FOUR months!

 Leah is FOUR months old!

  Fourteen week stats:

height: 24.5 inches (72%)

weight: 14 pounds, 2 ounces (64%)

head: 42 centimeters (94%)

Sweet, sweet Leah, you are four months old and just SO cute!

 

Holding up your head is becoming easier.  

You can rock your body to move around.  Sometimes I'm amazed at the new position you've put yourself in after laying on the floor for a few minutes.  

You've rolled over from your tummy to back a few times.  The first time was clearly unintentional because you screamed as if to say, "What in the world just happened???"  You are so close to rolling over from your back to front.  It's just that bottom arm gets in the way.

And that frustrates you a LOT.

Your second round of shots went a bit like the first: fever, grumpy and lots of screaming.

But after a couple of days, we both got through it and you were back to your happy self.

You love to observe and talk.  You are particularly watchful when we're eating.  It's hard to believe that eating 'real' food is right around the corner for you.  If someone will make eye contact, you're usually pretty quick to start a conversation.  And, for some reason, you become extra chatty when standing up.  I LOVE that when you're eating you take breaks just to make eye contact with me and smile. 

I sure hope this is just the beginning of being social and friendly.  You have a lot of love and happiness to share with the world!

Your body is becoming more coordinated and it's getting a lot easier to get things into your mouth.  And, oh, you love that.  Your hands are constantly in your mouth, and you're learning pretty quickly that it's no fun if those fingers go in too far.

Sleep training has begun and you've caught on to falling asleep really easily.  The staying asleep part for naps isn't improving much, but you are going back to sleep after waking much easier.

Night time has been rough.  Why are you waking up every two hours all of a sudden??? I promise. We're all still here AND we'll have an even better day if you let your mom get some rest.  Please!

 Bath time is still fun time for you.  

You've figured out how to suck your hands and then put them back in the water to get wet and repeat the process over and over.  Smart baby!

We've got lots of names for you: Leah Bear, Sweetheart, Sweet Girl, and Baby Love are the ones we probably use the most.

 We also call you Sunshine Girl.  You have brightened up our family in so many ways.  You share happiness freely, and we all feel like a million bucks when you share another sweet smile! 

Easter

Easter this year was pretty near perfect.  The boys are at such a fun age for all of this holiday celebrating stuff. 

Friday afternoon we had a Primary activity.  There were lots of games, face painting and all of the fun ended with an egg hunt.

 

  Noah has never wanted his face painted before, but he was all smiles about this lion.

On Saturday we dyed eggs at Nana's house.

I love that Kate is getting old enough to join in the fun too!

Sunday started with a great church service.  This year I felt like our boys are really starting to understand Easter.  They can tell you about the resurrection, about Christ in the tomb, and that because of the Savior's loving choices to suffer and die, we'll see Papa again.  Papa and so many others. 

I tried to take some pictures of the kids at the temple before church started but the gates were locked.  So we settled for a spot close by.

After holding still just long enough to snap a picture of the three, both Noah and Luke wanted to take their own "Samuel the Lamanite" picture.

Here they are 'high on a city wall.'

We went right from church to Grandma and Grandpa's house where cousins were waiting.  It wasn't long before an egg hunt commenced. 

 Oh, boy these kids scored, particularly in the money department.

Our sweet Leah Evelyn got to spend some time with her Great Grandma Evelyn, and, as you can see, loved it.  She was all smiles.

 She cozied right up to Grandma and took a nap.

She also cozied up with me, which is nothing new, I guess.  But I have to say, I rarely tire of it.  She's just such a little love!

Easter shenanigans finally wrapped up Monday when we made a little visit to Target to spend their Easter money.  I loved watching the dilemma they each faced when it came to choosing the perfect thing to bring home.

 Happy boys with their new toys also made for a happy mom.  Those new little things kept Noah and Luke busy for the entire afternoon.

Opening Day

Opening Day was almost a non event this year.  Lots of rain leading up to Saturday cancelled the games, but thankfully, the clouds dried up for the morning and we could still celebrate the start of baseball season. 

 After a fun soccer season, Noah and Liam are back together playing baseball.  In fact, this year we know four other families from church on the team.  It's a fun balance between familiar faces and getting to know new friends.

 The kids in the family were appropriately dressed for the day, including the younger two who we have declared to be Noah's biggest fans.

Luke loves that jersey and wears it ALL the time.  He needed something to feel apart of it all.  Understanding that he's not five yet and isn't old enough to play is tough sometimes.  Somehow a jersey fixed most of those feelings.

Well, the jersey AND a really accommodating coach.  Coach Nick let Luke pretty much hang out with the team.

In fact, as I look back at all of the pictures from that day, Luke is right in the middle of the excitement just about everywhere.

 

 

The highlight for the kids is parading through the streets with their team in the back of a truck.  And there was Luke cheering right along, "Go Nationals!" as loud as his little three year old voice would allow.

 

Finally in the Snow

Last year when we were at the cabin in January there was no snow.  None.  It was so disappointing, especially for these two boys. 

Fast forward to this year where the snow has definitely fallen in abundance.

We spent a couple of days at the cabin with Grandma, and these boys simply could not get enough outside time. 

 

Luke especially loved this 'snow fort' and spent a LOT of time in there.  Not sure if I should be thanking the other Boyces or Ludlows for that one, but to whoever...THANK YOU!

 

By the second day he had figured how to get himself in and, more importantly, out of there. 
 

We visited Adventure Mountain again this year to squeeze in some sledding.

 It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day.  

In just a matter of minutes we were peeling off layers of clothes and sweating in the snow.  It was perfect!

 Luke was brave and went down every slope by himself.  But trudging up the hill over and over again was a lot for those three year old legs.  So, he took lots of breaks and sampled lots of snow while resting.

After sledding and lunch back at the cabin, these boys were antsy to gear up and head back outside. 

I'm glad I didn't count how many times we put ON and took OFF snow clothes.  It seemed like a constant cycle of doing one or the other.  But the happy smiles and excitement for adventure were sufficient payment for the effort it took.

Both boys tried out snowshoeing for the first time.

Noah picked up on lifting his feet a little higher to walk and thought snowshoeing was pretty easy.  He and Grandma headed off on a little snowshoe walk into the trees.

I'm not sure what it is about this picture, but something about it just made Noah look so grown up to me. 

When the sky finally became dark and we were forced inside the boys turned to games and toys.  Countless rounds of Uno and Headbandz were played.  

Thank goodness for Grandma who spent lots of time playing and helping my bigger kids so I could give some extra attention to my littlest one. 

These kids.

Oh, this has been a bit of a stormy season, both literally and figuratively. Since January I've mostly been parenting on my own while Nate works his heart out.  This time of year is always extra busy for him, and I've become mostly accustomed to it.  But throwing a newborn into the mix this time of year, even though I've done it twice before, has felt a bit like a blizzard sometimes.  It has been both beautiful with my sweet boys and their new sister and wicked, particularly in the lack of sleep department.  But at the end of it all I'm grateful.  Grateful that we are a family, grateful for Grandma's invitation to get away from responsibility and just play, and grateful that this season of extreme exhaustion is due to three of the greatest joys ever.