedtime....7pm to be exact. On occasion we have had a dance party before bed and if Lilly does not end up in Hollywood I will be very surprised. She loves to sing the songs, dance to her own tune, and now close her eyes while "performing." Another evening activity that provides entertainment is face painting. Lilly loves to paint her face, and anyone elses face that is willing to let her decorate. She love to use pink and at the end of the painting most things are covered in pink. Luckily, the clean up is pretty easy!

MJ is now sitting up regularly, and enjoys being able to watch the world go by from his perch on the ground! He got to meet a neighbors dog this week, and he loved the dog. He would pet the dog and laugh; bury his face on the dog and laugh; just basically laugh at everything to do with the dog. If I could get a dog and it would turn out just like Shamrock, I would get two!

We managed to get one shot of the kids together and smiling and it only took two trips to the pumpkin patch to make it happen. We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween with the kiddos. We have a busy week planned; chick-fil-a, aquarium, truck or treat, rec center, hay rides, and then regular trick-or-treating! I hope our little kitty and giraffe can have the energy to enjoy the fun!

Sitting up for bathtime!

She found this to be hysterical...the dress got stuck on her head (she was looking in the mirror and laughing)

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Lilly and MJ!

Scooter Riding!

Lilly helping with MJ...at least he did not end up in the lake!

This was our 1/2 birthday celebration....somehow I ended up on the scooter.

MJ all bundled up for the 1/2 birthday walk!

Sleepy heads

Smiley Man!

First taste of Rice Cereal!

Happy 1/2 Birthday to my babies!

We have a tradition in my family to have 1/2 birthday celebrations. Since my brother and I were 3.5 years apart (June and December) we had a small celebration for the non birthday kid. Well even though my kids share a birthday I wanted to keep the tradition going. For their half birthday we took Eeenie and Commadore on a walk around Blair Point with Lilly's new scooter. We saw some fiddler crabs, and cows; it was a very nice morning. After that we sang "happy 1/2 birthday" to the kids with cupcakes. Lilly was very much into blowing out the candles...she is getting so big! Now that we have reached the 6 month mark with MJ, the doctor said we can aggressively start solid foods with him. He has had the pleasure of trying rice cereal, butternut squash, and peas! So far he is not a fan, but I'm sure that will change when he can have tastier flavors! As of his 6 month check up, MJ can sit up very well, bring objects (all objects) to his mouth, has very good motor skills, and is making more noises. He is a long lean baby with a small head, unlike Lilly who was long and heavy with a big head! It will be interesting to watch then grow up! They are very funny together. Lilly can ALWAYS get MJ to laugh, no matter what his original mood! We are enjoying the last of the summer temperatures by taking some trips to the beach and using our beach pass! Lilly is very excited about Halloween, I just hope she will wear her outfit when the big night comes!

Lilly's new pet...her betta fish "nemo"
Lilly and Gray enjoying the boat rides at Seafood Fest

The Dad's and their daughters on the merry go round

Looking for fishes!

Look at these gals..such cuties!

Lilly, Fitz, Delinda, and Kinsey on the Merry go round!

North Carolina Seafood Festival

It's the first weekend in October, every year for the past 24 years, and this year was a blast! We started the weekend with an impromptu neighborhood party at our place....steak, mahi, and shrimp with some good buddies! Then Saturday morning was the race, an 8K over two bridges and through 3 towns (small towns). We rode over with our good buddies Heidi and David while my folks watched the kids! I managed to win overall female and all parties had a great time. Lilly had a blast running around and dancing to the music! It's amazing to think last year I was pregnant and this year I won! Saturday night we headed to the festival for the activities and we got to meet up with Fitz's cousin Delinda and her family! The kids had a great time together, and Lilly even rode some rides (merry go round and a train). She loved the rides nearly as much as the cotton candy (her only other demand she had for the festival). First thing Sunday morning, Lilly asked to go ride the rides...she loved them. We got to meet Beth, Wade, and Gray downtown and the girls had a blast! It is always good to have more then one two year olds together because it's monkey see, monkey do! We are so sad to see the festival go and can't wait for it to come back next year!

Up next is Halloween!

Lilly got a scooter from my folk yesterday and just loves it. Since it has rained the past two days she has been "scooting" inside and is getting the hang of it. We are hoping the weather clears so she can take it outside!

MJ is still learning and growing. He sat in a high chair at dinner tonight and seemed to enjoy the freedom. We are starting "solids," so far he is tolerating them well. Peas and squash have been his only new tastes so hopefully we can get him to like veggie more then Lilly does!

Kisses for MJ!
My babies...too cute!

Telling secrets! Oh, how they will lot against us one day!

Lilly in the flowers...

Lilly in camera mode!

My Babies are into September!

I can't believe it's September....MJ is almost ready for real food, Lilly is fully a big sister and both kids are just perfect. We are back in the swing of things for "school;" Lilly is going to her preschool two days a week, and gymnastics on Wednesdays. This means I have two mornings to get some chores done, hang out with just MJ, and relax just a bit! We are enjoying the cooler temps and the fact that most tourists are gone for the season so we have the beach all to ourselves! Over the past few weeks, we have had more fun company and Lilly has charmed more of her relatives!

Here are the kiddos updates:

LILLY:

-is nearly potty trained, she only wears pull ups at night

-is learning to be more independent; like to turn on the lights herself

-is becoming more helpful (with a bit of coaxing) with putting clothes in the hamper and cleaning up before bed.

-is more opinionated about what she wants to wear on her body, and feet

-is more opinionated as to what she wants to listen to in the car

-is now calling Eenie..."eetcie"

-is only "napping" if we call it "sleepy time"

-is the only one who can get MJ to laugh at nearly any moment

-is able to mimic MJ's noises to the point that we don't know who is making them

-is just a doll!

MJ:

-is rolling from front to back

-is rolling on to his side

-is laughing at his big sister all the time

-is talking up a storm

-is punctuating his "ideas" with raspberries

-is rolling around in bed and will wake himself when he bashes his head into the crib side (and by bashing I mean pushing hard, not literally bashing repeatedly)

-is nearly out of 6m size clothes before he's 6m old

-is a real charmer....we have to watch this one

They are quite a pair and I feel in years to come we will need to watch them closely because they will gang up on us!

Hoover family reunion...including Uncle Bobby on leave from Hawaii!
MJ learning to sit!

MJ asking "am I really related to these people?"

Front Yard Four Wheeling Fun!

This looks like trouble!

"Hi Blue Eyes"

Ah, my girl always figures out how to "lose" her clothes

Toe in the water, toes in the sand.

Baywatch run! hahaha!

Pigtails!

Summa Time Photos.....we have been very busy enjoying the summer sunshine; whether in pig tails or with nothing on at all! We have had plenty of company and loved every minute of it; with more the come in the future! We are enjoying watching MJ and Lilly grow and slowly start to interact and get along! Hope everyone has the chance to get out and enjoy what's left of the summer sunshine!

Loving the new stroller!
Not the best angle, but he loves to laugh!

Gray and Lilly dancing

Gray and Lilly still dancing (notice there are "real" dancers in the back)

Cupcake heaven!

Too cuties heading to the cupcake stand

Lilly enjoying the bounce house!

Racing through the race course

Lilly and Dada on the bounce slide

Gray and Lilly in the bounce house!

National Night Out

We had the pleasure of attending two national night out celebrations here in Carteret County. They had bounce houses, slides, race courses, face painting, balloon artists, fire trucks, dance exhibitions, and food, food, food! Lilly and her friend Gray had a ball at both the Atlantic Beach, and Morehead City celebrations and were sufficiently worn out at the end of the day. They both loved the bounce houses, and race course! MJ was not as active, but did enjoy that we changed the stroller around to the "infant" set up instead of the "newborn" set up so he was sitting up watching the world got by, then taking a nap, and ending the evening watching the world go by once again!

MJ is a much more talkative baby then I remember Lilly being. I think he feels that he needs to complete for attention. He enjoying making a variety of noises and then smiling when we laugh. He also seems to be very strong; he is already trying to sit up and will stand (putting weight on his legs) if you pull him up. He has his 4 month check up next week, and I am looking forward to getting good news from the doctor! Enjoy the video