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.

Five Months

Tommy turned five months on the 27th. Are we already almost to six months?  Here are some cute shots to capture him at this age:

 Ok so the first one is not so cute, but truth be told, this little guy cries A LOT - especially in the evenings.  He is very gassy and is teething too, so it has been a rough month with lots of tears and grumps......from Tommy and Mommy!

 Sleeping angel boy - we wish his schedule was more regular.  He sometimes sleeps through the night, other times wakes 2-4 time during the night.

 Loving solid foods!

 Still rolling and wiggling and scooting.  He can get across a room without crawling.  It is impressive.

 Sweet, sweet boy - looking almost totally bald on top.  But blessed with gorgeous eyelashes.

 Smiles for the camera!  We love that his cheeks are filling out.

Sitting up and feeling proud of himself.  We just propped him up, he's not really sitting up yet. But he can balance himself this way for a while if a sister doesn't come and knock him over.

He loves when his sisters sing and dance for him.  He loves to look at books and finger the pages.  EVERYTHING goes in his mouth.  He is taking one to two bottles a day and cereal once a day at dinnertime.  He likes to drink water from a cup and suck on icecubes.  His favorite activities are pat-a-cake and horsey rides.  He wants to be held all the time - and we must stand or walk while holding him.  Gripe water is his drug of choice and he gets at least one dose a day to help with gas.  He is wearing size six month clothes - but he is too skinny for the pants.  We have so much fun with him when he's happy and he tolerates a lot of attention from his sisters.  His big brown eyes draw in people everywhere.  Here's hoping we can conquer the gas bubbles and help him feel better all the time. 

September 01, 2013

 Lily is really enjoying her role as the biggest sister.  She is eager to help with Tommy care.  She volunteers every night to feed Tommy his baby cereal. I think Tommy likes it.  He laughs all the way through his dinner.

 Our neighbors held a block party last Thursday.  The kids had a great time.  They ran and jumped and ate way too many treats.  It was a beautiful night and we all had fun.

 Tommy finally found his toes!

 Annie got herself all dressed up for a date with Daddy.

 This is how Lily moves Tommy around since I won't let her pick him up.

 Poor baby barely surviving the constant sister loves.

My handsome guys before church Sunday morning.

Quiet and relaxed week for the most part.  The neighborhood kids have started coming over a lot to play.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes it makes me a little crazy.  But at least I know where my kids are and I am glad they are having fun.