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!

The BIG 3-0!

I have to be honest. I was a little bit worried about my birthday this year. Having a new baby, and turning 30 a month later put me into a pre-mid-life crisis. (I handle this sort of crisis by chopping 8 inches off my hair!) Luckily I have lots of people who care about me and made sure my birthday wasn't crappy! I woke up Sunday morning to a surprise breakfast on the porch that my friend Aubrey had left. Then Joe made me cry when he came home early from all of his Sunday morning meetings. Then Evelyn brought me a new plant for our house, and an awesome new homemade nursing cover! My parents made a big deal out of my birthday and sent me an awesome package, and Michael and Anne sent me this book to show their support of my weird eating lifestyle. By mid-morning, I was not longer worried about having a crappy birthday. I just thought I would cry all day long because my family and friends were so thoughtful and sweet!

Luckily my cute husband knows that I think birthdays are supposed to be a big deal, so he went all out and planned a SSSSSURPRISE party! (Which really would have been a surprise if Parker hadn't whispered to me at least 10 times how much I was going to love the cake they got me!) All of my friends and family who were in on the secret probably laughed all week when they talked to me because I complained about how crappy my birthday was going to be. Little did I know, this little invite that Devon made for Joe was floating around the internet... We showed up at Joe's parent's house for "cake and ice cream" on the evening of my birthday, and I felt so loved when I saw this...(Happy Birt-day to me!)Joe knows I want to go to Hawaii, so he did the NEXT best thing...he threw me a Hawaiian Luau party with a peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake from Leatherby's. (And a strawberry ice cream cake, and a Costco cake...just in case there wasn't enough!)I had such a great time seeing so many familiar faces. There were Avery faces...And Lily faces... (and somewhere Parker faces...)

There were awesome-in-law faces...and college faces...
There were singing group faces...And friendly neighbor faces...There were pregnant-and-due-any-second faces...And Finnish faces...There were California faces...

and one happy, loved 30-year old face! (Yes...mine!) Thanks everyone for making turning "old" not feel so bad! (And thanks to Kandis for taking all of the pictures! You forgot to take one of yourself! She fit into the "pregnant-and-due-any-second" category! Welcome to Kandis' Baby Will, and Heidi's Baby Addison! Now Lily has friends!)

Lily Jo...What A Blessing!

As the third child, Lily hasn't had many opportunities to be the center of attention. On August 15th, however, that all changed. The day was ALL ABOUT LILY! She was thrilled! Grandma Cathy made her a GORGEOUS dress for the occasion. She looked like a princess, and she knew it...she was all smiles!

We were supposed to be posing for family pictures with our little princess, but couldn't resist kissing those cute chubby cheeks. Yummy!

We felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many of our family and friends on Lily's special day.

She's only two months old, but I already can't imagine life without her.

Lily's completely spoiled. And if she keeps being as good as she's been for me, I'll keep spoiling her! From my experience, being spoiled comes with the territory of being the third child. Right, Michael? I guess I wouldn't have it any other way! We love you, Baby Lily!