July 7

5 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time is going with Emery. She is such a delightful baby. She is SUPER smiley and is putting everything in her mouth. She is getting better at sleeping through the night and is only getting up 1 time about every other night. She loves her siblings and will give her big, toothless grin for anyone as long as she is safe in mom or dad's arms.

July 6

Emery had her first try of baby food tonight. You can tell by the expression on her face how she felt about it. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be eating solids yet but thought we would give it a go tonight to see how she did. I'll wait a few more days before trying again.

July 5

Mom and I made these darling 4th of July wreaths after I found the idea online. They were more time consuming than I originally thought they would be (as always) but I love how it turned out!

July 4

4th of July! This is us at the ward pancake breakfast. We decided to have a "lazy" 4th and just hang with our little family. It was wonderful after spending 2 weeks apart. We went swimming, went to a movie, had a BBQ and then went to Allen's office to watch the fireworks at the balloon fiesta park. It was a perfect, relaxing family day together!

July 3

It wouldn't be a trip to CO if I wasn't hauling something crazy home on top of the car from my shopping exploits! This time I brought home a gorgeous rug for the living room and a fun salvaged window I picked up at a flee market. Luckily my dad is SUPER patient with that kind of thing and kindly strapped everything to the top of the car for me! We were sad to leave CO but were ready to come home and be with Allen and our normal life!

July 2

Today Grandma made Smoothie's for breakfast. Guess who liked it the most?

July 1

Today we spent the day hanging with the Crocketts. The kids had so much fun together and especially loved making up plays and performing them for the moms. It was really cute to watch them together. We love seeing our "old" friends when we come to CO and pick up right where we left off last time!

June 30

We had a rather rough night last night. I put Emery to bed at her normal bedtime (about 8:00 pm) and she screamed for the next 5 hours straight. It is SO unlike her and I tried everything I could to calm her down. Even when she was being held she was completely inconsolable. By 1:00 a.m. I was really worried but managed to get some Tylenol down her and have dad give her a blessing. Then we packed her up and headed to the ER. I thought for sure she had an ear infection but the doctor could find nothing wrong with her. Little stinker! I'm just grateful she wasn't sick or anything. She was happy as pie when she woke up this morning. (Notice the hospital band on her leg)

June 29

Nicole and her family left today and we were so sad. We packed up and headed north to spend the day with my friend Melissa and her kids. Our kids are similar ages and they had a blast together. I always LOVE hanging with Melissa and we never run out of things to talk about. We left with some renewed friendships with the kids and maybe even a crush or two. We all loved Melissa's yummy homemade fudgesicles that the kids enjoyed together on the porch!

June 28

Tonight the kids wanted to have relay races with eggs. I love that they are so entertained by simple fun. We had several variations on egg on spoon races and ended the night with a rousing egg toss. The girls did better than the boys but everyone had a blast! (See that egg way up in the tree?!)

June 27

One of grandma's traditions is to have a fiesta complete with a pinata one of the nights we are in CO. The kids picked out this hilarious $100 bill pinata and we let everyone have a swing at it tonight. The older kids were blindfolded but we let Addie whack at it. I love the determined look on her face - don't get in this one's way- she's one focused little girl. Of course gorging on candy was a highlight for the kids!

June 26

Mom and Dad tore out their deck last summer and are waiting for the ground underneath to settle more before rebuilding on it. They let the kids go to town on the temporary fence they built. They had a ball painting pictures of each other and writing messages. Good, creative, messy fun.

June 25

We swim pretty much every day that we are in Denver. Having access to Robin's pool is the best! This is probably my favorite picture I've taken on this vacation and Makenna and Maddie have loved playing together this week. I am seriously loving the carefree days of summer!

June 24

We spent the morning at Belleview park today (aka the airplane park). We played at the playground, rode the train and played in the water. It's pretty nostalgic for me as it was one of my favorite places to go as a child. I love this pic of the cousins together before our train ride.

June 23

We spent the day playing at Pirate's Cove, a waterpark near my parents house. It is the perfect size for little kids. We spend the day riding the slides, floating the lazy river, swimming and playing on the "beach." We were all worn out from being in the sun all day but it is one of our favorite Denver activities.

June 22

This morning we went to a fun candy store in downtown Littleton and let the kids go to town. They had so much fun seeing all the choices and picking out treats. My kids LOVED the long gummy rattle snakes, which were disgusting but very unique. Addie's bulging cheeks in this picture crack me up. We spent the afternoon at the pool.

June 21

Today we took all the girls on a little shopping adventure. We hit the American Girl store where the girls had a blast and got to pick out an outfit for their dolls. Then we went to Charming Charlie, a huge, all accessory store. We were there for a couple hours and had fun picking out cute jewelry, purses and hair accessories. A true girly heaven!

June 20

Tonight Nicole and her kids finally made it into town. Emery had been asleep for a couple of hours but they begged me to wake her up so they could all meet her. She was totally disoriented and a bit overwhelmed by the number of people and adoring squeezes. She was the star of the show with everyone during our CO vacation and loved all of the love and attention.

June 19

Happy Father's Day! It was fun to spend FD with both Allen and my dad. We had a yummy dinner tonight and honored the dad's with lots of funny, homemade cards and a few little gifts. I'm so grateful for my wonderful father and for the amazing father Allen is to our kids!

June 18

We are settled at Mom and Dad's house and mom couldn't wait to get her hands on Miss Emery. It's only been a couple weeks since she has seen her but she is changing so quickly that we had lots of tricks to share. Here she is doing her funny open mouth "kiss" with Grandma.

June 17

Today we drove up to Colorado for me to stay with the kids for a couple weeks while Allen is busy with YM stuff here at home. We stopped for the night in Fountain to stay with Shaina and Heath, Allen's cousin and husband. Shaina and I became friends through blogging and facebook and have only ever met one other time. It was fun to let our kiddos hang out and play while we visited. We can't wait to see them again!

June 16

Allen got an early Father's Day present this year and picked out a new grill! Hooray! We have had the same grill we bought 8 years ago, used, off of Craigslist. Needless to say, it was time for an upgrade. Al did lots of research (of course) and picked this one out. We've already put it to good use a few times this week.

June 15

The kids have been begging to make Smores all summer but there is an outdoor fire ban in ABQ right now. We decided to use the oven to make a batch today after lunch. Addie loooved hers and I love this pic of the melty marshmallow dripping off her chin. And seriously, I can't get over her gorgeous, thick eyelashes!

June 14

Today Carter, Makenna and Emery had well child checks. I was very nervous to take all 4 kids to the doc by myself but everyone did great. I promised a trip to Dion's for lunch and to pick up the prizes for the summer reading program there. It was yummy as usual and kids have loved their prize bags.

June 13

As part of the kids summer fun bucket I included this jar of fun activities for them to do every day. The beauty of the activities in the jar are that they don't require any help from me to complete. I can't believe how beautifully this has worked out this summer. The kids have been having a great time and I get some free time on my hands!

June 12

Today I taught Relief Society on Developing Talents. It was such a fun lesson to put together and I was able to highlight the talents of quite a few women in my ward. I used this quote from Thomas S. Monson as the basis of the lesson and had it printed up and framed to display. I also printed up a smaller size of the quote to pass out. Teaching RS has got to be my favorite calling ever!

June 11

Makenna's turn for princess ballet! Kenna has loved to dress up for years but most of our costumes are too small for her now. This class has renewed her love of dressing up and I will have to invest in some bigger sized costumes. She is taking the class with her friend Helayna and they loved dancing to Jasmine today!

June 10

Emery loves the play gym toy and it keeps her totally occupied while I shower and get ready in the morning. All 4 kids have loved this toy and I remember being panicked at the initial investment when we were dirt poor in CT when Carter was born. It's been a great investment and has kept all the kids happy in their babyhood.

June 9

The girls are taking a princess ballet class this summer. Every week they focus on a different princess or fairy-tale character and read a story about her and then dress up and learn a dance portraying the story. Stinking adorable. Today Addie's class focused on Cinderella. She is obviously in hog heaven!

June 8

The kids started swim team this week. They were both so happy to be back in the water and Makenna is much happier swimming this year than she was last. She is definitely more ready for it this year. I love that swim team gives us someplace to be on summer mornings and that the kids get lots of exercise. I also love that we are carpooling with the McCrackens this summer and that I don't have to drive every day. It's the best of both worlds!

June 7

The fabulous Miss Ems is 4 months old today. This month has been a huge month developmentally for her. She is able to put her binky back in by herself, actively plays with toys, sucks her thumb, has started laughing and can sit up for a few seconds on her own. It feels like time is going way too fast with her and we all adore her more than words can express. I am SO grateful every day that we chose to have another baby and can't imagine my world without her in it!

June 6

Holy moly. My kids are going to eat me out of house and home this summer. I decided I had to get a few more snacks at Costco today to keep everyone fed and happy. This is what the kids picked out (along with fresh fruit). I've actually decided to institute a snack schedule so they're not eating all day long. They get snacks at 10 and 3 and can have fruit or veggies in between if they're still hungry!

June 5

Yummy! This might be our new favorite go-to summer meal. Pizza on the grill! Allen was totally skeptical about if it would work and be good but it turned out DELICIOUS. All of our favorite was the pesto pizza with mozzarella. Simple but amazingly good!

June 4

The kids have made quick use of the shaving cream from the summer fun bucket! This is one of their favorite things to do in the summertime and I usually let them go at it a couple of times over the summer. They love to make a mess with the shaving cream and then hose each other off! Fun memories being made already!

June 3

Finally the last day of school! We are so ready for summer vacation and the kids have been antsy all week. I made a fun summer bucket for them to "open" after school today. They were so surprised and excited. My motivation was to reward them for a great year of school but also to have loads of "at-home" type activities to keep us busy this summer. With Emery's napping schedule we will have to be home a lot this summer. I hope the stuff from the bucket will keep them happy and busy all summer long!

June 2

Today was Carter's class open house. It is so funny to see Carter with his teacher Miss Dayna because I think he has a bit of a crush on her. He didn't want to take his picture with her and was so shy about it. It was adorable. She has been an incredible teacher for Carter and has really worked to keep him challenged this year! She is young and super enthusiastic and perfect for educating young minds.

June 1

Today Makenna's class had an end-of-year open house for parents. We saw the kids work from the past couple months, including their class habitat. We also watched the end of year video the teachers put together. I took lots of pictures with Makenna and her friends and with her teachers Miss Mary Kay and Miss Cathy. They have been a fabulous team for Makenna this year and we are glad she will be in their class again next year!

May 31

Carter and Allen worked very hard on this months at-home project for school. The assignment was to create a WORKING invention to present to the school at the inventors fair. The kids had to use the scientific method to perform experiments on their inventions and present their findings. Carter created the "supply key" as a way to keep his school supplies organized and in one place. His was one of the best inventions we saw at the fair! We have loved the projects this year that have forced him to work hard and think outside the box.

May 30

We bought a new BBQ grill a few days ago and the kids have had a ball playing with the gigantic box it came in. It really cracked us up today when we came downstairs and they were rolling each other around in the box. Kind of dangerous but they were just having too much fun to stop them. Little things really do make kids happy!

May 29

Joel, Ami and Dane stayed with us overnight on their way to Oklahoma for Joel's new job. It was fun to stay up WAY too late visiting with them and it was so fun that they got to meet Emery. Dane was fascinated by her and I got this cute pic of them together.

May 28

We had nothing on the schedule this morning and Allen was helping at a YM activity so I took a few minutes to take pics of the kids together. They didn't turn out at all like I was hoping but I have a better idea of what to do next time. Love these sweet, silly kids to pieces!

May 27

Makenna has been begging to take piano lessons for the last 6 months and today was the day of her first lesson! She has been so excited and had a great first lesson. She came right home and did her 3 pages of theory and practiced her songs. Let's hope the enthusiasm keeps up!

May 26

Today was Addie's last day of the tumbling class she has been in this year. She has loved her little class and we have become good friends with some of the other moms and kids in the class. Her favorite activity has been the parachute and walking on the balance beam. We won't be taking this class next year because of preschool but luckily a few of her little friends from tumbling will also be in her preschool class!

May 25

Today Allen snuck away from work for a couple hours and we checked Carter and Makenna out of school to take them to lunch individually. We had a blast with them and they loved having our undivided attention. We got to talk about their school years and express how proud we are of them for the progress made this year. We plan to make this an annual tradition, even if it means eating lunch twice on the same day.

May 24

I made Allen take this picture tonight as I was nursing Emery because it is SO my life right now. Anytime I sit down to nurse, Addie immediately tries to climb into my lap or otherwise sit on me. She loves when I prop my legs up because she will sit on them the entire time I am nursing. It's quite uncomfortable but I try to let her sit with us so she doesn't feel left out. I know there will be a time when I really miss my kiddos wanting to be near me all the time.

May 23

Grandma put Addie's hair in braids for the first time today and she is in LOVE! She looks stinking adorable with them in and keeps checking herself out in the mirror and saying "Mommy, my hair look beautiful!". Love this girl so much!

May 22

I've deemed this the summer of the cute shoe for myself. Since I'm not wanting to invest a ton of money into my wardrobe while losing baby weight, I've decided to buy cute shoes and accessories instead. These are 3 of the pairs I've bought this summer (yes, there have been others) that I love the most! Yay for cutie shoes!

May 21

Today was the long awaited end-of-year dance recital for Makenna and Addison. They both did great in the recital. Makenna nailed her dance after practicing, and practicing it over the past couple months. She did not mess up one time! Addison was a little ham and star of the show by doing her own thing during the entire performance. The audience was roaring watching her "performance." We are so lucky that G&G Baldwin decided to come down for the performance too!

May 20

Today was Carter's piano recital. He did a great job playing___________. He had his entire piece memorized and played it perfectly. He also received an award for composing a song and an award for earning the most composer coins. We sure love his teacher Miss Bethany! She is fabulous and is so good at keeping the kids motivated. We are so proud of how much he has progressed this year.

May 19

The temperature is going up and my kids have been playing outside a ton with the neighborhood kids. Our next door neighbor incited all the kids into a water fight this afternoon. They had squirters and he had his hose. Guess who won? They had a fabulous time staying cool.

May 18

I never know how to decorate my house between Easter and the 4th of July. This year I decided to create some fun Summer decorations to fill up space. I made a wreath for my door and this fun banner for the fireplace. It is pretty simple but I love the summery colors and it turned out just how I was hoping it would.

May 17

Emery love, love, loves her Bumbo seat. I can't imagine how I survived my previous 3 kids without one of these. She loves being able to see what is going on and I love that I can sit her on the counter while I cook dinner or at the table with us while we eat. It has been an absolute lifesaver to have this convenience with her!