Happy 4th!

Well we're half way through the month and so much has happened. We celebrated Independance Day playing volleyball, swimming, eating lots of food and oooing and aaaing over fireworks. Thankfully it was cool in the morning because the heat in the afternoon was intense. Kristie and I teamed up again after a 2 year break. It was great to get back out and play even though I paid for it the next few days. Maryssa, Mom and Dad joined us for most of the day, but retreated to the air conditioning once the heat hit. We didn't get any pictures of us playing, but of course there's a picture of Maryssa sporting her new sunglasses. They didn't stay on very long once she discovered she could take them off. Maryssa was a trooper and stayed up way past her bed time to see the fireworks. Of course entertainment from the family helped to keep her in a good mood.

There's also a couple of pictures of her around the house and playing with her cousin Conor.

It's summer time!

Hello sunshine! We're so excited to have warm weather, although sometimes a little to warm, but we'll take it all after all the snow we had this winter. Our little family has been very busy so far and the summer seems to be flying by. Memorial day weekend, we wrapped up our club volleyball coaching down in Richmond at a 3 day tournament. As always we had a great time spending time with our team at an overnight tournament. It really lets us see the girls interact off the court.

In June we welcomed a new member to the Couch family. Danielle (Eric's sister) and her husband Mike had a baby boy, Conor. As you can see he is a skinny little boy and a joy to have around. Maryssa looks so big now with Conor around.

Shorty after Conors arrival we added another member to the Couch family...Maggie! Michael (Eric's brother) was married at the beginning of the month. The wedding was a blast and there were lots of yummy treats. Maggies mom is a wonderful baker and made cupcakes for the wedding. So delicious. The two love birds waited a couple days before leaving for their honeymoon, so we all went to a Frederick Keys baseball game. You can see Maryssa and her Aunt Maggie watching the game. The game was completed with some fireworks. This was Maryssa's first time seeing them and she loved it! She was grinning and smiling through the whole thing even though she was up an hour after her bed time.

Maryssa had lots of firsts this month..Michael and Maggie's wedding, the fireworks, and then her first trip swimming and to the zoo. Although the water was cold, she had a ball in the pool. Since then, we swim at least 4 times a week and she's really starting to play more with her toys and splashing around.

Shortly after the wedding, Maryssa and I made a trip to the zoo with some friends and their kids. We saw lots of animals, but Maryssa loved the huge fish tank. The fish really grabbed her attention and she was razzing in delight.

Maryssa is now eating a lot of "solid" foods. In addition to her first food, rice, she's eating carrots, bananas, avacados, peas, green beans, butternut squash, acorn squash, oatmeal and baby puffs. She hasn't turned down any food yet! We'll see if that keeps up. The downside is she never refuses food when she's full so I have to guess what she needs.

In addition to eating well, she's now sitting up unsuported, standing and holding on to something (still a little unstable), rolling around everywhere and getting up on all 4s! She's getting more and more actice daily...may days of putting her on her play mat and getting things done around the house are going to be coming to a close soon.

Enjoy the pictues of our wonderful month of June!