Happy Birthday Ana

Technically this fall Analyn turned 7, but I swear this summer she aged 10 years. It feels more like 6 going on 16. She was my saving grace when I had Blakely. I mean really, I couldn't have gotten through the summer without her. She woke up, listened for Jane to wake up, got her out of her crib, poured cereal for everyone, turned on a show after breakfast, and just took care of the younger kids until I woke up in the mornings. After lunch I would put Jane and Blakely down for naps, then crash on my bed. Once again, Ana would listen for Jane to wake up, then go get her out of her crib again. She took the younger kids outside to play, got them snacks when they were hungry, got me diapers and wipes when I needed them, and even started changing Blakely's diaper for me. She even changed Jane's diapers a few times.

Anyway, this mature, positive, mothering, sassy, kind, righteous, inquisitive, smart, girl of mine turned 7. She finally settled on a jewelry party (first it was a mermaid party, then bunny ...), so we invited school and church friend and make friendship bracelets, necklaces, and played pin the jewel on the necklace. The girls had fun. They ate cake and had a scavenger hunt to find the jewels for their necklaces. The friend party was followed by her birthday dinner on her actual birthday. She requested chicken taquitos, Spanish rice, fruit salad, and chips. Done! And might I add, delicious!

We found that although Blakely wouldn't take a pacifier (no surprise there, NONE of mine have), she would suck on Ana's--and only Ana's-- finger. It must be the perfect size. This picture was so sweet; Blakely was crying in her basinet so Ana picked her up and offered her finger, and Blakely sucked vigorously then fell asleep in Ana's arms

 

 

Ana changing Janes -- ready for it?  POOPY diaper!! What a saint, right?? I mean, daughter of the year, best six-year-old ever award!

 



jewelry party with friends

Thad's First Half Ironman

Thad spent all late winter and spring time training for his first triathlon: a half ironman to be exact. It's 70.5 miles in all. 1.2 mi swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile half marathon. I think he and his friend were a little over their heads, but they stuck to it and completed it. There were times during their training when Thad would have moments of panic, and be like, what the heck were we thinking?! But then he'd have a good week of training and get excited again. I forget his finish time: like 7 hours or something? The main thing is that he finished!! I was due any day so I was a little stressed about driving the hour to watch him, and chasing the kids around while waiting for him in the hot, humid sun, but it ended up not being bad at all. We drove up and made it just in time to see his transition from the bike to the half marathon, which was the last leg of the race. We got to watch him ride his bike in, and got to talk to him for a minute before he headed off on foot. I couldn't believe he was still going. I think at that point after all the physical exertion, if I had to go and run a half marathon I would just curl up on the ground and cry like a baby. But he did it!!! I was so proud of him I almost cried. It was a really nostalgic and experience. The kids got to run through the finish line with him, and when the announcer said his name as he got close to the finish line, he mentioned something about all the kids trailing behind him and all of the nearby spectators laughed.

 Waiting for Thad. I think he was 2 miles away from finish at this point

 

So neat to see him cross that finish line, followed by all the kids

 



Blakely

 

 



First Bath





Oh Jane. Couldn't keep her hands off of her. Mostly she was up to mischief, but occasionally she was sweet and would hold her like the fragile baby that she was



 

 

 

 



First Smiles



 

Baby Blessing

Cousin Jonas

  



Being forced under Jane's shirt to "nurse". Like I said, poor, poor Bakely

Sleeping in her little cradle thingy next to our bed

Having her diaper changed by .... you guessed it. Jane actually did a pretty good job. She used about 7 wipes, and was drooling on Blakely's leg as she worked, but she got the job done

First time really scooting. I put her on her blanket, and a little while later, found her asleep with her head up against the magazine holder

Falling asleep on her monkey mat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the last couple weeks she has really discovered her feet and toes

Rolled over at 3 1/2 months. She's so tiny

Bucket List Part 2

Camping in backyard



We stayed up late, roasted mallows, took a nature walk/scavenger hunt, played night games, and looked at the constellations



day trip and hike at Mounds State Park

 

 

Celebrated Pioneer Day with dutch oven soup!! It took FOREVER to cook, but the kids loved it. And then we forgot to put it in the refrigerator, soooooo yeah, wasted about 5 days worth of dinners :(

More s'mores. Did I mention we ate lots of s'mores this summer? After I bought the kids swim goggles, they wore them everywhere for weeks. I can't get enough of Jane in her oversized goggles.

Build a fort outside and eat a picnic in it

 

 

Bucket List

I knew this summer was going to be hard with a new baby. I thought and thought about what I could do to make sure that no matter how groggy, sleep-deprived, and grumpy I felt, that I still made time to enjoy the lazy summer days with my kids. We only get 8 precious weeks of summer here in Yorktown. Why parents are OK with sending their kids to school for 10 months a year and only having 2 months to spend time with family and go on vacations is beyond me. It makes my blood boil and my blood pressure rise every time I think about it. But anyway, I didn't want to sleep the summer away and have regrets when school started in the fall.

So I came up with a few ideas to get us through the summer, and try to enjoy each day to the fullest. First, I made "daily chore charts" for Ana and Benjamin. That way they could wake up and start their day, whether I was around in the morning or not. Their daily chores included: brush teeth, get dressed, clean room, make bed, comb hair, read scriptures, and say prayer. I laminated the charts and gave each of the kids a dry erase marker so they could check off each chore as they completed it, then erase them at the end of each day and start over the next morning. These charts worked pretty well. The kids didn't do them on their own every morning, or get them all done every day, but it was something to provide some sort of order and organization to our unstructured summer days, and I think over all it was a success.

The other idea was our beloved summer bucket list, comprised of 60 or so ideas for cheap or free summer fun. I decided at the beginning of the summer that we would try to do at least one item from our bucket list each day. That way, if I ended up sleeping for half the day, or didn't quite get my clothes and make up on each day, we could still find something fun to do together, and be able to cross it off and feel like we accomplished something that day. And I felt good knowing that I spent quality time with my kids each day. Even if it was only a half hour tea party on the back patio, in my pj's.

I grew emotionally attached to this bucket list. So much so, that I couldn't bring myself to throw it away when school started in August. After all, it helped me get through the summer. It helped me enjoy little moments with my kids. It gave us things to laugh and giggle about. It  got me outside in the sunshine and helped me to feel happy in the middle of my ongoing struggle to like this place. The list let my kids make happy memories of camping with daddy, sleeping in tents, roasting s'mores around a fire pit, rolling in green grass, running through the cold sprinkler, speaking in made up accents while sipping pink punch. This summer I had a baby and survived. I feel very accomplished.

Bought a swing set off of Craig's List in May because I knew the kids would need something to keep the occupied during the long summer days. And something to keep them outside so I could rest with the baby. It has literally given them hours upon hours of imaginative play time. Best purchase ever

Pool, check!

Last day of school 2014. Oh Dang! Summer starts now!!

First week of summer, ready for baby any day. We went straight to Chuck E Cheese to use the gift card that our neighbor gave us. It was a little dirty and totally over-rated in my opinion. But the kids had a blast.

 

Muncie Children's Museum. This kid and his camera faces ....

 



We made it to Tuhey Pool a few times this summer, and 2x before Blakely was born. We stayed in the kid's section, with the little playground.  The kids LOVED it 

 

 



Older kids laying out in the Sun. Jane trying to copy ... she doesn't quite get the concept



Me, one week away from having the baby. Ready, but not sure if I was REALLY ready:)



Summer Rainstorms. We had lots of  them. So many that our yard flooded several times, and practically nothing in our garden grew this year.  But it made everything beautifully green!



S'mores!

 

Tea party. Fake accents. Princess dresses and special hair. Pink punch and tuna sandwiches cut into mini squares.



 

 4th of July. We had our special breakfast, hung out at home, checked out the carnival at Morrow's Meadow, and headed over to the Luke's house with a few other families from the ward for dinner and TONS and TONS of fireworks!


 

Benji's first swim lessons! He did great! And we started taking the kids to the YMCA pool to swim as a family. Benji has gotten so comfortable swimming on his own because of it

Library reading program end of summer party. Magic show

Thad's 33rd Birthday Party in July

New Roof- Finally!!

 

Watch a movie in homemade box cars. Then sleep in them. Benji took the latter seriously, and fell asleep in his that night. We moved him shortly after he fell asleep because he was all sweaty and scrunched in there



started a new family tradition: playing charades in the front yard while we eat ice cream on the porch

 

grilled lots of pizza outside on the patio

 


visit from Aunt Dru