Once Upon A Time....

Once upon a time, there was a neglected blog and a neglected camera. Before a quick trip to California, 6 months of pictures were discovered. Here are a few that I found...

Once upon a time, it was still warm...warm enough to go to the zoo!

And once upon a time (when it was still warm), a sweet baby boy named Jack was born who changed our lives forever...Once upon a time there were field trips to fun places like the pumpkin patch!

Once upon a time, we were late to the field trip, and mommy had to console a sad 4-year old boy as we drove up and watched his class driving by on a hay ride. "Driving" a tractor did the trick!Once upon a time there was a Halloween parade!And trick-or-treating at Primary Children's Medical Center!Once upon a time, a boy named Joe missed his wife who spent every extra hour with her sister at PCMC, so he whisked her off on a quick Vegas get-away. Phantom of the Opera and a few full nights of sleep were all she needed before heading back to reality!Once upon a time, we celebrated Thanksgiving at the hospital with Baby Jack. It was the best Thanksgiving EVER! And we decided to make the Festival of Trees a new Christmas tradition!Once upon a time, there was Christmas morning. Somehow Santa actually came! There was a rocking horse, a firetruck, and lots of wrapping paper!

Once upon a time, my angel baby girl turned 3! And once upon a time, I ruined the princess cake I'd planned and had to go with the WinCo plan B version for the party!Once upon a time, we went to Build-A-Bear for the 3rd birthday celebration and woke up at 2 in the morning to a boy and girl who just couldn't wait a few more hours to play with their bear creations!

Once upon a time, Lily was big enough to sit up in the bathtup! Somehow I blinked, and she was 8-months old and crawling!

Once upon a time, we were living, but not blogging... someday I'll catch up! To be continued...

Sunflowers, Blue Skies, and Gratitude for my Little Ones!

Last week, Kandis called to tell me that she was heading over to a pretty sunflower field by her house to take pictures of her kids if I wanted to tag along. We'd spent the morning on a field trip at Wheeler Farm, but I decided that naps are overrated...so we headed over! The kids were tired, but they had fun playing in the dirt and occasionally glancing at the camera! Poor Lily is starting to get used to being dragged all over the place. She definitely sleeps better in the car seat than in her own bed! And I kind of like her cute-tired-sad face. Love this baby!And I can't say enough how much I ADORE my little 2-year old girl. She's sassy, she's a terror, she screams louder than anyone I've ever met, but I just can't get enough of her. Super shy, super smart, super grown up, super sensitive, super girly, and super cute. I feel like I'm watching myself grow up...she's the middle child! I've loved every phase of her life, and I especially love her right now. Her cute, raspy voice always turns heads. She sounds like a cartoon character, but talks like an adult! A few weeks ago at a family reunion, she came within feet of being smashed by a car in the parking lot, and I'm so grateful that in this great big world, Heavenly Father was even watching over my little Avery! Another car turned into the parking lot at just the right moment, saw what was about to happen, and honked to alert the driver (when screams and yells from outside the car weren't heard). Coincidence? I don't think so...someone knows that I probably couldn't handle losing this... I LOVE my Avery!
And though they fight like crazy, they adore each other. Parker and Avery play all day long, which has made the transition to having three SO MUCH EASIER! I'm so glad Avery has Parker to watch out for her!And my little Parker is so grown up! He has so much excitement for life. He wakes up happy every morning, and can't wait to find out what's going to happen next! I love seeing how his little brain is starting to process so much grown up information! He's in preschool 3 times a week now, including one day of tumbling. He's my little social butterfly, and isn't afraid of making new friends, or entering new situations. I'm so proud of how much he's grown up, what a great big brother he is, and how he really cares about making his mom and dad happy. If I'd known how hard being a parent would be, I think I would've decided against it. But I'm glad I didn't know, because I can't imagine life without my little buddy or his little sister followers! Thanks Kandis, for the fun afternoon, and the amazing pictures that helped me remember how blessed I am to be a mom!

Summer Adventures with Baby Lily et. al

Lily is officially two months old! I can't believe it! And for the record...she's definitely not starving! The girl is in the 97th percentile for weight, height, and head circumfrence! Way to go, Lily. I started wondering how time has gone SO FAST, and then I realized that I haven't let time slow down...we've stayed busy all summer. Lily's been a little trooper going along with our crazy adventures!

First, she was born...Then she was welcomed home... (Thanks, Evelyn for the signs! I was sad when we finally took them down!) She's had lots of visitors...
And has made lots of visits...
As a one-week-old baby, she celebrated the 4th of July at a big fireworks show!
And a pool party with visiting cousins!A week later, she went on a Girl's Night Out to see Eclipse!
As a two-week-old, Lily didn't want to miss an outing to Utah Lake...Lily's been so busy, even Avery's worn out!

But exhaustion hasn't stopped Lily from running with mommy (and daddy) in her first post-baby 5K, or watching Parker run in a kid race...Lily's been all smiles...She loved having more visits from Grandpa and Nannu. After Michael's graduation, she even "helped" load the moving truck so he and Anne could move to San Antonio...She rode the tram at Snow Bird, and patiently posed for family pictures... She planned matching outfits with Maizie...
And looked forward to visits from Alli and other far-away cousins...

She borrowed Avery's sunglasses...she already can't wait to wear her older sister's things...She went to a "Princess and the Frog" birthday party...And even spent a full day at Lagoon (but refused to wear the matching green shirt...she claims that pink is more her color)...I thought having a baby in June would ruin my summer, but Lily's made it even better! She's had to endure thousands of kisses...thanks for the amazing summer, Baby Lily! Maybe it's time to stay home so you'll stop growing so fast!