Lily's New Look

Check out Lily's new look:

That's right! Lily and I had a little mother/daughter outing yesterday and she got her ears pierced! I have been thinking about getting them pierced for a few weeks now but just haven't found the time to go. Cory said he didn't care as long as he didn't have to go along to see her cry! Yesterday, I found a few minutes to slip away and we went to the mall to get them done. She did a great job and only cried for a few seconds after each one. What a trooper!

It is such a small thing but I think it completely changes her look! She looks so girly now! I can't wait to get her some little earrings for Christmas, just like I did for Eden after she got her ears pierced. It's just so fun having little girls!

Nine Months Old

Wow! What a busy month this has been for you, Lily! Here are some of the highlights from this month:

-You are still wearing 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. When you were sick last week, we took you to the doctor and you weighed over 21 pounds. I am very anxious to see how much you weigh at your 9 month check up next week. - Your biggest accomplishment this month has been learning to crawl. You are getting faster every day and I am enjoying the new freedom it has given you. Parker and Eden still think it is pretty cool that you can move around but I am sure they will soon change their minds when you start getting into all of their stuff!
-You are a semi-picky eater. You are not a huge fan of baby food and prefer to eat whatever we are eating. You will sometimes tolerate baby food but only if it has been warmed in the microwave. What a princess!! Since you prefer table food, I have had to get creative on how to make our food safe for you to eat. This will be much easier when you finally get some more teeth! Some of your favorites are bananas, diced carrots, green beans, avocados, cheese, biscuits, pancakes, muffins, and cinnamon rolls.

- One of the newest things you are doing is waving hello. You do this by sticking your arm straight up in the air when you see someone you know.-One of the funniest things that you do is put your hands behind your head when you want to relax! You have always slept with your hands behind your head, but now you do it when we are holding your in our laps or when you are in your car seat.
- You still sleep great at night and your daytime naps are improving a little bit. You will usually sleep at least an hour in the afternoon and some days I get lucky and you sleep for an hour and a half.
-You still only have two bottom teeth but you have been very fussy this week and have woken up a few times in the middle of the night so I think you are getting close to cutting your two top teeth. I hope they come in quickly because I do not like seeing you so uncomfortable and unhappy. Thank goodness for Tylenol!
-You have started giving me "kisses" when I ask for one. It is actually more like an open mouth slobber kiss, but I still love it!

I have enjoyed being home with you this summer so much and I dread thinking about going back to school next month. Because I am with you all day long right now, you are becoming quite a momma's girl. You are such a joy to me and I am so thankful to be your mommy!

Flashback

This afternoon Lily was "helping" me do laundry and I had a major flashback to when Eden was about her age and liked to "help" me do laundry. It so happened that they were wearing the same thing in these pictures, which makes it even more nostalgic for me. Such a realization that they grow up way too fast.

Eden

Lily

Eden Lily
Eden Lily

Hawaiian Falls

This past Sunday we had the chance to go with Emily and Jon's church to Hawaiian Falls in Mansfield. Hawaiian Falls is a local water park and their church kicks off their VBS every year by having their church service at the water park and then letting the families spend the day playing in the water.

I will not lie- the church service was not a huge success with four kids. It was HOT, there were bees flying everywhere and they just could not understand why we had to sit still and listen instead of walking right over to the cool, refreshing water and swim.
Once we were able to get in the water, the kids were in heaven! They absolutely loved the kiddie area and were not scared of the slides at all. It was a constant cycle of up the steps and down the slide, up the steps and down the slide! Addison and Parker even attempted some of the bigger kiddie slides this year.
Next we took the kids to the fountains, which was Parker's favorite thing to do the last time we came 2 years ago. All four of them enjoyed running through the water together.
I love these two pictures of our "cousin pairs"! I am so thankful for the bonds that they share and can't wait to meet the other half of Lily's cousin pair here in a few short weeks! (Hurry up, Baby Rowland! We can't wait for you to get here!)After the fountains, we headed to the wave pool to cool off in the water. The little girls, Emily and I spent a lot of time in the wave pool while Cory and Jon took Addison and Parker on one of the BIG, grown up slides. They were both very excited until they got up to the top and Parker, true to form, started to fuss and back out. Cory knew he would love it if he just tried it so he picked him up, put him on the double inner tube and made him go down the slide with him. He said that Parker laughed the whole way down and asked to do it again as soon as they got to the bottom.

After lunch, we let the kids hang out in the kiddie area again before packing up and heading home. Parker and Eden were both exhausted but had a great time! It was such a fun family day and I can't wait until Lily is old enough to go with us! Thanks again Emily and Jon for letting us share this fun day with you! We can't wait to go back again soon!

And She's Off!

Lily started crawling today! She has been SO close for several days but just hasn't put it all together...until today! She is still very slow and deliberate, and I don't think she realizes just how much freedom she now has.

I have been anticipating this for a while now and am so excited for my sweet girl! It is so fun to watch your children learn new things and reach new milestones! I know that my life is going to get even more crazy now that she is mobile but I am so thankful that she is growing and developing right on track. I feel so lucky to have three happy, healthy kids!

She's "TuTu" Cute!

A couple of weeks ago I went to a friend's garage sale and found Eden this cute ballerina leotard complete with a built in tutu, but I purposefully did not shown it to her because it was not very potty training friendly. She is now doing so well with her potty training that I decided today would be a good day to let her wear it.

She absolutely loved it! At first, when I asked her to twirl in it for me, she got very embarrassed, ran to her room, and shut the door. It wasn't long before she was calling me into her room to show me how she could make it twirl.

The funniest thing was when my dad came over this morning to bring the kids donuts and he asked her about her new tutu. Parker quickly answered for her by saying, "Eden got a new tattoo!" (Um... no! I think we will stick with tutus for now!)

Sweet Sisters

Oh my goodness, I love these girls!

Splash Station

Cory has really been wanting to take the kids to Splash Station this summer so when Emily and the girls came to play on Saturday, we decided that it would be a perfect time to go. We skipped naps (a decision that we would later regret!) and headed to the local pool ready to escape this heat for a little while. Parker and Addison took off as soon as we got there and didn't look back. They loved the slide in the children's area and kept going down the slide over and over again.
Eden and Aubrey were not as excited about the water. They had to wear life jackets so that Emily and I did not have a heart attack worrying about them drowning in the water. The life jackets were bulky and hard to move in and they were too scared to go down the slide, so they spent most of their time walking in the shallow part of the water or clinging to us whining (remember, neither one of them had a nap!)
Lily enjoyed hanging out with me in the shallow water but she refused to keep her sunhat on so we didn't get to stay in the water very long. She also had a little bit of an allergic reaction to some of the sunscreen I used and got very red and splotchy- oops! That didn't help her mood at all!
After about an hour of swimming, we decided that a snack might give us some extra energy to keep swimming. The kids loved the nachos but even with the snack, it became very clear that the little girls had reached their limit, so we packed up and headed home. Overall, it was a successful outing, especially for Parker and Addison. They absolutely loved it and we will definitely have to take them back again soon!

A Low Key Week

We just finished up a low key week due to Eden potty training and Lily not feeling well. Lily started running a low grade fever on Wednesday and I knew she didn't feel well when she was literally playing in between my legs one minute and then sleeping on my leg the next. My kids just don't do that. I've heard of kids who fall asleep while they are eating dinner or while they are playing, but my kids stay on such a strict schedule for their naps and bedtimes that they just don't fall asleep at random times and places. It was just so sweet to see Lily laying there sleeping so peacefully but I hated that she didn't feel well. We finally took her to the pediatrician on Friday and they thought it was just a virus. I'm so glad she is finally feeling better.
Some things that kept us busy during our low key week were a visit by the friendly neighborhood turtle who visited us after breakfast one morning. Eden and Parker both thought it was pretty funny to knock on his shell! (Don't worry, Cory checked to make sure it wasn't a snapping turtle before he let them near it.)
We have also spent A LOT of time coloring. Parker is very into coloring right now. He will often spend an hour creating his own pictures or coloring the color pages that I brought home from school for him to do this summer. He has really been trying to stay in the lines when he colors and was so proud of this one. He asked me several times to take a picture of it! I love watching his attention span grow. It is nice to see that he can now stay on one task for a longer period of time.
Finally, due to the horrible 100+ degree temperatures every day, the kids have been spending lots of time playing in the playroom. One of their favorite toys continues to be the ball popper that we bought Parker when he was about a year old. If you have small children and don't have this toy, you should get it! It is probably the best $20 we have ever spent on a toy. Parker and Eden never seem to get tired of it and it is quickly becoming one of Lily's favorites too!

We don't have a lot on our schedule this week either which is fine with me! This summer is going way too fast and I am loving all of the time I am getting to spend with my sweet babies! Before I know it, school will be starting up again (school supplies are already out at Wal-Mart- ugh!) and our lazy days together will be over.