Baby Snuggles

Liam is like a whole new child when it comes to sleeping most days. He has been sleeping about 10-12 hours at night and takes two 1-2 hour naps during the day. He is eating pretty much everything we are and we still haven't found anything he doesn't seem to like. But occasionally he has an off day and wants to be held to sleep but now that it isn't consistent I find that I can enjoy it so much more.  He is growing and changing so much so I loved hold him and just watching him sleep for a bit. 

I do miss the newborn snuggles and when he would fall asleep on my shoulder so I may have held him for over an hour like this while the other kids were left to fend for themselves...lol

Ear Protection for the Win

Here is the ear protection we bought Liam after the rodeo incident. They have come in very handy for many other things. Mowing the lawn is a big one. Photo credit to Grace

School Shopping

I can't believe its almost August but with school sneaking up on us I decided it was best to get school stuff done sooner than later. The girls are at such a fun age. They all love to try on things and get dolled up. When we went to Ulta to get shampoo they all got their makeup done. I think Matt and I are in trouble.

Hallie is so hard to find pants for. She is so tall and smaller in the waist. In total Hallie tried on 30 pairs of pants but we did find one pair that fit her so cute! I probably should have taken more pictures but we were in the zone and trying to get things done. While we were looking for pants I looked over and Liam was holding his own bottle. I can't believe he's almost 8 months old. He was so good while we were out  and about..

He even took a nap in his stroller while we visited a few stores that were near each other.

I have considered taking each of the girls individually but in a lot of ways I like taking them together. It was fun to see them each try on things and be so encouraging to each other about how cute they looked and they even picked out a couple matching shirts. It makes all the struggles of parenting worth it.

Cleaning the Freezer

I love productive days. The freezer had gotten left open and so of coarse everything was iced over.  While Matt was out of town we decided to clean it out. It was also a good opportunity to inventory what we have that I need to use and get the things that we are out of and would like more of. 

The girls were super helpful and collected all of the ice chunks to melt down and use in their sand box restaurant.

Matt and I want to raise these girls to realize the sky is the limit and they can do anything.

Liam decided he was hungry near the end of our cleaning and organizing and Emy was like mom I got this and fed Liam some of his food packet. She did pretty good and bought me just enough time to get everything back into the freezer.

Rodeo Time-Tough Enough To Wear Pink

The rodeo is one of the traditions we look forward to every year. This was Liam first year and we made a terrible mistake by not taking some sort of ear protection for Liam. He has always been bothered by loud noises but neither Matt nor I had even considered that but as soon as it started it was apparent he was very unhappy with us. I took him to see if we could find but no one had or was selling ear protection. Matt was going to head to Walmart to see what they had available but found one of the guys in our ward and he had some ear plugs but after several attempts Liam was having nothing to do with it. And about 2/3 the way through the rodeo decided that he was ok with the noise. The following day I purchased some ear muffs on amazon so next time we will be prepared. 

Some how I missed getting a picture of Em but the girls were so great to each other. They had each earned $5 for a snack or treat from the rodeo and they worked together, shared their money, and their treats so they could all get what they wanted. It was fun to watch them have a conversation to work it all out. It was a proud parent moment for sure

This was the first year any of the kids seemed interested in the scores or times but Hallie was all over it this year and that was fun

Im so grateful for our little family and the fun we are able to go and have together. I hope the kids remember these things and all the fun we had

Boating with Papa and Grandma

My parents have been here a lot this summer and a couple times we have been able to get out and about on the boat. While Matt was on his way home from DC Nic and Ky invited me and the kids to come boating with them. I was hesitant because I had never taken all 4 kids myself to the lake and was nervous but Nic and Kyle were great. I gave Liam a licorice package to keep him occupied and he loved it.

I even decided to let him try the licorice but that was brief because he got a chunk off and I was afraid he would choke. He was super mad when I took it back.

On Saturday we got there after we got the house ready for a showing but it was just enough time to have some fun before we called it a day. The large tube is always a huge hit but it got ripped so Im going to attempt to fix it...we'll see how that goes. 

After several hours we were all tired and decided to call it a day and head home for some early dinner.

Entertaining Liam

Now that Liam is getting older the girls are much more interested in him. He is more interactive and they love trying to see who can make him laugh and smile the most. He seems to enjoy being read too. Its nice that it gives me the opportunity to get other things done while he's still enjoying himself. I think one of the most rewarding things as a parent is to see your kids interacting and loving each other 

We have been looking for another powerwheels to add to our collection and when we found this one that included a batter for $50 we jumped on it. The girls are loving each having one so they can all play. It even plays Frozen music

Our bubble machine has been on the fritz so when we went to Walmart I bought a new one. Whomever created this is amazing no more blowing individual bubbles

Meeting Van

Although I feel like I know Van pretty well I didn't realize until we were at Carson's birthday party that I hadn't actually met him in person. I definitely took that opportunity to snuggle him. Its crazy how a new baby makes your baby feel so much bigger. We had to get a picture of the size difference. Krissy and I sat in a back room and visited while Krissy fed Van. I love the relationship we have built especially since Van was born. She has become more of a friend than just family. 

Liam's 1st Boating Trip

It took us a while to get the boat out and going this summer. But now that its finally mid July were getting it going. Liam seemed to like the boat but didn't love his life jacket. Hallie immediately wanted to knee board and we pulled her around for about 20-30 minutes. She is getting braver and braver all the time. 

One thing the boat is great for is putting you to sleep. Liam followed suit in doing just that.

Now that the girls are getting older they are getting more helpful on the boat. Holding the flag and getting towels ect. 

I think of everything swim breaks are still the favorite. Overall the trip was a lot more work and less relaxing than I would have hoped but I think we will get there were just still figuring the 4 kids thing out one day at a time.

I love this picture of Matt with Liam ....my two handsome boys

Summer Days

The hammock in the backyard that faces Snowbasin is one of my favorite places to sit and just take it all in. Its often quiet with the exception of the kids laughing which is totally ok with me. Liam is a good partner for the hammock as we watch the girls run around doing various things.

At the beginning of the summer each of the girls made a list of all the girls they would like to have play dates with. Each week we try to choose a friend and have a big play date. They have been fun and at time overwhelming. Its fun to see how each of the girl interact with different friends. Some good and others not so much. 

These are the days I will miss the kids being little. Loving to spend time with me doing nothing particular. It sounds clique but I love being their mom.

Baking & Mess Making

After swim lessons today we ran to the library to collect the girls reading prizes on the way there Emy said Liam was poopy but I didn't think much about it until we got there and found this mess. He had stuck his hands in it and gotten it everywhere. I sent the girls in together while I did my best to clean Liam up and clean the carseat so we could get home and into the tub. 

Once bathed and car seat was in the washer we set off on getting dinner made. The girls have become quite the chefs. They did a great job making the teriyaki chicken

Rig's Baptism

It's hard to believe that Rigs is 8 but the day has come for him to get baptized. We were so excited we were all able to be together to celebrate with him. All the girls requested their own picture with him. It was a pretty simple program and day,

Addie was so cute. She wanted to hold Liam so of coarse we let he try

Then we headed to Nic's for lunch and to hang out. It was so HOT! She was able to find all the kids swim suits so they could cool off in the water and they had a blast playing together.

The adults did our best to stay cool. I tried to keep Liam wet and cool. At times he was ok with that and at other times not so we rotated a lot between the house and the shade. Did I mention it was so HOT