The Sussex County Fair

On Sunday we went with our neighbors Frank, Frankie, Leah and their cousin Aileen to the Sussex County State Fair. This was our first fun 'family outing'. I think the time it took us to get ready with both girls was longer than the time we actually spent at the fair! Nonetheless, Josh and I were excited for Dagney to see all the animals, especially at the petting zoo. We got there early and enjoyed a nice, cool morning.

Dagney and little Frankie rode in style.

We saw lots of local animals who were being judged.

Dagney enjoyed seeing all the different animals...from the comfort of the wagon...

I love this GQ shot of Josh!

The most adorable moment of the day was during snack time when Frankie decided to feed Dagney golden raisins.

Dagney's first pony ride!

She didn't stop laughing and smiling the whole time.

Frankie showing off his brute strength to Dagney who is more into funny hats at 14 months:

Paige hung out in her stroller the whole time trying to doze off, which finally happened right before we left (of course):

In contrast, here's the only picture of Leah AWAKE...

Unfortunately when the Daddys took Dagney and Frankie into the petting zoo strollers were not allowed, so I stayed behind with the babies and didn't get any pictures. According to Josh, however, Dagney just wanted to run around and wasn't too excited about feeding the animals. I'm sure that will change next year!

Big blue ball, little blue ball

For better or for worse, one of the greatest pleasures in life is having the opportunity to be a role model and being empowered to influence a young mind. For me, the euphoric feeling of making that first impression on Dagney was comparable to other major milestones in my life such as that first date, the first sip from dad's beer can or that first victory on the wrestling mat.

So in late July when I returned from Orlando and after I changed into my casual jeans, I sat on our aerobic blue bouncy-ball for Dagney and asked my wife how her week was. Dagney walked over to me, pointed at me and giggled.

The next few moments were pure magic as Dagney's actions gave me that first euphoric moment as a father. Dagney bent over and lined up her tush with her little blue ball...

settled back...

looked up at me...

and started to bounce!

and bounce and bounce and bounce...

"...And with great power comes great responsibility." I have not completely comprehended how impressionable I am on my little girls, but I hope my wife, my family and my dear friends can help me out in teaching her the good habits and not many of the bad ones.

The Dog Days of Summer

Auntie Janelle and I took Cole and Dagney out for a spin in the Bunkers new Voyager Radio Flyer wagon! It's great for tooling around our neighborhood so the babies can sightsee. On this day it was quite hot and the kids did not feel like hamming it up for the camera. There was not much that I could do about it because I had Paige strapped to me in her sling, which made any kind of maneuvering impossible. It was pretty hot and our ride didn't last long, but it was great getting out of the house for some fresh air with everyone!

Here is Paige tucked away in her Peanut Shell sling. You can see what Josh and I endearingly refer to as her "crooked eye"...the left one tends to drift inward. Her pediatrician said no need to worry until she is 3.5 months at which time he'd refer her to an opthamologist should it persist. In other Paige news she just went to her 2 month check-up, braved 3 shots and is now 10 pounds, 11 ounces and 22 1/4" long. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight...what a little shorty compared to her big sister!

Lauren the "Photog"

My sister and Lauren stayed over on Saturday night while Josh was away and we had so much fun. I showed Lauren how to use my camera and now I have some stiff competition when it comes to taking great photographs as you can see below:

Dagney and Gotta

Brenda let Paige sleep on her chest for 3 hours because she enjoyed her little niece so much.

Here I show off my new hair cut.

Dagney sports the outfit her big cousin Lauren picked out for her.

What a cute little thumb-sucker!

Pretty Paige

I had the opportunity during one of Dagney's naptimes to take some pictures of Paige. She's such a sweet baby. While we haven't had a textbook case of colic, like we did with Dagney, Paige is definitely a gassy baby and goes through some uncomfortable bouts during the day which interrupt some of her sleep. At night she sleeps for 6-7 hours at a stretch and we're pretty pleased with that! She's a noisy, "grunty" sleeper, however, and since I'm so tuned into her I don't get great quality sleep myself. On a typical day I try to take a nap when both Dagney and Paige are sleeping, but there's always a 50/50 chance of that happening (unless Ohma and Lauren's over and then there's a 100% chance!). I've really been enjoying both girls and am getting used to juggling both their needs....just not always successfully (or should I say as "quickly" as either of them would like...). Crying seems to be a chain-reaction in our house lately!

First Time at the Playground

While taking Dagney on one of our long walks, Lauren and I decided to stop at one of the little playgrounds along the way. Dagney had so much fun running around that she cried when we had to leave. I tried to get a few pictures of Dagney and Lauren together, but Dagney was anything but cooperative - she just didn't want to sit still even for a second.

Mommy's Little Helper

To the amazement of Ohma, Lauren and I, Dagney decided to help Mommy out by grabbing Paige's bottle off the table and attempting to feed her. Paige's only complaint was that Dagney had trouble getting it into her mouth...I was just thrilled to capture the moment on camera!