July

      I am not ready for summer to end. We have had so much fun this last month and been crazy busy. The family reunion trip to Canada and the fourth of July celebrations were a blast. We hung out at home a little bit, we spent some time playing in the pool in the backyard and rode bikes in the front. Joel got some more sod laid in the back so it looks much better but half of our backyard still looks like a weed jungle.

The girls and I went to the library once a week for their library program. They did several sports things this year and we even got a free sno cone and pancakes on the last day. They did a big drawing for a whole bunch of prizes and Summer won one of the big toys. I almost didn't sign her up but the kids had a blast playing with the little water table/sand toy that she got. The girls and I also went to the park for playgroup once a week and I took the girls out to Melba so they could do school with their cousins twice a week.

 

     We helped to throw a baby shower for my brother's wife Heather. That was fun. We spent time playing with the little kitten aunt Lora rescued. My mom came over one day and took all of my girls to McDonalds and she took Brynlee to my sister Heather's house to get her bangs trimmed. They finally look even again. I took the kids to the movie theater where we watched Finding Dory and then we went to the park. They all liked the movie and even Kyla sat really well through the whole thing. We went to a mission farewell for Tyson who got to leave a few weeks sooner than expected for his mission to Ghana. We will miss him.

     For the last week of this month my aunt Lisa and her three girls flew in from Texas and we had a really great time hanging out with them. The stayed with my grandma but she just got called as the Relief Society president and had two funerals she had to help with that week so we came over and entertained them while she was gone. We took the kids to Jump Time and we all went out to eat one day. This was the first time we have ever been to jump time and my kids had so much fun. Joel and Brynlee and Annalyn went with my aunt and some of my family tubing down the river on the last weekend of the month. They went on a longer run and it sounds like both of my girls got a little nervous but they had fun and can't wait to do it again. Kyla and I waited for everyone to return and Kyla went on a little ride with her dad when he got back. I think that was long enough for her.

     Little Kyla has still been struggling getting to sleep at night so for a while I stopped giving her a nap. she wouldn't fall asleep in her bed anyways but that just backfired and she started taking late naps on the middle of the living room carpet. She would just lay right down and go to sleep. She was also falling asleep on every car trip and then waking up super grouchy. She is usually such a happy kid but when she wakes up from a late nap she is really cranky. Kyla's other latest thing is to pretend to be a puppy. She likes to crawl on the floor and have me play fetch and she eats things with her mouth like a dog.

Brynlee had a friend who told her that Zombies were real and then her cousin Ryder let her watch part of The Walking Dead. I made her stop watching it as soon as I saw what they were watching so she only watched 2-3 minutes of it but it had her terrified of Zombies. For a while she wouldn't leave my side and followed me wherever I went so I could protect her if a Zombie attacked. Luckily she seems to be over that phase.

     Annalyn had her speech evaluation. She was really dreading going but she had such a great time that she prayed that night that she could go again. She qualified for their services so she will start going every week soon.

     Summer is such a happy baby and is happy to just be along for the ride. We love having her in our family.

     As for Joel, well he got a new job this month. We are all pretty excited about it. He was getting pretty tired of framing and there was nowhere else for Joel to go with his old company so we were really praying about what to do when my brother Brian, who was working with Joel during the summer, got a text message about a job fair. Joel was debating if he should go or not when he ran into someone who previously worked for this company and he told Joel how it was a great company to work for and he even put in a good word for Joel. Joel applied for a job as a supervisor but since he doesn't have any experience as a supervisor they gave him what they called "a career path." They will train him and then have a talk in 30 days and then if things go well he should have a higher paying job with benefits in 90 days. So far he is learning a lot and liking what he is doing.

     Joel has also been busy working on the Suburban trying to get it fixed and he bought a little four wheeler for the kids that he painted all nice and has been working on it. He thought he had the whole thing fixed but for some reason it will only go in reverse in every gear. I am still not exactly sure how we ended up with that thing. I think Joel was just itching for some "fun" projects. Joel went to work so he could get some tools he needed to work on the list of things I needed finished and he came home with a four wheeler instead. I never did get that list finished. Then a few weeks later he said he was going to go to the bank and that he might stop by the junk yard for some parts. I told my mom that he probably just wanted to go to the junk yard and that the bank was just an excuse. He came home from the junk yard all excited about these great deals that he got. He never did make it to the bank that night.

      I have spent most of my time looking after my four little girls lately. It is time consuming and sometimes the days are long and overwhelming but for the most part I love it. I love going on adventures with them. There have been some crazy days. One day last week started out with Summer having a huge diaper blow out all over the clothes I had just put on her. This was her worst one so far and it grossed Brynlee out so much while she watched me change her that she threw up all over the bathroom floor. Then Annalyn wrote all over my couch and was just naughty the whole day. She even knocked down the bathroom mirror that I had just bought and broke it all over my bedroom carpet. Joel and I were going to take all of the kids to the rodeo but I decided that Annalyn needed to stay home so he just took Brynlee with him to the rodeo for a little date night and it sounds like they had a blast. I really do love what I am doing and I cherish these moments with my girls.

Summer is Three Months

Little Summer has been three months old for a few weeks now but I am just now getting around to documenting a few things about her. Summer has been a pretty happy and smiley baby and even started to giggle the cutest little baby giggles this month. She loves to look at and "talk" to anyone that will talk to her and is usually quick to give them a cautious little grin. She likes to sit up and see the world around her and has enjoyed the entertainment from her big sisters. She can sleep well through any noise.

Summer officially rolled over from her belly to her back on the day she turned three months but she still cries for most of tummy time. The bald spot on the back of her head is getting bigger but her eyes are still a dark blue color. We will see what they do in a few weeks. She likes to roll on her side when I lay her flat on her back and if I don't swaddle her for nap time I will often find her curled up on her side.

Kyla got to experience several other firsts this month with her first fourth of July, her first trip to Canada, and she got to meet lots of dad's family for the first time. She loves being held by anyone who will hold her so she loved it. Lately she has started to protest much more when I put her down on the ground so that makes cooking and cleaning a little challenging.

Summer sleeps the best when I hold her but will usually take one good nap in her bed if we are home and I swaddle her and stick her soother in her mouth. She still usually wakes up at least once at night to eat and ends up sleeping in our bed after I feed her about half of the time. She sleeps really well in there. She also sleeps well in the car in her car seat, in her swing and in the baby carrier. Most of the time she wakes up when I try to move her to a new position to sleep. 

     Summer still spits up a lot, eats every three hours during the day, gives us lots of laughs and smiles, sleeps a lot, and it such a happy and fun little baby. I could spend all day holding and cuddling her. She has a pretty loud cry and still gets fussy every once in a while but when I take her places she is usually the best little baby and will sleep through the whole event. She slept through a movie I took the kids to this summer and she sleeps pretty well at church. I sure am enjoying her at this age. She is the sweetest little baby and we all love her a lot.