Really? I get to eat birthday cake?

Well come on, now! Where is this cake?

Oooooooh.

I'm a little nervous, but I guess this is as good a place as any to start.

I'll probably need to eat a little more to make an informed decision about the quality of this cake.

Oh. My. Gosh. I have ingested more sugar in the last minute than I have in my entire life.

But I'm going back for more!

Whew, thanks for cutting into that cake for me, Mom. It was taking me way too long to eat it using only my right hand.

I wonder if they will let me eat the entire thing?

Er, that's probably enough, Lucy.

Still nervous, even after getting to ride the tandem with Dad over to my new school. Don't worry, I think I'll like being in Kindergarten once I get used to it.

After Dad dropped me off, he took Oliver for a spin.

Lucy and her hair stayed home.

Yep, Dad figured out a way to turn the tandem into a triplet of sorts. Lucy is finally big enough to ride in the bike trailer, so sometimes we haul her and make the thing a quad. It's quite a contraption.Dad needs to figure out a way to get one more set of pedals on the bike to keep us from fighting over who gets to pedal.

Lucy also enjoys riding in this box from IKEA.

The faster the better!

This is what Oliver would look like if he was a cat. Nice cat eyebrows, huh?

Just in case the last photo wasn't embarrassing enough, how about this one?

We received a ridiculously large zucchini from some friends this year.

Posing with the produce in our matching outfits.

Vintage Lucy on a vintage sheet quilt.

Taking in the scenery while on his 8-mile inaugural ride:

Slip 'N' Slide!

Sometimes Oliver just needs to be contained:

Knees down, rock backwards.

Then forward.

A few days of rocking and all of a sudden, Lucy started getting somewhere. In other news, Lucy is thisclose to her first official tooth. She is also chunking up quite nicely and weighed in at a respectable 17 lbs 5 ounces at her 9-month check-up. She is a lanky 26 inches long. She is babbling a lot these days - dadadadada, mamamamama and bababababa are her favorites. She also enjoys screaming for fun. And cracking up when someone screams back.

Here are a few more recent Lucy photos for your enjoyment:

Yes, it sure is nice to have a soak in this little blue tub.

But more fun with a friend!

Things are getting a little crazy in the Baby Jacuzzi.

That's all, folks!

Oliver still likes to rush the camera. (There was an incident with his pants shortly before this photo was taken, Oliver is not one to let a lack of pants stop him from having fun.)

Pants are totally not necessary for going down the slide either.

We blew some bubbles. Er, rather, I blew some bubbles and Oliver ran around trying to pop them.

Check out this huge bubble:

And Oliver's grubby little hand going in for the kill:

Oliver discovered the fun of wearing the play mat as an accessory.

I had to get in on the action, too.

We left some serious dirt in the bathtub after our time outside. Can't wait to do it again!

I just love riding on the tandem. As you can see in the following photo, I was ready to keep pedaling. My next big ride is going to be at least 100 miles. Minimal stops.

In other news, I graduated from preschool a few days ago. I am not thrilled in this photo because the graduation hats are way too tight.

As usual, there was cake involved. Oliver was really hoping I would share some of my cake with him but no such luck.

Yep, this girl.

Oliver must have been trying to rush the camera again in this photo.

Oliver really likes these flannel shirts. He wears one almost every day.

Lucy can sit up on her own now.

She also enjoys a nice spinach beard.

Bath time is a necessity after most of her meals.

Grandma Thill knows that kids like ice cream.

And small cow statues.

Yes, the cow was a real highlight for us.

Cow and ice cream at the same time? Even better!

Lucy was there too:

We had tons of fun visiting with all of our Michigan relatives!

She is serious about sweet potatoes.

Here she plots her next move.

Sweet potatoes, you have met your match.

Sweet potatoes? Sweet victory!

Who is brave enough to face her next? Avocado? Banana? Pears?

It was shocking.

And a little bit messy.

Her hand is much more interesting.

Look who captured the spoon!

Who needs a spoon when you can eat the cereal directly off your messy hand?

He also managed to get himself stuck in Lucy's Exersaucer.

Turns out that if you put both legs through the same hole, it is very difficult to extract yourself. Yes, that diaper is hot pink. Yes, he likes it. No, we're not worried that it will affect his masculinity.

The Exersaucer is much more fun if you use it properly.