SEVEN months!

Leah is SEVEN months old!

Oh, Leah.  You were a stinker when I was trying to take that rocking chair picture!  Attempting to eat your dress and laughing about it were far more important to you than holding still and looking photogenic.

  This was a month full of more fun firsts.  

You took your first swim and loved it.

The water was cool and your little lips were trembling at first, but you shook it off and just kept swimming so happily.

Swimming and Daddy.  You couldn't be happier.

 You and I have our own sweetness together, but you completely light up when you see him.

Your legs kick and you squeal with excitement when you get some time with Dad.

Just a few days ago another first occurred: your bottom two teeth came in.

 Hopefully teething will get a little easier as you get used to it, but wow, those two teeth wore both of us out in the middle of the night!

I have a feeling we won't be seeing you like this for much longer.

 You are close to being an independent sitter.  And crawling isn't too far off.  Crawling! Oh, my you just want to do big girl things so much!

I looked over one day and there you were in a high plank, discovering what your strong body can do.

I'm glad I caught a picture of that, because it only lasted for a day.  By the next day you had figured out how to get your knees underneath you.

Doing that for the first time gave you a little scare, but you love it now.  You are scooting backwards, which frustrates you, because without realizing it you scoot away from all of your toys. 

 You are a great eater.  You prefer the sweet stuff like apples and pears over anything else, but you'll eat just about anything.  You prefer 'real' food over the pureed stuff, and if you had your way you'd do all of the feeding yourself.  Soon, I promise.

You are talking (and screaming) all the time. 
We hear you say, "Heyyyyy," a lot.  It makes me smile when the phone rings or a new person walks into the room, and you let out a , "Heyyyy." 

 We have a little bedtime routine that consists of a few books, a song and then off to bed.  Lately you scream with frustration when I get to the last page of every book we're reading, because you just don't want book time to end.  As long as I grab another book and keep going, we're good, but eventually that song time comes around and you protest.

 I love you.  I love the way you grab my face and pull it close.  I love putting you to bed and sneaking in a few uninterrupted snuggles.  You have brought love into our family in the best ways.  Your brothers are having experiences every day teaching them to be helpful and tender and so, so sweet, that they never would have had without you.  You are our sunshine girl!

Out and About with Mom

A stage of the Amgen Tour of California came through town so the kids and I checked out the excitement.

It's the largest bike race in the country, so how could we miss it?

Parking was nearly impossible, so we rode the light rail to get to the center of town.

 Our first stop was for a morning snack.  Even Karen's Bakery was in on the race excitement.

 When we were at Karen's a guy from Team Jelly Belly took a liking to the boys and told us to be sure to stop by their tent.  And, my goodness, was that nice guy ever generous.  He filled our bags to the brim: packages and packages of beans, water bottles, stickers, and it just kept going.

So, obviously after that, we had a definite team to cheer for.

In between walking around all of the sponsor and team tents we actually caught some of the race, both at the start and finish lines.

 The finish line was a little less excited for two little boys since the riders were more spread out by then.  Stickers and brother shenanigans kept them occupied though.

 We roamed for hours around Sutter Street.

And these boys really were all smiles the whole time.  Between experiencing something new and getting free stuff every few minutes, they were the happiest, sweetest guys.

And despite Leah's questionable face in this picture, she was an angel.  I got some crazy looks from some people and sweet smiles from others as the four of us negotiated through the crowds.  These boys make being out and about easy and fun. 

That same week the city put on their City Works morning, where all of the departments within public works come out and let the community see what they do up close.  This really is boy heaven.

I mean, sitting in a garbage truck, quite possibly the very garbage truck that comes down our street every Friday?  That's serious business if you're a five year old boy.

 

We made it to the police car just in time before the line got very, very long.

 

We see city buses around town, but have never been on one until now.  The boys thought pretending to be riders was too much fun. 

 They also thought being a bus driver, just like Papa was LONG ago, was pretty neat too.

 Learning about where our water and pollution runoff goes was fun. 

 And so was examining all of the different nests from local birds that the zoo had on display.

 We ran into our friends Graham and Wes (and their mom and baby brother) so for a little while we all checked out vehicles together.

 

 

 At the end of the week I thought back on the fun I'd had with my little pack of three and was just grateful.  I'm grateful for them; that they are fun, interested and obedient.  Noah and Luke make going places, even while I'm juggling their sweet sister, pretty easy.  And, wow, I'm so grateful for where we live:  beautiful trails, a city that is invested in its community, and a place where the biggest bike race in the country wants to visit.  I love where we live, and I love even more that I get to live here with this sweet family!

Out and About with Dad

Was it the perfect weather, busy season being over or just luck that we stayed so busy doing fun things in May? 

For weeks when the Father/Son Campout was announced in sacrament meeting Noah would check in with me: "We ARE going to that right Mom?" 

He could hardly wait to be in the mountains, camping and eating, and spending time with just Dad.

It was a late night and early morning, and judging by this picture, Luke wasn't feeling a lot of morning happiness.  But everyone came home with big smiles and lots of stories to share about the fun times they had.

When Nate heard that the BYU baseball team was in Stockton for the WCC playoffs he bought tickets for he and the boys. 

Upon hearing the news Noah, my artistic consumer of reams of paper and miles of scotch tape, created some 'fans.'

They are still hanging in our entry way, just in case there's any doubt who this family cheers for.

The game started late but hot dogs, great seats close to the action and, once again, time with Dad, still made for a great night.