Ta Da!

I am getting in the mood to blog again. The problem is that when I'm home my free time is spent...oh wait, I don't have free time anymore. I have the laundry of seven people!

Sarah is a dream baby. She is my only baby that hasn't had to cry it out in order to sleep through the night. She is so good natured. Her brother and sisters have made sure that she is certainly the most loved and kissed baby on the planet. And for the most part she loves them back. She is now seven months. She crawled at 6 months and cut her first tooth around the same time. She loves to babble bababababa and mamamama. She also loves to growl. It's hilarious. I took her with us to a movie today - her first one. She and I spent about 2/3 of Despicable Me out in the hall while the other kids joyously consumed mass quantities of popcorn with their eyes fixed to the big screen. (Thanks for the fun afternoon, Amber and Barb!) Sarah discovered popcorn today. Yep, it was on the theater floor. After that I had no choice but to give her bits from the legit popcorn bag to keep her away from the spilled variety. I am madly in love with my baby. She is all that is warm and snuggly and sweet.

Kate will be 12 in a month and a half. Yikes! Time drums on whether we like it or not. I swear Kate has grown a foot over the summer. She is 5'4" and her shoe size is bigger than mine. Skinny as a bean pole with legs that never end, she's shaped just like her dad. I love Kate for her earnest desire to do what's right. She's such a little mother to her siblings - oftentimes to a maddening degree - but I know it's because she truly feels a responsibility to look out for them. I love that she's getting older and we can have fun conversations about books or clothes or whatever. We took her to Nauvoo with us over Labor Day. It was really fun to have just her (and Sarah) with us. I struggle with the fact that I am harder on her than my other kids. I think I expect more of her than the others. So I am making a concerted effort to just enjoy my sweet Kate more. My mom told me the other day that the hardest kid to parent is the one that is most like yourself. So true.

So I wasn't planning to post tonight - this is an unplanned brain leak. Four months! It's been four months since I blogged. We've been busy...

Pure Awesomeness

Last Saturday...

And the next day...

Fifteen years ago I hit the jackpot. Our anniversary is on Father's Day this year. How fitting. Greg is the most wonderful father and husband. He would do anything for our kids. He adores them and they adore him. He can make me laugh so easily. He astounds me with his brainiac and handyman skills. The best part of my day is when he kisses me when he gets home. He is perfect for me. I love you, babe.

Addiction

I can't stop mugging on this one. She's intoxicating.

kate is so totally awesome!!!!

Oooh, look at this little picture window type of template! I think I could use a little summer around here! This is my type of blogging template - it took all of 15 seconds!

Yanked

Okay, so my month of blogging isn't going as perfectly as planned. C'est la vie...but I am committed to blogging more often, so that's something! This is going to be quick because I have the baby monitor on and I can hear Sarah waking up.


Our ward boundaries got realigned yesterday. It came out of the blue. Truly, I don't think my mind has quite absorbed it all yet. My neighborhood got put in a different ward and a different stake. Greg and I have always wondered if this would happen because we live at the southeast border of our stake. But speculating and doing are two different things. The stake president talked in sacrament meeting yesterday and with no warning just ripped the band aid right off. Nobody knew it was going to happen and we all sat there wincing, completely stunned.


The nearly five years we have spent in the 37th ward have been a gift. I have spent so much time loving these people and it hurts to know that our weekly greetings and conversations at church are over. I'm sure it will all work out and is meant to be and all that crap {wink}, but for now, I'll mourn over the ward I'm leaving. I'm a better person for being a member of the 37th ward. I'll miss it.

Swaddle

My visiting teaching partner, Tina, gave this snazzy blanket swaddler to Sarah when she was born. It is wonderful!!! The velcro tabs keep her wrapped up tight and I have to say, Sarah is absolutely my best sleeper at this age. She is down by 10:00 pm and sleeps soundly until 7:30-ish in the morning. And she's been doing this for over a month. I'm so hooked on wrapping her up at night that I'm worried what I'm going to do when she doesn't fit the swaddler. She's got to learn to sleep without it eventually, but for now it's a lifesaver. (Don't you just want to smother that little face with kisses?)

School's Out for Summer!

We had a backyard water party today to celebrate the last day of school. We invited all of the neighborhood kids and it was a blast! Thirty kids, a few moms, a blow up water slide, water balloons, and lots of treats made for a super afternoon. I'm excited for my kids to be home. As long as we can keep the toys picked up, I love summer. (Okay, that makes me sound like a terrible mother. But seriously, how can I love it when I am stepping on toys, kids clothes, and dress ups all over my house? I think we're going to have a daily midday cleanup or something so this mom stays sane and fun!) I really do love summer!