Six Months

Tommy turned six months this week.  He's almost exclusively bottle feeding and he loves his cereal and other solids.  Bananas are his favorite food - followed closely by green peas.  He's not crawling yet, but he can turn around on his tummy and push himself backwards.

Playing with his favorite toy.  He figured out how to open and close the doors to hear the animal sounds.  It keeps him entertained for a long time.

 Tommy loves his bath time.  He splashes like crazy and gets everything wet.  But he's just so darn cute that it's hard to make him stop.

Tommy also loves to bang on the xylophone.  It surprises him at first but then he sits and laughs while whacking away at the poor instrument.  Maybe he'll be a drummer when he grows up.

 Taking his bottle like a pro.  The whole family is getting in on the fun.  It warms my heart to see the girls try to feed him.  And Tommy and Daddy have been bonding a lot more with these feedings.

 Look who can sit in the high chair now!  It is a lifesaver at dinner prep time.  He likes to sit up and play with toys on the tray while I cook and talk to him.  He looks so big sitting there.  Annie still uses the high chair at mealtimes but we're thinking it is time to let Tommy have it.

Aw Mom....no more pictures!  He knows when to close his eyes to avoid the flash.  Poor guy.  He's just so cute I can't help but capture every moment I can.  And he knows that when the orange light starts to show on the camera that it the flash is coming soon.

He has adjusted to more bottle feedings very well and seems to have less spit up and gas now too.  He usually sleeps through the night and still wants EVERYTHING in his mouth.  He is super ticklish, laughs when Lily enters the room, and follows Mommy's every move with his eyes.  Everyone says he looks just like Daddy.  But we think he has a lot of Mommy in there too.  We love you little bubba!

September 29, 2013

Annie took up a sudden interest in potty training.  Mommy wanted to hold off until after Annie's tonsil removal but there is no stopping our little firecracker.  She picked out big girl panties and a sticker chart at the store and has been trying hard each day to use her potty.  We've had a lot of accidents but Annie really wants to try and is excited to be a big girl like Lily.  It can only get better....right?

Annie was so excited about her potty chart, we decided to get Lily a chore chart.  It really helps get Lily moving in the mornings before preschool.  She actually wants to do her jobs because she can earn a sticker.

Ahoy Matey!  Pirates have taken over our house!  Lily and Annie love the show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates".  They especially love the Pirate Princess episode.  So this year for Halloween we'll be taking two adorable buccaneers out to Trick-or-Treat.  I let the kids try on their costumes so we could be sure they fit.  I just love Annie's attempt at a mean pirate face.  We'll keep practicing.  It was tough coaxing them back into their regular clothes.  They wanted to spend the day swashbuckling on their imaginary sea.  Arrrrg!

Annie seemed to grow overnight in some areas.  Just this week she mastered puzzles and loves to put together this Ariel one at least five times a day.  She is really quick at it and likes the challenge.

She also started using scissors all by herself.  Look at that tongue!  She always sticks it out when she needs to concentrate on something. 

Saturday morning snuggles in Mom and Dad's bed.  For the first morning in a few weeks, we all slept in and celebrated by putting off our work a little longer with a family snuggle.  It turned cold here overnight and it is hard to want to get up and moving when it is so chilly - and when we have such cute littles to cuddle.

 Saturday night Lily was wearing her Angry Birds blanket.  I realized that one day she won't think it's cool to wear her blankie and I asked Daddy to sneak a picture.  Unfortunately she caught us.

 Lily helped me put up some decorations for fall.  She was most proud of this creation and took the photo of it all on her own.  I'm not sure what it's supposed to be.

Annie and Daddy sharing their love for puzzles.

Our cuties before church this morning.  We sure love these little ones.

On Saturday night Mommy went to the Relief Society Broadcast.  It was a wonderful evening.  I gained some personal insights on how I can feel more peace in my life - even with three little ones who need me constantly.  I'm going to try some experiments this month to help myself feel a little more centered and close to my family and my Savior.  I'll let you know how they work out.

September 22, 2013

Sorry we missed a week.  We have a camera again so now we're back! Our girls were most excited about Puna and Brady coming to visit.  Brady started school at BYU-I last week.  We missed having Papa with us, but we enjoyed our short Puna visit.  We hit two of our family's favorite spots, Cafe Rio and The Cocoa Bean.  Thanks for the treats Puna.

 We had a small party for Brady's birthday.  Lily helped make and decorate the cake.

 Tommy was slightly frightened by our latest large zucchini from the garden.  Poor kid.  We've been eating so much zucchini lately.

 One day Lily wanted to help make a treat.  She spilled about three cups of sugar and flour on the floor.  She was so sad - especially since she really wanted to be a big helper.  She helped me clean it all up and we started again.

 Lily giving Tommy a horse ride.

 We took a trip to the university apple orchards to pick apples.  Unfortunately the batteries were dead in the camera so I didn't get any cute pictures.  But I was able to can some applesauce.  It turned out delicious.  The kids love it.  Am I a real Idaho girl now?  I know how to garden and can my own produce!

 Jeremy got to take a horseback ride with his boss and some colleagues.  They went on a really cold foggy morning.  But the day ended up sunny and clear.  Jeremy's boss is the one in the chaps and cowboy hat. 

 Tommy enduring Mommy's love for picture taking.  He is so close to crawling.  He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth.  When he really wants to get moving he will raise up on his hands and stretch his legs so he's on his toes, then he pushes himself forward with his feet and his arms usually buckle under - which leads to a face plant.  But he is really trying and seems to like it.

 The girls having a morning snuggle while working together on the Kindle.

 Lilt and her friend Hailey showing off their Saturday art project - leaves falling off trees.

 Cuties in the bathtub!

Lily having her first piano lesson.  She is impatient and wants to play songs right away.  But she did well with going slow and learning just a little.  We will do piano for just a few minutes each day and see how far we get.  Lily is so excited to have her own piano book.  When she's not carrying it around with her, she wants it displayed prominently on the piano.

Annie is finally getting over her sinus infection.  We have less than two weeks until her tonsils come out.  After months of sleep apnea, not wanting to eat, and feeling grumpy and weepy (due to poor sleep) we are hoping her quality of life will go way up once the tonsils are out.

Tommy is doing great.  He is our chubbiest baby yet.  He's taking bottles and eating cereal.  It seems he is eating and growing constantly. 

September 08, 2013

 This was a crazy busy week for Mommy.  Preschool started, gymnastics started, we put on a ward social, and we made a trip to Utah.  We are looking forward to a quieter, calmer week next week.

 Annie moved up a level in gymnastics.  To help with her fear of the beam, they played a game.  Annie had to hold a ball and walk it to the end of the beam, then reach up and shoot a basket.  She loved it!  She still wanted her coach close by, but she was willing to let go of coach's hand, take bigger steps and look up.  That is progress.

 Our adorable four year old (minus her shoes) on our way out the door for preschool.  She is the oldest in her class.  She loves playing with the kids and coloring.

 After making my zucchini run for the ward party on Wednesday.  I needed large zucchini for some games.  This filled the whole backseat of our van and we still had more to collect.  The girls were good helpers carrying the zucchini one by one from our friends' doors to the car.  They were both so tired after hauling 45 huge zucchini.

 Tommy sitting up like a big boy!

 Lily's first pictures from preschool.  A self portrait (she is dreaming about Annie missing her while she's away at school - that's what the little body in the circle above her head represents) and a family picture.  Tommy is the tiny doll-like baby hanging from Mommy's left hand.  I love that she put Daddy in a white shirt and tie and gave Annie pink hair since Annie's hair is a lighter red than Lily's hair.

 Flower arrangement I made for the ward party.  All the flowers are from my garden - the seeds were a gift from my sister in law.  The zucchini in the vase is from the garden too.  Our party was called a "Zucchini Bonanza"  It seemed like our friends and neighbors had zucchini coming out their ears.  Jeremy and I decided to have a party highlighting the super-producing squash.  We had a zucchini cooking contest.  People brought their best recipe featuring zucchini.  We played zucchini games.  Anyone with extra zucchini brought it to the party for others to take home.  We ate, we played, we laughed.  It was a lot of fun.  Tommy was feeling especially clingy and fussy (cried for an hour and a half straight).  So it made the night really stressful for Mommy.  But we survived and everyone who attended had a great time.

 So many yummy treats....cakes, jam, relish, salsa, dip, crostini, cobbler, muffins, brownies - all made with zucchini!

 "Face the Cookie" Game - played with zucchini cookies

 "Squash Smackdown" Game - based on Minute to Win It "Elephant Walk"

We also had relay races - which didn't get played since I was tied up with a very grumpy Tommy.  And zucchini bowling and zucchini bingo.  What a night!  Maybe we'll plant too many zucchini next year so we can have fun all over again.

 We got the ward party all cleaned up and climbed in to bed for a short rest before rising early to drive to Utah.  Our nephew Caleb chose to be baptized and we didn't want to miss it.  We had a very peaceful car ride.  The kids were exhausted from playing so hard the night before. Thank goodness Tommy got out all his crying Friday night.  He was an absolute doll the entire trip.

 Caleb and family after his baptism.  I love how strong the Spirit feels at a baptism.  Such a beautiful day.

 Some of the Hall cousins!

 Tommy sporting a lipstick kiss from Grammy.

Quick stop at the beautiful Brigham City Temple on our way home.  We were surprised to see pears growing on the trees.  Usually the temple grounds don't have fruit bearing trees.

Lily enjoyed the temple in Utah so much that she wanted to go again on Sunday.  She chose to visit the Idaho Falls Temple.  Annie sang "I Love to See the Temple" the whole drive there.  We had a lovely walk on the grounds.  Lily wanted to take a photo of every plant and flower we passed.  Unfortunately, when Mommy asked her to return the camera it slipped between our hands and dropped on the pavement. So we probably won't be doing any blog posts for a while unless we can get the camera operating again or get our old camera to focus.  I think we can never get a camera to last more than two years since we've had kids!

Next week Uncle Brady will be arriving to begin school at BYU-Idaho.  We are thrilled that Brady will be attending school where we began our college educations, met, and fell in love.  Jeremy and I both have so many great memories from our college years and we hope Brady will have a wonderful experience here too.