Utah Trip (part 1)

We had so much fun in Utah! The weather was beautiful and the kids had a ton of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and all the family up there! In the first couple of pictures we had just arrived at my aunt and uncle's house. Emma was on the floor, acting like she might want to crawl. My cousin's son, Carson, was crawling all over the place! I thought that maybe seeing how it was done would be an incentive for her. She liked watching him move, but she wasn't going to be tricked into crawling before she's ready!

Next, we have a couple of pictures from the park. The boys and I took Emma to a park that I thought was just below my aunt and uncle's. Turns out it is below their house, but by a 1/2 mile or so. Oh, well! It was good exercise and we all had fun. The boys each took Emma down the slide and she liked it pretty well.

That night we met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner and then they took us to Uncle Brent and Aunt Ann's to see their super cool yard! It was so much fun (and there will be more on the yard later). Grandpa took Emma down the slide, the boys played tether ball (I think I even played a game with each of them) and then there was a little basketball action too. Really a super fun place for kids to play. Grandma and Grandpa took a break on the swing and Emma had a nice time relaxing with them - pretty cute!

The last couple of pictures are of Emma and cousin Lady. Emma loved all the great toys to play with at B&A's (they have 4 girls) and Lady was thrilled to have a girl smaller than her to love on. We had a great time! There's still more to come, but my baby is asking me to love on her. I'll post more soon...

What a month!

We started our very busy month on the 4th with a BBQ/swim party at our house. I didn't get a single picture so there are none to share here - oops! I will tell you that we had a great time. My family that lives here came over, plus a couple of extra friends. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed swimming with Emma and the little girl cousins too. It's so fun to have so many baby girls around now - I love it!

I have plenty to write about the rest of the month, but to give myself a little break I'll put that stuff in different posts! Keep close for the rest of the update...

Meal Time

Emma's getting to be quite the good little eater. She's even figuring out how to pick up cheerios and put them in her mouth! I'm impressed with that...Anyway, she's a pretty messy eater. It seems to me she gets particularly messy when dad feeds her. So, this afternoon dad had been feeding her until his sno cone was ready and then I took over. She ate a little more of the turkey and rice dinner and then she wanted to look out the window at the brothers playing in the pool. Dad had gone outside too so Emma and I were the only ones in the house when I started cleaning her up.

I guess it's important to back up for a brief moment. In the last week or so, Emma has started saying 'Mamamama' and "Dadadada'. She doesn't always say it when she sees us, or even when she wants us, but she is well aware of the fact that she's saying something we like to hear!

Anyway, back to cleaning her up. I got the washcloth and started wiping her face and hands and she got MAD! She was fussing and crying and started saying 'Dadadada'. I just laughed at her and said "You're okay and Dad's not going to come and save you. You need to get cleaned up."
Ken says that she didn't know what she was saying - which is probably true, but I thought it was really funny that she said that when I was cleaning her and not 'Mamama'!

Happy Birthday Draven!

Nine years ago today, Draven was born into our family. It was very special welcoming another little boy into the family and we've loved having him. He's always great to make a joke or a funny face - and now that Emma's here he has a constant audience.

This morning we started out with raspberry filled glazed donuts for a special breakfast. Then off to church. When we got home, I put some steaks on the BBQ - that was his request for his birthday meal. Once we finished eating, I made some homemade ice cream sandwiches using chocolate chip/chunk cookies as the 'bread'. Finally, it was time for presents! Shallon gave him a couple of bakugan, and Emma pitched in on our gifts. From us he got a bakugan activity book (word finds, mazes, etc.), a couple of shirts, and finally - a sno cone machine and all the stuff to use with it!!! The boys have been dying to have one, and I suggested that Draven ask for one for his birthday. After dad, Emma and I took our afternoon naps, we got out the sno cone machine and had a maiden voyage! It's pretty fancy how well it works and once the boys each had their cones, they enjoyed soaking their feet in the pool while they ate.

Draven, we love you and are so glad you're our son! Happy Birthday!!!

Mommmm, I'm bored......

So, this maybe wasn't exactly what was said, but it was close! Shallon finally decided that we could play Slap Jack and that would keep us busy for a while. While Shallon got the cards ready, I was doing laundry. Emma had just woken up from her nap and so I stuck her in a laundry basket with a toy - to keep her in one spot and busy. When I was done with the laundry and ready to come into the kitchen I decided to push her into the other room while she was still in the basket - she liked it! Well, then the boys got the idea to push her around in the basket. Since they can move a LOT faster than Emma, they decided to protect her with a couple of pillows from the couch. They were going back and forth from the family room to the front door, making tunnels (by standing with their legs spread so the basket could go between their legs) and bridges (standing on a chair and leaning against the couch or hands on the counter and feet on the island). Maybe the cutest part about the bridges and tunnels - Emma would duck her head when she was going under their legs!

I told the boys that this is what we used to do when I was little. It's so wonderful to see the kids playing together and to know how much they all love each other - even if the boys drive each other crazy at times and if Emma is so much younger than the boys. We have a wonderful family and we are truly blessed!

Father's Day

This year for Father's Day I was really racking my brain about what to get Ken. He's got most things he wants or needs and if he doesn't he'll usually get it himself. He's just very efficient. Also, as much as I love to buy him clothes, he doesn't really need anything new now and I'm not at a place where I even want to think about clothes shopping!

So as I contemplated all the different options I remembered the kids paint-time card in my wallet for As You Wish (a paint-it-yourself pottery place). I called and found out that there was still time to go in and work our magic and pick it up before Sunday!

We set out the next afternoon, after Emma's nap, and picked out the plate. Then everyone got some paint and we sat down to work. I thought I knew how to do hand prints, but I don't know if I've ever done hand prints with an almost 8 month old baby. It didn't work so well...thankfully, the sweet people that work at the store are more than happy to lend assistance! The gal came over and wiped off the bad prints and then helped us get all the kids hand prints on completely (when Shallon first put his on we were missing the bottom 2/3 of his palm). On the rim of the plate we wrote "Our Dad's The Best Hands Down!!!" The boys thought that Ken would particularly like this because it's cheesy.

We love our dad so much and we are forever grateful that he chose to be the dad in our family!

Swim Time

A few weeks ago the boys wanted to go swimming at our local pool on Saturday so their dad could see where they practice swim team all week. It was a really nice time. The boys were able to go down the slide and off all the diving boards (two regular boards and one high dive). It was really fun for them because during the week they only get to swim laps.

One of the really fun things about this pool is that it has 0 ft entry. Basically, it's like a wading pool and it just gets deeper as you go in further. It was so awesome for little Emma because she could sit and play in the water and relax and have a great time. It was super fun to watch her in the water and it also made me realize how much she loves her big brothers and how much they play with her! While she was sitting in the water she was watching all the big kids in the pool. Whenever any of them came walking towards her she would smile and watch them pass. I could almost hear her saying "I'm here and cute and I'll laugh and smile if you do something fun for me."

It was lots of fun to just relax and enjoy the beautiful Arizona weather. Summer time is great!