The end of summer!

Well, I didn't blog much this summer.....didn't have as much spare time as I thought I would either! Caroline is growing right along - at her 4 mo. check up, she weighed 14 lbs, 4 oz, and was 25.5 inches long - just above average on both counts. I took her in a week ago, and she was up to 15 lbs, 5 oz, so she's gaining about a pound a month. She's just moving into 9 mo clothing (also known as 6-12 mo size). She's eating rice cereal once a day, in addition to about 6 other meals from the milk truck known as Mommy (she still licks her lips every time she sees me). We'll be moving up to 2 rice cereals a day in another week or so, and after that (once she's 6 mo.), we might start our branching out to the yellow foods (fruits, veggies). This is my least favorite phase of child food, but at least it's fairly brief. No teeth yet, but I expect to see them in the next month (if her drooling and her brothers' histories are any indication). She's starting to hold a sitting position for 10-15 seconds at a time, which she's very proud of. She's also FINALLY napping consistently during the day - about an hour for her morning nap and about 1.5-2 hours for the afternoon. And going to bed around 7-8pm.
Ben had his 4th birthday this summer, and he had ANOTHER water/train themed birthday. He requested the same train cake as last year (although I did try to make a better mountain - this time out of rice krispie treats, instead of last year's cupcakes). We rented a 3-in-1 inflatable (bouncer, wall climb, slide), and he loved having that on our driveway. He had LOTS of friends come, and they just played and played, and ate. He has wonderful friends, and teachers, and family! He also had his 4 year check up and got FOUR shots (he was really dreading it, but was actually very brave and got to go to Incredible Pizza afterwards with Daddy). He is 42 lbs, and 42 inches - which is very tall, but average weight. He eats all the time, but doesn't gain a lot - don't we all wish for that metabolism? He's really into pretend play right now - all last week he was pretending to have a Christmas Celebration; this week it's a Boat Show. It's always something, and he'll persuade ANYONE to play along with him, and actually gets quite bossy about it. He's enjoying books more and more, though he still claims to be uninterested in letters and reading, but at least he enjoys being read TO. That's the fun part for us anyway.
Jake is starting 2nd grade, and has lost 5 teeth. He's read the first two Harry Potter books this month alone, and is well into the 3rd. He went to Camp Cho-Yeh again this year and didn't want to leave. Lucy and our neighbor Taylor were there, and he met some new friends as well. He's exceptionally tall, and proportional weightwise, and is just a big kid. He and Ben fought quite a bit this summer, with Jake exercising his antagonizing muscle and Ben flexing his physical muscle back. But they survived!
We did quite a bit this summer - went to Lake LBJ for the annual retreat with Scott's family, drove to Plano for a visit with Mark and Hanna (who are expecting my first nephew in January!), went to Austin a few times, took a family trip to Colorado in August, participated in Vacation Bible School, and took swim lessons. And Caroline just grew and giggled and grew and giggled.
Here are some pictures from the summer:

Jake and his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Williams

Jake on the first day of school

Jake and Ben on Pikes Peak

Ben and I in Boulder at the Lazy Dog Grill

Scott and Jake at the Lazy Dog Grill

Caroline and I on her first flight

Family picture on the Georgetown Loop Train

Caroline napping on Papa

Jake is a Rock Band drumming fiend!

Picking up Jake at Cho Yeh

Jake and Lucy at Cho Yeh

Ben and his birthday tongue

All three grandmas at Ben's birthday

Singing Happy Birthday to Ben!

Sleeping Beauty

Playing au naturel

Faux hawk

Swimming at Granite Shoals

Jake, Ben, the 3 Davis boys, and Adam

Fun at Granite Shoals with glow in the dark sticks