Our life has changed...

Karl is crawling. I tried to get a video, but it took me three times. Here are my attempts.

Not even interested, Mom.

The second attempt looks promising:

Mom finally figured out to be quiet! Here is our little guy scooting around :) I hope Grandma, Granpda and Nana are ready for a little crawler at our next visit! (Grandpa, the background music is from the bluegrass "animal friends" cd you gave us. We love it!)

Karl at 6 months

Karl loves his toes

At times, Karl is incredulous

Bath time with Daddy is his favorite.

Updates

Time for some Sax family updates!

Karl is getting very close to crawling and is into everything. He is getting very frustrated when he moves backwards instead of forwards. I imagine that we will see him moving forward any day now.

Karl on hands and knees trying to get his music duck

Karl spies a little fuzzy friend...collapses onto the belly


Charlie shows Karl how it's done

Not only is Karl becoming  mobile, but he is also growing teeth and hair! I tried to get a picture of his two bottom teeth, but he really didn't appreciate that.  I might enlist Erik's help to get him smiling and snap one.  We still aren't sure what color his hair will come in, but in certain light it looks blonde and in others slightly reddish.  Sheila thinks it will be strawberry blonde and I imagine that is a pretty good guess. 

________

Erik is making great progress on the deck.  All the holes for supports have been dug and we passed inspection on the footings.  On Saturday, Marc and Cynthia drove up and helped pour the cement.  Erik finished up yesterday and put brackets in the cement.  If all goes  as planned we should have a deck up this May!

Erik, Karl and I headed to Herndon Friends Meeting these past two Sundays and both agreed that it was a great experience. We have decided to start attending regularly. I will still go to the United Methodist church every other week and on days they need my help in the choir loft. I'm not sure how long this arrangement will last, but we will see.

I headed down to Waynesboro this weekend to see my family and to celebrate my birthday!  On Friday night after Dad's '3rd Friday Radio Show' I catered the cast party.  It was a lot of work especially when your 6 month old helper just wants to be held during the day.  In the end it was a great success and I think my recipe for mini quiches is a keeper!

Fun loving guy

Check out this raspberry blowing talkative little fellow...

Happy Easter!

We had such a lovely Easter this year! The weather was so gorgeous that I didn't even mind having to be at church by 7:30 (A.M.!). Erik and Karl joined me for the 9:30 services and listened to the choir sing the "Hallelujah Chorus". Singing three services really wore me out, but I was looking forward to having quiche & salad with our good friend Megan (she also sings in choir with me).

Lunch was delicious...especially the Asian style salad Megan brought. Thanks, Megan! Oh, and send me the recipe. After lunch we went to Milaukee Custard and had ice cream cones before heading home and taking a nap with the boys.

Next year I plan on dye-ing tons of eggs, Elizabeth!

Erik and I have been talking a lot about faith recently and it has been bothering me that we aren't a family that worships together. Some of my favorite family memories are centered around the churches where Mom preached. I loved sitting with Dad and Lee in the pews and after singing hymns putting a book under Lee's butt as a joke. She didn't think it was so funny. I remember not understanding how the verses of hymns went and Dad explaining that I read across the top line and then jump to the next stanza, not just sing the words underneath. It was an awesome revelation! I could finally sing along.

Anyway, I think it's important for family to share their faith with one another. Erik has always thought of himself as a Quaker and I have always been partial to protestant church services. However much I like singing hymns and reciting traditional verse, I would give that up if it meant Erik, Karl and I were together on Sunday mornings. We have found a small meeting house in Herndon and are going to check it out this Sunday. I'm not sure what it will mean for my life at Pender UMC, but I am hoping that we can go every other week to the Quaker meeting (if we even like it). We'll let you know how it goes!

Spring has Sprung!

This week has brought blooming dogwood trees and weather in the 70's. The advent of warmer weather only means one thing: racing season! In May, Erik and I are running a 5K with our niece around George Mason's campus. We decided it was time to actually get out there and start training. The whole family went running tonight. Charlie led the pack (making us look bad by barely having to run as we huffed and puffed), Karl wiggled his toes and gooed at passing cars, Erik and I trucked along. It felt good to go jogging and I hope that we can make it a regular family event.

When we returned home Karl and I played the piano for a bit. He is a natural. Check out this video!

Solids

We gave in and decided that 6 months was a fine time to start solids.  I went to whole foods and picked up some organic sweet potatoes and after cooking them mashed them up.  5 sweet potatoes made enough for 16 jars of baby food!  Our doctor recommended starting with whole foods rather than rice cereal or oatmeal.  

Karl wasn't too pleased with this new food.  

Poor sweetheart.